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Marky Multchler named Outstanding Young Birder
Kansas City, Mo. –
Marky Mutchler of Liberty, Mo., was recently named the 2015 Outstanding Young
Birder of the Year by the American Birding Association. A sophomore at Liberty
North High School, Marky topped a national field in a birding and conservation
contest for youth ages 14-18. The contest requires entrants to show their
skills at keeping a field notebook, conservation and community leadership,
illustration, writing and photography. Combined scores for all categories determine
the winner.
Marky took top
honors in illustration, second place in conservation and community leadership,
and third place in photography. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)
helped with her conservation and community leadership effort. Marky exhibited
her bird-related art and photography this past October at MDC’s Anita B. Gorman
Discovery Center in Kansas City. Also, she gave a talk on birding at a
Burroughs Audubon Society meeting held at the Discovery Center.
Both birds and
butterflies are an interest for Marky. She enjoys how they connect her with
nature, and their beauty and mysteries.
“Bird species
have diversity in things like their behaviors,” Marky said, “and there’s much
we don’t know about them. Also, just being out in nature is nice.”
Marky likes to
go birding afield in Missouri with her family and friends. Birds caught her
attention as a young child and her interest in them became serious as she got
older. She has also studied birding at Camp Chiracahua in Arizona.
“To win the
competition a young birder needs to be well-rounded, with good attention to
detail and the ability to communicate their achievements and activities,” said
Jennie Duberstein, who coordinates the contest for the American Birding
Association.
Regarding conservation and community
leadership, judges look for young birders who make a real effort to involve
their community in projects and make a clear contribution to conservation.
“Marky has been
a camper at the young birder camps I run in the summer for each of the past two
years and I've gotten to know her pretty well,” Duberstein said. “She's a
remarkable young woman and I'm just thrilled that she has gotten this
richly-deserved recognition.”
The American
Birding Association is a private, non-profit group devoted to increasing
knowledge, skills and enjoyment of birding. The organization is based in
Delaware City, Del. For more information about the ABA Outstanding Young Birder
of the Year, visit http://bit.ly/1NTRdbI.
Missouri is a
great place to watch birds. MDC offers public conservation areas with a variety
of bird habitats such as forests, wetlands and prairies. For more information
on birds and birding, visit http://mdc.mo.gov.
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