A New Pledge to Fledge

I would like to encourage fellow birders to make a "Pledge to Fledge"!

What is a "Pledge to Fledge"? This is basically a personal resolution to actively, frequently, and patiently share with others the beauty and wonder of birds thereby inspiring their own appreciation of birds.

I challenge you to make such a commitment to reach out to non-birders and start opening their eyes to the birds around them. Scoping shorebirds at the beach? Approach a beach-walker and tell them to check it out. Walking through a park on a Saturday morning? Share the Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, or whatever with any one that passes by. Offer them a glimpse through your binoculars! These little acts start to chip away at the wall of ignorance that separates most people from not just birds but the natural world in general.

This year, my own personal pledge is to plant at least 10,000 "birding seeds" by the end of school on June 20, 2010. Each seed shall consist of a discreet and explicit bird-centric interaction with a current non-birder. Furthermore, I will do my best to post at least weekly updates of my pledge along with highlights featuring cute, funny, or poignant anecdotes.

Why a "Pledge to Fledge"? By sowing such birding seeds, we are chipping away at the barriers that exists between most people and the world of birds. We may not create the next uber-birder but we WILL building a general awareness of birds which is a critical first step in promoting a societal bird conservation ethic!

On behalf of our birds, please consider making your own Pledge to Fledge = )

In the context of my pledge, a discreet interaction shall be each separate discussion with an individual. Some examples would include:

- pointing out a passing flock of birds to a friend will count as 1 seed,

- celebrating a new life bird with a class of 25 students counts as 25 seeds as each student will have learned something new about birds,

- chatting with 5 coworkers at lunch about the hummingbird that Lori had on her feeder would count as 1 seed,

- HOWEVER if the above conversation results in each coworker chirping in with their own backyards sightings, this would be 5 seeds,

- bringing a friend along on a birding excursion would count as 1 seed yet bringing his wife and two kids along would be a total of 4 seeds!

In the context of my pledge, an explicit conversation shall be both proactive and direct in nature. Some examples of an explicit seed would be:

- wearing a t-shirt from a terrific birding destination AND discussing the rich bird diversity of that area with someone,

- having a bird calendar on my chalkboard and inviting/entertaining questions about the particular species with a coworker,


- inviting a complete stranger/passerby to sneak a peek at plovers and peeps on the beach through my scope.

For my personal pledge, the following would not constitute a "bird seed" being planted:

- wearing a t-shirt from your fave birding hot spot without any further explanation or interaction,

- decorating my class with bird artifacts but NOT explaining any of them to the students.

While I look forward to sharing my progress with you, I'm also eager to hear about your own birding interactions!