When children show a keen interest in a subject, it is time to pounce. That is exactly what elementary school teacher Jim McGinity did, founding the Florida Young Birders Club in the Tampa Bay region.
“I had a couple of third-grade students who are super into birds,” the club’s founder and mentor said. He got support from the Tampa Audubon Club and from Clearwater Audubon and is hoping to sign up the St. Pete Audubon as a sponsor.
The club hosts monthly outings for club members. They go on walks to learn about birds, their habitat, how they get rehabilitated when injured and they learn about potential careers related to birds.
“We are trying to get the word out to attract more kids,” said McGinity, an environmental teacher at Learning Gate Community School. It’s an environmental charter school in Lutz.
Most schools have physical education, music and art for their special class time. His school has physical education, garden and nature. “I teach them about the different aspects of the environment.” And he brings information and energy that to the Young Birders Club.
Florida Young Birders Club activities
Among the outings the club has taken, they built kestrel nest boxes and walked and talked about birding at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa. They also visited Fort DeSoto in Pinellas County. This area has a large following by birders throughout the state and even from other parts of the country.
The club will visit Moccasin Lake Nature Park in Clearwater December 17. Here they will get to see birds of prey that have been injured and are being rehabilitated or cared for permanently. “The kids will get to see them up close,” he said.
There is even a Christmas Bird Count for kids. The Audubon Christmas Count takes place each year around the holiday. During this event, individuals or groups commit to doing a bird count in a specific geographic area. The information is shared with scientists and other professionals who are keeping track of how bird populations are doing throughout the United States.
The Christmas Bird Count for Kids will take place on December 31.
The club has a Facebook page to disseminate information on how to get involved.
“We are gradually attracting kids from other areas and from home schools,” McGinity said. “Some members are my students from school, and some are older. For the older kids, we created an advisory panel from each of the three chapters–Tampa, St. Augustine and Orlando. They designed our logo and drew it up and I had a graphic artist clean it up. I had it put on business cards that I am spreading around with information on how to join the club.”
Instilling a love of birds and nature
“One of the cool things these kids wanted to do was to hear from expert birdwatchers and people who are studying birds professionally,” McGinity said. “We started Jay Chat–the Florida Scrub Jay is our mascot–which is a monthly thing, where the kids can talk to scientists. There is one Dec. 17, and all are welcome. It is open to anybody right now. The goal is to have it as a benefit for the kids, but adults can listen in. The questions at the end for the speaker are only for the kids.”
The original Young Birders Club began over a decade ago. It was started by a couple of high school students hooking up with the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Ohio. They then started their own birding club, and eventually states all across the country created their own chapters.
“The ultimate goal is to impact as many kids as we can,” McGinity said. Eventually, once enough youngsters join in, he hopes to have an annual conference with club members doing presentations on various topics related to birds. “I also want to have young professionals come in and speak to the group.”
Young people from age 9 to 17 can become members of the club. It’s a great opportunity for young birders to meet others of their own age and share their love for birds.
The club is an official program of the Florida Ornithological Society and Florida Avian Conservation. These organizations designed to empower youth and show them what they can do to help Florida’s birds.
In addition to checking out the club’s Facebook page, parents or youth can contact fybc.tampabay@gmail.com.
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