Category Archives: Young Birders

BCFO Young Birder Awards 2023

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Once again BCFO is delighted to present this year’s Young Birder Award recipients. As flag carriers for the future of birding they are both notable ambassadors, and outstanding young people. The BCFO Young Birder Award welcomes talented young birders into the BC birding community providing them with recognition, opportunity, encouragement, and mentoring.

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BCFO Young Birder Awards 2022

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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.

2022 is the eighth year of the BCFO Awards Program as we continue to find many young, keen, committed birders from around BC. Each recipient receives a free membership to BCFO until age 18, a memorial plaque, and a stylish BCFO ball cap.

Congratulations go to James Park who joins the ranks of a very talented and growing group of British Columbia young birders.

jamespark

In nominating James, Carlo Giovanella says:

James Park is from Korea, and has been birding around the Lower Mainland for about two years.  When I first met him, at age 13, he told me he came there specifically because he “wanted to be an ornithologist”.  To that end his mother has brought him here so he can get Canadian schooling.  Since arriving he has become known to most of the birding community, as he shows up at all ‘rare’ sightings.

In the field, James is exceptionally motivated and focused.  He approaches bird-finding with skills that are well advanced for his age, and he can identify most birds  immediately by sight and by sound.  He understands when IDs are difficult, and carefully tries to work them out, freely asking and accepting help from others.   James usually birds alone, and submits many reports to eBird, (97 lists, 232 species in 2021) which demonstrates that he finds lots of ‘good’ birds.

I am taking the role of his sponsor/nominator because he generally birds alone, and does not have an on-going relationship with any other BCFO member.  I  have met and interacted with him in the field on three occasions, and each time was impressed by his relative-to-age skills, and the rapid progress he is making.  There is no doubt that this young lad has birding skills well beyond what we would consider a threshold for our Award.

Another BCFO Young Birder Success Story

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Adam Dhalla, Young Birder Award recipient in 2017, has been working hard to merge his love of birds with his love of gaming. The result of his efforts and those of his co-creator, has just been released on the Apple App Store, and on Google Play.

Find the Birds is a free-to-download, free-to-play educational mobile game for all ages about birds & conservation.

Players travel the globe searching for birds and do conservation quests to help them. The first in-game location available in the release is Arizona, USA, and includes the critically endangered California Condor in its line-up of species. The second in-game location will be British Columbia, to be added this July.

Find the Birds is a great way for all ages to learn about nature & science safely during the pandemic in an environmentally friendly way. Games are of course zero-carbon.


Apple App Store full download link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/find-the-birds/id1555789387

Or, you can search for Find the Birds.

Google Play Store download link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ThoughtGenerationSociety.FindtheBirds 

Congratulations to Adam on this significant achievement. And as a footnote, it’s worth recalling that after Adam received the BCFO award in 2017 he went on to become recipient of the 2018 American Birding Association Young Birder of the Year Award.

BCFO Young Birder Awards 2021

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Once again BCFO is delighted to present this year’s Young Birder Award recipients. As flag carriers for the future of birding they are both notable ambassadors, and outstanding young people. 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.

2021 is the eighth year of the BCFO Awards Program as we continue to find many young, keen, committed birders from around BC. Each recipient receives a free membership to BCFO until age 18, a memorial plaque, and a stylish BCFO ball cap.

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Congratulations to Daniel Graca, Evan Larson, Cameron Montgomery, and Sage Pasay the 2021 BCFO Young Birder Award recipients. They join the ranks of a very talented and growing group of British Columbia young birders.

Daniel Graca

In her nomination of Daniel, Melissa Hafting says:

This amazing young man has been birding undetected in the local birding scene for far too long. He’s loved birding since he was a tiny tot. Birding with Daniel and his dad this fall I was amazed by his skill. He picked up a Blue Jay in flight, at a great distance, and described carefully why it was a Blue Jay and not a Steller’s or California Scrub-Jay. Daniel also identifies birds by ear. He follows the BC Rare Bird Alert closely, and with the help of his parents who do the driving, he successfully twitches many of the rarities. He also finds his own rare birds, such as the adult Sabine’s Gull he found and photographed in the Fraser Valley. In the past he’s gone with family to Europe, Mexico and the US to look at birds.

This talented young birder deserves the Young Birder Award for his commitment and his skill.  He raises money for the CWF and OWL, and is passionate about habitat conservation for birds and wildlife. He’s also passionate about bringing awareness to the problem of window strikes and to making homes and windows bird friendly.

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Evan Larson

In her nomination of Evan, Melissa Hafting says:

Evan has been birding since 2017, is tack sharp, but also knows when to consult others on a difficult identification.  He first got interested in birds on finding a Birds of BC field guide that his dad owned. Looking at the list of birds in the back of the book, Evan wondered how many of those he could see in a day. Heading to Reifel one morning, with field guide in hand, he identified a notable thirty-eight species. Pretty good for a beginner! He was hooked right then and there becoming a keen twitcher.

He follows the Rare Bird Alert blog religiously. We have birded together when he began chasing every rare bird reported in the Metro Vancouver area. Not just a twitcher, Evan also loves birding his local patch of Jericho Park, which he does at least 3 times a week. His parents are delighted with his birding passion. Not only travelling to destinations in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewn, Evan has also visited Australia, Belize, and Costa Rica to see birds.

As citizen scientist he reports all his sightings to eBird. Evan is very thorough, patient, and detailed when it comes to birding. He reviews photos posted to eBird and finds many misidentifications made by other birders. Like I said, he is one sharp kid!

Evan is polite, kind, ethical, and is passionate about conservation. He hopes to pursue the field of ornithology, and to do some volunteer work with OWL. He takes beautiful photos and always ensures the birds are given the space and respect they need and deserve.

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Cameron Montgomery

In his nomination of Cameron, Dan Pontalti says:

The first time I met Cameron was at Reifel one spring day a year and a half ago; his excitement in the birds – and especially about seeing new birds – was obvious.  He was keen to learn about the Black Phoebe we saw that day.  I later saw him at Maplewood Flats, and this time he had a decent camera and took some fine shots of a Redhead.  Again, I saw that he was eager to see, and learn about a new bird.  Later, I also saw Cameron, camera in hand, in Stanley Park as we watched a Cassin’s Auklet.  Quite aside from merely twitching new birds, Cameron‘s birding skills will surely grow alongside his camera skills!

From Cameron:

I have been birding for over two years now, and have learned lots about birds along the way. I love to take many pictures of the birds I encounter with my ‘Nikon Coolpix P900’ camera. My favourite time of year to go birding is spring migration, when many of my favourite birds are present in my hometown, Burnaby. One of my most exciting bird sightings was when I discovered 10 Pine Grosbeaks on Mount Seymour.

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Sage Pasay

In his nomination of Sage, Allan Jensen says:

I first became acquainted with Sage in the summer of 2019.  I had heard about her from a naturalist friend of mine who has for many years been exploring and photographing the flora and fauna of Stanley Park.  He told me about this bright young woman who seemed to be a gifted birder.  A few weeks later I encountered Sage out in the field and I could see that she has a real talent for finding and focusing on birds. Over time it became clear that she has a real interest in birds and a talent for spotting and identifying various species. She has passed on info about quite a few of the less common Stanley Park birds to me and others who regularly birdwatch in the area.

Sage has clearly displayed a serious commitment to birds for some time now, and she has developed very good skills in spotting and observing birds.  She has developed a mature and disciplined approach to spending time observing bird behaviour. Also, over the past few months she has devoted a lot of her time in the field to photographing the birds she encounters.

Over the past year or so Sage has been part of the Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES) monthly bird survey of Beaver Lake and Lost Lagoon.  This survey has historically been done by a group.  Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic such group activities have not been possible; Sage has kept the survey going by herself (her parents usually go along to help with spotting and filling out data sheets).

Sage regularly posts her sighting on eBird, often including photos.  In the field she willingly shares sightings and information with other birders.

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BCFO Young Birder Awards 2020

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The BCFO Young Birder Award welcomes talented young birders into the BC birding community providing them with recognition, opportunity, encouragement, and mentoring.

We present Young Birder Awards 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.

2020 is the seventh year of the BCFO Awards Program as we continue to find many young, keen, committed birders from around BC. Each recipient receives a free membership to BCFO until age 18, a memorial plaque, and a stylish BCFO ball cap.

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Congratulations to Nicholas Croft and Gaelen Schnare the 2020 BCFO Young Birder Award recipients. They join the ranks of a very talented and growing group of British Columbia young birders.

Nicholas Croft

Nicholas Croft started birding in 2015 when he was eight years old. His favourite birding places include Tofino, Waterton Lakes and the Okanagan. He recently joined two Young Birder Program field trips to Kamloops and the Southern Okanagan. On these trips he saw many lifers, with the highlight being a family of Great Grey Owls. Nicholas has done one pelagic trip, which he loved and hopes to do more. Nicholas recently helped OWL release an injured and rehabilitated Northern Saw-whet Owl.

His passion for birds was rewarded at the Vancouver Island Regional Science Fair where he won an award for his project assessing winter bird use of the Hope Bay estuary. Nicholas has also contributed to citizen science through the annual CBC4Kids on Pender Island, and helps out with the BC Coastal Waterbird Survey, a program of Birds Canada and Environment Canada.

Birding for Nicholas also has an artistic side. Developing and honing his photography skills has resulted in four photo exhibitions on Pender Island. Nicholas hopes to experience a whole new world of birding when he goes to Australia next year.

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Gaelen Schnare

Gaelen has a deep love for all things bird-related. He is an impressive young person and an impressive birder. Possessing a keen eye and unbridled enthusiasm, he is also very good with a camera; framing and selling his photos at various art shows.

As a citizen scientist, Gaelen contributes his bird observations through eBird, and also posts his natural history observations to iNaturalist. He regularly gives presentations about birds at the annual Creston Valley Bird Festival, and has led tours at that festival for young birders – a mentor already.

Gaelen also gives presentations to local Nelson schools, and participates in the Nelson Christmas Bird Count. This past summer, he and his father accompanied friends to Saskatchewan to bird the Grasslands National Park.

 

BCFO Young Birder Award 2019

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The BCFO Young Birder Program welcomes talented young birders into the BC birding community, and provides them with opportunity, encouragement, and mentoring.

As part of the program, we present Young Birder Awards 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 Executive Committee.

The Awards Program, now in its sixth year, continues to grow as we find many young, keen, committed birders from around BC. Each recipient receives a free membership to BCFO until age 18, a memorial plaque, and a stylish BCFO ball cap.

In 2019 we are very pleased to welcome Sasha Fairbairn, another talented and committed Young Birder to this very talented group of young people. Congratulations, Sasha.

Sasha Fairbairn, Surrey

SashaFairburn

Photo: Melissa Hafting

In common with many of our award winners, Sasha is a committed volunteer. The Sunnyside Acres Heritage Society benefits from Sasha’s involvement in a couple of ways. She helps with their social media web pages, and not surprisingly, is also a birding guide for the society, which welcomes visitors to Sunnyside Acres Urban Forest Park near her home in Surrey.

This past summer Sasha attended the Beaverhill Bird Observatory Young Ornithologists Workshop in Alberta where she learned to band birds, and was able to greatly increase her knowledge of matters ornithological.

Sasha enjoys birding with others and participated in the Manning Park Bird Blitz, which she intends to make an annual event.

Previously Sasha lived in New Zealand and this is where her love of birding developed. And now she has even got her parents interested in birding! She participates in Project FeederWatch, and the Great Backyard Bird Count. She enters her sightings into eBird, and writes her own blog about birds and birding <https://bcbackyardbirds.wordpress.com/>.

Keen to promote conservation of the environment, Sasha is an accomplished writer too. In 2017 she won a youth contest called “A voice for animals” <https://www.hennet.org/docs/contest/winners/2017_Sasha_Fairbairn.pdf>.
She is a great birder with intense passion for the hobby and is a very welcome addition to BCFO’s Young Birder Award recipients.

Young Birder Award winners on Gen Why? TV

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During the International Ornithological Congress held in Vancouver this past August, a number of BCFO’s Young Birders each participated in a very popular and well-attended public presentation.

Following up on this public success, the group was profiled in a Gen Why? TV short feature highlighting the Young Birders Program and this talented, and exciting group of young people.

See our young birders here.

All the Young Birders featured in the video linked above are recipients of BCFO’s Young Birder Award, part of BCFO’s Young Birders Program.

Flesh-footed Shearwater photographed by Young Birder Bridget Spencer on a recent Young Birders Program pelagic trip out of Tofino.

 

BCFO Young Birders fly high at IO Congress 2018

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Photo: Ian Harland

BC Field Ornithologists Young Birders are staged to deliver four incredible talks at the West Exhibition Hall http://www.vanbirdfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Program@AGlance.pdf on Thursday, Aug. 23rd from 1:30-2:30

Adam Dhalla “Shade-Grown Coffee in Costa Rica & its Positive Impact on Birds”

Toby Theriault “Seabirds and Plastic Pollution”

Ian Harland “The Artistic Side of Bird Photography”

Liron Gertsman “The Importance of Photography for Conservation”

Moderated by Melissa Hafting. Please come out to support BCFO youth. Admission to the Expo is only $10 and includes all talks at the Community Theater, access to Exhibitor booths, Artist for Conservation Silent Skies mural and more…