After encountering a gull unlike any he had ever seen before—a striking Heermann’s Gull—on a trip to the Olympic Peninsula in 2020, Steven began to pay closer attention to the birds around him. Propelled by that first gull, he soon became hooked on birding, and what began as a casual hobby quickly grew into an obsession. He devoured field guides, spent evenings memorizing identification nuances, and began birding almost every day. From early on, he knew he wanted birds to become a professional focus.
In 2022, Steven began volunteering as a data collector for citizen science projects through Seattle Audubon and the Puget Sound Bird Observatory. The sense of purpose he found in this work inspired him to return to university in 2024, taking his first steps toward becoming an avian ecologist.
Steven is currently an undergraduate at the University of Washington in the Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management program, focusing on Wildlife Conservation. Unsurprisingly, his favorite course so far has been Field Ornithology. After graduating, he hopes to continue to graduate school to study how birds interact with their environments—particularly species vulnerable to climate change and other human-driven pressures.
What Steven loves most about birding is the deep connection it offers to the natural world. He is happiest at a favorite local patch with binoculars in hand and looks forward to sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with birders of all backgrounds.
