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	Birding by Ear: Learning How To Identify Birds by Recognizing Their Songs June 12 – 14, 2009  Mark Suomala Have you ever wanted to identify birds just by hearing their songs? In this workshop, you will spend time practicing techniques that will enhance your bird-song observation skills and abilities. You will learn how to describe songs, learn mnemonics, and practice identifying bird-songs yourself. Class participants should plan to share their observations with each other, as sharing leads to better understanding, better results, and more fun! Fee: $250 Avian Ecology: Populations and Communities June 19-21, 2009  Leonard Reitsma This 2-day workshop will combine lecture and discussion of key principles and theories concerning bird morphology, behavior and ecology, together with experience in the field. The field component will include bird identification and observation on visits to the Bear Pond Natural Area in Canaan, NH, an active avian ecological research site near High Pond Farm. The research being undertaken at this site will be thoroughly discussed. There will also be time to explore the environs of High Pond Farm and to spend time in the classroom reviewing what we've learned in the field.  Fee: $250 New England Forests, A Primer July 24 - 26, 2009 Garry Plunkett Trees are the dominant plant type of New England and forests cover most of the region. Knowing trees, therefore, and their natural places within the forest is fundamental to understanding the regional landscape. This 2-day workshop will survey the common native trees, forest communities and some basic principles of forest ecology. Students will improve tree identification skills, learn to recognize pioneer, second growth, and old growth stands, and see the effects of human and natural disturbances on today’s forests.  Fee: $250 An Introduction to the Common Bryophytes of New England  August 7 - 9, 2009  Dorothy Allard This workshop is designed for the naturalist, botanist, or ecologist who wants a beginning knowledge of mosses and liverworts, those small green plants that play such a major role in our northern ecosystems. This seminar will teach you the basics of bryophyte ecology and identification, focusing upon those species that are common and abundant and that can be identified in the field with no more than a hand lens. You will visit different bryophyte habitats, learn about bryophyte life cycles and how to tell a moss from a liverwort from a lichen; and learn how to make your own bryophyte reference collection. By the end of the weekend, you will be able to identify as many as 30 bryophyte species. For this workshop you will need a copy of the new field guide, Common Mosses and Liverworts of New England, and a 10X handlens, both of which will be available for purchase at the start of the class.  Fee: $250  Fantastic Fungi of Northern New England  Rick van de Poll  September 4 - 6, 2009 This workshop will introduce the advanced beginner and amateur mushroomer to the intricate world of higher fungi in northern New England. For someone familiar with the basic groups of mushrooms as well as their role in nature, this course will take the learner deeper into the realm of taxonomy by using microscopic techniques and diagnostic keys. Habitat and occurrence data collected by the instructor for the past 30 years will be shared with participants. Recommendations on the best keys to use for particular genera will aid in the use of extensive reference materials. The focus will be on Basidiomycetes, although selected Ascomycetes will be discussed as well. Daily forays will provide material for lab analysis, although collections brought in by the participants will be reviewed as well. Microscopes are available at High Pond Farm, although participants are encouraged to bring their own. Baskets and 10x handlens (available for purchase at HPF) required. Please bring your favorite reference guides as well.  Fee: $250  An Introduction to the Lichens of New England  September 11 - 13, 2009  Scott LaGreca This workshop will provide a comprehensive introduction to lichens, those ubiquitous, fascinating and colorful organisms that are a combination of a fungus and an alga or cyanobacteria. Through lectures and time in the lab we will cover the basic biology, ecology, taxonomy, and identification of both macrolichens and microlichens. Most of the time will be spent in the field, and a variety of field sites will be covered, with an emphasis on alpine and boreal habitats. By the end of the weekend, participants should be able to identify several dozen species in the field. The recommended text for this class is Lichens above Treeline, by Ralph Pope.  Fee: $250  Ecology and Conservation of Amphibian Populations and Vernal Pools  September 18 –20, 2009  Bryan Windmiller This workshop will provide practical skills and knowledge needed to identify, survey, monitor, and study both pond and stream-dwelling amphibians, and is of special interest to naturalists, field biologists, and researchers. Field work will include the demonstration and practice of techniques which can be used to trap, measure, mark and track the movements of local amphibian species. In the classroom, participants will review the natural history of amphibians, identification characteristics of eggs, larvae, and adults, and discuss current complex issues regarding the conservation and regulation of amphibian populations, both in New England and globally. We will also focus broadly on the ecology and conservation of vernal pools, a habitat type upon which many North American amphibian species depend.  Fee $250

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