Bird Families with Bill Young
Red-bellied Woodpecker. Photo: Marie Schmidt/Audubon Photography Awards
Educational Videos About Families of Birds
This series of videos created by Bill Young examines birds’ natural history and cultural importance. Learn more about Bill and browse his videos here or on his YouTube channel.
A Little Background
Bill is the co-creator, with Ashley Bradford, of the MPNature.com website, which offers a wealth of information about the natural history of Monticello Park in Alexandria as well as many other resources for people interested in nature.
The writer Margaret Atwood once said that people are not likely to want to save the environment until they first love the environment. Bill and Ashley have expanded on this, adding that people are not likely to love the environment until they first understand what is in it. Bill's videos are based on the same principle.
The videos are suitable for people of all ages. They are being made so that people who do not know much about birds or natural history will still enjoy them and learn from them, and so that people who know a lot about birds also will learn something. Some of the videos deal with birds seen in Northern Virginia, such as the Eastern thrushes and Eastern woodpeckers. Others deal with birds that almost everyone in Northern Virginia knows about but rarely sees, such as albatrosses and pelicans.
Even though the production of the videos is a one-person operation, Bill is receiving a great deal of help from a variety of sources. In addition to using his own videos and photos, the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has given him permission to use their audio recordings.
The videos include photos from Bill Higgins' remarkable website. Bill Hohenstein has been similarly generous about the use of his collection of video footage. Ashley Bradford has contributed a lot of video footage and photos, and various people in different corners of the world have also contributed.
The videos are strictly non-commercial, and Bill does not receive any compensation for making them. If you know individuals, groups, or schools who might be interested in viewing them, please feel free to share the links. And stay tuned for future videos which will be posted.
Bird Families with Bill Young
Each video lasts about 30 minutes and focuses on a particular family of birds. Please enjoy and share this wonderful educational resource! We will post Bill’s videos on bird families here, but you can also visit his YouTube channel to see more of his work on specific birds species and other animals.
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