The First Annual Ohio Young Birders Conference

by Bret McCarty, age 13

The Ohio Young Birders Club had its inaugural conference May 26, 2007 after an exciting year of field trips around the state. From lakes to marshes, from leks to forests, the club birded, with success around every bend.

The best young birders in the state launched the club last year with the helpful guidance of Kenn and Kim Kaufman, and the mentoring of some of Ohio’s elite birders.

At Oak Openings Preserve in NW Ohio, the club found all its target birds, Lark Sparrow, Summer Tanager, and Blue Grosbeak. In Holmes County, we found Barn Owls, Virginia Rails, Dickcissels, and Western Meadowlarks. We took a boat ride to North Bass Island on the “Plan B” to look for fall migrants. We went to Killdeer Plains WA to find Rough-legged Hawks, Short-eared Owls, and Lapland Longspurs. And we birded the frigid Lake Erie in search of Iceland and Glaucous Gulls.

The conference was the crowning event for the club’s busy year.

In the morning, we birded the boardwalk at Magee Marsh, where we found migrating warblers, including several Connecticuts, flycatchers, and yellow-billed cuckoos.

Later in the day, we went on an excursion to the Little Cedar Point Wildlife Preserve where we found plenty of cuckoos and warblers.

At the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge’s new visitors’ center, five of the club’s founders addressed a crowd of 80 attendees. Four of them constructed power point presentations. There was also a fairly challenging photo quiz created by Kenn Kaufman. 

Ethan Kistler, 16, of Newton Falls, presented information he learned from Bill Evans of Ithaca, New York, on how to make a parabolic microphone from scratch. He instructed us on ways to identify night flight calls of migrants, and illustrated what the calls looked like with a sonogram. 

Auriel Van Der Laar, 16, of Ottawa County, reported on her research work with Ohio’s rails for the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. Auriel brought along one of the traps she used to capture these seldom seen and mysterious marsh birds. She also showed us where, in Ohio, all of the different traps were being used. 

Phil Chaon, 16, of Cleveland Heights, explained the importance of note-taking and sketching, two valuable talents for the serious birder. Phil also had a couple note-taking quizzes of his own. The prize was a waterproof Write in the Rain notebook. 

The keynote speaker was eighteen-year-old, Andy Bankert, of Melbourne, Florida. He recounted several humorous experiences while birding with Ethan and Phil in Florida, and gave us an update on his ongoing Big Year in the Sunshine State. 

Brad Wilkinson, 16, of Tallmadge, was the Master of Ceremonies. 

Afterward, Kenn Kaufman presented awards to the winners of a fairly challenging photo quiz. He also provided some of his favorite tips for bird identification. 

Kenn’s wife, Kim Kaufman, the club’s adult coordinator, praised the conference volunteers and thanked the parents for their support of “our next generation of ornithologists and naturalists.”

Kim reported having received inquiries from eight other states seeking advice on ways to match the Ohio Young Birders Club’s success.




Page last updated on Friday July 25, 2008