Activity note: Today’s session will begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and end at 2:40 p.m.

Morning: 11:00 a.m. Welcome, Orientation, Introductions. Our Group Leader will greet everyone and review the program theme, the up-to-date daily schedule and any changes, Zoom meeting protocols, roles and responsibilities, and answer any questions you may have. We will then say hello to our fellow Road Scholars. We’ll also have an overview of the four migrations we will be studying: marine mammals including elephant seals and grey whales, birds, and monarchs with maps and details. 11:40 a.m. Virtual field trip. We’ll begin with elephant seals as local experts lead our exploration. We’ll see phoca flats, a lighthouse, harbor seals and sea lions, a whale watching area, and the area where elephant seals landed in 1990. We expect to see close ups of bulls, females, and pups (babies). We’ll observe behaviors and sounds of bulls fighting and females with their pups. We will have a Q&A session after the virtual field trip. Our Group Leader will then interview docents with the Friends of the Elephant Seal Visitor Center that house a variety of educational exhibits.

Afternoon: 1:00 p.m. Break. 1:20 p.m. Lecture. In an illustrated presentation, we’ll learn about Grey Whales and hear from naturalists and a whale watching captain. We’ll also view whale watching footage from the central California coast and Baja Bay. 2:20 p.m. Q&A. Wrap-up and notes for tomorrow. 2:40 p.m. Today’s session will end.

Activity note: Today’s session will begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and end at 2:45 p.m.

Morning: 11:00 a.m. Review of the day. 11:05 a.m. Lecture. We’ll learn about the amazing realities and latest research on bird migration. What do we really know? Why do birds migrate? Where do they go? How do they manage these incredible flights? We’ll then focus on the world-wide migrations of peregrine falcons and other migrating raptors. We will have a Q&A session after the lecture.

Afternoon: 12:05 p.m. Break. 12:25 p.m. Lecture. During an illustrated presentation, we’ll learn how scientists net and band migrating birds, how the details are recorded, and what happens after the banding. 12:45 p.m. Lecture. Telemetry is the recording and transmission of data from remote sources for monitoring and analysis. Scientists use telemetry to study animals in the wild and keep track of their populations and movements. We’ll view a demonstration of how GPS is attached to a bird, as well as how this information is used and long term data evaluated. We’ll also learn about condor tracking. We will have a Q&A session after the lecture. 1:25 p.m. Break. 1:35 p.m. Lecture. We’ll hear from a naturalist about “citizen science” and how to use binoculars, spotting scopes, and different birding apps. We’ll also hear about projects such as eBirding. 2:05 p.m. Lecture. We’ll have another illustrated presentation on bird photography, how to “capture” birds on film, and how ecotourism helps birding populations. 2:25 p.m. Q&A. Wrap-up and notes for tomorrow. 2:45 p.m. Today’s session will end.

Activity note: Today’s session will begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time and end at 3:00 p.m.

Morning: 11:00 a.m. Review of the day. 11:05 a.m. Lecture. We’ll learn the story of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). Every spring, they leave their overwintering sites in Mexico and slowly make their way north to the United States and Canada. Along the way, they search for milkweed on which to lay their eggs. We will have a Q&A session after the lecture.

Afternoon: 12:25 p.m. Break. 12:45 p.m. Virtual field trip. This illustrated presentation will include “visits” to monarch sites such as Morro Bay State Park, Monarch Grove in Los Osos, San Luis Obispo, and Pismo. We’ll also have interviews with local naturalists. 1:15 p.m. Lecture. Have you considered “growing” your own monarchs? We’ll hear from experts about the do’s and don’t’s of growing monarchs as well as host plants, parasites, and stages of growth. 2:15 p.m. Q&A session. Wrap-up and farewells. 3:00 p.m. This concludes our program.