The Biology and Conservation of Birds

4 Credit Hours
June 15–26, 2026
Instructors: Dr. Rob Bierregaard, Acadamy of Natural Sciences/Drexel University (Retired)
Cost: $1,000.00

This two-week intensive course offers a comprehensive introduction to avian biology, behavior, and conservation, grounded in both field experience and laboratory study. Mornings are spent on field excursions where students will develop bird identification skills by sight and sound while observing and interpreting behavior—examining not just what birds are doing, but why they do it.

Afternoon sessions begin with lectures covering key themes in ornithology, including the evolutionary diversification of birds, avian communication through songs and displays, migration ecology, and contemporary conservation challenges. Students will then synthesize their morning field observations and engage in hands-on laboratory work using study specimens, skeletal materials, raptor migration datasets, and their own field-recorded audio.

By the end of the course, students will build strong identification skills, deepen their understanding of avian ecology and evolution, and gain practical experience with the tools and methods used in modern ornithological research.

HBS Highlands Plateau Audubon Society Scholarships

Meet the Instructor

Dr. Richard (“Rob”) Bierregaard is a Research Associate of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in Philadelphia and a former president of the Raptor Research Foundation. From 1979 to 1988, he directed the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project for the World Wildlife Fund and the Smithsonian Institution. Situated in the Brazilian Amazon, the project has been described as the largest and most ambitious ecological experiment ever undertaken—and it continues today.

After returning to the United States in the late 1980s, Dr. Bierregaard spent 18 years teaching Ornithology and Field Ecology in the Biology Department at UNC–Charlotte. Since 2002, he has also taught a two-week intensive course on avian biology and conservation at the Highlands Biological Station on ten occasions.

Over the past forty years, his research has centered on Barred Owls in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Ospreys across northeastern North America. In 2014, he served as lead author on a landmark paper documenting the post-DDT recovery of Osprey populations in southern New England. Between 2000 and 2017, he and his colleagues deployed satellite transmitters on 108 Ospreys—ranging from South Carolina to Newfoundland. Data from 67 juveniles, tracked during their first migration to South America and back, have revealed remarkable insights into how young, naïve Ospreys independently discover the migratory routes used by experienced adults.

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rbierreg@gmail.com