A Million Views. Thank you
My thirty year newspaper career ended 2011. I loved every moment of it, ups and the downs. The newspaper business had changed, page counts had shrank, leaving little need for a dedicated staff photographer. Social media platforms had taken a bite out of earnings. Staff were cut, myself included.
The first three months following my departure from Black Press/Langley Times was a huge adjustment. Instead of being in the office interacting with writers or on assignment I felt strangely adrift. I had been accustomed to interacting with the community and seeing my work published on a regular basis. On whim I decided to start a birding and travel blog. On Dec 2011 Listening to Birds was born. It eventually became an extension of what I had loved doing for a living, photographing and telling stores. What I didn’t know at the time was the Lower Mainland had a vibrant and welcoming birding community. The blog was well received. it was a lifeline at a time of transition. As a bonus I even had a few images and articles published.
Fifteen years and five hundred and sixty-eight blogs later the site has just passed one million pages views. Where all those views came from who knows but it's been a fun trip, typos and all.
I am not sure I have anything more to say but...
Thanks to everyone who visited Listening to Birds.
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Thinking of taking up birding?
Even garden birds bring joy. Ask my wife, a non-birder. She spends hours watching the feeder, especially when fledglings arrive for the first time.
All one needs to take up bird watching is a little free time and some patience. Local libraries offer binoculars and related reading to the curious while local nature clubs throughout the Lower Mainland have weekly walks and monthly presentations. I am a member of the Langley Field Naturalists and the British Columbia Field Ornithologists. Check them out, it may change your life. It did mine.
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| A fledgling House Finch still has fluffy tuffs (often called "feathered horns" ). Young fledglings have wispy down feathers and shorter tails and wings, the last remnants of their newborn down. |
First Flight
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| A recently fledged House Finch ponders how to land on the bird feeder. |
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