Ezra Campanelli

I am a birder from Hamilton, Ontario, and I'm planning on doing an all out Ontario 'big year' in 2022. I can thank my parents for introducing me to nature at a young age. Being a family that, to this day, does not own a car, we would always go for hikes and bike rides in and around Hamilton’s natural areas (shout-out Royal Botanical Gardens!). My brother Giovanni and I began noticing the birds on these excursions, and a tiny digital camera that I got for one of my single-digit birthdays plus encouragement from our parents’ birder friend Jeff Gilbreath, served to convert us into amateur birders. Giovanni and I would test each other on our ID skills using the Royal Ontario Museum’s photo field guide to the birds of Ontario, complete with its very odd choice of Little Blue Heron on the cover.

 

What really fanned the flames of our newfound hobby was banding at Ruthven Park, which was run by the Haldimand Bird Observatory. Getting to handle birds and get up close and personal with them was, and continues to be, one of the most magical things I have experienced. Rick Ludkin and all the volunteers there create a wonderful environment for teaching and nurturing the next generation of naturalists. I made some amazing friends there, and the great work the Haldimand Bird Observatory does to promote bird conservation is what inspired me to use my upcoming ‘big year’ (more on that later) as a means of raising money for HBO. 100% of the proceeds go to HBO or Birds Canada, depending on the donor's choice. Donate here!