The Cornell Lab is excited to host the annual Young Birders Event this June 27 – 30, 2024 in Ithaca, New York. This 4-day event aims to bring together teenagers with a passion for birds and an interest in pursuing a career that connects with birds. You’ll meet people who have successful careers that involve birds in a variety of ways from ecologists and artists, to audio specialists and computer scientists.
All high school-aged birders from anywhere in the world are invited to apply (students entering grades 9-12 in the fall). You do not need to be an expert birder to apply – we’re looking for students with a passion for birds who want to learn about careers in ornithology! Please fill out our application form and send it to us by Sunday, March 17th, 2024. We are able to accommodate sixteen young birders this year, and we will notify applicants about their status in late March. Slight preference is given to students entering 12th grade and students who have previously applied.
The Young Birder’s Event will feature:
- Three days of field trips around the Finger Lakes region
- Learning from Cornell Lab staff about ways to incorporate birds into a career
- A hands-on sound recording and editing workshop with Macaulay Library staff
- Tours of the Cornell Lab building and grounds including the Museum of Vertebrates
Application Deadline: March 17th 2024
Tuition: $600 Includes lodging, food, and transportation to birding sites during the weekend. Travel expenses to and from Ithaca are not covered in the tuition.
If you need financial aid to attend the event, please contact us. We have scholarships available and can help coordinate additional support for travel. We can also provide binoculars to those who need them.
More about the Young Birders Event:
Lodging: Students will stay in shared rooms in dorms on Cornell University’s campus.
Food: All meals and snacks are provided during the event. Meals will be a mix of packed lunches in the field and hot dinners in the Cornell Lab with staff. We can accommodate any dietary restrictions.
Tentative schedule:
- Thursday, June 27
- Afternoon – students arrive; welcome presentations for students and families
- Evening – families depart; icebreakers and evening presentations
- Friday, June 28
- Morning – birding and sound recording near Ithaca
- Afternoon – tour of the Cornell Lab; career presentations by staff
- Evening – sound editing workshop
- Saturday, June 29
- Morning – birding around Cayuga Lake up to Montezuma NWR
- Afternoon – return to Ithaca; presentations by staff and students
- Evening – tour of the Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates
- Sunday, June 30
- Morning – birding near Ithaca
- Afternoon – final presentations; students depart
Meet the event leaders:
Alli Smith is a Project Coordinator for the Merlin Bird ID app. She grew up in New Jersey, where she fell in love with birds on a middle school field trip to see the horseshoe crabs and shorebirds of the Delaware Bay. Alli attended the Young Birders Event herself in 2011 and knows firsthand how impactful it can be, and is thrilled to be supporting new birders through this event and through her work with Merlin.
Ian Davies is a Project Leader for eBird. He got into birds at age 12 in Massachusetts, and since then has been fortunate to travel the world appreciating all things feathered. He’s been involved with running the Young Birders Event for the past 8 years, and is continually excited to share a passion for birds and conservation with the next generation of leaders.
The Cornell Lab is a welcoming community that values and respects teenagers from all backgrounds and identities. Through this event, we strive to foster a birding community where everyone feels they belong.