Greetings!

Hi! My name is Audrey. I’m 34 years old, I live in Portland, Oregon, and I am a new birder.

I have a passion for nature, learning, and anything outdoors. I’ve decided to spend a year learning more about my feathered friends. Why pick birds? Simple, they’re everywhere,  they’re entertaining, and they have a raw beauty; sometimes cute, sometimes aggressive, but always natural and real. It’ll give me an enjoyable focus on my hikes and more reason to go outside (especially in the winter). It’s not always easy to identify or find birds; it will be fun discovering new (to me) species and understanding more about bird behavior.

What I hope to get out of birding:

1. Nature: Not that I need much forcing, but birding will be a good motivator to go out into nature regularly. I hope to spend one day a week checking out a new location.
2. Awareness: Birding slows me down, which is a good thing! While hiking, I think it’s good practice to stop, listen, and observe my surroundings. I might notice something that I would otherwise miss.
3. Education: I’m excited to learn about, witness, and observe new species. I’m reading several guide books and trying out new (to me) identification apps.
4. Patience and the art of letting go: I’ve already noticed challenges; a bird will whiz by or I’ll hear unidentifiable (to me) song notes and my temptation is to tromp off into the wilderness and chase after the little mystery. But instead of going down the rabbit hole, my aim is to follow the Code of Birding Ethics from the American Birding Association.
5. Pictures! I love taking nature photos (not just of birds!), and hope to upgrade my camera soon.

I’ve taken an Ornithology class many years ago, and have done some casual birding along the way, but I’d like to give it a go for a year and document my findings. I’m a member of the Audobon Society of Portland and have also signed up for a beginner’s birding class in February. I’m an opportunistic birder, I don’t have any solid plans outside of the state thus far, but I’ll mostly focus my efforts on the (gloriously bird-rich) state of Oregon.

With hundreds of species of birds to find, and spring on the horizon, I’m excited to get started!

Tweets and chirps,

Audrey