DARE TO BIRD

I was touched by the words written about me and my book in the current issue of Alberta Views Magazine  distributed inside the Calgary Herald newspaper. Thanks to Jenna Butler author of Revery: A Year of Bees . You can check it out below:

I wanted to thank BC Nature and Birds Canada for sponsoring the boat trip the young birders and I did this past weekend on the adult Ladner CBC with White Rock Sea Tours. Despite us all getting completely soaked, the youth were really troopers. It was sunny but way too rough out there we did see one Humpback out there. Thanks to all the hardy youth who came out and made the day special. We finished the day with hot chocolate at the local cafe where the barista almost had a heart attack when I ordered 12 large hot chocolates with 12 sodden children and a huge lineup behind me!  I want to thank you kiddos for making the day bright even when you were all shivering. It’s you kids that really help me to get through this very difficult time of the year as we approach the anniversary of my mother’s death on Christmas Eve and a second Christmas without my dad and a third without my mother. It’s you, the youth who really have helped me to get out the door showing you birds and getting to kn...

I was honoured to see that the Associated Press has featured and recommended my book under the Coffee Table Books section in their 2024 Holiday Gift Guide! You can check it out at the link  HERE Thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has read my book and an extra special thanks to those who have bought my book as a gift for friends and family this holiday season. It really means the world to me and I’m truly honoured you wanted to share it with others and have them read it! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rocky Mountain Books (@rm_books)

I was a guest on the Local Nature Lab’s podcast called “Bird Story” you can listen to the episode “Melissa Hafting Gives Back To The Birds”  HERE . It was a real honour to talk with Georgia and I really enjoyed our conversation.

I am leading a trip to Point Pelee this May 12-18/2024 with Avocet Tours!  The trip is confirmed and we have already enough people to go but there are still a few spots available for anyone who wants to join us! You can read more about the tour and register HERE Also I’m co-leading the Newfoundland Tour in July with Chris Charlesworth you can also book that confirmed tour HERE

7/8 Young Birders at the Christmas Bird Count For Youth - Photo: Melissa Hafting We had a great CBC 4 Youth at Reifel on the weekend. It was pouring rain in the beginning so we had a few cancellations but 8 hardy youth still turned up and then the sun came out midday which was lovely. You can read our full trip report HERE at the BC Young Birders website. Next weekend I will see all who registered for the Boundary Bay boat trip for the Delta Christmas Adult Bird Count (sponsored by Birds Canada and BC Nature). Unfortunately, like I often do I forget to take the group photo until the end and we missed one birder Markus from the photo who had to leave early for volleyball.

I will be leading a bird walk and moderating at the Decolonizing Ornithology Symposium being held at Maplewood Flats in North Van on Nov 30th from 9am until 4pm. It is being put on by the Wild Bird Trust and speakers will be Steve Hampton (Indigenous expert birder and  member of the American Ornithological Society’s Committee for English Bird Names) and Jordan Rutter (co-founder of the Birds Names for Birds movement to replace eponymous bird names). Also Tykee James a Black birder who works hard to make birding more inclusive. He wears many hats in his activism work and he is also the founder of the Freedom Birders project . There will also be local Indigenous birders and naturalists as well who  will be speaking. It is so important to have so many Indigenous voices talking about these issues and hearing how they have been affected. It is a blessing to be having the Indigenous knowledge perspective and learning about ways in which we can work together to make everyone feel wel...

It was nice to see my book “ Dare to Bird ” prominently featured in an advertisement for Buteo Books in the American Birding Association’s Birding Magazine. My book will be reviewed in the upcoming December 2024 Birding issue and I’m honoured to have the feature and cover story in 2025 but more on that huge honour later. The book is available for purchase in hardcover or ebook wherever books are sold and free to rent in all major libraries.

Please sign up for our annual Christmas Bird Count for Youth on Dec 7th! This event is open to youth aged 12-18 and runs from 9:30 am until 2:30pm and is FREE . All info is also posted on the events page of the BC Young Birders Program website . Please register for tickets HERE   This event is BIPOC and LGBTQ+ inclusive.

I am leading a BIPOC birding walk for the Stanley Park Ecology Society at 9:30 am on Dec 1st at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta. This is open to all ages and is FREE. Binoculars will be provided for those who don't have them. Please sign up for a ticket HERE Thank you to the  Canadian Race Relations Foundation’s National Anti-Racism Fund for funding this event and allowing it to be barrier free for all. *This event is now FULL*