Supporting young birders Young birders everywhere are often isolated from their peers, watching and studying birds all by themselves. So how do you inspire and encourage students from across the continent to discover birding, to get out into the field and improve their birding proficiency and enjoyment, and at the same time connect with other young birders ?
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One of the ways that the American Birding Association (ABA) has found to do just that was to create a contest, the ABA/Leica Young Birder
of the Year (YBY), which would spark their imaginations as well as increase their desire to pursue and develop their own birding skills.
The YBY contest was begun in 1997 with a firm commitment from the ABA Education Program to encourage more young people to become interested in birding and encourage young birders to enhance their entire birding experience, with an emphasis on the development of good field skills. Leica Camera Inc stepped up as the principal sponsor of this exciting new event, with superior optics prizes and a generous scholarship to a youth birding camp for the winners. The YBY has evolved from that first ven- ture, and now consists of four individual modules : field notebook, writing, photo- graphy, and illustration. Participants can customize the contest to reflect their own ornithological interests and the aspects of birding that they find the most compelling by participating in just one or all four of the modules. To qualify for overall YBY, participants must complete the field notebook module and at least two of the others.
birding and ornithology, among them writing, painting,
Distinct from the Field Notebook Module is the Writing Module. Whereas the Field Notebook Module emphasizes
cation skills. And as they scrutinize the proportion challenges when the birds change their position, they are also lear- ning about the way birds move when they sing, eat, and go about their daily lives. Capturing a bird’s particular attitude and beauty along with the successful handling of their chosen media is a charge that these young birders have met with aplomb. The act of putting pencil to paper has become an expression of these
best : “As anyone who has tried bird photography can attest, it can be a difficult proposition to capture the essen- ce of bird life on film (or digital memory cards), but these young birders pulled it off.” The ABA/Leica Young Birder of the Year contest has had over 500 young people enter and
is proud to have Leica Camera Inc as the
Leica Camera Inc has been the
principle sponsor of the ABA Young Birder of the Year program since its beginnings in 1997. Leica is also a proud supporter of the American Birding Association’s Young Birder’s Conventions and Youth Birding Camps. Leica supports these programs by providing high quality optics, by offering scholarships, and by deferring overall costs. This allows more of these talented young naturalists to attend these programs, and learn about their natural surroundings.
www.americanbirding.org/yb/yby
The Field Notebook Module is the primary piece for the YBY. Taking good field notes requires a commitment to time spent in the field, careful observa- tion, attention to detail, and dedication to birds and birding. It is not a stretch to say that most of today’s leading birders and ornithologists kept field notebooks when they were younger. The lessons learned – discipline, organization, clarity, rigor – are vital to so many different careers in
of our creative young birders venture into more imaginative media such as poetry. Being able to communicate well is the key to success in the modern professional world, and the Writing Module provides our young birders with excellent,
The Illustration Module strengthens the participants’ competence as birders as well as their artistry and creativity. As they distinguish the subtle colors of field marks, correct primary extension lengths, and overall bird proportions, they are also bolstering their birding and field identifi-
young birders’ love and enthusiasm for their subjects.
The newest addition to the YBY contest was the Photography Module, introduced in 2003. This module gives young birders yet another avenue to explore birding while boosting their proficiency with their photography. Photographic equipment used by young birders has varied from simple point -
primary sponsor for our young birder education programs.
Lori L. Fujimoto, Education Manager and Ted Floyd, Editor of Birding
Leica and ABA youth birding programs
