| About Me |
| I have been birding seriously since 1 May 1986, when a male Western Tanager and a male Hooded Oriole visited the bottlebrush bush in my backyard. I began teaching birding classes in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1996, when I took over Norah Bain's classes at the Orinda Community Center. From 1997-2006 I taught evening classes and field trips through Wild Birds Unlimited in Pleasant Hill. I have been a co-leader on Shearwater Journeys pelagic boat trips since 1993, and have led classes and field trips for the Lindsey Museum, Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Mount Diablo and Golden Gate Audubon, as well as for private groups, local schools, and as a fund raising event for Marin Habitat for Humanity. Thanks to the kindness of Rusty Scalf, I currently teach Birding by Ear at Albany Adult School. . The San Francisco Bay Area has been my home since I was seven years old. I grew up in Orinda, collecting rocks in the nearby creeks, and building forts on the oak and bay covered hillsides. I ended my days "playing in the creek" in 6th grade when it became very uncool, but my boyfriend in high school rekindled my love for nature when we spent three days camped by a mountain stream in Desolation Wilderness in the Sierra Nevada. I currently live in Moraga and my yard list stands at 100. I have birded around the US and Canada, England and Wales, Ecuador, Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Australia. Although I still look forward to seeing and hearing birds in other locations around the globe, California is by far my favorite place to bird! |
| I have been lucky to learn from some of the best birders in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rich Stallcup, Debi Shearwater, Dave Shuford, and Joe Morlan have played a major role in my learning about California birds. To these and many, many other students, friends, and even unknown fellow birders in the field, I am greatly indebted. A special thank you goes to the late Patrick O'Brian, author of Master and Commander. I had the pleasure of taking him to Bolinas Lagoon in 1995 were we watched Bonaparte's Gulls. He kindly mentioned me by name in his newsletter. And a BIG thanks goes out to Dorthy Furseth, who, back in 1995 planted the idea to teach birding in my head when she said that if ever taught a class, she'd take it. And she did! |
| A Warm Thank You............. |
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| Moss Landing January 2008 |
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| Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge 11 Nov 2006 Photo by Polly Boissevain |
| From left to right: Back - Bev Lynn, Connie Diernisse, Homer Keesler, Paul Brenner, Al Kyte, Judy Keesler, Kathryn Blake Front -Dorthy Furseth, Denise Wight |
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| Chumming with Gull experts! Shearwater Journey's Pelagic Trip Monterey Bay, CA 28 September 2008 Photo by Debi Shearwater |
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