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Birder of the Year
KORNELIA ROBERTSON
In October 2022, the American Birding Association named Zita Robertson one of its Young Birders of the Year. Zita, a 13-year-old from Canton, Missouri, fell in love with birds six years ago, when her family bought a flock of chickens. As she watched her new feathered friends, she started noticing the other birds living just outside her door.
ZITA ROBERTSON
BEAUTIFUL BIRDS: Zita Robertson creates detailed paintings of some of the birds she observes, like the northern saw-whet owl (right) and the eastern meadowlark (left).
Last year, Zita observed more than 350 different bird species, logging them in a field notebook and on eBird, an online birding platform. She also created detailed maps and illustrations.
The data that Zita collects helps her learn more about birds’ behaviors. For example, she realized that several species of aquatic birds, including wood ducks and great blue herons, would stop in her neighbors’ ponds to rest on their way to the nearby Mississippi River. Zita also observed birds known as European bee-eaters nesting in an empty lot and noted how the animals adapted to human changes in the environment. Birds are a gateway to understanding all of nature, Zita says. “It’s all connected.”
EDWIN GIESBERS/NPL/MINDEN PICTURES
ZITA’S MOST WANTED: The black stork is Zita’s “nemesis bird.” Birders use this term to refer to a bird that they have been searching for and can’t seem to find. Zita has been trying to spot a black stork since 2021.