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Outstanding teens converge on Cornell Lab of Ornithology to learn new skills and how to turn their passion for birds into a career.
Participants  in the 2011 Young Birders Event. Photo by Christopher Wood

Young Birders Flock to Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Teens learn how to turn their passion into a career


For release: July 16, 2012
 
Ithaca, NY—A highly accomplished group of young birders is about to converge on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. From July 19-21, they are attending the Cornell Lab’s annual Young Birders Event, sponsored this year by Carl Zeiss Sports Optics.

Their agenda is packed with opportunities to go birding, and to learn from professional ornithologists and Cornell University graduate and undergraduate students about careers that center on birds. They’ll get to try recording sound and video of birds, learn about Neotropical birds, taxonomy, the night-flight calls of migrants, sketching, and field notes.

A common theme expressed by the ten chosen to attend the event is a hunger for contact with others their own age who are as passionate about birds as they are. “Birds are what I think about during the day and what I dream about at night,” writes an eleventh-grader from Ohio.

Each of the teens has something else in common—they’ve put their passion into action. Many are already licensed bird-banders, lead bird tours, or have set up birding clubs for young people in their area. They are dedicated eBirders, submitting observations to the online checklist program (www.eBird.org), sometimes on a daily basis. They run birding blogs, submit articles to birding newsletters, and enjoy taking pictures of birds. They walk the talk.

And they have big dreams. They want to be field researchers, become involved in wildlife conservation, or teach. They are fascinated by bird diversity, flight, and sound. They have favorites: gulls, owls, warblers. They are as diverse as the birds they love but united in their profound attachment to birds. In some cases, birds have been a bridge to normalcy in the face of injury or illness.

“Many times I was overwhelmed by the task before me and what I was bound to face,” says a Connecticut ninth-grader dealing with serious health issues. “Birds were my allies. I had so many experiences where I was reminded how special life is and how I must fight for mine every day, just like the birds do.”

“These young birders will be the next generation of leaders in ornithology and conservation,” says the Cornell Lab’s Jessie Barry, one of the hosts of the event. “Though we started this event in 2009 as a way to connect young birders with each other and inspire them, we come away just as inspired by their passion and enthusiasm.”

If you know of a promising young birder in grades 9 through 12, tell them about the Young Birder’s Event and have them contact Jessie Barry at jb794@cornell.eduto find out more about the 2013 session.
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Media Contact:
Pat Leonard, (607) 254-2137, pel27@cornell.edu
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a membership institution dedicated to interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds. Visit the Cornell Lab’s website at http://www.birds.cornell.edu.

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