{"id":793,"date":"2018-08-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weebly-import-post-35"},"modified":"2026-06-17T01:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T01:43:24","slug":"cultivating-our-connection-to-birds-bringing-up-more-young-birders","status":"publish","type":"wingbeat","link":"https:\/\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wingbeat\/cultivating-our-connection-to-birds-bringing-up-more-young-birders\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultivating Our Connection to Birds: Bringing Up More Young Birders"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"paragraph\"><strong>By Guest Blogger Jeff Caplan<\/strong><\/div> <div><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\/ol-dtbff-banner-english-web-square-sfbbo_orig.jpg?ssl=1\"\/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bLast month, I lead a very enjoyable walk for SFBBO at Ulistac Natural Area in Santa Clara on Bird Language. As I looked around the circle of twenty students that day, I made an observation I often make on bird walks: we\u2019re all over 50 old! Well, not quite. I noticed a few seeds of change: three parents had brought their teens. \u00a0<br\/><br\/><span>\u201cIs this going to be another boring walk just naming the birds we see?\u201d muttered one teen before returning back to her cell phone.\u00a0<\/span>\u200b<br\/><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<!--more-->\n\n  <div class=\"paragraph\">Good question! My bird language mentor, Jon Young, charged me with a mission: \u201cTo protect birds for generations to come, we need get more diverse families and young birders into the flock!\u201d<br\/>\u00a0<br\/>Over the past year I have been building a new nest to fledge a bilingual family bird festival. I shared my excitement with the class,\u201cThis month SFBBO volunteers will be flapping their way over the hill to Santa Cruz to kick off <a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/a657295a7527\/dtbirdfunfest1\" target=\"_blank\">the inaugural BirdFUNfestival<\/a>!<br\/>\u00a0<br\/>I could already see the skeptical curiosity in the teens&#8217; eyes. \u201cWhat\u2019s a Bird Fun Festival, and why would I want to go,&#8221; they asked.<br\/>\u00a0<br\/>I gave my best pitch about the three-day event, which takes place Sept. 14-16. At the festival, kids and their families will get to: make bird masks; learn to sketch hawks, pelicans and ospreys; build bird feeders from recycled materials; pose for a Pinterest portrait; enjoy hands-on science and art; learn how to establish better bird habitat in their gardens; \u201cfly\u201d with the \u201cmini-migration&#8221;; and join a bilingual bird walk on the San Lorenzo River to learn some bird language and make new connections to birds, art and history.<br\/><\/div> <div> <figure class=\"wp-block-gallery wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/57c24efe-b20a-481e-be48-aada62915286.jpg?ssl=1\"\/><\/figure><figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sfbbo-test.twomoons.systems\/staging\/1924\/wp-content\/uploads\/weebly-migration\/73a319b7-1424-4742-8768-a6a571825840_1.png?ssl=1\"\/><\/figure><\/figure>\n<\/div> <div class=\"paragraph\">\u200b<span>By the end of our walk, the teens were laughing and sharing their enjoyment of bird language. One said &#8220;Thank you for making this so accessible, I didn&#8217;t have to memorize the names of the birds to be able to listen and learn about them, and my sister enjoyed the turrent spiders we were watching, too.&#8221; That&#8217;s a good beginning!<\/span><br\/><span>\u00a0<\/span><br\/><span>I said, \u201cIf you want to have more fun with birds, tell your smart phone to go to\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/a657295a7527\/dtbirdfunfest1\" target=\"_blank\">BirdFUNfest.org<\/a><span>.&#8221; The teens and more than a few of the adults dove back into their phones with smiles and curiosity.<\/span><br\/><span>\u00a0<\/span><br\/><em><strong>Jeff Caplan\u00a0weaves 30 years as a naturalist and a teacher of communication skills to cultivate a common language for connecting more deeply with nature and birds. He combines storytelling, citizen science and strengthening observation skills to inspire connection and stewardship among his audiences.<\/strong><\/em><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Guest Blogger Jeff Caplan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1230,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":""},"class_list":["post-793","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>Cultivating Our Connection to Birds: Bringing Up More Young Birders - 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\/cultivating-our-connection-to-birds-bringing-up-more-young-birders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cultivating Our Connection to Birds: Bringing Up More Young Birders - 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