Young Birders Profile...
Spotlight on Lukas Padegimas, age 15

Golden Wings - What year did you start birding?
Lukas Padegimas - I started birding in the second part of 2005- it was either August or September. I don’t remember exactly.

GW - What (or who) got you interested in birds?
LP - I think the two people that got me interested in birding were my Grandmother and Kevin Metcalf. My Grandmother originally got me interested in nature in general. After some time, I became more interested in birds, and soon went on several First Sunday Bird walks led by Kevin. There I saw such a gigantic variety of different birds, that I was amazed and wanted to learn more – and that’s how I got interested in birds.

GW - Do you have a favorite bird, and if so, what is it and what makes it your favorite?
LP - I have several favorite birds. In the chicken family, the Greater Prairie Chicken because they are truly hilarious to watch while doing their mating dances, and try to look really tuff. But as soon as something scares them, they run just like regular farm chickens. I also have two favorite raptors, the Cooper’s Hawk and the Merlin. The Cooper’s is just a bright bird, and the Merlin is an amazingly miniature little raptor with extremely fine features that make it perfect. Both are also great hunters. And then there are Warblers! They are really colorful birds and there are a lot of them. It’s always great to see a Blackburnian.

GW – Do you have any other interests/hobbies besides birding?
LP - I have a lot of hobbies and interests besides birding. (Note do not include – I can elaborate and fill up and whole page with all my interests)

GW – Have you had birding mentors or heroes that helped you?
LP - Yes. Kevin Metcalf made me interested in Birding and lead great First Sunday Bird walks in North Chagrin. Delores Cole was a great help to me in transportation and organization of programs. She is also an extremely nice person who also took the time to take me to Lake View Cemetery where I found my first Merlin.

GW – Where is you favorite place to bird?
Great Black Swamp Area because of its abundance in birds.

GW – What bird would you most like to see, and why?
LP - I’m not sure. One that I would really like to see now would be a Saw Whet Owl. 2007-2008 was a great winter for them and I still didn’t get to see them though, so I really would like to find one.

GW – You haven’t always lived in the U.S., right? Your family is from the Ukraine. How long have you lived in the U.S.?
LP - I have lived here for only 12 years (I’m 14 ½ by the way)

GW – Tell me a little bit about your family.
LP - Well, my mother used to travel and see new places a lot when she was young. Now she doesn’t . My parents aren’t really interested in birds. They still enjoy to take walks in North Chagrin Reservation. I also have a 6 year old brother named Tomas. All of us enjoy going to Broadway musicals and concerts as well as seeing historical places and works of art. One of my Grandmothers, Svetlana Gavrilovna, lives in Ukraine. She is really interested in not only the arts and history, but also birds. She is learning more about birds in Ukraine and also has a naturalist friend who is British and is one of the several people that actually documented birds in Ukraine.

GW – You speak English very well, but, your family is still learning the language. Was it hard for them to understand your interest in birds and nature? What do they think of it? Are they supportive of your interest?
LP - I guess my family knows English well at this point, except for pronunciation for my mother’s side. My parents are fine with me birding because they were once also interested in nature, but at a much lesser extent. The only problem they have is waking up at an early time to wake me up (Cause the alarm clock doesn’t) to bird, or give me a ride early in the morning if no one else can. My parents are defiantly appreciative of my interests, yet they don’t let me go birding far away when its really cold in the place I am going to or invest huge sums of money for great equipment – that I have to get my self.

GW – Were you interested in birds while you were still in the Ukraine, or did that happen after you arrived in the states?
LP - I’ve last been on Ukrainian soil in the last millennium (2000) , so I wasn’t too interested in birds at that time – except attempting to catch some sleeping pigeons. Darn, they always woke up before I was close enough to catch them (I was a little 5 year old then)

GW – What do you remember about the birds or about outdoor experiences in general in the Ukraine.
LP - Well, I remember when my Grandmother and I would walk to the pool at 5 in the morning, there would be a bunch of sleeping pigeons – and I would try to catch them, but they always woke up. One day, there was an owl with them – a small really strange owl, but it was an owl alright. I remember it really well for some reason. We commonly went to the city park which was located by the River Dnieper. There were lots of stray dogs we would feed scraps to. I also fed squirrels and chickadees during the winter (when I was 3)

GW – Are any of your friends birders? If not, how do you handle that?
LP - No, none of my friends are really interested in Nature. So, I generally don’t bring the subject up.

GW – Have you taken any birding trips out of state?
LP - I have been out of state several times, but I only went on one birding trip that was not in Ohio. It was a Young Birder’s trip in 2007 to see Prairie Chickens in Illinois.

GW- If you could go anyplace in the world to see a bird, where would you go and what bird would you look for?
LP - I would probably go to some secluded Island in South East Asia, where there are plenty undiscovered birds, and I would probably look for any colorful and interesting individuals there – probably some bright species of Parrot.

GW – Have you attended any birding conventions or conferences, and if so, what were they?
LP - I haven’t attended many. Just the Young Birder’s Conference in May 2007, and a Kirtland Bird Club meeting.

GW – In your experience, what do most people your age think about birding? And if their view of birding isn't totally positive, what can we do to change that?
LP - In my opinion, many people think that birding is boring/ /waste of time. I do not believe that there is much to be done to change these views in people my age. However, younger people – especially when they are in fifth grade should be introduced to birding and see either colorful warblers if its not too hard, or just interesting birds as a whole. However, their names have to be easily remembered and the birds should provoke interest. I believe that starting from 2nd or 3rd grade, students should have more field trips and learn about amphibians or insects (they would probably be too young to be fully interested in birds). That way, they would progressively become more interested in Nature and Wildlife and look into more complex and diverse wildlife such as birds when they grow older.

GW- What would you say to someone to convince them to be a birder?
LP - Its fun! You should try doing it before you judge the subject. Why not get some binoculars and a field guide and during your spare time go and look at a few interesting common species. (I would also probably say about the large amount of birds living in Ohio, and also show some pictures of colorful warblers to show the person that they don’t have to go to the tropics to witness such amazing sights)

GW - Where do you go to school?
LP - Mayfield High

GW- Besides the OYBC, what other organizations do you belong to?
LP - Kirtland Bird Club

GW - Do you have a job somewhere?
LP - Yes, I help a millionaire friend carry furniture he fixes, and get money for it.

GW - What is your dream job?
LP - There are many. 1. Be an elected leader of a nation 2. Be a curator in a museum (doesn’t matter if it is a museum dealing with history and arts or nature) 3. Be a star on Broadway 4. Be a diplomat or part of a diplomat’s entourage 5. Be a tour guide in the tropics. Or, better yet, be able to inherit my Great Grandfather’s large estate, palace included, after numerous law suites, and also get lots of money elsewhere and just travel the world with my future wife.

GW- If your dream job isn’t related to birding, do you think you will still be a birder once you have your dream job?
LP - I will definitely find time in my busy schedule to bird because it is fun, and I always find time for entertainment.

GW- If so what do you think having the hobby of birding will bring to your career?
LP - Having any interest, birding included generally makes life much more fun and exciting. My job will probably not be effected though.

GW – Do you have a favorite book, and if so, what is it?
Yes, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

GW – Do you have a favorite movie, and if so, what is it and why?
LP - Phantom of the Opera – the awesomest musical you can see on television. The music is great and the whole movie over all is breathtaking.

GW – Are you interested in any other natural science areas besides birds?
LP - Yes. I’m interested in any natural science that I can see with my eyes without a microscope.

GW- Have you taken any birding classes/courses?
LP - There are none offered in my school district.

GW- Are you involved with any birding projects?
LP - Yes. In North Chagrin I will help with the Spring Birdwalks. Also in North Chagrin I will be helping some naturalists find Woodcocks and document their populations in the park and surrounding areas.

GW – Do you keep a life list, and, if so, how many birds are on it?LP - Yes, I do keep a life list. There are currently 179 birds in it. I know its not a lot, but I don’t live near any great birding hotspots and I can not drive yet.

GW – Has becoming a member of the OYBC changed birding for you? If so, can you describe or explain how.
LP - Yes, it defiantly has. Before becoming a member of OYBC, I only birded in North Chagrin Reservation. There, during the last five months before I joined OYBC, I never got life birds anymore because I generally knew most of the birds living in the parks forests and meadows during all the seasons except for summer. However, as soon as I join OYBC, I have seen sooo many new birds, its hard to even imagine. Also, I grew more serious about birding, and much more interested in conservation then ever before.

GW- Besides the monthly field trips and annual conference that we schedule, what else can the OYBC offer to their members?
LP - I think that OYBC should provide birders some equipment to barrow in exchange for writing for the newspaper or doing other beneficial jobs for the club. I also think that there should be more long distance field trips and there should be more field trips in general.