Taking flight

My first birding/photography experiences were in the Charleston, SC area where my family lived in the 90s. After noticing birds in the yard, I put up feeders and a birdbath, bought a book to begin identifying and photographing. In addition, stepping into social media – began to share my observations with friends and family. Quite often, the response was “wow, I have never seen many of these birds before!” The irony was not lost on me that of course, the birds were always already there! I remind folks that it is like when you buy a new car model or color, and suddenly, you begin to see the SAME car on the highway over and over. Your brain has been triggered to start drawing your attention to something otherwise ignored. This part of South Carolina also offered a variety of ecosystems – the barrier island beaches, marshes and woods. In 2012, due to my husband’s work, we accepted a 4 year move to central Louisiana. I had the time and wherewithal to study up on being in this extraordinarily rich fly zone for migrating birds. I set up the backyard to draw upon that and in addition, took many trips south to the Cameron Prairie Birding Loop. My efforts were rewarded in remarkable ways. In migration times, I would host 100s of birds in the yard: goldfinches, buntings, hummingbirds and then also had lovely year-round birds. The local Tractor Supply showed a tremendous increase in the sale of birdseed! I invited new friends to come and see and again, was often told how surprised they were to know these amazing birds came through the town. As Florida natives, we had always planned to retire in the east coast of Florida, but specifically St. Augustine. We love the history, the laid-back community and of course, the lovely waterways. We settled in the St. Augustine South neighborhood that has a 7-mile waterfront park on the Matanzas River (ICW) and found a house right off the river and across from both a wooded area of park and an adjacent marsh. As I am known to remark – it was a gift of “amazing grace” to have found my own little nature paradise. Feeders up, birdbath in, bluebird box in place and “if you build it, they will come!” As I shared more and more photos, the enthusiasm for my art grew. 

Fall of 2018 I was invited by a South Carolina friend to begin planning and training to walk the Camino de Santiago with her later that year. This famous 500-mile pilgrimage follows the spiritual path of St. James the disciple, beginning at the western edge of France and finishing at the coast of Spain. It draws many thousands a year and usually takes about 4-5 weeks to complete. I began to walk daily – always with my camera, and either in my neighborhood, a nearby park or along the beach. In the spring of 2019 the COVID pandemic settled in like a dark cloud and any hopes of travel and pilgrimage were squelched. But I kept training and would complete over 1400 miles that year. A local PBS station did a story on me about how people were coping with a lost dream. While my dream was deferred, as Langston Hughes wrote, in its place I had compiled an amazing catalog of bird photos taken during my walks. The enthusiastic support from friends and family to “DO SOMETHING” meaningful with them finally pushed me to join a local art gallery, find and partner with an extraordinary fine art printer that specialized in nature, and put together a website. So here it is!

In the fall of 2021 I actually got to complete the Camino de Santiago. It was the hardest and most wonderful adventure of my life. After returning, I became more actively involved with local Audubon. I started writing a column on local birds for the monthly newsletter. In spring of 2022 I will be leading a bird walk for local youth and adults in my neighborhood of St. Augustine South, where most of my photographs are taken.

Please browse, enjoy, purchase if you see something that you really like. And thanks for sharing in my passion.