San Francisco is my home.

I'm motivated by the quest to get engaging photos of birds, and I enjoy watching birds doing their bird things. The number of species I've seen isn't a priority for me, nor is seeking out rarities.

If someone on a bird walk I've been on shares an ebird checklist for the walk with me, I'm usually eager to submit some photos. I greatly appreciate all the info in the ebird database about what birds are where. But being a one-thing-at-a-time kind of person, I'm so engaged in photographing a few birds that I don't submit checklists of my own.

My Canon R5m2 is way smarter than I am. I credit it for most of the quality in my better shots. The only lens I own, the Canon 200-800, amply satisfies all my lens desires. At least so far...

I'm quite conflicted about flying to other places just to bird. That's not to say I don't do it, but I do a lot less than I would if flying had no carbon footprint. Many years ago I was checking out a carbon calculator. The thing that hit me the hardest: my share of the carbon emissions from a single round trip economy-seat flight to the East Coast was double the emissions from my home and my driving in a whole year. I said "Hmmm!" and resolved to fly less.

Life is good.

So much to learn!