Champions of the Flyway with Johanna Beam
Join Johanna Beam, former Boulder County Audubon Teen Naturalist and 2017 ABA Young Birder of the Year, for an evening of talking about participating in the Champions of the Flyway competition and conservation fundraiser. Champions of the Flyway is a 24-hour birding race set in Israel. Johanna’s team, the ABA-Leica Subadult Wheatears, is the only young birder team from North America to participate in the race. Collectively, they’ve raised over $10,000 for bird conservation. Armed with Leica optics, backing from the American Birding Association, and your support, they will be able to conquer the grueling 24-hour race with enthusiasm and save the Steppe Eagles of Central Asia. Qushlarni himoya qiling! Protect the birds!
Teams bird for 24 hours straight across the lower half of Israel, usually starting in Eilat, which sits on the Gulf of Aqaba. While the premise is to find as many birds as possible, the race wasn’t set up just for birding. In order to participate fully in the contest, a team of 3-5 people must set a goal to raise at least $5,000 for that year’s conservation issue. In 2020, the focus is on Steppe Eagle (
Aquila nipalensis) conservation in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, in Central Asia. Steppe Eagles are currently an endangered species, with a steeply declining population, 80% of which breed in the Central Asian Steppe.
Steppe Eagle
The 2018 Subadult Wheatears (L to R):
Nate Swick (driver),
Aidan Place,
Johanna Beam, and Marky Mutchler
When: Tuesday February 25th, 2020. Socializing starting at 7:00 PM, presentation starting at 7:15 PM.
Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder, 5001 Pennsylvania Avenue, off 55th St. between Arapahoe and Baseline.
No animals, except trained service dogs, are allowed in the meeting space.
Thanks!
Pat Billig - President, BCAS