lifer

Lifer Story: Western Tanager

In 2017, I had the opportunity to spend a bit of time in northern New Mexico. While there, I worked closely with a group of other BIPOC students and instructors, workshopping field research skills and techniques. That afternoon, we had pulled over on the side of a forested road and split into small groups. Today, we learned, my small group would be birding. Before this moment, birds were creatures that I admired from afar. I never dedicated myself to seeking them out. I had an image of my mind of what a birder looked like, and I didn't fit it. With doubts, my teammates and I slung binoculars around our necks, grabbed our guides, and headed into the woods.

Photo by Milcah Rimmer

Lifer Story: Escapades with a Red Knot

Lifer Story: Escapades with a Red Knot

Locating and observing a lifer has, for me, always combined the wonders of my youthful, imaginative fascination regarding birds with the actual physicality of the whole experience, from planning to conclusion. Whether from a deliberate journey, or something happenstance that occurs during a regular birding walk, there is anticipation, elation, dejection, determination and a plethora of other emotions involved every time. In order to describe a seminal lifer experience for me, I feel it important to first set the backdrop and provide a bit of historical context of what birding has meant to me. Especially during Black Birder’s Week, I believe this perspective is important to share.

Photo by Jeff Galligan

Lifer Story: My first Yellow-headed Blackbird

Hello, my name is Dexter Patterson. My birding story started about a month after the pandemic shut everything down across the country, including here in Dane County. I have always been fascinated by birds, but I never gave my curiosity the attention it warranted for anything substantial to come of it. Suddenly, I found myself outdoors a lot and taking pictures of birds I seldom ever noticed before in my neighborhood with my iPhone.

Photo by Dexter Patterson