My name is Matthew Bell. I am from Vernon, Connecticut, a small town about 20 minutes north-east of Hartford, CT. I was born in January 1996, and have always had an attraction to nature and the environment. I have traveled throughout the United States with my parents and younger brother, an experience I am beyond grateful for. From Maine to Florida to Arizona and everywhere in between, I have visited countless National Parks, Monuments, Forests, and other local natural wonders. Living in a forested part of Connecticut definitely has its perks when learning to pay attention to nature and all that comes with it.
Throughout my life I have always loved science, and I have one person to thank for everything. I attended high school at East Catholic High School in Manchester, CT. My freshmen year, I took Honors Biology with many people who have ended up being some of my closest friends. But the person who makes all the difference is my teacher. Never in my life up until that point had I ever met someone so devoted to and so enthusiastic for science. She taught me to pay more attention to everything around me, to realize how intricate the relationship between everything living and non-living, and to show my enthusiasm and not be ashamed of it. I enjoyed her class so much, that as soon as the opportunity arose to take Advanced Placement (AP) Biology with her, I took it. The class was everything I thought it would be, and more. It was here, in this class, that my love of birds not only was refreshed, but thrived and flourished.
After the AP Exam, as the work-load began winding down, the high school still required AP students to take a final for the class, albeit could be an alternate final. For AP Biology, my teacher offered the chance to try and find 50 birds in approximately 3 weeks. I remember at the time thinking that finding that many birds in 3 weeks was impossible (little did I know that now 50 birds in a day is expected when I go out in the field). Sadly, I didn’t reach 50 birds in the time frame, ending with approximately 45. However, because of this experience, the gears started churning. The next year, I helped my girlfriend get her 50 birds for the class, and helped with the final day, when the class went together to a local park to help those looking for just 1 more species. I returned again the year after my first year here at The Ohio State University, to help once again, and hope to help many more times in the future.
So that’s who I am. Matthew Bell, an avid birder, who has birded in Connecticut and Maine mostly, some in Florida, and now in Ohio. As my life list grows, I am forever grateful of that teacher, who flipped a switch that I will always be grateful for. Hopefully, through this blog, I may instill you with a wonder you never knew existed, and pay forward what my high school teacher did for me. Open your eyes, look around, and realize not only the avian wonders about you, but all the wonders of this amazing planet we call home.