Congratulations to Chris Soucey, who received the first Bergen County Audubon Society Frank M. Chapman Award at the Meadowlands Birding Festival last Saturday.

Chris is the Executive Director of TheRaptor Trust , a non-profit avian rehabilitation sanctuary in Millington. The son of Raptor Trust founders Len and Diane Soucy, Chris grew up at The Raptor Trust and has participated in wildlife conservation, raptor research, hawk banding and rehabilitation since he was 4-years-old.

Frank M. Chapman, a native of West Engelwood (now Teaneck), was inspired by birds in the woods and fields of Bergen County to make them his life’s work. Chapman opposed the feather trade, promoted bird watching over hunting and pioneered the use of photography in ornithology. He was also the author of early popular field guides, the founder of the Christmas Bird Hunt and the first Curator of Ornithology at the Museum of Natural History.