DARE TO BIRD

Many of the young birders in my program have been asking me to make a website for years. Since I started the program in 2014 I have been using my blog to post my trip reports and events but I really should have done this earlier. Young Birder Program graduate Alice Sun who now works for Audubon in NYC who is also a graphic designer stepped up and helped me to create the website. I took input from the interested young birders and showcase photos from our trips, all our past trip reports and I will post new events at the website. We also have a press section for the many times that young birders or the program was featured in the press. There is also a donation page to help out youth who can’t afford field trips. Thanks to all the youth who were eager to see this website come to fruition. Big special thanks to Alice Sun for helping create this website! You did a beautiful job . Also want to send my thanks also to Liron Gertsman, Josh Brown and Bridget Spencer for giving their helpful inp...

Taking Flight: Greater Vancouver Bird Celebration Opening Event On May 10th during the Greater Vancouver Bird Celebration 's opening night, at the Taking Flight Event; they will be screening the 2023 film "The Young Birders" featuring myself and some of the BC Young Birders in a documentary created by former young birder program graduate and talented photographer Liron Gertsman. They will also be screening 2 other films "The Commute" and "Ptarmigan Trek" produced by Liron Gertsman that night. Also Dr. Rob Butler (ornithologist) will be giving a talk on birds! You can register for free tickets and learn more at the link HERE The event runs from 5pm until 8pm on May 10th, 2024 at Vandusen Gardens. Hope to see many young birders coming out for this event! You can read about all the great events taking place during May 10-26 for the Vancouver Bird Celebration HERE

Today is the 10th anniversary of BC Book Day ! My book " Dare to Bird -  Exploring the Joy and Healing Power of Birds "  was featured at the Legislative Assembly of BC in Victoria today and photos were shared with me! My own personal first copy of my book is on its way to me and I can’t wait to see it! So far the cover looks good in these photos. The first printed copy of my book on display for BC Book Day at the BC Parliament in Victoria  My book on display at the Legislative Assembly of BC Below is a short video where you can see my book at the display: I wish my father had lived to see this day. He knew about my book and was so excited for me; my mother never did (hopefully she knows now and can see from above). So seeing my book in print is bittersweet indeed. I am sure I will cry when I actually see the book in the store for the first time and the first time I hold it in my hands. No one believed in me more than my dad or supported my birding more, so although this i...

It is so nice to see 4 young birders in my BC Young Birders program, featured in the new book “Get Outside! - How Humans Connect With Nature” by Leah Payne. Leah approached me after interviewing me for Alive Magazine to see if 4 young birders wanted to be featured in her new book about this important topic. Anica, Clay, Harry and Lukas were keen to be part of it! It is nice to see the youth featured in this book which is geared for youth that are 12-15 years old.  Here is a summary of the book:  “Get Outside! How Humans Connect with Nature  explores the important relationship between people and nature. It asks big questions, like Are humans part of nature or separate from it? and Do all people have equal access to nature? By discussing global issues such as the climate crisis and environmental racism, the book shows us that, by strengthening our relationship with the natural world, we can learn how to take care of the environment and to let the environment take care of u...

I was honoured that so many esteemed birders, authors, photographers and ornithologists have reviewed my book so far, from Peter Pyle to Melissa Groo and all the other amazing birders in between! I am truly touched! The words they all have written are so moving and it means so much to me that birders of their calibre liked it so much. “Like Melissa Hafting, I enjoy helping others via email. And throughout our more than seven years of such correspondence, Mel’s questions indicated a sharp and enthusiastic birder whose passion and curiosity transcended simple species identification to delve into molt status, age/sex, subspecies, and various wondrous behaviors. But email does not always fully  reveal  a person: what they stand for, what adversities they have faced. In  Dare to Bird , through exquisite and spectacular photographs and words of pleasing cadence, you really get to  know  Melissa: her sense of wonder, eye for beauty, and passion for sharing her love of ...

Male Bee Hummingbird in Playa Larga, Cuba - Photo: Melissa Hafting My friend Chris Charlesworth invited me to go to Cuba with him with Avocet Tours . One of the tour participants from my first NFLD tour I led with Avocet was Nimali Seneviratne an d my friend Chris Siddle from Vernon as well. I also got to meet nice folks from TX, AB and BC. March 13 I flew in to Varadero via Air Canada and took a coach to our casa in Havana. En route I had Palm Warbler, Greater Antillean Grackle, Turkey Vulture, Magnificent Frigatebird, Cuban Blackbird and a Gray Kingbird. At a rest stop for lunch,,when the bus stopped on my way to Havana, I saw a huge wild and endangered Cuban Rock Iguana. At dinner in Havana at a restaurant called Esteban we had a nice dinner of whitefish and I gave some of the begging cats some food scraps. Here a Red-legged Thrush serenaded us. There were Cuban/Purple Martins flying overhead. The male Cuban Martins are impossible to distinguish from Purple Martins. You need a p...