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Home and Calendar Mission and Staff Bios Application Form, with our whole schedule listed, Driving Directions, Phone Number, and Email WOLF JOURNEY Program INDEX: Wolf Journey TESTIMONIALS Wolf Journey FAQs Wolf Journey CORRESPONDENCE COURSE Wolf Journey CLASS SERIES offered in Western WA WEEKEND WORKSHOPS throughout the Academic Year Wolf Journey STUDY DAYS in Puyallup CUSTOM DESIGNED Wolf Journey Programs OVERVIEW of Wolf Journey Index to Wolf Journey ARTWORK, SONGS & STORIES PART ONE Intro - Trail of the Naturalist • Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 PART TWO Intro - Trail of the Tracker • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8 PART THREE Intro - Trail of the Herbalist • Chapter 9 • Chapter 10 • Chapter 11 • Chapter 12 PART FOUR Intro - Trail of the Scout • Chapters TBA PART FIVE Intro - Trail of the Artisan • Chapters TBA PART FIVE Intro - Trail of the Hunter • Chapters TBA PART FIVE Intro - Trail of the Pioneer • Chapters TBA PART EIGHT Intro - Handbook for Earth Skills Students, Environmental Teachers & Outdoor Leaders • Journaling Cover Page • Wildlife Recording Form • Student Transcripts • Glossary & Rescources • Taxonometric Classification • Outings Guide • Teaching Guide • Outdoor Leader Program Policies • More TBA Virtual CHALLENGES including Earth Skills Self-Assessment Print out an Application Form which has the whole schedule listed; or email or call us with questions or to register. CONFIDENTIALITY: Wolf Camp does not share its database — period. COPPAct Notice: Children 12 and under must obtain parental consent before contacting us. • The Wolf College SITE MAP • Wolf Camp SITE MAP • Wolf Journey SITE MAP • WOLF Foundation SITE MAP • Fun Nourishment

Faculty Essay New Article: Bird Taxonomy by Chris Chisholm. Also check out our Birding 101 article and essay on Bird Voices as well as all our other articles available in the Ethnobotany series, Survival series, Wildlife series, and Earth Skills Education series. Bird Taxonomy using Common Names Living organisms are often classified into six "kingdoms" including: 1) animals, 2) plants, 3) fungi, and 4) protist (single-cell organism plus seaweed algea) all grouped into the "eukarya domain" because they are said to share a common protist anscestor, plus the 5) aerobic bacteria domain (meaning they depend on oxygen to live, including blue-green algea) and the 6) archaea domain which includes anaerobic bacteria (living in hostile environments like salt water, intestines, hot springs, etc. and tend to be the ones that smell bad, like when you don't have enough water in your mouth causing halitosis, or when your compost doesn't get turned over and the right amount of water). To understand taxonomy of the plant kingdom, please see my article referencing the great book Botany in a Day as well as my series of articles on plants. To understand taxonomy of the animal kingdom, I recommend looking at http://www.rapidonline.com/netalogue/zoomed/Large/M079226W01.jpg which is an excellent chart. Also, in the olden days, I couldn't find a good taxonmetric chart to birds, so I made my own which appears below. However, nowadays there's the awesome Cornell Lab of Ornithology chart. Easy Way to ID Birds I think it's difficult to go on a bird walk and try to identify whatever bird happens to cross your path. What you need first is context. So, before you go outside, pick up your field guide, or click into the taxonomy section of Cornell Ornithology website, and follow these steps: 1. First Half of Book - Loons-Grebes-Cormorants. Look at the first bird in the book. Field guides are ordered taxonomically, which is just how birds are related to one another based on evolution. Usually, the loon is listed first because it is considered the oldest non-extinct bird species. You'll find loons nesting on lakes in the summer, and floating out on salt water in the winter. Turn the page and notice that the Grebes are usually the next set of birds listed in your book, because they are closely related to loons. Keep turning the pages until you hit the Cormorants. Okay, with these 3 bird families, you have a set of birds that are very similar to one another to keep in mind next time you see something a bit bigger than a normal duck floating out there in the water, and all you'll have to do is look at the beginning of your field guide to check out the loons, grebes and cormorants. 2. First Half of Book - Big Wading Birds. Keep turning pages, ignoring everything until you start seeing the big, wading (rather than floating) birds with common names that include heron, egret, bittern, ibis, spoonbill and stork. Unfortunately, now we hit the first exception to the rule of like-birds being obviously listed with like-birds, as vultures and condors are in the same family, so just keep that exception in mind for when you get to the intermediate level of birding. 3. First Half of Book - Geese-Swans-Dabbling Ducks. Next come all the other floating birds, including geese, swans and ducks. There are 2 things you'll want to remember now. One is simply where these birds generally are in your field guide so that they are easy to find when you want to identify one of them in the field. The other thing you'll want to do is to ignore all of the diving ducks because they are hard to identify at the beginner level. Just learn the surface-feeding or "dabbling" ducks that you find in wild areas of your area. Don't try to identify these in city duck ponds, however, as they often interbreed and make it impossible to identify one from another. 4. First Half of Book - Daytime Raptors. Remember that exception to the "wading birds" rule, where vultures and condors are listed? At the intermediate level of birding, you'll begin to distinguish them from the next set of birds in your field guide, which are the diurnal (daytime) raptors, known generally as hawks but are broken down into families that include Buteos (big hawks and eagles), Accepitors (mostly bird-hunting forest hawks), and Falcons (bird-hunters in open areas). 5. First Half of Book - Game Birds. I'd like to tell you that nocturnal raptors are listed next in your field guide, but they're not closely related to the diurnal raptors. After the diurnal raptors come the "gallinaceous" or "upland game" birds like grouse and pheasant. 6. First Half of Book - Little Shore Birds, Gulls & Terns. I highly recommend that you skip through the Rails because they are hard to see, the Cranes because they are usually just passing through unless you are far north or far south, and the Gulls because they are so difficult to distinguish from one another. The one thing you do want to learn is how to distinguish a Tern from a Gull, however. So check out the Terns and find out if any are local to your area. Also, all the little shore birds (sandpipers, plovers) are really hard to distinguish from one another. I recommend learning just one of them. The most common one throughout the country is the Killdear, and so if you ever see a medium-sized bird running along the ground in a sandy/gravelly area and not flying too far away from you, that's probably a killdear. If you look at it in your binoculars, you'll know because if it's striking facial features. 7. Small Families in the Middle of the Book - Doves & Pigeons, Parrots & Cuckoos. Skip past the Murres and Auklets, as they are usually pretty far out on the salt water. However, you might be able to identify your local Puffin, for instance, so if you are on a boat, keep that in mind. Otherwise, keep turning the pages and you'll find a bunch of small families of birds. The first are the Doves & Pigeons. Not a lot of them, so just look at the range map and see which ones are in your area. You might be surprised to find out that there are a couple of wild, native pigeons that stay deep in the forest, so it's really a fascinating family. Next are the parrots and cuckoos, and if you live north of the tropics, it should be easy to identify the few you might have near you. 8. Small Families in the Middle of the Book - Nighttime Birds. Next you'll find the nighttime birds, including Owls & Goatsuckers. Look at the range maps of the owls, and make a list of the ones that live in your area. Then either get a subscription go to the free section of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology websites to hear the surprising sounds of owls of your area so that you can identify them at night. The other nighttime birds you'll want to know are the Goatsuckers, including the Nighthawk & Poor-Wills. Those are also birds you'll want to listen to the sounds of, as well as whose ground camouflage and flight patterns will blow your mind! 9. Small Families in the Middle of the Book - Swifts & Hummingbirds. The next "small family" of birds in the middle of your book should be the swifts and hummingbirds. They don't look like they're related to one another, but you can't argue with DNA! Again, look at the range maps to find out which hummingbirds are in your area, and do the same for swifts, although they are hard to identify because they look a lot like swallows and they never sit still! 10. Small Families in the Middle of the Book - Kingfishers & Woodpeckers. The last "small families" in the middle of your book should be the kingfishers and woodpeckers. Check out the kingfisher(s) that live in your area, as they will become easy to identify by sound, if not sight. The make a list of the woodpeckers in your area, and learn just the ones that seem to be unique by coloration or size. For instance, if you have the Piliated Woodpecker in your area, nothing matches its size. Or if you have sapsuckers in your area, other woodpeckers can't compare to their fully-red heads. 11. Last Half of Book - Song Birds. Passerines, also called perching birds or song birds, are commonly seen but they really get confusing due to the overwhelming number of birds in this family, which takes up the last half of your field guide. So just go back to the second article in this series and set up the right bird feeders to start learning the 5 most common passerines that visit your feeder, and if you want to continue to the intermediate level of birding, see below where I divide the passerines into oddballs, talkers, flyhawking insectivores, tree-gleaning insectivores, mid-level tree gleaners, unique families, understory feeders and stout singers. Classification of North American Bird Taxonomy using Common Names My Sub-Classes Official Orders My Sub-Orders Official Families Official Sub-Families Official Genera Western WA Species Open Water Gaviiformes   Loons (mostly winter and juveniles on salt water, but common loons breed in lakes during summer)     • Common Loon • Red-Throated Loon • Pacific Loon Podicipediformes   Grebes     • Pied-Billed Grebe • Western Grebe (coastal)   Procellariiformes   Albatross, Etc.         Pelecaniformes   Tropicbirds             Boobies/Gannets             Pelicans     • American White Pelican (southeast or rare)       Cormorants     • Double-Crested Cormorant • Pelagic Cormorant (coastal) • Brant's Cormorants (coastal)       Anhingas             Frigatebirds         Anseriformes   Anatidids Whistling Ducks             Stifftails             Geese   • Canada Goose • Brandt         Swans   • Trumpeter Swan • Tundra Swan         Surface Ducks Aix • Wood Duck           Anas • Mallard • Northern Shoveler • Northern Pintail (winter) • Gadwall • American Widgeon vs. Eurasean (winter) • Green-Winged Teal vs. Common Eurasean • Cinnamon Teal (summer)         Diving Ducks Aythya • Lesser vs. Greater Scaup (winter) • Ring-Necked Duck (winter) • Canvasback (winter)           Histrionicus • Harlequin Duck (elevational)           Clangula • Long-Tailed Duck (winter coast)           Melanita • Surf Scoter (winter coastal) • Black Scoter (winter coastal) • White-Winged Scoter (winter coastal)           Bucephala • Barrow's Goldeneye (winter) • Common Goldeneye (winter) • Bufflehead (winter)         Mergansers   • Common Merganser • Hooded Merganser • Red-breasted Merganser (coastal) • Ruddy Duck (winter) Water's Edge Ciconiiformes   Herons/Bitterns   Ardea • Great Blue Heron • Great Egret           Butorides • Green Heron           Botaurus • American Bittern • Black-Billed Night Heron       Ibises             Storks         Phoenicopteriformes   Flamingos       Charadriiformes   Plovers   Pluvialis • Black-Bellied • Plover (winter coast)           Charadrius • Semipalmated Plover (sw winter coast) • Snowy Plover (coast) • Killdeer       Oystercatchers     • Black Oystercatcher (coast)       Stilts/Avocets Stilts   • Black-Necked Stilt (southeast)         Avocets   • American Avocet (east)å       Sandpipers/Phalaropes   Tringa • Greater Yellowlegs (winter west)           Actitis • Spotted Sandpiper (west)           Numenius • Long-Billed Curlew (sw winter coast)           Catoptrophicus • Willet (sw winter coast)           Arenaria • Ruddy Turnstone (sw winter coast) • Black Turnstone (winter coast)           Aphriza • Surfbird (winter coast)           Calidris • Rock Sandpiper (winter coast) • Sanderling Red Knot (sw winter coast) • Dundin (winter west, shallows) • Western Sandpiper (winter west, shallow edge) • Least Sandpiper (winter west, high beach) • Semi-Palmated Sandpiper (very mig., shore edge)           • Limnodromus • Long-Billed Dowitcher (winter coast, bit deeper)           • Gallinago • Wilson's Snipe       Auks, Murres & Puffins     • Marbled Murrelet (elevational) • Ancient Murrelet (winter) • Cassin's Auklet • Rhinoceros Auklet       Laridae Jaegers/Skuas             Skimmers             Terns   • Caspian Tern         Gulls   • Glaucous-Winged Gull • Western Gull • Boneparte's Gull (winter) • Mew Gull (winter) • California Gull (winter) • Thayer's Gull (winter) • Glaucous Gull (winter) Gruiformes   Limpkins             Cranes     • Sandhill Crane (spring, fall)       Rails   Rallus • Virginia Rail (thick vegetation)           Porzana • Sora (thick vegetation)           Fulica • Coot (open water) Upland Game Birds Galliformes   New World Quail   Callipepla • California Quail           Oreortyx • Mountain Quail (south cascades)       Pheasants Turkey Meleagris • Wild Turkey         Ptarmigan Logopus • White-Tailed Ptarmigan         Grouse Bonasa • Ruffed Grouse           Falcipennis • Spruce Grouse (high elevation)           Dendragapus • Blue Grouse (central wa)         Introduced Game Birds Phasianus • Ring-Necked Pheasant           Alectoris • Chukar (central wa) Raptors Falconiformes   Falcons Falcons   • Kestrel • Merlin • Perigrine Falcon • Prairie Falcon (eastern wa) • Gyrfalcon (winter)         Caracaras           Vultures     • Turkey Vulture (summer)       Ospreys     • Osprey (summer)       Hawks Kites   • White-Tailed Kite (oregon)         Accipiters (prey on birds)   • Sharp-Shinned Hawk • Cooper's Hawk • Goshawk         Buteos (large hawks) Haliaeetus • Bald Eagle           Aquila • Golden Eagle           Buteo • Red Tailed Hawk • Ruff-Legged Hawk (winter)         Harriers   • Harrier (marsh hawk) Nocturnals Strigiformes   Barn Owls     • Barn Owl       Typical Owls   Asio • Long-Eared Owl (winter) • Short-Eared Owl (winter)           Surnia • Northern Hawk-Owl (north)           Bubo • Great Horned Owl           Nyctea • Snowy Owl (winter)           Strix • Spotted Owl • Barred Owl           Otus • Western Screech Owl             • Flammulated Owl (summer, east)           Athene • Burrowing Owl (central wa summer)           Aegolius • Boreal Owl • Saw-Whet Qwl           Glaucidium • Northern Pygmy Owl (higher)   Caprimulgiformes   Goatsuckers   Common & Lesser Nighthawks • Common Nighthawk (summer)           Common Poorwill • Poor-Will (central wa summer)           Nightjar & Whip-Poor-Will   Small Orders found in middle of Field Guides Columbiformes   Pigeons/Doves     • Rock Dove • Band-Tailed Pigeon (summer, forests) • Mourning Dove   Psittaciformes   Parrots         Cuculiformes   Cuckoos & Roadrunners         Coraciiformes   Kingfishers     • Belted Kingfisher   Piciformes   Woodpeckers     • Hairy Woodpecker (longer bill, coniferous) • Downy Woodpecker (shorter bill, riparian) • Pileated Woodpecker • Northern Flicker (orange) • Red-Breasted Sapsucker • Red-Naped Sapsucker (central wa) • Acorn Woodpecker (oregon) • Lewis's Woodpecker (eastern wa) • White-Headed Woodpecker (central wa) • Three-Toed Woodpecker (high elevation) • Black-Backed (high elevation)   Apodiformes   Swifts     • Vaux's Swift (summer) • Black Swift (summer)       Hummingbirds     • Anna's Hummingbird • Rufus Hummingbird (summer) Perching Birds Passeriformes   Vireos     • Hutton's Vireo • Cassin's Vireo (summer) • Warbling Vireo (summer) • Red-Eye Vireo (summer)       Shrikes     • Northern Shrike (winter) • Loggerhead Shrike (east & south)   Talkers Corvids Crows & Ravens   • Common Raven • American Crow • Northwestern Crow         Magpies   • Black-Billed Magpie (central wa)         Jays   • Stellar's Jay • Western Scrub Jay • Gray Jay • Clark's Nutcracker       Mimids   Mockingbird • Northern Mockingbird (summer)           Catbird • Gray Catbird (summer)           Thrashers         Starlings     • European Starling     Flyhawking Insectivores Waxwings     • Cedar Waxwing (summer) • Bohemian Waxwing (winter, east)       Silky Flycatchers (east coast)             Tyrannid Flycatchers   Kingbirds • Western Kingbird (east & north) • Eastern Kingbird (east & north)           Phoebes • Say's Phoebe (high, central) • Eastern Phoebe (incidental) • Black Phoebe (sound & south)           Myiarchus • Ash-Throated Flycatcher (oregon)           Contopus • Olive-Sided Flycatcher • Western Wood Pewee           Empidonax • Willow Flycatcher • Hammond's Flycatcher • Pacific-Slope Flycatcher • Least Flycatcher (east, north) • Dusky Flycatcher (central, east) • Gray Flycatcher (east)       Swallows   Progne • Purple Martin           Stelgidopter. • Northern Rough-Winged           Petrochelid. • Cliff Swallow • Bank Swallow (east of cascades)           Hirundo • Barn Swallow           Tachycineta • Violet-Green Swallow • Tree Swallow       Gnatcatchers     • Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (oregon)     Tree Gleening Insectivores Kinglets     • Ruby-Crowned Kinglet (white eye-ring) • Gleaning Golden-Crowned Kinglet (face stripes)       Wood Warblers   Vermivora • Orange-Crowned Warbler • Nashville Warbler (high elevation)           Dendroica • Yellow Warbler • Townsend's Warbler • Black-Throated Gray • Hermit's Warbler (southwest) • Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Auduban Pop. yr-rnd)           Geothlypis • Common Yellowthroat           Oporornis • MacGillivray's           Wilsonia • Wilson's           Icteria • Yellow-Breasted Chat           Setophaga • American Redstart (rocky mtns.)           Seiurus • Nothern Waterthrush (rocky mtns.)     Midlevel Tree Gleaners Titmice & Chickadees     • Black-Capped Chickadee • Tree Chestnut-Backed Chickadee • Mountain Chickadee (high elevation)       Nuthatches     • Red-Breasted Nuthatch • White-Breasted Nuthatch (east) • Pygmy Nuthatch (central)       Creepers     • Brown Creeper       Bushtits & Verdin     • Bushtit     Unique Families Bulbulbs             Bananaquits             Pipits & Wagtails             Dippers     • American Dipper (moving fresh water)     Understory Feeders Wrentits     • Wrentit (sw wa)       Wrens   Cistothorus • Marsh Wren           Thryothorus • Bewick's Wren           Troglodytes • Winter Wren • House Wren (summer)           Salphinctes • Rock Wren (sumer, east)           Catherpes • Canyon Wren (east of cascades)       Turdids Bluebirds Sialia • Mountain Bluebird (summer, east) • Western Bluebird (winter central, summer except coast)         Thrushes Myadestes • Townsend's Solitare (elevational)           Catharus • Veery (east) • Hermit Thrush (elevational) • Swainson's Thrush (summer)           Ixoreus • Varied Thursh (elevational)           Turdus • American Robin       Emberizids Towhees   • Spotted Towhee         Juncos   • Dark-Eyed Junco (slate sub-species winter, oregon sub-species year-round)         Sparrows Melospiza • Song Sparrow • Lincoln's Sparrow (winter west, summer east)           Zonotrichia • White-Throated Sparrow (winter, coast) • White-Crown Sparrow • Golden-Crown Sparrow (winter)           Passerella • Fox Sparrow (sooty sub-species)           Passerculus • Savannah Sparrow (summer)           Spizella • Chipping Sparrow (summer) • Brewer's Sparrow (east, summer) • Am. Tree Sparrow (winter, c/e/n)           Pooecetes • Vesper Sparrow (central & east, summer)           Ammodram. • Grasshopper Sparrow (central, summer)           Chondestes • Lark Sparrow (central, summer)           Amphispiza • Sage Sparrow (central, summer) • White-Throated (winter)       House Sparrows     • House Sparrow     Stout Singers Longspurs & Snow Buntings   Calcarius • Lapland Longspur (winter)           Plectrophen. • Snow Bunting (winter, coast, bc & rockies)       Cardinalids Larks   • Horned Lark         Tanagers   • Western Tanager         Icterids Sturnella • Western Meadowlark           Icterus • Bullock's Oriole (summer)           Dolichonyx • Bobolink (summer east)           Agelaius • Red-Wing Blackbird           Euphagus • Brewer's Blackbird           Xanthocph. • Yellow-Headed Blackbird (summer)           Molothrus • Brown-Headed Cowbird           Quiscalus • Common Grackle (summer, east)         Black-Headed Grosbeaks & Tropical Buntings   • Black-Headed Grosbeak • Lazuli Bunting (east, south)       Finches & Crossbills   Coccothra. • Evening Grossbeak           Pinicola • Pine Grosbeak           Loxia • Red Crossbill • White-Winged Crossbill (east, north)           Carpodacus • House Finch • Purple Finch • Cassin's Finch (east)           Carduelis • American Goldfinch • Lesser Goldfinch (oregon) • Pine Siskin • Common Redpoll (east, winter)

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