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OYBC founded by the
Black Swamp Bird Observatory
bsbobird.org
May 4 - May 13, 2012
| Upcoming Events: |
| • Magee Marsh Area - IMBD - Sat, May 12 |
| • Birding by Kayak - Sat, Jun 9 |
Recent News:
Reminder about the ABA's Young Birder of the Year contest -
The American Birding Association maintains a blog dedicated to young birders called
The Eyrie. Jennie Duberstein is the ABA Young Birder Program Liaison, and she manages The Eyrie blog.
Jennie created an April 16, 2012 blog post titled Get Your Field Notebooks Ready!
Jennie wrote, "On April 1, 2012 we announced the winners
of the 2012 Young Birder of the Year Contest.
NOW is the time to register for the 2013 contest!"
Read more about this >>
Young Birder in the News - April 5, 2012 story by The Press newspaper titled Young birders willing to travel, become educated, which features student member Kristina Polk and BSBO Education Director Ken Keffer.
Hog Island Camp Openings - The staff at Hog Island Audubon Camp just contacted us and asked us to share this news about their Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens. Even though the website says sold out, THEY HAVE OPENINGS! Due to recent cancellations and no one on the waiting list, openings exist for this exciting camp. They also have a few National Audubon scholarships available too (deadline April 15th). Scholarship Registration.
Mar 30, 2012
Another summer camp and scholarship opportunity - This was just added to the 2012 Summer Birding Camps schedule. Led by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, this summer the Future Scientists are heading to the upper peninsula of Michigan where they will be staying at the Northwoods Field Station run by Hiram College. Activities will include meeting with scientists in the field, hiking, a service project, and an overnight sea kayaking/camping trip on Lake Superior. Read more about this event, including an essay contest that provides scholarship opportunities to held fund the trip.
Deadline looms for ABA scholarships and Cornell Lab event -
The American Birding Association provides scholarships to help young people who are interested in
birds to attend summer camps, workshops, training programs, conventions and other bird-related activities.
For more info, visit the ABA Scholarships website.
For this year's activities, the camp application form, essay, and letter of recommendation must arrive
by April 1, 2012.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s
Young Birder Event is July 19-22, 2012.
The event aims to bring together teenagers who are interested in pursuing a career with birds.
Young birders in high school are invited to complete an application form and return it for review by April 1, 2012.
Mar 26, 2012
Castalia area field trip recap -
10 students and about an equal number of loyal adult supporters attended the March 18, 2012
Feathers and Fins field trip to the
Castalia area. The observant eyes and ears tallied over 40 species of birds. The group got a behind-the-scenes tour of a state fish hatchery,
and they had an incredible experience at "Back To The Wild" Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.
A full report will be available soon.
• report - by Kristina Polk
• photo album 1
• photo album 2
ONWR Auto Tour Dates - Starting on the weekend of April 21 and continuing
through September, the
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge auto tour will be
open on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the third weekend of each month.
Throughout the year, the auto tour is open on the third Saturday of each month and on special events and some federal holidays.
During the month of May, however, the auto tour will be open on the following dates and times:
• May 5 & 6, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• May 12 & 13, dawn to dusk
• May 19 & 20, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• May 28, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Recap of our visit with Richard Crossley - OYBC Student member and Birdfreak blog contributor, Dakota, created a blog post about our February 28, 2012 visit to the Columbus Aubuon where we had an intimate pizza dinner with field guide author Richard Crossley before he presented to a large Columbus Audubon audience. On March 1, Richard posted his thoughts on the OYBC Facebook page about his visit. And here are some quotes from those who attended.
Beginnings of a Young Birder - 2011 OYBC Conference Keynote Speaker Rachael Butek continues to inspire. Here she is featured on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Blog in a post titled Beginnings: A Young Birder Tells Us How She Got Started.
2012 Summer Birding Camps - If you are interested in a summer adventure, view the list of 2012 Summer Birding Camps. The OYBC offers scholarship opportunities to student members interested in attending a camp.
Dinner with Richard Crossley - Field guide author Richard Crossley
will present
to the Columbus Audubon at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, 2012
at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.
He will talk about his approach to identifying birds and do a book signing.
But before his presentation, he wants to meet with the Ohio Young Birders Club.
The OYBC will share a pizza dinner with Richard Crossley from 5:30 p.m to 6:45 p.m. on the same day at GIAC.
Read more about this >>
Recap of CMNH visit at ABA blog - Congratulations to OYBC member Kristina Polk on having her outstanding essay along with numerous photos featured on the ABA Young Birders' Blog, The Eyrie! Kristina's post is titled Worlds Away. It's about the OYBC's January 28, 2012 field trip to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. This is the kind of talent that exists in young birders clubs around the country, and we're thrilled that Kristina lives in Ohio. More inside >>
Winter Blues Blowout 2012 Canceled :( It figures. The wintriest day of the season occurred in the predawn hours on the day of our highly anticipated field trip and potluck to Killdeer Plains and Big Island wildlifea areas. The roads early Saturday morning in northwest Ohio were horrible. We only received a few inches of snow, but the temperature was around 10 degrees, so the snow was light and fluffy. The strong winds ripping through mostly open flatland produced considerable blowing and drifting snow, which kept roads mostly to completely snow covered. Road crews struggled to make progress. On the drive from Toledo to the BSBO before 7:00 a.m., it was hard to tell where Route 2 was at times. We called the Sheriff in the Killdeer Plains area, and he advised us not to make the trip down.
Visit to OSU Museum - On January 21, 2012, the OYBC, led by the Central Ohio Chapter, visited the Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity. Student member Alexander Martin wrote a report about the visit. Field trip participants observed numerous species in the museum's collection, and they watched a recently deceased local Snowy Owl get prepared as a bird specimen for future study. A video about the field trip exists on the OYBC Facebook page.
BSBO to be awarded - The League of Ohio Sportsmen named the Black Swamp Bird Observatory the Conservation Organization of the Year. The award will be presented at the League's 2012 convention in Perrysburg on February 18th. A big "Thank You" goes to all the BSBO partners, sponsors, supporters, and volunteers. The League is Ohio's oldest conservation organization. From the League's website: "The League was organized in 1908 by a group of far-seeing sportsmen to save the remnants of the fast disappearing natural resources of the state." The BSBO founded the Ohio Young Birders Club in May 2006.
Sponsorship Renewal - The Canton Audubon Society renewed its sponsorship of the OYBC. Thank you very much. We're extremely grateful for the support from all of our sponsors. From the CAS's website: "The Canton Audubon Society (CAS) was founded in 1962 and has been a local chapter of the National Audubon Society in Stark, Tuscarawas, Coshocton and Wayne counties since 1981."
