I got interested in looking at birds when I moved here in 1999 and a friend showed me the beautiful colors of a meadowlark through a spotting scope. I soon got interested in photographing the darn things.

I started with the interesting mode of digiscoping with a Nikon Coolpix 995 attached to my Swarovski AT 80 HD spotting scope and have also added the Canon 10D and 20D digital slrs with the Canon 100-400IS lens.

I've always enjoyed being outdoors and this has added a new dimension. Recently I have enjoyed some visits to Belize and Costa Rica and developed an interest in the tropics. Favorite book: A Neotropical Companion by John Kricher. Favorite album: Car Wheels on a gravel road by Lucinda Williams. I'm a community based pathologist. I graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1978 with a Bachelor of Chemistry and Mayo Medical School in Minnesota with an MD in 1982. I did a 4 year residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Colorado 82-86 and a one year fellowship in surgical pathology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas 88-89. I was an Army medic in Missouri, Texas and Colorado from 1972-1975 and Chief of Pathology at Fort Leonard Wood Army Hospital in Missouri from 1986-1988. I have always had a side interest in infectious diseases, especially viral related.

I was born in Boone, Iowa 8/9/53 and lived there through 6th grade, then had a brief migration to North Dakota for 7th and 8th grade. I lived in Minnesota from 9th grade through medical school. I was a community pathologist and Indiana from 1989-1999 and now back in Iowa from 1999 to present. I have a sister Kim who live in Minnesota and a brother Dan in Iowa.

Bird Flu (Avian Flu, H5N1) info:

Threadless.com interview:

www.skinnycorp.com/podcast/13/bird_flu_season_again/

Webcast from the experts:

www.fleishman.com/overview/fluWebCast.html

World health editorial:

The Global Health Connection