Masked up and sporting disinfected binos, a Toronto student joins classmates on a downtown bird walk to connect with nature. Photo by Jennifer Ridgeway ON APRIL 1 AND 6, three students from St. Joseph’s College School led their classmates on two bird walks to Queen’s Park as part of their final project for their leadership course. Their aim was to instruct their peers on the joys of birding. They hoped to equip students with the basic skills of bird identification, increase awareness about urban birds and then improve the accessibility of bird watching, because equipment can be expensive and information can be overwhelming for beginners. Disinfected binoculars were provided to all in-person participants, courtesy of two gener- ous OFO members. The walks lasted 45 min- utes. Meanwhile, online students were encour- aged to get outside, draw or take a picture of a bird, and then share it when everyone “re- grouped” on Zoom. Some highlights of the walk included a Golden-crowned Kinglet hopping at the stu- dents’ feet, two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers chasing each other up a tree and excessive numbers of European Starlings, whose antics never ceased to amuse participants. Overall, the mood of the students and the teacher improved from connecting with nature, and everyone expressed an increasing interest in birds. One enthusiastic participant declared: “I had a lot of fun! It made me feel more interested in different birds and their behaviours than I was before the walk.” Despite the uncertainty of COVID-19, students were able to find peace in the nature around them. Ceana See-Lai Klump, a grade 10 student in Toronto, loves birding and sharing her experiences. PORT HOPE BIRDER Elizabeth Kellogg is the 2020 recipient of the Ontario Eastern Bluebird Society Conservation Award. “It was a complete surprise to me,” Elizabeth says of the honour. The society cited her after 24 years of efforts to build, monitor and protect up to 100 Eastern Bluebird nest boxes, primarily at three Northumberland County sites and one in Durham Region. Elizabeth, an avid Northumberland birder, is an OFO member and editor of The Curlew, newsletter of the Willow Beach Field Naturalists. One of her sites is the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Hazel Bird Nature Reserve. Hazel was the OEBS’s 1997 recipient and was also a Willow Beach member. Nest box trails have taken the Eastern Bluebird off endangered lists. “I suspect,” Elizabeth says, “that most of the bluebirds that breed in eastern North America breed in nest boxes. It is necessary to monitor the boxes to ensure they are located in the appropriate habitat for bluebirds. If they are not, the boxes may be taken over by species that don’t need help, or they may be subject to depredation.” Elizabeth involves school children in her conservation projects, especially for the nest box trail at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. “Some may be interested in the construction of boxes, some may be interested in monitoring, and some may be interested in compiling and analyzing the data. If we mentor young people in projects like this, it might spark a life-long interest in the natural world.” Elizabeth Kellogg Earns Bluebird Conservation Award BY BRUCE KIRKLAND OFO Member News is a new feature of OFO News This is where we will be highlighting some of our members and their birding accomplishments. If you have news to share, we want to hear from you! For example, it could be your plans or your results for a Big Year or some significant milestone in your birding, whether local, provincial, nation- al or beyond. Club events and awards interest us, too; so do local conservation efforts and successes. As well, beginning in our next issue, we will also be using this space to wel- come new OFO members. OFO News co-editor Angie Williams will coordinate OFO Member News. Reach out to her through the editors’ email address (ofonews@ofo.ca). OFO MEMBER NEWS Students Take a Bird Walkabout High school students connect with nature amid pandemic BY CEANA SEE-LAI KLUMP 10 OFO News June 2021