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A 10,000 Mile Quest for Birds: An Interview with Malkolm, Ken and Wendy

15-year old Malkolm is on a year-long 10,000 mile bike-trip across North America with his parents, Ken and Wendy. Why? Birds, to put it simply.

They’re on what’s known by bird lovers as a Big Year, trying to catch a glimpse of as many types of bird as they can. But they’re doing it with two key differences: by cycling the entire way, they’re making an important point about fossil-fuel-free transportation; and they’re also raising money for bird conservation.

TravelBlogs caught up with them last week to find out how their trip is going.

First of all, tell us a bit about yourselves and why you’re doing this trip.

Big Years were becoming more and more ridiculous in their use of fossil fuels

We are a family living in Whitehorse, Yukon. Wendy is a family doctor, Ken works on conservation issues and Malkolm is a high school student. We decided to do this trip after reading several books about “Big Years.” A birder’s Big Year is the ultimate birding obsession – spending an entire year to see as many birds as possible in North America. Big Years, however, were becoming more and more ridiculous in their use of fossil fuels – the current record-holder flew more than the distance to the moon as he zig-zagged across the continent in search of rare birds. We decided that we would do our Bird Year without using any fossil fuels – by bikes, boats and boots.

One of the stated aims of your trip is to raise money for bird conservation. Why is bird conservation important at the moment?

Conservation is important and will be increasingly critical over the next few years. Birds are a good focus for us since their migrations link threatened habitats across the world. The birds that pass through our own home areas depend upon our actions at home – and our actions in supporting conservation in far-away places like the tropics and the Arctic.

How are you promoting bird conservation?

We are promoting bird conservation in several ways. We are raising money for bird conservation through direct donations and through something we are calling our “Bird Day Challenge.” We are giving presentations during our travels to raise awareness about bird conservation and climate change. And, at the most basic level, we are doing our best to leave a small conservation “footprint” during our travels.

You’re also promoting fossil-fuel-free transportation by bicycling the entire trip. Is this the first time you’ve done a major bike trip? Has it been a big challenge?

This has been our first self-supported bike trip of this sort. It has been a challenge in several ways. Since we are using no fossil fuels for our transport, we have to constantly think ahead to make sure we have all of the supplies we need. We can’t (or won’t!) jump in a car to get that loaf of bread or jug of milk we forgot to get. One of our biggest challenges has been in keeping up our website, blog and email correspondence. After a physically demanding day, it isn’t easy to search out a place where we can do our internet. We are also carrying way more gear than we would on a “normal” trip – things like a laptop computer and heavy camera gear. It is worth it though, since it is the way we promote our conservation goals.

What’s it like travelling together as a family? Has it been a bonding experience?

The trip has become our life

We have done a number of wilderness trips as a family – but nothing as demanding as this trip. The trip has become our life: getting up every day, cycling and sharing the day’s highlights. It has brought us closer together as a family since we are all working towards our shared goals.

What have been some of the highlights of the trip so far?

One of my most memorable moments came as we searched for the the Tufted Puffin from kayaks. This clownish looking species, with an enormous orange bill nests on the small islands near La Push, in Washington. Yet by the time we arrived, they had all gone out to sea. We found a kayak rental company and paddled out in search of them. Luckily, one of these beautiful birds popped up from a dive right in front of my boat, and gave us a great show- preening and flapping its wings. Another great moment was when I found a Black-capped Gnatcatcher. This bird had blundered hundreds of miles north of its usual range, landing in south-eastern Arizona. I thrashed around in the mesquite for hours in search of it, ripping myself apart on the thorny bushes. Finally I heard the bird calling its scratchy, cat like meow, and spotted it flitting in a cactus.

What should people do if they want to find out more about bird conservation?

We are encouraging people to do fossil fuel reduced birding in the spring of 2008. People can go out in search of birds using eco friendly forms of transportation, (walking, cycling, public transportation etc.), while raising money for bird conservation. For more details see the “ Bird Day Challenge” page of our website. There are also many great books and websites about ways to protect birds. To find some websites, go to the “ Protect Birds” page on our website and follow the links.

Take a look at Malkolm, Ken and Wendy’s blog, Bird Year, to stay abreast of where they are and the latest birds they’ve seen.

Subscribe to TravelBlogs Posted by Eric Daams on November 12th, 2007 in Interviews.
Tags: activism, Big Year, cycling, family travel, green travel, nature, North America, United States