By Paul Moody and Joe Zabransky
In the spring of 2017 Black Hills Audubon was approached by Jennifer Seel and her daughter Dorianne about the idea of establishing a youth birding group. Knowing that one of the best ways to promote continuity in support of conservation of the natural environment is to involve young people, Black Hills decided it would provide backing for such a group. The primary support, thus far, has been in the form of adult mentors, monthly field trips and binoculars.
The initial cadre of involved students named the group the Olympia Youth Audubon Society or OYAS. Student involvement has varied but Dorianne has been a steadfast participant for the past three and a half years. It was clear from the first time we met her nearly four years ago that she already had significant knowledge of birds for her age, largely self-taught. Dorianne uses a camera with good telescopic capability for birding in the field. This not only allows her to identify birds but to also photograph them and have a record in case there are debates about identification or unusual bird sightings. She also has posted a blog with photos on the internet related to her experiences with birds (dorianneseel wixsite).
As the principal founder of OYAS and her continued interest in wildlife and birds, we asked Dorianne if she would be willing to participate in an interview with us. She agreed enthusiastically, so the following question and answer session was arranged and recorded at Priest Point Park in Olympia. The participants included Dorianne, Paul Moody and Joe Zabransky.
Q. When did you first develop an interest in birds? Was it a certain experience or connection to a person that got you involved?
A. I’m not really sure, I’ve always liked birds. When I was younger my mom said I would rather look at a bird book than regular children’s books. By the time I was ten, when I was being home-schooled, I started taking walks at Nisqually on Wednesday mornings and on other group trips around Olympia finding out just how cool birds were.
Q. Do you find that others in your peer group have much interest in birds or nature?
A. It depends on the group you are in. I went to a private middle school and some of the students there were really into it, not a lot. Most, however, liked and respected nature but it wasn’t really their thing. In public school there may be a student club but the majority, I think, are rather indifferent towards nature.
Q. In that respect, what do you think could be done to interest young people in birding or the environmental effort?
A. I don’t know about others, but I think more hands-on experiences would help. For example, you can show someone a picture of a bird and it may be very nice but if you show them a raptor on your fist and let them touch its feathers, it’s like wow, this is real, it’s right here! This would help.
Q. Have you or one of your classes at school ever participated in a project related to climate change? If so, would you briefly describe it.
A. My middle school at NOVA was really into helping the environment. Aside from some small projects such as speeches, I participated in the Green Congress at Evergreen College in sixth grade and in the Climate Change Rally when I was in eighth grade.
Q. What prompted you and your mother to approach BHAS about organizing a youth birding group?
A. I would go on these birding trips where there aren’t a lot of young people, and I wanted more people around my age to be with. However, none of the trips were geared toward young people who had an interest in birds. So, I wanted to have that option.
Q. How do you feel about your experience with the OYAS field trips you have participated in? Do you have any suggestions for improving it?
A. They are fun, I love going on the trips. You guys are great. By the end of the first year many of the young people we recruited had other responsibilities and had to leave. A suggestion for making it better would be to let more people know about it. Maybe put it in the Audubon newsletter so people would see it and more young people would know about it.
Q. What other experiences with birds have you had?
A. I am a falconer, so I have a Red-tailed Hawk at the moment named “Rainier”. He’s molting quite a bit now**. I have a lot of poultry and pigeons. They aren’t wild birds but they have very similar attributes to wild birds. I also got to assist Dan Varland at Coastal Raptors band raptors something short of ten times. We mostly banded Peregrine Falcons and once tried unsuccessfully all day to tag Turkey Vultures.
Q. How did you get involved with falconry?
A. I met Ross Matteson (falconer/artist) through a friend who was his neighbor. Ross mainly helps train wild, rescued birds that can no-longer be released. He had a lot of pigeons and it seemed really cool to be able to train wild birds. He took me to a couple of falconry events and I was hooked.
Q. Tell us briefly about the birds you have kept and raised.
A. I have a bunch of homing pigeons and they are really interesting. I have taken them to different places and released them to fly back home. I have a lot of chickens which I raised from eggs in an incubator. I also have some rare breeds of chickens. At one point I had a Coturnix Quail which I also raised from eggs. I raised about 60 quail divided between two summers. Eventually we ate some and donated the rest to a friend of mine who is a raptor rehabilitator. I also had Zebra Finches at one point but my mom is allergic to birds so I had to get rid of them! And, of course, there is Rainier, my Red-tailed Hawk.
Q. How do you see birds, their behaviors and life-ways, connected to the lives of humans? What might we learn from birds?
A. Fundamentally, we have different values than birds. They live instinctively and want reproduce and live as long as possible. We want to go to school, get a job, have a family, things like that. However, we can watch the way birds approach problems and get along together and learn a lot from them. For example, Harris Hawks work together in tolerant packs as a “family” unit to catch prey such as rabbits. So, they have learned that working together as a unit is more productive than hunting alone like other raptors. Regarding problem solving, rather than abandoning its nest the Yellow Warbler solves the problem of Cowbird eggs in its nest by building a new nest on top of the old one and keeps trying to have babies.
Q. Where are you in your current schooling and do you have a school of higher learning in mind?
A. I am starting my freshman year at a private high school in Tacoma. I want to go on to get a bachelor’s degree and at least a master’s degree. Although Cornell would be a wonderful goal and opportunity, I’m certainly open to other possible schools as well.
Q. Do you have career plans at this time?
A. At this time I’m thinking in terms of a career in zoology or ornithology.
Thank you, Dorianne, for chatting with us today and much success at school this year.
You’re welcome, this was fun!
**Unfortunately, three weeks after our interview with Dorianne, Rainier had to be euthanized due to a foot condition. She said, “Falconry is a hard mix between happy memories and heartbreak.”
