I’m thrilled to announce that tomorrow evening I will be presenting on last year’s Wisconsin Birding Challenge for the Green Lake Bird and Nature Club! It’s my first birding presentation, which I’m super stoked about!
The event is free and will start at 6pm at the Club Room at the back of the Town Square Community Center, 492 Hill St., in downtown Green Lake, WI.
For more information, check out Ripon Press’ article below:
I’ve been doing my best to keep busy these past few months. My goal this year is to take my photography, and what I can do with my photography, to higher levels. That means dedicating more time to brainstorming, photography, conservation writing, and lots and lots of time spent outside. With it being spring there’s no better time to be out taking photos. Above is a photo I took of a Palm Warbler, one of many migrants that made their way through Milwaukee this spring. I’ve had opportunities to photograph a ton of new species this year, all while building on relationships I created last year.
During my 2022 WI Birding Challenge I learned about the Tiffany Bottoms bird train. It’s a mini train that runs twice a year (during spring and fall migration) and takes people through an area in western Wisconsin that is rich in biodiversity. Our group of sixty was led by ornithologist Steve Betchkal and within our morning tour I saw over fifty species of birds. Oh… and I was also interviewed and made Minnesota’s news, which you can check out here:
I also attended this year’s Wisconsin Society of Ornithology conference, birding and making connections along the way. I’m in talks to host a speech for the Green Lake County Bird Club this fall and am hoping to write more articles for WSO’s Badger Birder – all because of my time at the conference. It didn’t hurt that I gained a little bit of notoriety for my article on the super rare Flame-colored tanager, which became Milwaukee Record’s most-read article for the month of May! The photo of the tanager also made TMJ 4 news, which was super rad. I had the opportunity to photograph the tanager again before migratory winds took the bird on its journey. I hope the bird is alive and safe during its nomadic journey.
On the video side of things I recently completed two short promotional videos, one for the Wisconsin Master Naturalist Program (will be released at a later date) and one for Humboldt Park Friends. As many people know, I love both of these organizations, and I’m proud to help tell (and be a part of) their stories.
FINALLY… THE MOST EXCITING NEWS…
MY FIRST MAGAZINE COVER!!!
Next month I will have three stories in MKE Lifestyle Magazine. Last year I wrote a story about American Kestrels and they’ve asked me to come back for their July conservation issue. The first story is a sort of recap of my 2022 WI Birding Challenge, as I give people a guide to my favorite birding locations in the state of Wisconsin and city of Milwaukee. The goal there is to give people excellent places to go out and explore bird life! The second story is about Schlitz Audubon’s ephemeral pond monitoring program. It’s my first ever non-bird story, and it honestly might be my favorite story of the bunch. That being said, the last story is the cover story of the July issue and it is on bald eagles. Editor Don Butler asked me to write about the changing landscape for Wisconsin’s bald eagle population as they start to reclaim Milwaukee as a potential nesting ground. I really got to flex my interview and research muscles with this story, and alongside it come my best bald eagle photos so far. The images will more than likely be a mix of wild bald eagle shots I took from across Wisconsin and eagles that are apart of Schlitz Audubon’s captive raptor program. The cover shot, which you can see below, is of their bald eagle named Glory. I’m really amped for the photos I captured of this story and can’t wait to see what the art department creates with them. If you’re interested in my articles you can subscribe to the magazine for free!
I don’t know how I’ll top next month’s issue, so I better get back to editing my backlog of photos! There are more stories to tell!
As April came to a close I had the opportunity to check out what might be the rarest bird to ever reach Wisconsin, the Flame-colored Tanager.
Check out my brief article in Milwaukee Record for more about this amazing sighting!
Last month I released my latest article, this time for Milwaukee Magazine. The article, which covers the highs and lows of spring migration at Humboldt Park, features this awesome opening splash page. This piece means a lot to me. Not only was I able to highlight my favorite park in the city (and the work happening with the Humboldt Park Friends group), the article was placed in a magazine I’ve been aiming to get published in ever since I started adding stories to my photographs. While a lot of wildlife and conservation photographers and writers aim for conservation-minded publications, I really feel a calling of sorts towards more generalized outlets. My goal is to share nature with people who aren’t actively looking for it, piquing their interest when they come upon my photos or stories. Part of that has to do with the fact that I’m not an expert of any kind – I know more about the subjects I cover than the average person does, but far less than researchers, volunteers, and others that dedicate their lives to the outdoors. The other part of it is that I was once someone who didn’t think a ton about the natural world, yet had an inkling about it that I decided to foster, which then turned into a really valuable part of my life. My biggest hope is that my work helps other people stimulate their own curiosity for the natural world.
Anyway, not to go on and on, I’ll end with a quick news update and a link to the online version of the Milwaukee Magazine article (though if you can find March’s print issue, it’s worth checking out. They did a beautiful job with the layout). I’m writing a few pieces that will hopefully land in the July issue of MKE Lifestyle Magazine. I partnered with them on my first-ever print article release, so it’s exciting to work with editor Don Butler and his team again. You can subscribe to MKE Lifestyle Magazine for free, which is also cool! I’m also leading a bird walk on the morning of Saturday, April 22nd at Humboldt Park. Humboldt Park Friends is hosting a park clean-up day and I wanted to continue the tradition I started last year of starting the day with a calming bird walk along the lagoon. The whole day was a huge success last year. Hopefully, the wonky Wisconsin weather holds up for it!
Finally, as promised, here is the online version of “Springing To Life”. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the piece.
The last chapter of my Milwaukee Record birding challenge is live, and while it’s sad to end the column I did it by accomplishing my birding goal for 2022: birding in all 72 of Wisconsin’s many counties. If you haven’t read the final chapter you can read it here. This whole column was created as a source of inspiration for my fellow Wisconsinites and I hope everyone decides to spend 2023 looking at their surroundings in an inquisitive nature. There are so many beautiful places to explore and incredible wildlife to observe.
For 2023 I intend to continue photographing Wisconsin bird and wildlife, but that’s just the beginning. I’m starting off my 2023 with a two-week birding trip to Costa Rica. During this trip I hope to encounter birds new and old – many migratory birds winter in CR – including the brilliant Resplendent Quetzal. I’m really looking forward to this trip, as well as the many photo stories I have in the works! You can expect a story from me regarding spring bird migration this March, and I have stories on cranes, Bald Eagles, and pond critters that will all drop in 2023 too.
But if you haven’t gotten enough of 2022, there will be more of 2022 in 2023! How so? Well, Schlitz Audubon just asked me to speak about my statewide birding challenge this March. On Wednesday, March 8th, I will be presenting at their Bird Club. I’ll be giving the inner workings of how I went about my challenge while showcasing some of the photos that didn’t make it into the final publication. It should be a great event! The event is free and tickets are open to the public right now!
I hope everyone enjoys their New Year! Stay safe and good birding!
