"Spring Field Ornithology," the eight-week course that teaches identification, life histories and behavior of spring migrants and resident birds of the Finger Lakes area, is open to the general public as well as to college students.

Taught by Stephen W. Kress and other staff members of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, the course includes Wednesday evening lectures, beginning March 26, and Saturday field trips, starting March 29.

More information is available by phone at (607) 254-2440, by e-mail or by writing to: Spring Field Ornithology, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850.

Kress, a National Audubon Society biologist and researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has led the popular course for 21 years. He says he still gets excited about sharing his love of birding with novices: "Nothing can compare to the look on people's faces when they see their first black-throated blue warbler. Birding is fun and it's a great way to introduce people to all of nature." Although the course is designed for beginners, more advanced birders often repeat the program for its multimedia lectures and wide-ranging field trips.

This year's lectures include topics such as how to use binoculars; how to identify waterfowl, hawks, owls, warblers and vireos; and an introduction to bird song and courtship. Among the scheduled field trips are a woodcock and owl watch, a visit to a hawk-watching site, and trips to a variety of bird habitat, including a special overnight trip to the New Jersey shore.

Enrollment fees for the course, which can be taken for college credit with permission of the student's instructor, start at $185 for non-members of the Laboratory of Ornithology. The enrollment fee is discounted for members of the laboratory, while a membership-course package includes a one-year membership in the laboratory, course fees, and one-year subscriptions to the laboratory magazine and newsletter. The lectures only or the field trips only may be attended for a reduced fee.