Birds
As a kid I was really into animals. I was a dinosaur kid. I liked to catch lizards. My birthdays were bug-themed and reptile-themed. I was also into birds. It stemmed from my general interest in critters and was fostered by my nannu (mom's dad), who is a backyard birder, and by my nana (dad's mom), who is a more traditional birdwatcher. I think my spark bird if I have one would be the western tanager. I loved looking for them as a kid on summer camping trips in the Sierras.
At some point I kind of grew out of it. Some time around middle school, with all the grandkids gathered round a Christmas tree with my Nana and Papat, my cousins opened presents with clothes or money and I opened a Sibley's field guide for western North America. I wish I didn't, but I think it was around that time that I started to get a little embarrassed and try to fit in more.
Anyways, in college at UC Santa Barbara I started to rekindle my interest in general wildlife and outdoors a bit more, and then eventually, post-college, I started spending more time birding.
In 2024 I spun up a little local SF birding club as a way to get friends to send me bird pics and learn more about birds. I started to organize monthly walks and without advertising them except for on my janky little website I started to get people to show up who stumbled upon it from Google searches or word of mouth. It's been a great way to foster some community and explore our local parks.
