The judges have reviewed all of the outstanding entries. ABA staff has compiled the scores. After much anticipation, we are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2017 ABA Young Birder of the Year Contest!
Your 2017 ABA Young Birder of the Year in the 14-18 age group is 18-year-old Johanna Beam from Lyons, Colorado.

Johanna Beam, 2017 ABA Young Birder of the Year, 14-18 age group

We had a tie in the 11-13 age group, and top honors are shared by two thirteen-year-olds: Bailey Eichhorn from Lexington, South Carolina and Cayenne Sweeney from Camarillo, California.

Bailey Eichhorn, 2017 ABA Young Birder of the Year, 11-13 age group

Cayenne Sweeney, 2017 ABA Young Birder of the Year, 11-13 age group

All three overall age group winners will receive a Leica Trinovid binocular, courtesy of Leica Sport Optics, the Legacy Sponsor of ABA Young Birder Programs.

Young Birder of the Year 2017 Results

Each of the overall ABA Young Birder of the Year winners will receive a pair of Leica Trinovid binoculars, generously donated by ABA’s Legacy Sponsor, Leica Sport Optics. Prizes for individual module winners are donated by Penguin Random House, David Sibley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Princeton University Press, The Shop @ ABA.
A special thanks to our dedicated team of volunteer judges, who spent many hours reviewing entries and writing comments for each contestant.
We’ll be posting interviews with the contest winners in the coming weeks, along with examples of some of their award-winning submissions. In the meanwhile, good birding and remember – the 2018 Young Birder of the Year Contest begins April 15th!