PETE DUNNE is Director of CMBO, a regular columnist in a number of birding publications and author and co-author of numerous books about birds and birding including Hawks in Flight, Pete Dunne on Birding, and Pete Dunne’s Essential Field Guide Companion. Best known for his skills as a hawk watcher, he is equally fascinated by shorebirds and songbirds. Pete has been leading workshops and tours for nearly 30 years and he delights in sharing his knowledge and passion for birds with others.
DON FREIDAY now brings his considerable birding and teaching skills to bear as the Director of Birding Programs for Cape May Bird Observatory. Don has worked in the field of nature interpretation and/or wildlife biology for over 20 years, taught wildlife ecology at Rutgers University, and led birding tours throughout the United States. Don was regional coordinator for the New Jersey Breeding Bird Atlas, and is a former member of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee. Author of A Precious Place: a Naturalist Explores New Jersey, and coauthor of Wild Journeys: Migration in New Jersey, his skills as a communicator are exceeded only by his knowledge and field skills.
MARK GARLAND, author, naturalist, and tour leader is celebrated for his teaching skills and genial good nature. Now a resident of West Cape May, he was for many years on the staff of the Washington D.C. based Audubon Naturalists Society and later a Senior Naturalist with the Cape May Bird Observatory and continues to conduct foreign birding tours for both. Mark’s followers are legion and few who travel with him–whether it’s Costa Rica or Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge–fail to follow up with another trip. And then another...
GEORGE MYERS lives in the Villas, but by all appearances, goes there only to sleep. His life seems indentured to the study of Cape May’s birds and his face is rarely absent in the crowds at the Cape May Hawk Watch or the Dike at Higbee Beach. A popular field trip leader and “guide for hire” with many years experience as a CMBO Associate Naturalist, George has also co-led assorted CMBO field trips and educational programs.
MICHAEL O’BRIEN, artist, Cape May resident and VENT tour leader is coauthor of America’s 100 Most Wanted Birds and The Shorebird Guide. Ranked among the finest field birders in North America, Michael is perhaps best known as and expert on the flight calls of migrating birds. His CD-Rom Flight Calls of Migratory Birds was a benchmark contribution to field ornithology. His many accomplishments notwithstanding, Michael is a gifted and much sought after field trip leader, as liked as he is respected.
PAT SUTTON has keenly studied the natural world for 30 years. Pat and her husband Clay’s latest book, Birds and Birding at Cape May, was published in 2006.Pat and Clay Sutton have also co-authored How to Spot Butterflies, How to Spot an Owl, and How to Spot Hawks & Eagles. Pat has been a working naturalist since 1977, including 21 years (until 2007) with New Jersey Audubon Society’s Cape May Bird Observatory. She is a founding Board Member of the North American Butterfly Association, and coauthored CMBO's Cape May County Butterfly Checklist.
LOUISE ZEMAITIS is a well known artist, VENT tour leader, Associate Naturalist for CMBO and project coordinator for the Monarch Migration Project. She is well known to CMBO members for the artwork gracing a number of CMBO t-shirts and the pages of the Peregrine Observer (and many will remember her as the bookstore manager from whom they purchased the binoculars they are still using today). Workshop veterans remember her for her polished teaching skills and her effortless ability to find four-leaf clovers.
- Fun, knowledgeable and attentive leaders who truly share the joy of birding.
- Topics ranging from the highly focused (e.g. Gulls or Shorebirds) to the broad spectacle of migration (e.g. Spring and Fall Migration Workshops).
- All you need to bring is your interest - skill is what you take away.
- You will meet great, like-minded people.
- You will be a better birder when you’re finished.
- Majority of time is spent in the field, watching and listening to birds while learning about them.
- There will be at least one indoor session, normally in the afternoon (sometimes more on 2- and 3-day workshops).
- Daily plans are adjusted to meet local weather and migration conditions.
- We look at all birds we encounter, but remain focused on the topic of the workshop.
- Leader to participant ratio is 1:12 or better.
- Questions are always welcome, before, during and even after the workshop.
Thousands of CMBO Workshop alumni are out there in the field, applying the skills they learned in Cape May. Read what they have to say about CMBO’s Cape May Birding Workshops:
“I appreciated the constant repetition of field marks to look for and the running commentary of natural history information. I had tried to book learn field marks, but having them pointed out while ‘out in the field’ was the best.”
- Meta Little, Newark, DE
Two-time veteran of CMBO Workshops
“Not only will the leaders show you all the birds you’ve come to see, but they will teach you all the skills to find them again on your own. Priceless!”
- Vicky DiRe, Ellenville, NY
Winter Workshop for Owls, Hawks, Eagles, & Waterfowl
“These workshops are my reward to myself. The more I see and learn, the more I crave.”
- Stefan Peters, Verona, NJ
Four-time veteran of Winter Workshop for Owls, Hawks, Eagles, & Waterfowl
“Leaders made learning about birds a joy. Their knowledge was exceeded only by their patience and enthusiasm.”
- Katharine Patterson, Butler, MD
Three-time veteran of CMBO Workshops
“CMBO workshops...hours of deep satisfaction, punctuated by spikes of pure joy.”
- Hank O’Brien, Summit, NJ
Veteran of six different CMBO Workshops
“Fabulous birding with enjoyable experts at a pace that allows you to experience the very best that Cape May offers.”
- Eric Myers, Anchorage, AK
Two-time veteran of CMBO Workshops
“This was my first organized birding experience, and I was awed by the birds I saw, the exquisite habitat, and unparalleled leaders and company. Loved the extemporaneous teaching throughout the workshop.”
- Anonymous
Spring Migration Workshop
“I am still gushing over what a great time I had. Loved meeting and getting to know other class participants and the instructors, who were so accessible.”
- Pam Higginbotham, Atlanta, GA
Raptor Migration Workshop
“I came with high expectations and they were all fulfilled.”
- Meta Little, Newark, DE
Two-time veteran of CMBO Workshops
“It was a terrific, fulfilling experience. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and revitalized the essential part of myself that had been dormant for a while. I intend to keep it alive.”
- Annette Jeffers, Hagerstown, MD
Winter Workshop for Owls, Hawks, Eagles, & Waterfowl
"Probably my biggest reason for signing up for School of Birding workshops is - I learn while having fun - I relax, have a great time and walk away realizing I know tons more than I did at the start!"
- Carole Hughes, Verona NJ
Shorebirds, Advanced Birding by Ear
"Both leaders were not only extremely knowledgeable, but were also patient and never made you feel you had asked a stupid question. I learned so much in just three days!"
- 2007 Shorebirds workshop participant