2024 Young Birder Presentations

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Every year, the Ohio Young Birders Club holds an annual conference full of incredible presentations created and presented by the students. The creativity, effort, and content in these presentations are too impressive not to share with all of you attending The Biggest Week In American Birding! Click below to learn more about the Ohio Young Birders Club (OYBC).

Community Bird Education Made Easy

Presented by Ethan Walz, David Kline-Parker, Joel Stiver, and Sam Cox
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2024
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area Nature Center
Fee: Free with registration
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 30

About Ethan Walz

Ethan Walz is 15 years old and lives in Montpelier, Ohio. He has been birding for two years now. Some of his other hobbies include lifting weights, baking, and drawing. He also plays basketball and runs cross country. He has been homeschooled his entire life until this past year when he enrolled in a local community college. Ethan is not sure what he will major in, but he has always loved nature, so being a wildlife biologist is something he is interested in. He has five siblings, four of whom are adopted from Ethiopia in Africa. He is the youngest of the family, while the oldest is 20. One of the best birding experiences was visiting Magee Marsh and spotting over 40 lifers during the Biggest Week. He also got to spot a rare Barn Owl recently near Howard Marsh

About David Kline-Parker

David Kline-Parker is a 13-year-old, home-schooled student who resides in rural Alvordton, Ohio. He has been interested in birding from a young age.  As a preschooler, David slept with his bird field guide each night. David joined OYBC in 2023 and has enjoyed traveling with his club and spotting new birds. His favorite birding experience was spotting a Peregrine Falcon catching a mouse.  He finds falconry fascinating and aspires to be a falconer himself one day.  
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About Joel Stiver

Joel is a 16 year old, passionate birder from a small town in northwest Ohio.  He enjoys writing, photography, running, and many other things. He's always been invested in nature, constantly holding a desire to learn more about the natural world. Loving to travel, Joel always spends as much time as possible searching for new species and landscapes. His passion was ignited by family members who carried a love for nature long before he did, specifically his Mom, his Aunt Cherie, and his Grandma Janet. Today, Joel is a local nature photographer in his small northwestern Ohio community. One day, he hopes to pursue his love for nature and transform it into a career.

About Sam Cox

Sam Cox is a 17-year-old wildlife photographer, birder, naturalist, and writer. When he is not doing schoolwork, college classes, FFA, 4-H, FTC robotics, or working, he is usually out in the woods or wetlands photographing birds and whatever other wildlife he can find. Sam plans on going to Hocking College once he finishes high school to get a degree in wildlife management. He posts nature and birding content regularly on his Instagram page @creationthroughalens and trail camera footage on his Youtube channel @creationthroughalens. 
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Summer Tern-cation: a look at the country’s terns

Presented by Killian Sullivan
Date: Sunday, May 5, 2024
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area Nature Center
Fee: Free with registration
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 30

About Killian Sullivan

Killian is an 11-year-old birder who lives in Gahanna, Ohio.  His birding passion began with a Steller’s Jay in Lake Tahoe and has grown to nearly 500 species across North America.  Birding complements his love for travel, adventure, and rock-climbing.  His favorite birding destinations are southeast Arizona, New Jersey’s Cape May, and any pelagic.  He loves birding in central Ohio’s Metro Parks, especially Battelle Darby Creek, Blendon Woods, Pickerington Ponds, and Walnut Woods.  At home, he loves watching and listening to his favorite bird, the Carolina Wren.

Binocular-free Birding?
​How leaving my binoculars behind made me a better birder

Presented by Emily Nishikawa
Date: Saturday, May 11, 2024
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area Nature Center
Fee: Free with registration
Registration Required: Yes
​Class Capacity: 30

About Emily Nishikawa

Emily has been fascinated by birds at least since she was 8 and has been part of birding clubs for the past 7 years. She has participated in young birders events in southwest Ohio as well as the Texas Gulf Coast and the Texas Hill Country. She enjoys both the science of birds as flying animals and the artistry of birds with their variety of shapes, colors, and markings. She lives with her parents and younger brother in Dayton where she is homeschooled in Grade 10. When she’s not birding or creating art, she enjoys reading, writing stories, volunteering at her local library, and simply spending time outdoors.
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