Published: February 19, 2008 08:36 am      

A buddy to the birds

Jesse Huth of Wimberley wins the annual Golden Eagle Award for his service

Wimberley — Jesse Huth of Wimberley has won the Golden Eagle Award, given annually to the person in Hays County who does the most for birds and birding.

Huth, age 16, accepted a framed certificate and a check for $60 at a recent meeting of the Wimberley Birding Society, sponsor of the award.

“This young man is a most deserving winner,” said Peggy Wilkerson, bird club president. “His accomplishments are just outstanding.”

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been a fan of Jesse for several years, having first known him as a bright, home-schooled youngster who raised chickens and sold eggs. In 1999, it became obvious to me that he knew a thing or two about birds other than chickens. That was the year he won a contest I conducted to identify two mystery bird feathers.

The feathers, from the Gladys Porter Zoo, were scarlet and came from a bird that is a favorite in Trinidad. Jesse solved the mystery, naming the scarlet ibis as the bird and correctly noting it is the national bird of Trinidad. For winning, he received adoption papers on an endangered Attwater’s prairie chicken.

His mother, Jaci Kroupa, informed me back then that Jesse had recently completed a short home-school unit on birds. “He’s been very interested in birds since that unit,” she said. “He has several guides and books on the subject.”

In the years since then, Jesse has developed into an extremely proficient birder. And he is generous in sharing his avian knowledge with others, whether giving talks to school children or appearing on a Texas Parks and Wildlife TV program.

The Golden Eagle Award recognized Jesse’s accomplishments during the year 2007 and some of his most notable deeds were as follows.

1. Built a walk-in bird blind as an Eagle Scout project at the Patsy Glenn Refuge in Wimberley. This major endeavor required about a year and a half to complete and involved doing research, raising construction funds, completing a tedious permit process, doing drafting and arranging for construction. He also contributed physical labor.

2. Started a birding team which placed second in the 2007 Gliders Division of the Great Texas Birding Classic.

3. Served as a junior volunteer at the Travis Audubon Society Birding Camp, where youngsters learned to use field guides and binoculars. He did similar volunteer work during elementary school tours at the Patsy Glenn Refuge.

4. Gave birding talks at the Wimberley Village Library and to school classes in Wimberley.

5. Arranged for a speaker from Bamberger Ranch to address the Wimberley Birding Society and introduced the speaker.

Jesse still raises chickens. He’s now an expert in that field, serving as a judge at various competitive events involving domestic fowl.

He also raises and shows llamas and is currently taking on-line community college classes. Plus, he is very adept at tying fishing flies.

He has yet to pick a career field, but whatever life work he chooses, I predict he will do it very well. Congratulations, Jesse!