Volunteers in the Scope: Cody Urban

As researchers and community scientists, everyone in the PSBO community gives generously of their time and talent to support conservation. In this ongoing feature, we turn our scope on one or more of the dedicated volunteers who exemplify a commitment to the birds. 

Tell us a little about yourself: Where are you from? What’s your background?

Cody in the field

Hi! My name is Cody, and I'm an avian/wildlife enthusiast. I've lived in Olympia most of my life, though I've spent a few years on Oahu, and now I'm living out towards Auburn. I majored in fire science at North Seattle College, and I'm working to get involved in fire ecology for my career!

How did you find out about the Puget Sound Seabird Survey (PSSS)? What motivated you to become a PSSS volunteer?

After a conversation I had while volunteering at the Iona Island Bird Observatory in Vancouver, BC, I looked up some more local organizations hoping to get involved, and found PSBO and the PSSS through their website! I emailed with a few questions, received great information from Cindy Easterson, and signed up with the intention of improving my ID skills and getting involved with a cool and significant community science project.

What was the most unusual or noteworthy bird reported in any of your surveys?

The most notable find, in my eyes at least, were the Rhinoceros Auklets spotted mid-season. This was my first time seeing them (along with several other species), but given my recent acquisition of Seabirds as Sentinels by Eric Wagner, a book on this particular species, I'm invested in seeing these little guys around. So angry looking but so cute!

Other than seeing this bird, what was the most memorable experience you had this past season?

Outside of the birds themselves, I had a wonderful time meeting and getting to know the other participants month by month! Everyone I met during this season was lovely, and I'm looking forward to working with them again in the future. An especially noteworthy (and miserable) survey was late season, early morning, with high winds and heavy rain where myself and Linda Whipple showed up to survey, despite the undesirable conditions. I had to wring out my socks, and the data sheets had to be hung up to dry! Definitely an outlier, but it was memorable and fun. 

Why would you recommend volunteering with the PSSS?

Community, conservation, birds! My heart feels full from this experience, and I'm actively looking forward to the next season. If you can spare a couple hours every first Saturday of the month, or even if you can only make it to a few surveys out of the year, your team is there to make it work and I would strongly recommend volunteering. Since the PSSS season has ended, I've continued volunteering for PSBO by helping with the Wetland Secretive Bird Monitoring, which is an equally cool and exciting project!