A Backyard 2,400 Miles in the Making

A great deal of time has passed since my last post, but for great reason. The explanation could be as long and convoluted as the journey that brought me to it, but the end result is the same... My backyard is no longer in Utah, and in July 2016 I moved to Florida.

The decision was years in the making, and even while I enjoyed every feather that fluttered across my path in the western habitat I tried to make my home, like any vagrant bird that finds itself lost and far from anything familiar, I didn't belong there. I will always miss the sweet companionship of a covey of California quail, the raucous antics of black-billed magpies, the bigger than life attitude of rufous hummingbirds and all the other western birds I've enjoyed. It is best, however, to fly home, to better enjoy a habitat and range that is more welcoming, more diverse and far more suitable for myself, my family and my birding. In the year's time I've now been building a new nest, I've come to learn just how uncomfortable and unsuitable Utah had become for me and mine, for a flock of reasons - personal, professional and more. Each new day I'm still astonished and humbled at how much happiness the right destination can bring to one's life.

But online birding is also part of my range as it were, and I'm not abandoning it. I hope you'll join me on a new venture, and visit me at a new blog - Be Your Own Birder - where you'll still find all my birding tips, experiences, recommendations, insights and even more feathered fun. Monthly bookshelves, regular giveaways, weekly featured birds and other highlights are already growing in that new locale.

Ultimately, we all have to be ourselves, and I could no longer do it here. I hope you, too, find just where you need to fly to stretch your wings the way you've always dreamed.