What Motivates Me To Blog About Birds

I’m a bird watcher, through and through, but it’s not always the birds that put a smile on my face when I’m out in the field.

Sometimes it is other birders that leave me a bit inspired, maybe even a bit rejuvenated to get out there one more time and find something interesting to photograph and write about.

Being a nature blogger is a solitary, maybe even a little bit of a lonely profession at times I must confess.

Alright, I’ll come clean here, I mean most of the time if truth be told.

But there is no need to feel bad for me, I am a solitary person by default, one that definitely feels more at home behind a camera than in a crowded room.

I suppose that is one reason why bird watching and nature photography resonate with me so much.

Most of my motivation to get up in the morning and go search for something interesting to write about is, well, just that, getting out in nature itself and enjoying the peace and serenity it offers while I leave no stone unturned on my quest for something unique to photograph and blog about.

But that by itself isn’t all of the motivation, mind you, there is something else that is indeed most welcomed on those rare occasions when it does present itself, like it did today, for instance.

Being the first sunny day we’ve had here in a long time, this morning I decided to layer up and head out into the frigid winter weather we are currently having and go search for my first blog post idea of 2022.

I wanted to photograph some bald eagles on Farmington Bay but to my dismay, there were only 2 eagles that I could find, both well out of range of my camera so the search continued.

Eventually, a solitary California gull offered itself to be the first bird I photographed in 2022 as it quietly stood on one leg on a thin patch of ice, most likely disliking the freezing temperatures as much as I do but willing to cooperate with me as I grabbed my first bird image of the year.

Over the past month or so, I have been watching a small flock of white-faced ibis congregating on Farmington Bay, including yesterday, in fact, so I opted to go search for these out-of-season visitors before I headed back home.

Since my first late-season sighting a month ago or so, the flock of ibis has slowly widdled itself down to just three birds now, but luckily they were still where I left them yesterday afternoon, foraging in a small pocket of open water just off the main roadway.

Unlike yesterday, however, when it was an intimate meeting with just me and them, the out-of-place white-faced ibis started to draw attention as numerous other birders and photographers began to congregate along the icy road.

Despite my quiet inner self, a casual conversation was struck between myself and a couple of fellow photogs that stopped to take part in this unique photo opportunity.

Without knowing who I was, the conversation eventually led to them explaining it was this website that gave them notice of these ibises on Farmington Bay.

I don’t mind saying it made my day, maybe even my week, when I was able to confess I am the workings behind this website and they replied by mentioning how much they love this blog.

It is these rare chance encounters with you, the reader, out in nature like this that fills the gaps in my motivation to keep blogging about birds.

I have met a few fellow bird watchers and nature photographers along my travels that first confessed they follow my blog before knowing who I was and that, in and by itself, is one of the biggest rewards of blogging.

Yes, this is what I do for work, I am a nature blogger, but honestly, some of the greatest rewards I receive from blogging are those random chance meetings with those of you that read and follow my work here on this website.

Today was one of those days that no matter what birds I saw or what images I came home with, the reward was meeting someone that follows this website and uses some of the info I offer to get out and enjoy nature.

That, without question, is why I write about and share my photographs here on this website, to try and get others out in nature to enjoy and appreciate it as much as I do.

And each and every time I get to meet someone out in the field that follows my writings and photogaphy it gives me more motivation to keep going.

I thank you all for your readership and support of this website and I thank all of you who I have met out in the field who unknowingly gave me a bit of motivation to keep blogging, and hopefully, this trend of random encounters with you all will only continue to grow over time.

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My latest efforts have been to try something way out of my element and throw in a few YouTube updates here and there so feel free to follow me over on my channel as well.

I’m not a videographer by any stretch of the imagination but sometimes it’s an easier and faster medium to get out a quick update over the traditional means of blogging.