After months of dedicated work from young people across North America, our esteemed panel of judges has evaluated and tabulated the results of the 2019 ABA Young Birder of the Year Contest. We are very excited to announce the winners!
Your 2019 ABA Young Birders of the Year are 13-year-old Ronan Nicholson from Sacramento, California (10-13 Age Group) and 17-year-old Max Nootbaar from Charlottesville, Virginia (14-18 Age Group). Congratulations Ronan and Max!
2019 ABA Young Birders of the Year Ronan Nicholson (L) and Max Nootbaar (R)
We’re grateful to our sponsors, who donated fantastic prizes for our winning contestants. Ronan and Max, as the top finishers in each Age Group, will each receive a pair of Leica Trinovid binoculars donated by ABA’s Legacy Sponsor for the Young Birder of the Year Program, Leica Sport Optics.
We would also like to thank our judges. These dedicated birders give freely of their time and energy to give each of the young birders who participate, helpful feedback to help them expand their birding related skills. These comments are priceless and keep kids coming back year after year.
The ABA young birder programs are made possible thanks to the ABA members who fund this program through their generous donations.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in this prestigious competition!
Click here to see the complete list of all of module winners. And stay tuned to The Eyrie in the coming weeks to see excerpts from the winning entries, interviews with the winners, and more.
The 2020 program begins on April 15, so mark your calendars! There will be some interesting changes in the 2020 program.  For more information, contact the American Birding Association headquarters at (800) 850-BIRD (2473) or (302)-838-3660, email us, or look for contest details on the ABA website.
The ABA Young Birder of the Year Contest is sponsored by Leica Sport Optics, our Legacy Sponsor, as well as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Penguin Random House, Prospect Patches, Wunderbird, and Drawing 10000 Birds.