A free hunter education course will be offered beginning Monday at Hinds Community College on Mississippi 27 in Vicksburg.

Any hunter born after Jan. 1, 1972, must complete a hunter-education course before purchasing a hunting license. All hunters ages 12 to 16 also must complete a hunter-education course before hunting without a parent or guardian at least 21 years old.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks’ hunter education course includes 10 hours of instruction, including range-firing.

Students must be at least 10 years old to participate and must pass a written exam and complete a firing exercise to be certified. Classes are from 6 until 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and participants must attend each night.

The class will be offered again Oct. 19-21.

Separately, a daylong course will be offered at New Vision Worship Center on Wisconsin Avenue on Nov. 7.

To register for any of the courses, or for more information, contact the MDWFP District 3 Office at 601-859-3421.

Audubon ‘show’

this weekend

Visitors to the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, near Holly Springs, will have the opportunity to witness the migration of thousands of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this weekend as the tiny birds make their annual trek south for winter.

The center will host its 10th Annual Hummingbird Migration Festival today through Sunday.

Expert ornithologists will teach visitors how to attract hummingbirds to their own backyards, among other demonstrations including hummingbird banding. The tiny numbered leg bands allow scientists to track the birds as they migrate. At the 2008 festival, 280 hummingbirds were banded and one bird that had been banded in 2006 was recaptured.

Participants also will have the opportunity to experience a live bat encounter, take guided nature walks and wagon rides and tour the historic Davis House.

The center is at 285 Plains Road. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for children younger than 12. Children younger than 4 will be admitted free. Admission for 12-passenger vans and buses is $7 per person. All parking is free. For more information visit http://strawberryplains.audubon.org or call 662-252-1155.

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Contact Everett Bexley at ebexley@vicksburgpost.com