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
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.
In nominating James, Carlo Giovanella says:
BCFO Young Birder Promotes Kootenay Birding

BCFO Young Birder Award (2020) recipient Gaelen Schnare is expanding his birding passion to promote tourism and birding in the Kootenay.
Check out Gaelen’s video at Nelson and Kootenay Lake Tourism.
And while you’re watching the video, take a close look at his light blue ballcap.
Another BCFO Young Birder Success Story
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 2021 Young Birder on CBC Radio

Cameron Montgomery one of our 2021 Young Birder Award recipients is featured on CBC radio searching for early spring birds in Burnaby. Listen here.
BCFO Young Birder Awards 2021
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

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Cameron Montgomery

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Sage Pasay
In his nomination of Sage, Allan Jensen says:
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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