Two well-known local naturalists and birders, Ruth Lundin and Jim Berry, are presenting virtual birding sessions for Audubon Community Nature Center. This photograph, “Feeding Time,” of a female cardinal and a male bluebird feeding its young, by Vienna, Va., photographer Kathrin Swoboda was a finalist in an Audubon Nature Photography Contest.

Saturday, Sept. 5, is the deadline for enjoying two virtual birding sessions presented by Audubon Community Nature Center.

Two friends of Audubon, Ruth Lundin, retired Audubon Community Nature Center president, and Jim Berry, Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History president/CEO emeritus, have prepared birding programs for beginning and intermediate birders that can be viewed at home. Their intended live presentations have been transformed to COVID-safe online experiences that are available through Saturday, Sept. 5.

With Lundin’s “Audubon’s Backyard Birds” (Bird Series: Session 1) viewers will visit the feeders and learn about Audubon’s varied habitats that are home to numerous birds. Viewers will also learn about citizen science opportunities and how they add to the public’s understanding of birds.

Then follow Berry into the fields and discover the birds that call them home with “Birds of the Field and Meadow” (Bird Series: Session 2). When people think of birds, they often think of forests, but a rich diversity of birds live and breed in local fields as well.

During her nearly two decades at Audubon, Lundin served on the board of directors of the Association of Nature Center Administrators, including a term as president, and on the board of the Audubon Council of New York State, with three years as vice chair and five as secretary. She was presented with the council’s highest affiliate honor, the prestigious Norman I. Stotz Award for leadership and contributions to the environmental cause.

Prior to his 17 years at RTPI, Berry was the executive director of the Cincinnati Nature Center and before that was with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, including managing Malabar Farm in Lucas, Ohio. He was president of the Association of Nature Center Administrators, and his volunteer history includes the New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the U.S. Forest Service in Allegheny National Forest.

To register and receive online participation information for these two virtual opportunities, go to AudubonCNC.org/Programs, click on “Current Schedule,” and choose the Birding Series. The fee for each program is $8. Saturday, Sept. 5, is the final day they can be viewed.

To learn more about Audubon and its programs, call 569-2345 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, visit AudubonCNC.org, or find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook.