This week, July 11 to 14, an accomplished group of young birders will gather at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for the 10th annual Young Birders Event, hosted by the Lab and co-sponsored by Carl Zeiss Sports Optics. The Young Birders Event brings together 16 teenagers with a passion for birds who are interested in pursuing careers that will involve birds. The participants meet people who have successful careers ranging from ornithologists and researchers to birding tour leaders, to audio specialists and computer scientists, and the event will include two days of birding field trips.

The Young Birder’s Event will be attended by students who will be sophomores, juniors, and seniors in high school and features presentations by Cornell Lab of Ornithology staff including professors, researchers, and university students who will share various ways to incorporate birds into a career, an eBird and field notes workshop, a sound recording workshop, two days of field trips, a tour of the Cornell Lab including the Macaulay Library and Museum of Vertebrates, and dinner with Cornell Lab directors and staff.

As a “Thank You” for participating, each young birder received a Terra ED 8x42 binocular, courtesy of Zeiss, a continuing co-sponsor of this worthy youth event. Other co-sponsors include Princeton University Press and Wild Birds Unlimited.

Meet Chris Wood and Jessie Barry, the coordinators for the event: Chris Wood is the Assistant Director of Information Science, helping lead eBird, Birds of North America, and other Cornell Lab projects. He is a Colorado native who has been birding since he figured out he could not find dinosaur fossils in his sandbox. Chris has traveled the world in search of birds and is thrilled to be able to share stories and birding skills with young birders.

Jessie Barry is the Program Manager for the Cornell Lab’s Macaulay Library and helps lead the work on the Merlin Bird ID app. Jessie grew up in Rochester, New York, where she began birding at age 10. She and Chris are grateful for the opportunities they had as young birders and are working to create opportunities for the next generation of leaders in ornithology.

For more information about this year’s Young Birders Event, and to get geared up for the 2020 event, see The Cornell Lab Young Birders Event 2019 - eBird

To learn more about the Zeiss line of binoculars, spotting scopes, and the entire line of optics, visit ZEISS Sports Optics - Nature Observation | ZEISS United States