About a Birder

Hi, I’m LeAnne. I’m a bird tourist.

“A what?”, you might ask, justifiably. Well, a bird tourist. Sometimes I travel for birding. I join small guided tours, usually in international destinations, for the exclusive purpose of seeing birds. For many consecutive days. Probably hundreds of birds. It’s totally normal.

I will travel to new places for most things feathery. Or furry. And also for food. And wine. I simply love to travel for new destinations or new experiences. I love planning international trips of all sorts, just like most folks who love travel. But I especially enjoy trips focused on birds (and other wildlife), because… well, that’s just what I like.

Honestly, though, my travel truly is typical of an American tourist. I don’t live to travel – I work to travel. I am not location independent or a “nomad” at all. I’ve never backpacked the world, and I’m not currently on an extended adventure. I have a full-time job, and occasionally I plot extended vacations to escape reality.

There is so much of the world to see that I constantly feel I am behind, though. This isn’t fear of missing out – it’s almost a fear that I’ve already missed out. If I have the opportunity to travel domestically, I will make the most of the destination by exploring cities or adding road trips. I will add another destination or a layover to extend a trip or diversify the experiences.

Itineraries are approached as a personal challenge to fit in the perfect amount of activities to maximize opportunities while nearing, but not reaching, complete exhaustion. I genuinely love the experience of travel, but my ability to travel is relatively recent. I suppose I’m trying to overcome a deficit, since travel has not always been a component of my life.

Early Bird(er)

I’m a native of a small town in Alabama.  I lived there for 18 years before moving on to a university in… another small Alabama town, actually.  My next three years were intensely focused on academics, because I was trying to avoid a fourth year of student loan debt. 

I know it might sound strange, but that’s how the 20-years young version of me actually thought: you have no money, you probably won’t make much of it ever, and the last thing you need is extra debt.

Yeah, I’m really this much fun.

I spent my post-college years moving from short-term job to short-term job, interspersed with periods of unemployment. Eventually, I landed in graduate school in West Virginia, where I spent two years being outsmarted by some very clever, industrious rodents. 

Indeed, for my first quarter-century, what might be grossly defined as “travel” was, for me, desperately seeking long-term employment. Over the years, I’ve had a few more jobs and lived in a few more states along the way. I currently reside in the Atlanta area. It’s not a great distance from where I started, but it feels very far from there to here.

Adult Plumage

I’m sorry, I just kept going as if all that content was entirely normal, didn’t I? I sure did. But you read that right: Rodents. Seriously, though? Rodents?

Yes, indeed!  My graduate and undergraduate degrees focused on zoology.  Contrary to popular belief, this major is not a precursor to a career in zookeeping. I chose zoology because I love tigers.  I wanted to help conserve the most endangered and, in my mind, most charismatic of the big cats. 

Granted, I wouldn’t be shocked if every new kid on the conservation ecology block wanted to do the exact same thing.  Tigers are magnificent as individuals but face overwhelming odds as a species; their history is equally compelling and depressing. I will admit now that I am, and always have been, on Team Shere Khan (and also that I watch too many animated Disney movies, rather than read Rudyard Kipling stories).

But… uh, surely you realize tigers are mammals, yeah?

Despite those initial childhood (i.e., freshman) dreams, I developed a keen interest in the study of birds by the time I graduated.  My most affecting work experiences involved birds – counting hawks and eagles as they migrate along a ridge; listening to a crescendo of quail calls as the sun rises over fallow fields on a crisp fall morning.  I’ve worked with a number of critters, mostly feathered or furry.  I’ve wrangled beavers (and they are truly some clever, industrious rodents), trapped bears, banded osprey, protected baby shorebirds, and rescued oiled sea turtles. 

And, to offset anything that might potentially sound too awesome, I have hiked in unrelenting heat and unbearable humidity. All while enduring attacks of flies, mosquitos, chiggers, and/or ticks .  That last bit is actually the majority of the wildlife biologist experience. It is also not emphasized nearly enough in the NatGeo/Discovery Channel documentaries.  

I am happy to say, somewhere along the way, that the dedicated pursuit of long-term employment did result in… well, long-term employment. Alas, I never worked with tigers or other big cats, nor did I ever work in any international setting. My conservation work has always been, and continues to be, entirely domestic.

It is so domestic, in fact, that it currently occurs from the comfort of a desk in my home office. Again, an aspect of conservation that surprisingly does not get oodles of screen time on Discovery Channel.

Taking Flight(s)

When I want to feel like a biologist again, and when I want to learn about the conservation world outside of my own bubble, I travel to beautiful places to see new birds – as well as any other charismatic species that might be observed along the way.

But… don’t you get bored with the birding, though?

Well, I certainly don’t exclusively travel on safaris or birding tours. Not at all. You might think I chose “distracted” birder because I am distracted by all the requirements of life? Perhaps I am distracted by other hobbies, commitments, or even children? NOPE. I have none of those things!

Okay, technically I might have “hobbies”? I’m not sure if my dedication to crosswords counts. I’m pretty sure it does not make me sound like less of a nerd.

Nope, basically, I’m just distracted by shiny objects. Maybe I’m an okay birder, but I’m not great at actually birding. Basically, I’m not very dedicated to any sort of birding schedule.

Frankly, I lack dedication to most potential pastimes or life-enhancing activities (except for the crosswords; DO NOT come between me, my coffee, and the New York Times crossword).

But I will travel the world to go birding. Birding is a gateway to beautiful places and beautiful creatures I would not otherwise see. And travel for birds is unique and exciting (to me).

Another unintended but fun benefit? It kinda confuses people.

Oh, I will also travel the world to eat goat cheese or see Stonehenge or hike mountain passes. There are so many places to go, and so many things to be distracted by, that I will happily travel to destinations for purposes other than birding.

I will probably pack my binoculars, though. Sure, I may be distracted. But I’m still a birder.