Students discover the joys of watching birds at VC

By Katrina Barnett

VCNC reporter

Nature lovers were in luck Friday, April 18, with a bird tour held at Ventura College. VC instructor Raeann Koerner served as a guide to those interested in bird-watching on campus.

Beginning on the quad at 10:30 and wrapping up in the horticultural area of the campus, the tour lasted about an hour. Koerner instructed those in attendance about how to spot birds, observe them and identify them. She also described the many different types of birds that observers might find on the VC campus, a list consisting of 34 species. Ten of these species, among them the Alan's mummingbird, the junko and, of course, the Western gull, were seen on this brief tour.

Participating students were especially delighted by the pleasant singing of the male birds, which Koerner pointed out as one of the joys of birding in the springtime.

"We had a good time here this morning, and it looks like we may have some potential birders here," Koerner said at the end of the tour. She encouraged anyone interested in the hobby to research the National Audubon bird-watching society online, at www.audubon.org.