Congratulations to Amelia Preston and Dallas MacNeill, the 2026 BCFO Young Birder Award recipients. They join the ranks of a very talented and growing group of British Columbia young birders.

Amelia Preston

Nominator:  Tanya Tripp

In the nomination, Tania says:

I would like to nominate Amelia Preston for a Young Birder Award to recognize, support and encourage her enthusiastic dedication to birding. I am a BCFO member who has knowledge of the candidate, their birding skills, and their contributions to the birding community. I have known Amelia for 10 years and have watched her develop into a talented young birder. Amelia has been assisting with Western Screech-owl nest box monitoring with her mother via Habitat Acquisition Trust, and with my efforts in the Cowichan Valley since she was 5. She has been an annual visitor at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory, Pedder Bay owl banding station for as long as I can recall. At 15, her birding skills have far surpassed the novice level. I would consider Amelia’s birding skills to be very strong both in visual and audio identification. She sets annual goals for herself to continue to improve on her skills and Life List.
Just as important as solid ID skills, she is self motivated to learn all about bird ecology and biology. Last year I engaged in a conversation with her on the source of the Latin names for birds and the history / insight the name can provide. I am also impressed with the time that she dedicates to bird ID preparation prior to traveling to other countries.
To date, her contributions to the birding community include submitting 3,216 eBird checklists over the last 8 years, participating in 4 Christmas Bird Counts and 12 Global Big Day Counts. This year for the Duncan CBC, Amelia was on my team and did a great job being in charge of our eBird lists as well as contributing to spotting and counting the birds and identifying them. Her life list is already at 1,308 having been able to travel to many countries with her parents with the focus on birding.
Thank you for considering my nomination of Amelia Preston for a Young Birder Award..

Dallas MacNeill

Nominator: Ann Nightingale

In the nomination, Ann says:

Dallas has been a volunteer for Rocky Point Bird Observatory since 2022. As his birding skills and interest have increased, he has become a valuable observer and scribe, sometimes deftly managing the data from two banders simultaneously. In 2025, he began training to safely handle birds at the Pedder Bay station. He has also helped out behind the scenes at our annual bird monitoring workshop.

Dallas is a regular participant in RPBO’s monthly Outerbridge Park bird walks and often keeps the eBird list for the group. He has the ability to hear or see the birds before others and is happy to share his sightings with all of the birders. Dallas is a member of the Swan Lake Christmas Bird Count team for the Victoria Count circle and we look forward to his continued contributions in years to come. We’ve seen his skills improve greatly in the last few years and know he has a great future in birding!