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Erect-crested Penguins, Antipodes Islands, NZ ©Bud Younts

Target Birding for Endemics and Rare Species

Thursday, February 6th | 7:15 PM | Tyvola Senior Center
Presenter: Bud Younts, Birder Extraordinaire

Bud Younts could have been considered a babe in the woods. He did not have a life list. He’d never slept with his binoculars on. He hadn’t even seen the movie “The Big Year.” He signed up for his first bird walk in March 2021 and took a “spark” trip with Ron Clark to Huntington Beach State Park. Not more than two years later, he woke up on yet another plane, in yet another time zone, missing meals and rabidly chasing yet another bird. He realized he was “accidentally” doing a Big Year himself.

He finished the year #6 of all ABA birders in the U.S. and Canada with 734 species. But even after that kind of success, he kept going. He completed another Big Year in 2024, finishing with 1,644 species, #100 of over 100,000 birders in the world.

How did Bud Younts go from what he calls a “Mecklenburg Audubon Treasure Birder” to an “Exotic Geography Birder” to an “Endemics and Target Birder” in just a few short years? Better yet, what could you learn from his supersonic journey? Find out Thursday, February 6th at the Tyvola Senior Center. Refreshments and socializing start at 6:45 p.m. with the program at 7. You can also join through the Zoom link we’ll send to our members February 5th. Not a member? Just email Judy Walker (birdwalker@me.com), and the link will wing its way into your inbox!

A Look Back at MAS 2024

Click on the Watch on YouTube arrow not the red arrow.

Mecklenburg Audubon has partnered with Wing Haven to present as series of lectures about birds and bird watching. These once a month lectures (September - February) will touch on a variety of topics that will help you enjoy our feathered friends. Topics will range from tips on backyard bird feeding, and raptors to bird anatomy. Profits from these lectures will be shared by both organization. As a MAS member you are entitle to register as a member of the gardens.