A local bird watcher is teaching a class. Dallin Saurey has been bird watching the past three years and will now be teaching the class titled “Bird Watching in Eastern Idaho.” The class will also be offered at South Fremont High School in Saint Anthony.
Saurey began being interested in birds while doing an internship in Oklahoma at the Salt Planes National Wildlife Refuge. He said he had to learn many different kinds of birds for a bird festival. One couple took Saury out at night bird watching.
“I saw this barn owl eat this mouse and the blood on it’s beak and talons… and I got to appreciate the birds that I never knew the names of,” Saurey said. “It gave me a desire to learn more about bird watching and to develop this hobby and this talent.”
He decided to take an ornithology class from Cornell University to learn about birds.
“I had to learn about their body parts, how they attract [other birds] and learn how to listen to their sounds and stuff.”
Being able to always improve and get better at spotting birds make this hobby something Saurey really enjoys. He credits a lot of his improvements to friends.
“I had friends who would help me learn the sounds and stuff for one wildlife job,” Saurey said. “I had a friend named Andrew, he was my roommate when I was working in Salt Lake. And he would always quiz me on bird sounds.”
Saurey’s favorite bird is the Cedar Waxwing, “because they are everywhere,” Saurey said.
A Cedar Waxwing is a smaller bird that is mostly brown, gray and yellow with red on its wingtips.
Saurey’s class will be taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the College of Eastern Idaho and his class in Saint Anthony will be held at the South Fremont High School on Monday and Wednesdays.