Ohio Young Birder Conference -

Sammie is the Birdfreak Team’s Illinois young birder. She attended the 5th Annual Ohio Young Birders Club Conference at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center in Columbus, Ohio and writes…

On Friday November 4th my Grandparents got up at the crack of dawn to drive me 400 miles to Findlay, Ohio. After eight hours of driving we met up with my cousin Dakota and aunt Jennie. Immediately when we got there we drove 90 more miles to Columbus, Ohio.

We stayed at the Baymont Inn and got up early but unfortunately the hotel somehow ran out of coffee!!! This was not good for the grownups.

Two early morning events were going on when we arrived. We could either go on a field trip or watch a bird banding demonstration. They weren’t catching a lot but they had a Hermit Thrush so we went to go see it. This was no ordinary Hermit Thrush. It was leucistic meaning some of its feathers completely lacked color.

Leucistic Hermit Thrush

Kim Kaufman began the conference by introducing all the people who helped make the conference possible. There were a lot of great sponsors and volunteers. 108 people registered for the conference from eight states and two countries (U.S. and Canada). I may have been the only Illinois young birder in attendance but I am not sure. The Canadian included Paul Riss who is doing a Punk Rock Big Year.

The most unique thing about the OYBC Conference is that young birders are the speakers. Upcoming posts will include more about these speakers.

We had a good lunch from Metro Cuisine and had some fun with a Bird ID quiz and raffle drawings. Grandpa won a book and a shirt and as luck would have it, the shirt fit me perfectly. Thanks Grandpa!

The conference was really fun and it gave me the opportunity to visit my cousin and aunt in Findlay. I learned a lot despite missing a couple days of school.

Some of the young birders
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