Meet a Member: Jeremy Proeschel

Photo: Jeremy Proeschel among the trees at Cope Environmental Center.

BY JEREMY PROESCHEL

Tell us a little about yourself. Family? Where do you live and work?

My wife Abbie and I currently live in Richmond, and I grew up in Liberty, just north of Brookville Lake. I’m currently the program manager for Cope Environmental Center, a nonprofit environmental organization and property focused on conservation, education, and sustainability in our community.

What got you interested in birds and birding?

My interest in birds and birding first stemmed from a general love of all things animals and the outdoors growing up. When I visited my grandparents, I remember flipping through my grandpa’s bird books and choosing which ones I would want to have in the zoo I imagined I’d run someday. I’d also help him fill his bird feeders. We would look for turkeys on the way to work with his mules in Metamora, and every winter we’d head out to see the Sandhill Cranes.

In 2014, I got into photography and was looking for something challenging to shoot. I thought, “Birds are hard to photograph,” and from there, my interest really took off. Combine all those factors with my inner child who liked Pokémon and the idea of trying to “catch them all,” and my birding love—and obsession—just went wild from that point on. 

What are some of your favorite bird-related projects you’ve worked on recently?

I’ve really developed quite a passion for the Echoes of the night Sky project, which I started participating in last fall. It is amazing to hear the diversity of nocturnal flight calls that birds make, and I’m always excited to find out what new species I’ve detected—or even seen—on Cope’s property.

It’s been really cool to pick up species on the recorder that are considered rare for my region of Indiana, yet have surprisingly flown over in high numbers. Some examples include Black-crowned Night Heron, American Bittern, and Black-billed Cuckoo.

My top find of last fall was an Upland Sandpiper that flew over on October 1. That one felt particularly special because the founder of our organization, Jim Cope, had some of the highest numbers of Uplands ever reported in Indiana—right here in Wayne county—back in the 1940s.

I have also participated with Project Owlnet as a volunteer for two years now, and there’s nothing more amazing than seeing a little Northern Saw-whet Owl up close! I also look forward to conducting my two Breeding Bird Surveys each year and organizing the Richmond and Whitewater State Park Christmas Bird Counts, which I’ve done for the past two years.

As a naturalist and educator, what aspects of teaching others about birds do you find most engaging or rewarding?

The thing that I find most engaging about teaching the public about birds is how birds can be a gateway to discovering nature’s diversity and beauty. In many instances, I meet folks who have no idea that we have warblers, flycatchers, shorebirds, bitterns, and more around us every spring and fall—by the thousands.

Then comes that sudden moment when I show them a Scarlet Tanager, and their minds are blown by the bird’s striking beauty. I’ll tell them about the tree it’s perched in, which happens to be full of delicious caterpillars that rely on that tree as their host. By making just a few of those connections, people begin to see nature differently. They want to learn more.

Later, they’ll come back to ask me about a bird they saw in their yard or what plants they should grow for caterpillars, and it’s like watching a complete evolution take place.

I remember a family I met during my days working at Brookville Lake. They joined one of my bird hikes so their daughter could see her favorite birds, which were any bird that was blue. A few years later, Shelby loves to go bird watching. I hear bird stories from her mom, Amber, and her dad, Matt, has gone all in: binoculars, bird guides, a spotting scope, and even a kayak, just to go look at birds.

Which part of your Indiana Audubon membership do you enjoy the most?

The aspect of my membership that I enjoy the most is access to the additional resources on the website. I always love to read the Indiana Audubon Quarterly and looking over research like Kenneth Brock’s Shorebirds of Indiana or Birds of the World.