The BBC is pleased to announce that this year’s Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarships have been awarded to Johnny Owens of Essex, MA and Jocelyn Pyne of Harvard, MA. These scholarships, instituted to nurture interest in bird study and conservation among young birders, cover the full cost ($1690) of the Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens program at National Audubon’s Hog Island camp in June 2022. The Scholarship Evaluation Committee was impressed by the high quality of all the applications we received, and we thank all the applicants for their interest and effort. Johnny has volunteered for the past six years at Mass Audubon’s Joppa Flats center as a bird bander, Coastal Education intern, teen naturalist trainer, and co-leader of the Joppa Flats youth Bird-a-thon team. Jocelyn takes particular pleasure in sketching birds and collecting field data, and she’s looking forward to the opportunity to experience hands-on bird science and National Audubon’s seabird restoration work at Hog Island. Congratulations, Johnny and Jocelyn!

These scholarships are supported through the generous donations of club members. To donate, you can designate an amount on the “BBC Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship” line on the back page of the club bulletin when you renew your membership or, especially for life members, at any other time you might wish to donate. You can donate online by clicking the Donate link on the BBC home page and entering an amount in the box for “Bill Drummond Young Birder Scholarship.”