Latest news with #ornithology
Arab News
15 hours ago
- Arab News
How Saudi Arabia's quails became both a delicacy and a conservation priority
JEDDAH: At dawn over the Arabian Peninsula, the sky comes alive with birds tracing ancient migratory paths through Saudi Arabia — a natural crossroads linking East Asia, Europe and Africa. They are more than mere travelers. They serve as sensitive indicators of ecosystem health, playing vital roles in seed dispersal, plant pollination and insect control — all essential for maintaining ecological balance. Among the many species passing through is the small but mighty quail. Though modest in size, quails carry outsized environmental and cultural significance, deeply woven into the region's heritage. 'Quail' is a general term referring to various genera of small, ground-dwelling birds in the order Galliformes — the same group that includes chickens, leading Saudi ornithologist and biodiversity expert Hany Tatwany told Arab News. Globally, quails are classified into two groups: Old World quails and New World quails, with around 130 species found across Europe, Asia and Africa. 'Quails are similar in size to doves, and their rounded shape resembles that of a partridge,' said Tatwany. 'They typically live in social groups called coveys, especially outside the breeding season.' These coveys often include a breeding pair and their young, sometimes merging with other families during key times of the year. 'This behavior reflects their gregarious nature and cooperative instincts,' Tatwany added. Quails are omnivores, feeding on grains, plant buds and insects. They breed in Europe and Central Asia before migrating south to Africa for the winter. Saudi Arabia serves as a critical stopover on both legs: 'They cross the Kingdom on both journeys,' said Tatwany. Upon arrival, quails settle in fields and wild areas with dense grass cover, where they hide during the day and continue migrating by night. Saudi Arabia's geography places it on one of the world's most critical bird migration routes. The Kingdom acts as a seasonal refuge for hundreds of species, with 550 recorded to date — including 219 breeding birds, 280 migratory species, and 51 vagrants. Of these, 27 are listed as globally threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Thirteen bird species — including various quails — are found nowhere else other than in or near the Arabian Peninsula, further underlining the region's biodiversity. Tatwany, widely recognized as Saudi Arabia's first wildlife veterinarian, with over 36 years of experience, highlighted how quails call and crow nonstop while hiding, 'indicating their presence in the area' to other birds. 'They do not flush except when approached very closely,' he said. 'If alerted, the rapid flapping of their wings produces a distinctive sound. They usually flee a short distance and stay in the area, especially if the grass is dense and thick.' Unfortunately, these traits have made quails vulnerable to hunters. Along migration routes, they are often targeted using firearms, nets and devices that mimic quail calls to lure them into traps. Rising threats have prompted Saudi Arabia to introduce laws to protect both quail species. 'In the Kingdom, hunting quail is illegal,' said Tatwany. The fine for failing to comply is SR1,500 ($400) per bird, while the estimated compensation value is SR3,000 for the common quail and SR7,000 for the harlequin quail. 'In Saudi Arabia, two species of quails have been recognized: the common quail, known scientifically as Coturnix coturnix, and the harlequin quail, Coturnix delegorguei,' said Tatwany, who co-founded the Kingdom's ungulate breeding program and has led major wildlife reintroduction efforts. The common quail measures 16-18 centimeters in length, with a wingspan of 32-35 centimeters and a weight of 70-155 grams. It is both a migrant and partial breeder in Saudi Arabia. 'This species occurs throughout the Kingdom during migration seasons in March-April and September-October,' said Tatwany. 'It also overwinters in some areas and breeds in patches, particularly in the central regions. The best place to see the common quail is in Haradh.' The harlequin quail, slightly larger at 16-19 cm and weighing 49-95 grams, is a resident breeder. 'It is best observed in the southern Tihamah grasslands and in Sabya in the Jizan Area,' said Tatwany. Quails nest on the ground in shallow scrapes lined with grass and leaves. The male defends the territory while the female builds the nest and cares for the eggs and chicks. A female typically lays between eight and 13 eggs, which hatch after 17 to 20 days. The chicks leave the nest shortly after hatching and begin flying about 19 days later. Known for being extremely cautious, quails are more often heard than seen. The male frequently produces a rhythmic series of calls that repeat every few seconds. Quails have a long history of interaction with humans, especially as a food source. Today, they are farmed domestically. Quails live in 'coveys,' social groups of adult pairs and their young that flock together in dense grasslands. They respond to each other's calls, a behavior exploited by illegal hunters using calling devices. Commercial quail farming began in Saudi Arabia in the 1980s, initially to feed falcons and later as a culinary delicacy. While several species have been domesticated worldwide, the common quail remains the primary type used in farming. Due to their size and high egg yield, Coturnix quails are highly valued in poultry production. 'This breed has more meat and lays more eggs than the others,' said Tatwany. 'The poultry industry in the Kingdom started around the late 1970s to early 1980s, mainly as feed for falcons used in falconry, serving as a preferred substitute for pigeons. 'This also marked the beginning of quail meat and eggs becoming available in commercial outlets within the Kingdom for human consumption. Additionally, quail recipes have become increasingly popular in Saudi cuisine.' Quail eggs, in particular, have gained favor in Saudi kitchens. Their small size, delicate flavor and high nutritional value make them a staple ingredient in both traditional and modern dishes. They appear in appetizers and salads, adding both taste and nourishment. In main courses like kabsa and mandi, quail eggs often top rice and meat dishes, lending color and flavor. They are also featured in dishes such as masabeeb and qursan and are popular as boiled or fried snacks. Nutritionally, quail eggs are rich in protein, vitamins A, B and D, and essential minerals such as iron and phosphorus — making them a small but powerful addition to the Saudi table. Efforts to protect quails are part of a broader initiative led by the Saudi National Center for Wildlife. Its Bird Management Division surveys bird species and their distribution across the Kingdom, focusing on protected and proposed conservation areas, biodiversity hotspots, and wetlands. By studying migration routes, species abundance, and spatial distribution, the division aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of Saudi Arabia's avian biodiversity.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
A Charming $4.2 Million Maine Cabin Once Belonged To The Real-Life James Bond
Bond Camp, located in Mount Desert, Maine, recently listed for $4.2 million. When author Ian Fleming was working on his character James Bond, he took inspiration from real-life spies from his time in the British Naval Intelligence during World War II, wartime figures, diplomats, and other covert figures. But few know that Fleming directly got inspiration for his titular character's name from the real-life James Bond. While writing his now-famous series at the luxury Goldeneye resort in Jamaica, Fleming was reading the book 'Birds of the West Indies' by James Bond, a renowned 20th-century American ornithologist. Fleming poached the author's name, thinking it would be a great name for a spy. Funnily, Fleming and the real James Bond had much in common: both were educated in England and had a particular love for the Caribbean, including Jamaica. Bond split his time between the Caribbean, Philadelphia, and Maine where he researched birds and wrote books. The main cabin. According to author Jim Wright's book 'The Real James Bond,' Bond and Fleming met unexpectedly in Jamaica and engaged in friendly conversation. It was during that conversation that Fleming revealed to the real Bond that he wove subtle clues about his identity into his text, often referencing the field of ornithology and the fictional spy's passion for birds. Not by coincidence, a birdwatcher in British lingo is another name for a spy. The large deck overlooking the water. While the real Bond, who died in 1989, shared an identity with one of the most famous fictional characters in history, he found a name for himself in his own right. The celebrated ornithologist wrote several books on birds and was the definitive expert on birds of the Caribbean. He was also the nephew of Carroll Sargent Tyson, an American painter and art collector most famous for his bird lithographs. From the time Bond was born until he died, he spent every summer in Mount Desert Island in the southeastern part of Maine and also the state's largest island. He owned a large cabin-style property called Bond Camp, which was recently listed for $4.2 million by the current seller. The secluded cabin offers true rustic charm in one of the country's most unspoiled locations. There are four cabins on the property. The private wooded parcel sits on 15.7 acres with 785 feet of shorefront on Pretty Marsh Harbor. Woven within the natural forest, thickets of woodland, and wildflowers, there are four modest cabins connected by pathways with a total of five bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and a half bathroom. The main cabin has a charming living space with vaulted ceilings, a granite boulder fireplace, dining area, kitchen and large deck overlooking the water. The additional cabins offer modest bedrooms, all which face either the woodland or water. It's a great compound for those who crave solitude or for larger families looking to escape the city, as there are several rooms with double beds. There's also a windowed artist studio. An artist's studio overlooks the water and forest. Finally, the property has a deep-water dock and moorings, granite outcroppings, a gravel beach area, and pathways throughout the sprawling acreage. The property is also near the villages of Mount Desert and Tremont, offering easy access to town. Bond Camp is listed with Story Litchfield of LandVest|Christie's International Real Estate.
The Guardian
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
How to become a birder: 10 easy ways to start this life-changing hobby
I'm assured this is a big deal: on the far side of a field in Thetford, separated from me by a gate, there is a stone-curlew. Jon Carter, from the British Trust for Ornithology, patiently directs my binoculars up, down and past patches of grass until my gaze lands on an austere-looking, long-legged brown bird. 'Quite a rare bird,' Carter says, pleased. 'Very much a bird of the Breckland.' As a very beginner birder, I'll have to take his word for that. My interest was sparked early this summer when a friend introduced me to Merlin Bird ID. Developed at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, the app records birdsong and uses artificial intelligence to identify particular species – like Shazam for birds. Merlin has added a new dimension to my walks, sharpening my awareness of wildlife I'd ordinarily have tuned out. I can now identify one bird by song alone (the chiffchaff – it helpfully says its name). Having surged through the pandemic, birding may be taking off once more. Merlin has recently been shouted out on the ultra-cool NTS radio station and on Instagram by Sarah Jessica Parker, while The Residence, the recent Netflix whodunnit from Shonda Rhimes' production company, features a birdwatching detective. Birding not only gets you outdoors and moving, but engages you in nature; both benefit mental and physical health. A 2022 study found that everyday encounters with birdlife were associated with lasting improvements in mental wellbeing. Even simply hearing birdsong can be restorative. But how do you go from noticing birds to becoming a full-blown birder? Carter and other experts took me under their wings. Carter is leading me through the BTO's Nunnery Lakes reserve, just south of Thetford in Norfolk. Sixty species of birds breed here between March and August, and more stop over. In just 20 minutes, we spot a dozen or so, including a charming family of great crested grebes. Many birders practise 'patch birding', focusing their entire practice on just the one area, Carter tells me: 'It's quite addictive.' He discovered birding aged 11, when his family moved close to the RSPB's Leighton Moss nature reserve in coastal Lancashire. 'Suddenly, birds became the absolute focus.' But even urban areas teem with birdlife. Nadeem Perera, an RSPB ambassador and co-founder of the birding community Flock Together, got hooked after spotting a green woodpecker in a suburban London cemetery. 'I couldn't get over how strikingly beautiful this bird was, and moreover, that it was on my doorstep,' he says. At the time, Perera was 15 and had just dropped out of school. He was feeling hopeless and disengaged. The woodpecker represented hope and possibility. 'All I knew was that being exposed to birds in their natural environments made me feel good – so I kept on going.' Fifteen years later, Perera can confidently identify most birdsong in London. With more than 600 bird species recorded in the UK, Carter suggests starting with those you're most likely to encounter locally. A field guide such as Collins Bird Guide is the best way to familiarise yourself with different types of birds and helpful vocabulary. By learning a little about the taxonomies – and what distinguishes, say, a passerine (perching bird) from a petrel (seabird) – 'you very quickly learn how to describe the birds you see,' Carter says. But don't feel pressure to become an expert, he adds. 'People can just enjoy being in nature because it's valid and valuable.' Amy Tan, the bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club, became a 'back yard birder' in 2016, following Donald Trump's election. 'It was so depressing – I needed to find beauty again in the world,' she says. At the time, Tan was 64. Birding brought her calm and a refreshed perspective, 'getting distracting and distressing elements out of my head so I could continue with my day'. Soon she became 'obsessed' with birds; at one point, she even stored live mealworms in her fridge. In her book The Backyard Bird Chronicles (a US bestseller, to be published in the UK in August), Tan captures her visitors with whimsical descriptions and drawings. She can now identify more than 70 species – but that knowledge came gradually, she says. 'If you take on too much at once, it's overwhelming, and then you just don't want to do it any more.' Naming birds 'does not have to be a criteria' to enjoy them, she adds. 'It's a very democratic hobby, or passion – or obsession.' Technology can be a gateway to green spaces, as demonstrated by my experience with Merlin Bird ID. It's useful for engaging young people in particular in the natural world, Carter agrees – and perhaps more realistic than urging them to leave their phones at home. The Collins Bird Guide is also available as an app for on-the-go referral (though most birders seem to use the app alongside the hard copy, since the book is easier to browse). Carter also recommends the BTO's free app BirdTrack, which allows users to record their sightings, review those of others, and contribute to research. Some people prefer eBird, which, like Merlin, comes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Though apps can augment birders' experience in the field, they can also distract from it. Carter says Merlin is best used in addition to your own instincts and identifications, rather than as a replacement – not least because 'it's not 100% accurate'. And by immediately reaching for the app to ID a bird sighting or song, you also risk skipping over steps that would make that knowledge stick or feel earned. I have now started using Merlin only after making my best guess as to what species I'm hearing. I am usually wrong (unless it's a chiffchaff) – but I feel as if I'm training my ear. Birding requires patience, which is at odds with our on-demand culture, Perera points out. That's 'one of the great things' about it – but it can be a tough adjustment. 'This isn't Netflix. There's every chance that you will see nothing. Then you realise: 'Oh, wow, the world actually doesn't happen on my terms,'' he says. 'It humbles your ego a little bit. But it makes you very appreciative of those magical moments when you do see the bird that you're after.' Birding is a widely accessible, even generally free pastime – 'but if you want to do it to a certain standard, you need to buy a pair of binoculars,' Carter says. As a one-off expense, it's worth putting in the time to find a pair that suits your purposes (and ideally try before you buy). Magnification is not the only consideration, Carter says; some have a brighter picture, but might be less sharp. Weight and size are also important. 'It's about finding ones that feel right in your hand.' Premium-brand 'bins', such as Leica and Zeiss, go for more than £1,000. (An AI-assisted pair made by Swarovski – yes, like the crystal – will set you back £3,695.) Budget models have come a long way, but Carter warns against scrimping: 'You're not going to get anything under £150 or £200 that's even really useful. But once you've got it, you're done.' Think of it as an investment, echoes Sam Walker of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) charity. 'You don't have to spend thousands, but it's really key. Even if it's just a small pair of field binoculars, they're going to set you up for decades into the future.' He suggests buying top brands secondhand, available at a fifth or even a tenth of the price of new. Walker's own binoculars and telescope are probably more than 10 years old, 'but it's still great-quality glass'. Birding is often a solitary pursuit, but it doesn't have to be. 'It's a more social hobby than you'd think,' says Walker. He got into birding six years ago when he started working at the WWT, and says the best way to learn is by going out with people with more experience. 'It's much easier to identify birds and retain information, because you've got others there to bounce ideas off. I'm always really keen to not be sat in a bird hide, on my own, in the dark.' Nature reserves and organisations such as the BTO and the RSPB put on birding walks, talks, training courses and events. Joining a local bird club is also a great way to meet like-minded people. Birding may still be dominated by older, white men – but that is changing. The BTO and RSPB both have youth wings, while groups such as Birds & the Belles and Birding for All are working to make the pastime more inclusive. Perera and Ollie Olanipekun co-founded Flock Together in 2020, as a 'birdwatching club for Black and brown people'. Five years on, it holds monthly birdwatching walks and has chapters in Tokyo, Toronto and New York. 'Don't let anybody intimidate you, or make you feel as though you don't belong,' says Perera, who is of Sri Lankan and Jamaican heritage. 'They're just scared that you're going to be better at it than them.' Birders love to log their sightings: the most common records are 'year lists', covering the calendar year, and 'life lists' that include everything. Walker's 2025 list is currently at 130 species, sighted around his Gloucestershire home – but he knows birders with life lists tallying 600-plus. 'You can imagine the amount of time and money that they've spent travelling around.' Many birdwatchers will go to great lengths to secure rare spots. 'It just adds a little bit of magic sparkle to your birding year, and builds up that life list as well.' But even patch-birders, focused on their local area, can get a bit obsessive about trying to catch 'em all, Walker admits. 'People get worried about going away on holiday.' While some structure or system can support your developing hobby, Carter discourages being too focused on outcomes. 'I've seen quite a few young people get into the rarity, list-building thing.' Earlier this month, a Pallas's reed bunting was spotted on Fair Isle in the Shetlands – only the fifth sighting recorded since 1976. Though the bird itself is small and unshowy, excitement levels were high: 'A mostly monochrome masterpiece, this was the stuff of birding legend,' wrote the Rare Bird Alert newsletter. Carter recalls: 'straight away, people were trying to figure out if they could get charter flights, whether there were any boats running …' He advises slowing down. 'Take your time; learn to really love birds.' Tan decries some birdwatchers' elitism, and dismissal of common species. 'They'll call a starling or sparrow a 'junk bird'; I think that's horrible.' She approaches birding as a practice of observation, and even mindfulness. 'You can start noticing what a bird is doing – these ordinary behaviours that we don't always pay attention to.' Tan also studies the pecking order playing out at her feeders. 'Trying to decipher the relationships – that's part of the fun,' she says. Drawing each bird pushes her to focus on easily missed details such as bill shape or foot colour, and 'the way that each individual bird is actually constructed'. Keeping a journal or a diary (as The Backyard Bird Chronicles began) helps 'anchor' her practice, Tan says. 'It's a good brain exercise, if you're a writer, but also just for remembering the things that made your life so meaningful and joyful.' Once you're familiar with your patch and its regulars, you can start attuning yourself to seasonal variations. Many migratory birds arrive in the UK during the spring, staying for the summer and leaving just as winter visitors are descending. The time of day and the weather affect sightings, too. Birdlife is typically most active at dawn and dusk. While rain can worsen visibility and make some species less active, it enlivens others and causes them to fly closer to the ground, making them easier to spot. Strong onshore winds can blow seabirds towards the coast from open water, and cause migratory species from North America, Europe or Asia to make a pit stop on British shores. Just a short drive or train ride can transport you to a different habitat hosting unfamiliar species, Walker says. 'Even in London, you can get out to heathland or down to the coast.' The eBird and BirdTrack apps, alerting on recent sightings and particular hotspots, can give you a sense of what to look for – but in general, Walker says, 'being out and always birding is the best place to be'. As well as offering an escape from screens, work and day-to-day stresses, birding can deepen your investment in nature. You might notice the changing climate in your area, or get involved in local efforts to protect green spaces. 'It connects you to it, so you care about it, and you're concerned when someone wants to fill in your local pond or build a road through woodland,' says Carter. You can contribute to science and conservation efforts by logging sightings on BirdTrack, adding to a national database of 'what's where and when'. The BTO also conducts regular projects and surveys – of wetland birds, breeding birds or garden birds – involving thousands of volunteers each year. Even beginners can play a part, says Carter. 'Every record is of some value: if you identify only half the birds you saw, that half is still really useful. You don't have to be an expert in telling one weird wader apart from another weird wader – there are always people who are good at that.' The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan is published in the UK by Corsair (£20) on 7 August
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
The Cuckoo's Lea by Michael Warren review – a magical ornithological history of Britain
Old place names recall old ways of belonging. They often reference characteristics of the land or its use, the people who lived there, or the non-human lives they were enmeshed with. A great many of these vivifying genii loci are birds, although their identities aren't always obvious because language evolves over time. We need a guide. Enter Michael Warren: teacher of English, amateur ornithologist and a man who lives in a Britain different to the one most of us inhabit: a medieval one, which by some magic has 'survived in another dimension parallel to our own'. The gift he bestows in this gorgeous book is that, by the end, we live there too, newly able to read the growth rings of place, and to perceive an alternative land shimmering over the one we already know. The secrets lie in plain sight and plain speech, spelled out on maps, road signs and along urban streets: toponyms invoking cranes and crows, hawks and geese, eagles and owls, swallows and the geac – an old name whose plural geacs became the Ex of Exbourne (Devon) and the Yax of Yaxley (Cambridgeshire). That bird, unlikely as it may seem, is the cuckoo. I've just spent a week in the species' stronghold of Dartmoor, hearing them close to our tent and recognising for the first time, thanks to this book, their neurotic yikker and throat-clearing 'gowk', which is still the bird's northern and Scots name. Some may already know that the eco of ecology and economy is from the Greek oikos, meaning 'home'. But go back further, explains Warren, and we reach a proto-Indo-European root word ueik, which via the Old English wic also gives us wick, a word relating to settlement: literally, a place where life happens. For our forebears, birds often were that life, a presence that turned space into place: the cuckoo clearing (Yaxley), owl valley (Ousden), buzzard stone (Wroxton), jackdaw stream (Cabourne); woodpecker pool (Finmere), cranes' brook (Cranbrook). Warren's wordcraft is sublime. His description of a perching tawny owl, for example: 'In the monochromatic shades of night, sharpened to high contrast by the glare of intrusive light [its] eyes are sunless planets … two gaping bores, as though someone blew the night clean through the back of its skull.' If there is something of The Peregrine author JA Baker in that example, Warren's style is more textured and generous, weaving fascination, family life, and lightly carried expertise. There are other voices too: those of naturalists, writers and a gamekeeper-turned-goose-guardian who accompany him on some of his quests, plus the time-worn words of poets, scribes, monks and scholars. Of particular importance are 131 sheets of bound vellum held by Exeter Cathedral since at least AD1072. The Exeter Book contains almost all we have of Old English poetry and the earliest written mention of many of our birds. The bird most often invoked in English toponyms is not the cuckoo, nor the ubiquitous crow. It is the crane – a species we lost for a few centuries and whose persona now seems hitched to ideas of unpeopled wilderness. It was not always so, suggests Warren. While cranes have been elevated by rarity, gulls were once quasi-angelic, their clinging to inhospitable coastal rocks evoking the monks who established their cells at the extreme edges of these islands. Now diminished in popular perception, they are seen as gutter-life, scavengers on the trash-tides of our consumerism. Given the loss of many of the birds Warren references from the places named after them, this book comes to seem like a long-form prayer of sorts, a eulogy – or, to put it another way, a recalling of fire from embers. No journey in Britain will be quite the same again. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion The Cuckoo's Lea: The Forgotten History of Birds and Place by Michael Warren is published by Bloomsbury Wildlife (£20). To support the Guardian order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gahanna teen wins national honor from American Birding Association
GAHANNA, Ohio (WCMH) — A central Ohio teenager has received the nation's top honor for his outstanding efforts in the world of birding. Killian Sullivan, a 13-year-old from Gahanna, earned the prestigious American Birding Association's 2025 Young Birder of the Year award. According to the ABA's website, Sullivan won the 10- to 13-year-old age category for his work in the Young Birder of the Year Mentoring Program. He received gold in the modules of conservation and community leadership and writing and a silver in illustration. Sullivan credits spotting a large black and blue songbird called a Steller's Jay at Lake Tahoe with sparking his passion for birding. He also praises his parents, Brandon and Heidi Sullivan and mentors James Muller and Ben Warner, for helping him develop his initial interest into becoming a young leader in the field. 'From the moment I saw that Steller's Jay in California, I have had incredible support,' said Sullivan. 'Because of [my parents' and mentors'] guidance and inspiration, I have been able to learn and enjoy this amazing passion. Often, I wonder if that single bird would have sparked 700 more without their lessons and encouragement.' The teen's love of travel, adventure and rock climbing has helped him thrive in the ornithology community. He has published articles in magazines, given talks at birding festivals and has been a guide for the Biggest Week in American Birding. In Columbus, he teaches a series of birding workshops for Grange Insurance Audubon Center. 'I entered ABA's Young Birder of the Year Program because I wanted to give back to the birding community,' said Sullivan. 'As a result, I wanted to create a series of resources to make birding more accessible to those just finding this beautiful adventure.' Out of the hundreds of birds he has observed in the 49 states and six Canadian provinces he has visited, Sullivan's favorite bird, the Carolina Wren, can be found in his own Ohio backyard. Other key places he likes to search for new species include southeast Arizona, New Jersey's Cape May and any pelagic, or birding by boat. Sullivan's notable skills include the ability to recognize nearly a thousand species of birds by their field marks and hundreds by their calls and songs. He has currently seen 678 species and is working on becoming the youngest person to see 700 birds in the ABA region, which includes the U.S. and Canada. Birding has inspired him to conduct research, restore habitats, create digital art and learn photography. Recently, Sullivan was filmed by MacGillivray Freeman Films for an IMAX movie that traces nature through the seasons in Ohio. Sullivan's work can be found at The American Birding Association's Young Birder of the Year Mentoring Program was created to guide and encourage birders between the ages of 10 and 18. Central to the program is providing expert advice that helps develop the skills and talents of young birders. The program, which began in 1998, has a track record of advancing the careers of up-and-coming leaders in the birding and ornithological communities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
