Young Birders Series: Nate Koszycki

The young birder with a former
young birder!

Nate Koszycki is a young birder from Toledo, Ohio.  I met Nate and his mom Monica when my wife, aunt, and I competed in the North Coast Open last month.  At 13, he already has an amazing knack for identifying birds by sound only.  Nate is a member of the Ohio Young Birders' Club and has just recently started contributing to Rarebird.org.  I could tell you more about him, but why not let Nate tell his own story?  Enjoy!

Hi there.  As you know, my name is Nate Koszycki.  I'm a 13 year old hockey player and have been birding for many years.  Of all the birds I've seen, the Hooded Warbler is my current favorite.  Although I am young, I have accomplished many tasks as a birder, such as perfecting my identification skills though sight and through sound (lots of research and practice), getting the right and suitable equipment and getting to opportune events for specific birds.

I started "officicially" birding around 6 or 7 years old when I got my first pair of binoculars.  I was inspired to be a birder by just occasionally walking around the metroparks and watching the birds go by.  The bird that really got me into birding was the Northern Cardinal.  I always loved red so the cardinal really interested me.  I did some research on the cardinal and then got hooked on other birds that I started seeing.

Nate getting it done during the NCO.

Birding at the metroparks was great, but I got little discouraged because I was seeing the same birds over and over.  Then one day my Grandpa took me to Magee Marsh and the other Lake Erie marshes.  Spotting all of the warblers and marsh birds really showed me that there is more to birding than just cardinals.

It all took off from there.  My biggest clean up for one day was 102 species in the North Coast Open, and currently my life list is around 210.  I am not technically doing a "Big Year", but I am keeping track of my sightings for the year.  I'm currently at 156 species.  I am part of many birding clubs including the Toledo Naturalist Association and Rare Bird Alert.  I hope to continue to hone my birding skills throughout my life, and to always keep striving to get better.  Happy birding!    - Nate Koszycki

Nate is getting into nature photography.  Here's an albino Robin that hangs out in his neighborhood.

Nate called in this Gnatcatcher for a great shot.