Over the summer there is this young ornithologists’ workshop in a few different places across Canada which I am applying for. It is for one week in August for teenagers. During the workshop, there is hands-on natural history and scientific activities with a focus on bird banding and migration monitoring. It is for Canadian youth who have a strong passion and interest in field biology, nature, conservation, and of course birds…like me. There is a big application process because competition is high as it is limited to six participants, so I have to show that I really want this. I am applying to two of the places to higher my chances of getting into one. First, there is a camping workshop in Northern Alberta at Beaverhill Bird Observatory where I would have to tent camp. This workshop has a focus on banding stations and bird migration programs as well as learning more about birds in a field situation. We would also learn about bats, butterflies, and other wildlife. The other workshop is in southern Ontario at Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO). The description of this workshop seems to be more hands-on than the Alberta one and still has a main focus on bird banding and monitoring. I would love to go to LPBO because it is the best time of year to go to southern Ontario for bird migration. They have the most birds there than any other place in Canada. Plenty of potential lifers for me since I have never been to Ontario. Southern Ontario is bird-rich in August, and I would love to get the opportunity to experience that. There are 463 species of bird in Canada that occur regularly, and 383 of those have been reported at Long Point! That is a huge number when you think about how bird Canada compared to one small stretch of land that juts out into a lake (Lake Erie). I will not know whether I get in or not until June 5th but if I had to choose between the two, I would choose LPBO even though they would both be incredible to go to.