Deprivation

Stop breathing.

No, I don’t mean it in a malicious way. Hold your breath for as long as you can.

How do you feel now, thirty seconds, a minute later? Unless you’ve passed out, which I find highly unlikely (in fact, I doubt you held your breath at all, loser), you’re gasping for breath. When deprived of oxygen, you consume it at larger quantities when finally reunited with it.

Repression of birding brings similar results. All semester, my birding time was severely limited. During the closing weeks of the semester, however, it grew worse. Finals, papers, and presentations dominated my life. Oh, and the scarcity of birds and the sub-freezing temperatures did nothing to add to my motivation.

But that’s over. I’m back at home, free. Let the raw, primitive, unbridled birding begin!

Hire Me!

College looms. Before I move out in August, I need to come up with some spending money for textbooks and other incidentals for my freshman year. Solution? A job. As much as I need the money, I'd rather not spend my summer bagging groceries or clearing tables. So, I've decided to work as a private birding guide in Southern California March-August 2010.

Please visit my new website dedicated to this business for more details.

What, exactly, is private bird guiding? Basically, you hire me to take you birding for the day. Having become familiar with California and its bird life, I can help you find interesting birds you've always wanted to see. For the visiting birder, this translates to easily finding your target birds. California Gnatcatcher, Wrentit, Le Conte's Thrasher, Yellow-footed Gull... are you drooling yet?

Of course, my services aren't limited to the out-of-towner. If you're a birder from southern California and want to go birding with an experienced birder for a day or two to learn from a knowledgeable birder, I can help you too.

That's not all. You'll be helping a kid go to college. Not a bad deal, huh?