“Birding is just incredibly addictive. You can never get enough!”

Angus frames the Little Egret in Maine (bird is to the left of his hands)

Angus is a teen birder from Georgia. This year, he received a scholarship to attend the Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine. I'll be heading there this week to interview young birders from around the country. En route to Hog Island, I stopped in Falmouth to search for the Little Egret, a Eurasian species that has returned for a second summer in the tidal marshes of Maine. While waiting for the tides to change, I met a variety of birders, including Angus- who had just returned from a week on Hog Island.

Little Egret    Tidewater Farm Fallmouth, Maine — Little Egret Tidewater Farm Fallmouth, Maine

What was your favorite part about Hog Island?

I don't want to be cliche, but it was definitely going out to Eastern Egg Rock and seeing the puffins!

Can you tell me about how technology plays a role in how you experience birds?

I enjoy taking pictures of birds a lot. It's one of my favorite parts of it. I really like everything that eBird has brought, including real-time updates (like where the Little Egret is) and the Top 100 feature, that's really cool.

I got to check out Cornell's new Merlin bird ID App, since the designer was on Hog Island. [The app] can identify photos of 400 species to the species in seconds!

I love seeing birds all over the country, but I'm still wowed every time i see the same species back in Georgia. I could probably bird all over the world, but I love sticking with my home patch!

Angus was too humble to share this, but I learned that he had painted a Yellow-rumped Warbler in a Wax Myrtle bush for the Georgia Youth Birding Competition, which helped him getting into serious birding. The painting won an award and was turned into a t-shirt for the event. I thought this was an amazing accomplishment for a young birder and wanted to share a photo of Angus accepting his award.

Photo of Angus with his painting from the Breaking Bird blog (https://breakingbird.wordpress.com/tag/youth-birding-competition/) — Photo of Angus with his painting from the *Breaking Bird* blog (https://breakingbird.wordpress.com/tag/youth-birding-competition/)