Photo: Spotted Sandpiper, Maxwell Julius
Scarlet Tanager, Maxwell Julius
Yellow-throated Warbler, Maxwell Julius
This story is about one of our youngest teams, The Chipperbirders. Two brothers in high school, Maxwell and Danté Julius completed an excellent Birdathon on Mother’s Day, but these considerate young men reassured us that they celebrated the holiday the day prior with their family.
Maxwell is in 11th grade and his brother Danté is in 9th grade. They have both been birding for four years. Maxwell enjoys photographing birds and Danté often draws field sketches of the birds.
The brothers started out their big day at about 7 AM and birded until after 8 PM, seeing an incredible 85 species at four locations!
Maxwell took photos of a number of their species, such as the Spotted Sandpiper, Scarlet Tanager, and a life-bird for Maxwell – the Yellow-throated Warbler, which they saw right at the end of their day.
When they sent in their impressive list of birds, Maxwell reported that they had a great time bird watching, stating that “the variety of species we witnessed was truly amazing, and all of the birds were spectacular.” The boys went to Huntley Meadows, Gravelly Point, Monticello Park, Four-mile-run Park, and Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. We are all grateful and very proud of these talented young birders.
Please consider donating here to support their team and to celebrate their accomplishments. They are so close to reaching their fundraising goal! This team inspires us to think about the future, about what birds we will still have in Northern Virginia when these two young people are enjoying their retirement. Your support helps us protect birds and their habitats not just now but in the years to come, for the next generation of birders. Thank you.
Spotted Sandpiper, Maxwell Julius