Leica, the high-end camera and binocular company, is sponsoring an essay contest. They are looking for essays of less than 300 words about an experience mentoring young birders. Here is my contribution:
Birding with Ben
He is now studying ornithology at Cornell. But I first heard about Ben from his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Conca, who weaves birds into her curriculum. Ben was her star pupil and his interest continued to grow. For several years I tracked his progress mostly via rumor. Until one morning, Ben, then a high school freshman, joined my Saturday birdwalk. This was my mentoring opportunity, a chance to share knowledge.
It didn’t work.
Gentle drizzle made for slow birding. Ben, the only teenager, was quiet, respectful and focused totally on the few common birds we did find. I reinforced his enthusiasm. As we neared the end of our walk without a long bird list, Ben quietly approached asking if I would allow him to play a call on his phone. He had audio of Chickadees mobbing a Screech Owl. Was it OK? I agreed as long as he didn’t overdo it and stress the birds.
Ben smiled and hit the play button. The call echoed through silent woods without any initial effect. But after 2 or 3 repeated plays, birds appeared everywhere eager to join the mob chasing away the intruding owl. In the next five minutes we saw more birds than we had seen all morning.
After the walk I offered to drive Ben home, but he insisted on calling his mother. Waiting with him meant time to talk birds. However, I was curious and this was before smart phones became widespread. So Ben, a tech-savvy teenager, showed me the basics explaining how it can help birders.
Mentoring morning was a double success. I encouraged Ben’s enthusiasm and, maybe, passed on a few tips. He helped me learn about smart phones and how to attract birds when none are being seen.
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birdsoup 
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