Meet Three Promising Young Birders

The future looks brighter when you spend time with kids who love nature. Through my volunteer work with the Birds in the Schools program, I encountered these three young naturalists whose keen interest in birds gives me hope.

The Observer

Sawyer, age eight, started getting interested in birds two years ago, when he noticed a quail that was always following a wild turkey in his neighborhood. That year, he did a book report about Peregrine Falcons. He likes them because they are such fast fliers. He told me they have been recorded swooping down on their prey at over 200 mph!

Last April, on a bird outing for families sponsored by CCBA and Nearby Nature, Sawyer’s talent for spotting birds was obvious. His mom said he “comes alive” when he’s outside. On a family trip to Costa Rica, even their guide was impressed by Sawyer’s ability to find wildlife. 

Sawyer likes to photograph birds with his dad’s camera. He hopes to have a birthday party at the Cascade Raptor Center when he’s a little older and his party guests can be counted on to be calm enough not to disturb the birds. 

As I spoke with Sawyer and his mom, we heard a chipping noise and noticed that a Steller’s Jay was drinking from a water bowl. Sawyer spotted the Anna’s Hummingbird that was harassing the jay. We watched as the jay flew into an oak tree, where the hummer continued to pester it. Clearly Sawyer’s powers of observation and his love of wildlife will continue to be part of his life, even though he doesn’t yet know what he wants to be when he grows up.

The Artist

When I sat down to talk with Landon, a first-grader, he started taking papers out of a large envelope—a few of his many drawings of birds. He named them as he went through: Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, cardinal (“we don’t have those here”).

Landon enjoys using his binoculars: “They make things SO close!” His teacher has a well-used classroom copy of Birds of the Willamette Valley and says Landon loves to look through it.

Landon’s mom says that Landon was really into dinosaurs when he was two. It wasn’t long before he started noticing the birds at their feeder. He was intrigued by their different characteristics and remarked that some were very similar to dinosaurs!

Although the whole family likes to watch birds, Landon’s profound interest has amplified theirs. They have bird books and Landon always wants to know if the bird he’s studying lives in Oregon. They’re hoping to take a trip to see a ardinal so he can view one in person.

The “Plover Lover”

It’s safe to say that most of students in Kelly Stroh’s class are plover fans. Each year, when the Killdeer (a kind of plover) returns to a field by the school, Stroh teaches about them and invites students to make posters. These posters are then placed around the field to help raise awareness and protect the eggs from people and dogs.

When fifth-grade student Hana first learned about Killdeer, it lit a fire in her. She went home, did research, and wrote and illustrated a brochure about them—all before she had even seen any Killdeer!

Hana started coming to school on weekends to see if the eggs had hatched. The other students nicknamed her “The Plover Lover.” Ever since this intense interest bloomed, she’s been getting lots of bird-related presents, including binoculars from her grandfather, a crocheted Killdeer for her keychain, and a pet parakeet from her parents.

In addition to Killdeer, she’s now studying Bald Eagles (“our nation’s bird”) and robins—she likes to watch them turn their heads from one side to another as they walk around so they can see what might be good to eat. When she grows up, Hana would like to be a veterinarian or a wildlife biologist.

If you’d like to have encounters with young animal enthusiasts by joining the volunteers in the schools, please contact me at education@ccbirdalliance.org

By Cecelia Hagen, Board Member