It\u2019s a postcard-perfect fall day on the Hill: mild temperatures, brilliant blue sky, leaves ablaze with color. On this glorious Sunday afternoon in late October, a half-dozen Cornellians are taking advantage of the weather, savoring an hour-long guided bird-watching hike around Beebe Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peering through binoculars, they admire a great blue heron standing on the opposite shore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon, their guide points out other feathered friends: a song sparrow on a branch; Canada geese and common mergansers idling on the water; an American goldfinch off in the distance; a downy woodpecker moving up a tree trunk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the birds may be the main draw, the guide\u2014a sophomore member of Cornell\u2019s Birding Club\u2014is a celebrity in his own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A social media influencer with nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram<\/a>, Isaiah Scott \u201925 is emerging as a young adult leader in the national birding community\u2014passionate not only about conserving and appreciating avian species, but attracting fellow Gen Zers and people of color to his favorite pastime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Majoring in environment and sustainability in CALS, Scott is a Georgia native who developed a passion for birding after visiting the Lab of Ornithology during a family visit to Ithaca for his older brother\u2019s college tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Both are now undergrads, with biological sciences major Darius Scott \u201922 set to graduate from CALS in December.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, Scott picked up his first pair of binoculars at the Lab\u2019s gift shop\u2014and went on to launch his own small-scale tour operation, Ike\u2019s Birding Hikes, while still in high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI enjoy birdwatching so much, I want to share it,\u201d he says, chatting with Cornellians<\/em> outside Mann Library in early September. \u201cI want people to be outdoors and experience the healing and regenerative power of nature\u2014especially when seeing birds, because they\u2019re such inspirational animals.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n After Ike\u2019s Birding Hikes appeared on the local news, the Ogeechee (GA) Audubon Society reached out to offer Scott membership and to host some of his tours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He has since gone on to become a leader of Cornell\u2019s Birding Club (he\u2019s chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion); study and work at the Hog Island Audubon Camp<\/a> off the Maine coast; and assist on a grad student\u2019s research project in Sapsucker Woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I want people to be outdoors and experience the healing and regenerative power of nature.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n For the latter, third-year PhD student Ethan Duvall tapped Scott to help collect data for his study of calcium consumption in birds, which is necessary for egg laying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Duvall’s study involved positioning cameras in Sapsucker, setting out sources of the mineral (such as bones and shells), then reviewing the footage to chronicle what the birds favored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIsaiah is phenomenal in his passion and initiative toward trying to make the ornithological community a more inclusive space\u2014but also a more fun space,\u201d says Duvall. \u201cHe has a special ability to connect with people in a way that expresses how engaging birding can be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Isaiah](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/2022_1264_SH_001-A-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Isaiah](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/IMG_0310-A-819x1024.jpg\")