New resource for young birders.

This email came over the transom today. All I can say is we old folks wish we could have had something this cool when we were young!

New Young Birders Network Aims to Fledge Teen Birders
Online info hub connects young birders with peers and resources across country

For release: January 8, 2013

Ithaca, NY—Teen birders now have a place to go online to connect with peers and drill down into a wealth of birding resources, as well as explore college and career opportunities. The Young Birders Network (www.youngbirdersnetwork.net), launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Ohio’s Black Swamp Bird Observatory, serves as a hub for the many young birding clubs sprouting up across the country, while providing an online community for teens to share information and learn more about birding. "Teen birders are often unsure of how to turn their hobby into a meaningful career," said Cornell University biology junior Hope Batcheller, who is also a Young Birders Network coordinator. "This site answers many of their frequently asked questions." The Young Birders Network aggregates everything a teen needs to plug into their local birding scene, meet their birding peers, and delve deeper into the world of birding: A directory of young birding clubs, blogs and Facebook groups, events, and conferences across the country; Articles and links to resources about the many ways a passion for birding can turn into a college major and career, from ornithology and conservation biology to art and computer science; and, A custom eBird portal for easy online management of birding checklists and access to all the birding tools eBird offers. Articles on the Young Birders Network home page are written by a mix of middle school and high school students, Cornell University students, and eBird and Black Swamp Observatory professionals, creating a forum for teens to interact with college and adult birders. And for teens who don’t find a birding club near them, the Young Birders Network offers a toolkit for starting their own club. "Since Black Swamp Bird Observatory launched the Ohio Young Birders Club in 2006, much of our efforts have focused on providing information and assistance to other groups interested in starting a similar program for youth," said Kimberly Kaufman, executive director of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. "The opportunity to work with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on the Young Birders Network (YBN) is a dream come true. Our combined knowledge, enthusiasm, and additional resources will allow us to encourage, educate, and empower more young people than we could have ever reached on our own. These are exciting times for anyone with an interest in getting more young people outside and connected with birds!" "I certainly wish I had a central resource hub like this during high school. Until now there was really nowhere to find all this information about young birder happenings in one place," said Batcheller. "I’m excited to share this site with new birders and introduce them to the awesome world of birding and ornithology."

p.s.: Michigan Audubon will soon be announcing that they are joining the Young Birders Network, as it is in the process of forming a group. Expect an official announcement soon.