{"id":786,"date":"2022-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weebly-import-post-28"},"modified":"2026-06-17T01:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T01:43:22","slug":"busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference","status":"publish","type":"wingbeat","link":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Busking for Birds &#8211; A Young Musician Makes a Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"paragraph\">\n<strong>By Guest Blogger Allison Cheng<\/strong>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7387b849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Picture\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/busking_orig.png?ssl=1\"\/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n\u200bAs bustling crowds rush from store to store and family and friends chatter away at their dinner tables, I set up my music stand, pick up my instrument, and introduce a new sound to the cacophony of Castro Street, Mountain View: the sound of my viola.\u00a0<br\/>\n<br\/>\n\u200bA few months ago, I began \u201cBusking for Birds\u201d\u2014playing my viola on the street for donations that I raise for environmental nonprofits, including SFBBO. I\u2019ve been playing violin for 9 years <span>and viola for 5 years, and on the street, I play a &#8230;<\/span>\u200b<br\/>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n<div>\n\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraph\">\n<span>variety of music, from classical music to Elvis Presley and Disney medleys, by myself, with friends, or in a quartet. Through my music, I have met families, small children, and listeners of all ages, including fellow birders. This has been a very rewarding experience and I\u2019m so grateful to be able to share my love for music and birds with the rest of the world.\u00a0<\/span><br\/>\n<br\/>\nI began to learn about birds by competing on my school Science Olympiad team, in which I studied ornithology. In my preparation for ornithology tests, I learned not only about weird bird behavior and their unique adaptations but also about threats to birds and bird conservation. Habitat loss and invasive species, I\u2019ve learned, remain some of the biggest threats to birds today. Unfortunately, as a high schooler, my options to help save bird populations seem limited\u2014I can\u2019t write laws regarding climate change or easily acquire environmental conservation jobs. I can, however, fundraise and donate, so that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve been doing.<br\/>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wsite-image wsite-image-border-none\" style=\"padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;text-align:center\">\n<a><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Picture\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/playing_orig.png?ssl=1\" style=\"width:auto;max-width:100%\"\/><\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraph\">\n\u200bAlthough I only started birding about a year ago, this past year has been the most exciting year of my life. Since picking up birding, I have begun to be completely enraptured by birds, wildlife photography, and ecology. Conservation has been important to me ever since I was a young child and learned about endangered sea otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. From fundraising for otter conservation by selling origami in elementary school, selling chocolate chip cookies for Australian wildfire relief in middle school, and now raising money for birds in high school, I\u2019ve found that this is a great way to combine two of my passions\u2014music and wildlife\u2014to do good. I hope to continue \u201cBusking for Birds\u201d and kickstart a more tasty conservation venture: \u201cBaking for Birds.\u201d And who knows? Maybe I can inspire someone else to begin their own adventures.\u00a0<br\/>\n<br\/>\nTo join Allison in supporting bird conservation, please make a donation to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flipcause.com\/secure\/cause_pdetails\/MTUxMjgy\" target=\"_blank\">2022 Spring Appeal<\/a>, or hold your own busking activity for birds!<br\/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"paragraph\">\n<em><strong>Allison Cheng is a high school student, musician, wildlife photographer, science olypiad competitor, and birder who raises money for environmental causes, incuding SFBBO. In the photo above she is busking as a violin-viola duo on Castro Street in Mountain View with her friend and fellow SFBBO volunteer Valerie Wong.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div align=\"left\" class=\"wcustomhtml\" id=\"506951804142044433\" style=\"width: 100%; overflow-y: hidden\">\n<meta content=\"Busking for Birds - A Young Musician Makes a Difference\" property=\"og:title\"\/>\n<meta content=\"article\" property=\"og:type\"\/>\n<meta content=\"SFBBO Wingbeat Guest Blog Post by high school student Allison Cheng\" property=\"og:description\"\/>\n<meta content=\"https:\/\/www.sfbbo.org\/uploads\/1\/1\/6\/7\/116792187\/busking_orig.png\" property=\"og:image\"\/>\n<meta content=\"summary_large_image\" name=\"twitter:card\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wingbeat is a blog where you can find the most recent stories about our science and outreach work. We&#8217;ll also share guest posts from volunteers, donors, partners, and others in the avian science and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1230,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":""},"class_list":["post-786","wingbeat","type-wingbeat","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Busking for Birds - A Young Musician Makes a Difference - San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Busking for Birds - A Young Musician Makes a Difference - San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wingbeat is a blog where you can find the most recent stories about our science and outreach work. We&#039;ll also share guest posts from volunteers, donors, partners, and others in the avian science and...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T01:43:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/866415237.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wingbeat\\\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wingbeat\\\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\\\/\",\"name\":\"Busking for Birds - A Young Musician Makes a Difference - San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wingbeat\\\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wingbeat\\\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/weebly-migration\\\/866415237.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-05T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-17T01:43:22+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wingbeat\\\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wingbeat\\\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wingbeat\\\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/weebly-migration\\\/866415237.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/weebly-migration\\\/866415237.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wingbeat\\\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wingbeat\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wingbeat\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Busking for Birds &#8211; A Young Musician Makes a Difference\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/\",\"name\":\"San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/40th-sfbbo-logo-final-1%EF%B9%961676307269.jpg?fit=159%2C136&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/40th-sfbbo-logo-final-1%EF%B9%961676307269.jpg?fit=159%2C136&ssl=1\",\"width\":159,\"height\":136,\"caption\":\"San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\\\/staging\\\/1924\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Busking for Birds - A Young Musician Makes a Difference - San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Busking for Birds - A Young Musician Makes a Difference - San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory","og_description":"Wingbeat is a blog where you can find the most recent stories about our science and outreach work. We'll also share guest posts from volunteers, donors, partners, and others in the avian science and...","og_url":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/","og_site_name":"San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory","article_modified_time":"2026-06-17T01:43:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1500,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/866415237.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/","url":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/","name":"Busking for Birds - A Young Musician Makes a Difference - San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/866415237.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","datePublished":"2022-05-05T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-17T01:43:22+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/866415237.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/866415237.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","width":2000,"height":1500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/busking-for-birds-a-young-musician-makes-a-difference\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Wingbeat","item":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Busking for Birds &#8211; A Young Musician Makes a Difference"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/","name":"San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/#organization","name":"San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory","url":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/40th-sfbbo-logo-final-1%EF%B9%961676307269.jpg?fit=159%2C136&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/40th-sfbbo-logo-final-1%EF%B9%961676307269.jpg?fit=159%2C136&ssl=1","width":159,"height":136,"caption":"San Fransisco Bay Bird Observatory"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wingbeat\/786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wingbeat"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wingbeat"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}