About

I’m a freelance writer, naturalist, and federally licensed bird bander – among other things.  I inherited my interest in birds from my father, and became a naturalist because I was raised that way. Our family ‘farm’ was 125 acres of woods, fields, swamps, and ponds in what was then a very rural northwestern NJ.  We were safe in those days, and so we were allowed to roam freely on this land.   Over the years, I’ve put in a lifetime of ‘dirt time,’ observing, learning, and living close to the natural world.  I seldom write anymore,  and I no longer band due to unreasonable KY state permit fees, but I’ll always be a naturalist.

My bird banding career started in the 1970s at the Raccoon Ridge Bird Observatory and quickly expanded to include wildlife rehabilitation.  I’ve lived in NJ and spent 10 years in Florida, where I continued to band migratory birds in Sarasota County.   I left Florida for Kentucky in 2003, and ran the Cave Creek Banding Station near the Daniel Boone National Forest.  I returned to NJ in 2006  to  help start the new Raccoon Ridge Bird Observatory, and have banded there for the last three years.

I returned to life in Florida in the fall of 2008, mostly to be near my elderly mother.  I worked at a seabird hospital for six months, until my mother required full-time care.  My mom passed in July of ’09, and I then returned to Kentucky.  I now live in the Daniel Boone National Forest, almost 9 miles from the main road.  Nature is all around here, and it reminds me of my growing-up years in NJ.  I’ll be sharing observations and activities here on this blog.

I hope you enjoy your visit here.  Thanks for stopping by!