Northern Ecology
Nesting Season: Biology and Ecology
Course Overview
The first week in June is prime time for nesting in most birds, and almost everything that is really interesting in birds in one way or another relates to nesting. In this course students will get up “with the birds” and head into the field to find nests. Each nesting is a story of comparative behavior. This course’s aim will be to have students see nests and nesting behavior with their eyes, and then through discussion students will begin to see with their mind how these behaviors all connect. Each nest has a different story, and of course all together they make a great story. Bernd’s newest book “Nesting Season: Cuckoos, Cuckolds and the Invention of Monogamy” (published by Harvard University Press) will be coming out nearly at the same time, and it would be an excellent “text” for supplemental reading.