Friends, this is my second GoFundMe request for this year. Your generous contributions earlier this year, helped me deliver a robust Master Class on Bird Vocalizations at Cave Creek, Arizona. This second request for your financial support will be directed towards a Young Birder Camp scheduled for December 2025, at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati (India). This camp will introduce Young Birders to concepts in Biodiversity, Ecology. Bird Vocalization, Conservation and Citizen Science. This camp will also feature an “Artist in Residence” , who would be conducting an art workshop throughout the camp duration.

I have been a birder since 1978. Since my retirement the end of 2023, I have spent the past two years advocating for birds, locally by giving talks at the Canton Public Library (Canton, MI), Summit at the Park Club 55 + (Canton, MI), Woodlands Garden in Decatur, Georgia. My talks range from Joy of Birding, Perilous Journeys: Story of Avian Migration, How Birds Work, Origin and Evolution of Birds and Visualizing Birdsong. This June, I taught a Master Class on Avian Vocalizations at the Arizona Young Birder camp held at the Southwest Research Station in Cave Creek, AZ. I introduced young birders to concepts in Bioacoustics, basics of avian vocalizations, use of field recording devices, and practices. Thanks to your GoFundMe contributions in the past and Cornell Ornithology Laboratory, I was able to teach analysis of bird vocalizations using Raven Pro and acquire recording hardware. At this camp, participants spent half a day recording a dozen Southwest Arizona birds, including the elegant Trogon.

In 2023, I collaborated with Dr V.V. Robin, at Indian Institute Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India, to organize their first young birders camp. Dr Robin’s Bird Lab at IISER Tirupati, a premiere academic institution known for its pioneering research in Ornithology and Ecology. This camp in Tirupati, India, exposed young minds to concepts in Evolution, Ornithology, Citizen Science, Conservation and Ecology. Participants in the age group of 14-18 years spent time learning in the classroom and in the field. This camp included daily bird walks, team-based activities, and solving avian mysteries.

At this second young Birder Camp in December 2025 in Tirupati, India, our goal is to offer scholarships based on participants’ family income. $250 would be adequate for a single participant to attend camp, covering all their expenses for transportation. camp fees, boarding and lodging for four days. We are looking for a little over $ 2000 in this fund-raising event to cover these scholarships, sponsor an artist in residence, teaching materials and administrative costs.

Your contribution, no matter the amount, will in part directly empower a deserving student and set them on a path towards advocating for Ecology and the Environment in this rapidly changing world. Your past contributions have produced three outstanding young adults pursuing their higher studies in Biology, serving as interns at the Bird Labs at IISER Tirupati, with one of them publishing a paper on bird vocalizations.