The 2025 BCFO Young Birder Award recipients, nominated in 2024, will be featured in the next BC Birding magazine. The BCFO Young Birder Award welcomes talented young birders into the BC birding community providing them with recognition, opportunity, encouragement, and mentoring.
The Young Birder Awards are presented to youth who meet certain qualifications. To be selected for a BCFO Young Birder Award, recipients must be between 11 and 18 years of age, and have:
• exceptional observational and birding skills well beyond the ‘novice’ level;
• shown substantive engagement in the activities of the birding community through their accomplishments, participation, and contributions;
• been nominated and sponsored by a BCFO member, and approved by the Board of Directors.
2025 is the twelfth year of the BCFO Awards Program as we continue to find many young, keen, committed birders from around BC.
Each recipient will receive a free online membership to BCFO until age 18, a plaque, and a BCFO ball cap. Additional benefits may also be provided when arranged.
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Congratulations to Markus Duhme and Yuseon Park, the 2025 BCFO Young Birder Award recipients. They join the ranks of a very talented and growing group of British Columbia young birders.
Yuseon Park
Nominator: Rémi Torrenta
In the nomination, Rémi says:
I would like to nominate Yuseon Park for the Young Birder Award 2025. Since her arrival in Vancouver 2 years ago from South Corea, Yuseon (aka Sunny) has never stopped showing her involvement as a birder, as a young scientist, and as a birder who always wants to improve her skills. Some of her accomplishments, contributions, and engagement with birds and birding in the province include:
– her involvement at her local school in North Vancouver – by promoting stewardship and simple bird conservation measures, but also by creating a young birder club
– her bird photography
– her involvement (with Birds Canada) in the Coastal Waterbird Survey (at Deep Cove), in the Fraser Estuary Key Biodiversity Area Bird Count, and in the Roberts Bank Shorebird Surveys (as a response to the approval of RBT2)
– her involvement in the young birder group managed by Melissa Hafting
– her proactive approach regarding pursuing a career in Ornithology (e.g., one day as a Biologist at Birds Canada, as part of a school program)
I also wanted to add the following contributions:
– regular submission of eBird checklists
– volunteering at VARC banding station (Spring 2024), and at Iona Beach WildResearch banding station (Fall 2023)
Rémi Torrenta
Biologist and BC Projects Coordinator at Birds Canada
Markus Duhme
Nominator: Carlo Giovanella
In the nomination, Carlo says:
I first met Markus and his father, Christian, by chance on a twitch for the Prothonotory Warbler, in December, 2022. I did not see the bird that day, but I did happen to notice a young lad with a big camera, who was most intently engaged in the search. He certainly appeared to know what he was doing, and how to approach the challenge. He noticed various birds appear, and quickly realized they were not the sought target. I introduced myself to the youth and his father, explaining my role with the BCFO and our Young Birder Awards. I told them that Markus was a potential candidate for a future Award, obtained contact information from them, and said that they would hear again from BCFO.
To that end, and nearly two year later, I contacted the Duhmes and suggested we connect again and do some birding. Markus suggested Reifel Refuge, where they are members, so we arranged to meet there. I asked Markus to do an eBird list. He began to record species quickly, as he was able to recognize all the common birds immediately on sight. He knew which less-than-common birds he would like to see and was on the lookout for them. I did not know beforehand if he would meet our expectations for an Awardee, but I was very quickly convinced that he did. He uses both binoculars and camera expertly. He recognizes some bird sounds, and is just learning to match species to more of the calls that he is familiar with.
Marcus posts his photos to various sites and has won several awards. He offered to provide them for this nomination, but I suggested he keep them for eventual presentation in an article for the NBCFO Newsletter, potentially as a Young Birder Awardee. He seemed to be excited about that.
Markus’ father is not a birder, but he is an avid outdoorsman with considerable interest in Markus’ pursuit and very actively supportive.
Bottom line: an excellent candidate, and I am proud, pleased, and privileged to have the opportunity to nominate him.
Carlo Giovanella