Meet your neighbor, the 11-year-old bird ambassador

Good morning, DMV! It’s Thursday, May 28.

I first met 11-year-old Ali Dorsey in February, during a morning bird walk at Langston Golf Course in D.C. Ali was there in his role as junior ambassador of the DC Bird Alliance, the advocacy group that led the hike with the National Links Trust, which oversees the golf course.

His passion and knowledge were clear. He identified birds by sight and even by sound: the kingfisher, the Carolina wren. I chatted briefly with Ali and left the walk intrigued, wanting to learn more about him.

This Saturday — as Black Birders Week comes to a close — Ali is hosting a nature walk at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens with Erik Callender, the Reptile Guy from PBS.

Ahead of his walk, I reached out to Ali and his mother, Tara Dorsey. We talked last night on a video call. Ali, a resident of D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood and fifth grader at Inspired Teaching Demonstration School in Northeast, told me he first became interested in birds during the pandemic.

“During covid … I had to find something to do. I like feeding birds because they’re cool. I used to get very excited when I’d meet different species of birds,” he told me.

Tara said he asked a lot of questions, so she printed out a backyard bird guide for him. He’d spend hours on the porch, waiting until he saw the birds on the printouts. He eventually moved on to books, poring over every detail.

“My first bird walk [with the DC Bird Alliance] was very cool and surprising. I was 6 years old back then. We were on the Potomac, and we saw a bald eagle,” he said. “We saw a lot of other birds: hawks, ducks, gulls, songbirds.”

He can identify most birds in the D.C. area by sight, sound and their flight patterns. He said he has been junior ambassador for DC Bird Alliance for a couple of years.

“My job is very important to me because I love birds,” he told me on the call.

“My job is basically doing monthly and weekly bird walks and meeting newbies and people that are new to birding. I teach beginners how to look for birds and recognize their calls … It’s mostly adults. There’s not that much kids — rarely.”

Tara chimed in: “Just Ali and a bunch of adults.”

He has become a more confident public speaker, she said. Earlier this month on World Migratory Bird Day, Ali sat at a DC Bird Alliance table and provided information to 250 people about the group and its events.

“To keep up with that rigor of talking to people the entire time — it’s a great learning experience, even adults can’t do that,” Tara said. “I’m so proud of him.”

Ali’s favorite bird is the summer tanager.

“They have this beautiful red when summer comes. In the spring [when they are immature], they have this green, but then … they start molting and their feathers start turning red,” he said, adding that one was recently spotted at Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax, Virginia.

His favorite birdsong is that of the white-throated sparrow.

I asked him how birding makes him feel.

“Calm and quiet,” he said. “You get to see and hear nature, and see how nature’s doing. A lot of amazing things can happen when you’re out in the woods.”

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Erin Ryan, 44, a violin and viola teacher living in Alexandria, said she was obsessed this spring with an owl family in her and her neighbors’ yards.

“One day an owlet fluttered to the ground outside my window as I was eating breakfast and landed in the shrub outside the window,” Erin said of the above photo taken on May 17.

“The 2 owlets have moved on to other trees now, but watching those owls was the highlight of my spring.”

Separately … last night I spotted my yard’s first fireflies of the season. Just two, perhaps because it was raining. One was blinking under a large willow oak. The other near some bushes and saplings.

What has been the highlight of your spring? Share your photos of life in the DMV here.

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