It’s finally here (queue the celebratory cold brew coffee)! I can finally say that “Birds in My Backyard: A Suburban Safari” is officially published. It can be purchased here.
This is my 2nd self-published picture book. The story, the illustrations, the research….all a labor of love and months of work late into the night when I should have been sleeping.
This book is so important to me for a few reasons:
Its a homage to all the women who cultivated a love of nature in me as a young child
- Its something that has remained with me and I hope to instill it in my children, too
- It’s a small way to honor their memory now and in the future
I hope it helps bring attention to the outside world to young readers and their families
- I don’t need to rehash how overly connected we are in this day and age, I’m sure you hear it all the time.
- I hope my book serves as a gentle reminder to get out of the house and explore! Even if it’s not to birdwatch, but just get outside for a while.
I got to draw birds and share something I’m passionate about, birdwatching
- I’ve had this “Old-Lady hobby” (as social media coins it now) for years, ever since I bought my 1st bird feeder and a bag of cheap birdseed
- Birdwatching can be accessible and enjoyed by people of all ages
- As you begin to recognize bird species in your local community, you begin to notice other small things as well. It helps you notice the beauty in nature; the bugs, birds, and other critters we share our neighborhoods with.
I’m so proud of this book and am so excited to have found a vendor that produces high quality books, the hardcover is great, the pages are crisp and brilliant in color. So glad to have moved away from KDP.
After you’ve read it a couple of times, let me know what you and the children in your life think of it! What’s your favorite bird?
Here’s an excellent checklist by a local birding group, Beckham Bird Club that perfectly sums up how to get more involved with birdwatching. Some are more specific to Kentucky but use it as a jumping off point to research what resources you have in your community.
How to get involved in birding:
- Attend Beckham Bird Club meetings, especially if you have never been to one.
- Come along on a Beckham Bird Club field trip, especially if you have never been on one.
- After doing the first two things on this list, join the Beckham Bird Club. It’s easy to do on this website from the Membership tab
- Obtain a good pair of binoculars and both a hard copy and phone app field guide. Use them frequently.
- Join the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s eBird and Merlin sites. They’re free and easy to use, and they are a great way to record your bird observations and find and identify birds.
- If you have a yard, research how to make it bird friendly by adding native plants, feeders and water sources.
- Join the Kentucky Ornithological Society (KOS).
- Subscribe to the birdKY listserv via KOS. It’s a great way to know what’s going on with birds in Kentucky.
- Attend one of the KOS meetings in April or September.
- Donate to the BBC Birdathon.
- Familiarize yourself with the American Birding Association’s Code of Birding Ethics (see Birding Ethics under the Conservation tab above) and adhere to it when birding.
- Get out and bird in one of Kentucky’s least-birded counties. Kentucky has a substantial portion of the counties with the fewest eBird checklists. You can help fix that.
- Attend a birding festival in Kentucky or elsewhere.
- Take a child birding.
- Donate your old/unused binoculars and scopes to nature centers, school groups interested in birding.
- Bird, bird, and bird some more.