Noted ornithologist Simon Thompson will kick off this year’s Armchair Traveler series at FENCE on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. with “Birds of the World,” an illustrated lecture drawn from Thompson’s years of birding expeditions around the world.

Thompson is a co-founder of Ventures, Inc., an Asheville-based touring company that specializes in birding tours. He has led expeditions to Belize, the Peruvian Amazon, the Galapagos, Greece, France, England and Australia. He is the staff ornithologist at Chimney Rock State Park and is a regular contributor to the Hendersonville Times-News and the Tryon Daily Bulletin.

The Armchair Traveler series at FENCE is offered free of charge with the support of the Kirby Endowment Fund at the Polk County Community Foundation.