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Above: With Eduardo, my pet skink, in the late 1990s.
Below: A recent selfie with Ozzie the Black Vulture, who I first met in 2004.
1990s, Texas: I was born to an animal talent agent working in Dallas's booming film industry. Our house and yard were always filled with creatures: chickens, ducks, geese, peacocks, an especially mean turkey named Norman, a tiger, a pony, baby goats--the list goes on. I wrote animal-themed poetry in elementary school.
2000s, Upstate New York: I went to a small, funky boarding school on the border of Massachusetts. I took an Ornithology class my senior year and got my first taste of eBird, spending a day looking for Blackburnian Warblers out by an old stone barn. I also witnessed my first American Woodcock courtship display in the school's apple orchard.
I volunteered at Rogers Wildlife Center in Hutchins, TX, taking photographs for their website and feeding fledgling Blue Jays. I was even given a Common Nighthawk baby to take home and feed while I watched television.
In 2006, I spent a month in Tanzania. Notable birds: Martial Eagle, Superb Starling, Speke's Weaver, Southern Ground Hornbill, and Marabou Stork.
2010s, West Coast and New England: I saw a hummingbird on a college tour in Portland, Oregon, and enrolled on the spot. My focus on birds and wildlife lagged while I spent time developing my career in the wine industry. I spent 6 weeks in Uganda volunteering for the educational nonprofit Oysters and Pearls. Unfortunately, I did not see any Shoebill Storks.
I moved to Massachusetts in 2018. I lived and volunteered at the Rowe Center before settling in Turners Falls.
2020s, New England: I became a serious (perhaps "organized" is the better term) birder shortly after turning 30. I joined the Hampshire Bird Club and its Conservation Committee, started logging my sightings into eBird, and found a new focus for my life.
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