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Spring
2002
Dylan
Blanchard:
Birds and Cubbies
Dylan
Blanchard is one part baseball and video games — and
one part scientist. This 7
year-old from Evanston is an avid bird watcher. Wingspans
and bird calls whirl in his head among batting averages
and baseball trivia.
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Photo
by Kevin Weinstein
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"This
whole birding thing, from a parent’s perspective, is
so great," says Jane Grover, Dylan’s mother. "It
ties into learning to read...It’s not loud, it’s
exercise, and it’s nature."
"This
whole birding thing" began less than two years ago
during a family trip to Wisconsin. Dylan began to show an
interest in birds, and so his grandfather — himself
an ornithologist — gave him binoculars and a bird book.
Since then, Dylan has acquired and memorized a stack of
bird books and he keeps a life list that includes 69 species.
"When you see a bird, you write it down," Dylan
explains, and Jane adds that an adult must confirm the identification.
Nevertheless,
William Blanchard, Dylan’s father, is amazed by his
oldest son’s birding abilities. "We were on our
way to North Carolina and we stopped at McDonald’s
to eat," relates Bill. "I said, ‘Dylan, what
is that bird on top of the garbage can?’ He says, ‘It’s
a mockingbird.’ I ask, ‘Are you sure? I don’t
think so.’ ‘Yeah, I’m sure.’ Then he
goes back to eating his sandwich. We check the bird book,
and he’s right — although he’s never seen
one before."
Jane,
too, is impressed, but mystified, by Dylan’s precocity.
"Sometimes he corrects my father, who’s been doing
this for 60 years!"
Dylan’s
approach to birding is simple. "I hold the binoculars,
look at the birds, look what’s around the birds, then
I tell my mom and dad what kind of bird it is."
A
brown-haired, gray-green-eyed second grader in a Braves
tee shirt, preoccupied with a lollipop and fidgeting in
his seat, Dylan lights up as he sorts through his bird books,
pulls out a collection of binoculars, and models the peregrine
falcon costume his mother made for him last Halloween.
In
his bedroom, which he shares with five year-old Jack and
two year-old Joseph, there are shelves with children’s
books and baseball trophies. A stuffed toy bald eagle perches
next to a large Cubs poster above his bunk bed, and the
far wall is decorated with framed pictures of birds.
Dylan
says that seeing a red-tailed hawk sitting in a tree was
his most exciting bird experience. He looks forward to one
day spotting a red-throated loon and becoming a professional
baseball player.
—
Shanna M. McGarry
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