Birdathon Rookie of the Yearby Christian MilNeil August 26, 2010 Topics: People Profiles
Every spring, hundreds of birders across the state participate in Maine Audubon’s annual Birdathon, a friendly competition to identify as many birds as possible in a 24-hour period. It’s a fun event, but it’s also an important fundraiser for Maine Audubon, since participants collect donations pledges from friends and family members.It’s a long-running event that attracts some of the state’s most seasoned birders. But this year, a newcomer made an impressive debut. 12-year old Ethan Pierce of Portland logged 55 different species to raise over $1,200 in pledges for Maine Audubon’s conservation programs.Ethan may have been new to the event, but he’s not new to birding by any means. Looking for wildlife is a popular and multi-generational activity in the Pierce family, and Ethan frequently takes his binoculars on visits to Evergreen Cemetery, Scarborough Marsh, and the trails of Oat Nuts Park, which is just beyond his backyard in the North Deering neighborhood of Portland. Earlier this spring, when he was looking for opportunities to do something for the environment, his father suggested that they sign up for the Birdathon. Ethan collected pledges from friends and family members, and enlisted his father and grandfather - regular birding companions - to join him. To thank him for his efforts, Maine Audubon staff naturalist Eric Hynes invited Ethan and a guest to join him on a trip to the seabird research station on Stratton Island this summer. “It was a really amazing trip,” said Ethan. “I’d never had the experience to observe birds feeding and nesting that close. And I got to see how biologists live and work for the summer.” Those biologists share a small island with thousands of nesting seabirds in spartan living conditions. It’s clearly not for everyone, but Ethan thinks it might be something he’d like to try in the future. “It’s great,” he says. “You get to camp out and observe birds for the summer.” In the meantime, Maine Audubon looks forward to Ethan’s return to the 2011 Birdathon - and celebrates the next generation of Maine conservationists. |
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