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81 Species At Our Young Birder Trip to Reifel!

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13 youth came out on the Young Birder Trip to Reifel. We had 81 species! I have never seen that many species in one visit at the park! It was a great day for fall migration. We found our own Great Egret and saw many good birds. You can read the full trip report  HERE  at the BC Young Birders website Thank you to all the youth who came out! It was so much fun! Young Birders at Reifel Bird Sanctuary - Photo: Melissa Hafting

I am a mentor for the ABA’s Young Birder of The Year Program

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I was honoured to be a made a mentor for the American Birding Association (ABA) Young Birder of the Year (YBY) Mentoring Program. You can read more about the panel of mentors  HERE  and the YBY mentorship program  HERE !

I was a guest on the Bird Banter Podcast! Listen Here!

I was a guest on the Bird Banter Podcast with Ed Pullen and you can listen to it below and HERE

My book and I are featured in Wingspan Magazine!

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I was honoured to be featured in the new edition of The Wild Bird Trust's Wingspan Magazine. You can read the interview about my new book and work with young birders HERE Nice to see a photo from our recent Young Birder Trip on Aug 10th to Maplewood Flats featured too!

Female Young Birder Photography Workshop with Nat Geo/Girls Who Click and a Young Birder Trip to Maplewood!

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Young Birders attending the Female Nat Geo/Girls Who Click Photo Workshop in Vancouver This weekend we had a fun Young Birder-filled weekend! On Saturday we met up at Maplewood Flats and had a nice walk around the park. We saw 55 species including a fully leucistic Short-billed Gull, Chipping Sparrow and Evening Grosbeaks. A full list of species can be found HERE and our full report at the BC Young Birders website HERE . Young Birders at Maplewood Flats - Photo: Melissa Hafting On Sunday I took part in and co-led a National Geographic and Girls Who Click photo workshop for Female identifying Young Birder/Wildlife photographers for ages 13-18 year olds. I co-led with National Geographic Explorer photographer Gunjan Menon. Gunjan made a famous film on Red Pandas and she discussed her ethical approach to conservation and wildlife photography and taught the girls how to most effectively use their cameras; which was very helpful. The field is mostly male dominated and that is why Gunjan c

Check out my feature in Canadian Geographic Magazine!

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I was honoured to be featured in an interview for Canadian Geographic magazine. You can read the full story HERE

Check out my article with the National Audubon Society about my book Dare to Bird!

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The National Audubon Society interviewed me and did an article about my book. You can read it HERE

Come join me on the female teen young birder photography workshop in Vancouver on Aug 11th!

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On Aug 11-2024, talented National Geographic and Girls Who Click photographer and filmmaker  Gunjan Menon and I are hosting a photo workshop for female identifying or non-binary teen bird/wildlife photographers who are age 13-18 years old. We will be doing a bird walk and give the teens an introduction to conservation photography and storytelling. I will also be giving the girls a talk on local birds. The event is FREE, so there are no barriers to entry for any participants. However, spots are limited so sign up ASAP if you are interested! We will be running this at Stanley Park from 9 am until 2pm. For safety reasons the exact location will be given out directly to you upon registration. Also, if you don't have a camera or smart phone to photograph the wildlife with us, during the workshop, there will be cameras that the youth can use during the outdoor workshop! You can sign up and read more about this event HERE Make sure that your parents fill out the 3 attached waivers at t

Listen to my interview on the American Birding Podcast!

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I was honoured to be on the American Birding Association's " American Birding Podcast , " for the second time today, discussing my book " Dare to Bird " with host Nate Swick. You can listen to the interview in full HERE   or below: By the way you can read all about the checklist changes put out today by the ABA. Some birders may be sad to know they have lost the Hoary Redpoll which has been lumped with Common Redpoll and the new species is simply called Redpoll. Read all the changes HERE

Young Birders Trip to Pitt Lake

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Check out the most recent trip report of the Young Birders trip to Pitt Lake. You can read the great time they had at the BC Young Birders Website HERE Beautiful Grant Narrows, where the youth had their field trip, in Pitt Meadows - Photo: Raymond Liu