Want support of an Ornithologist

Nature Talk
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Hi, can someone help me with a contact of an ornithologist? my 11 year old son is so much passionate about birds, he reads a lot about birds and comes up with various theories above his age. i couldnt give any answers as I have very minimal knowledge, and he is so passionate about birds and reads a lot. can someone contact me at viji.samm@gmail.com?

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Welcome to the forum, Gabriel!

I don’t know about personal emails, but you came to the right place! Birds are probably the #1 fastest identified taxon on iNat. There is a VERY deep lineup of ornithological expertise on this platform!

AFAIK, with your permission, your son can actually join this forum, and post bird questions here.

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I might suggest seeking out another venue. While there are certainly people with ornithological backgrounds on the forum, this forum is generally focused on iNat itself. I am sure that there are other general places online (social media groups, etc.) that might be more useful. It might also be good to look for local birding groups - that way your child could bird and ask questions, etc!

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I don’t think reaching out to a professional ornithologist is the way to go, for a variety of reasons. Books, buy the kid books!
https://jocolibrary.bibliocommons.com/v2/list/display/558038433/2407498986

Perhaps see if you can find a local birding group. Check for a local Audubon Society or nature center.

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Could discussions on the iNat Forum, and identifying unknowns on iNaturalist, be a “gateway drug” to a broader engagement with nature?

It’s a real question, Chris, because I’m sure you had good reasons for saying that.

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What country are you in? That will greatly affect what help is available face to face.

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I can think of several reasons for not explicitly recommending either iNat or the iNat forum.

  1. There is a reasonably high likelihood that someone posting in the iNat forum already knows about iNat.
  2. Since the son is under 13, he cannot legally have an iNat account of his own.
  3. I wouldn’t consider iNat the best starting place for bird-focused engagement with nature, because it is generally fairly frustrating to try to photograph birds with a cellphone camera. And if one already has binoculars/telephoto lenses etc., one is probably already involved in other birding communities.
  4. The son is already engaged and interested in nature – or at least birds – and asking more advanced questions about what he is seeing; while there is no ban on topics like behavior, biology, etc., discussions on observations themselves tend to be more centered around identification.
  5. The forum is global and not particularly bird-focused. This means there will be more engagement in a context dedicated specifically to birds.
  6. Most importantly: In-person contacts are always good. Birding is a common hobby in many parts of the world and meeting up with other local bird enthusiasts has all sorts of benefits, both in terms of access to knowledge and experience and socially.
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The best would be to contact a local nature center (or equivalent) or an enthusiastic birdwatcher (who might or might not be a formal ornithologist but would know a lot). What is the general area where you live?

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I would suggest Whatbird.com. It is a very friendly bird forum with a number of young birders on it mixed with people ranging from professional to hobbyist to novice. This young person could even get feed back on this theories.

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Welcome to iNat! I’m a young a birder just a handful of years older than your son.

I recommend getting incontact with your local Audubon and bird groups. I currently help run International Shorebird Surveys (ISS), monitor bird populations, join/help trips for festivals, etc.

Doing research and the like is much more important. I’ve never talked with a ornithologist in person, but I’ve been able to become one of the top bird identifiers my Audubon Chapter. As others have mentioned the support of an Ornithologist will present itself when it is needed right now, just learning and having access to thing for deeper research is much more important for developmental growth. If he was able to talk with an ornithologist it might honestly stunt his growth because he wouldn’t be doing the research on his own and it might create a higher sense of accomplishment/self-esteem that frequently stunts the growth in learning when you feel as if you know enough or are smart. When you think you are smart you aren’t going to get smarter. You need to understand how much you don’t know and then try and tackle it in the best way possible for you. Essentially I recommended giving your son as much material and field (birding groups and events with other birders) as possible. Later or at the same time using cites and forums like Whatbird.com BirdForum, etc. might be helpful. Does your son use ebird?

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