Guest speaker and birding veteran Denny Van Horn talks about “Becoming a Birder” at the next Backyard Birding meeting, set for 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, Nov. 4, at the Dungeness River Audubon Center.

Presented by the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society, the gathering is a venue for Van Horn to explain the steps from birdwatchers to become birders, including how to look at birds and how to note key field marks, how to describe a bird and how to take birding notes. Participants will be shown the “tools of the trade”: field guides, on-line resources and optics.

Van Horn, an expert and experienced birder, will also talk about birding ethics and outline how to record one’s own “Birding Year.”

A variety of binoculars, scopes and field guides will be available to try.

The series of classes is hosted by members of the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society and is intended for residents of the area who are interested in knowing more about birds and in learning how to develop good habitats for wild birds.

Backyard Birding can be taken either as individual classes or in a series. Cost of each session is $5 and is free for anyone younger than 18.

After the completion of five sessions, participants are offered a free, one-year OPAS membership.