I'm an artist, photographer, filmmaker, and musician...and of course a birder! I started observing, painting, and drawing birds as a child growing up in Houston,TX. I have a special affinity and interest in gulls, raptors, falcons, flycatchers, sparrows, wrens and grebes. Past Rare Bird Alert compiler for Travis Audubon Society. Currently lead the Monthly Bird Count at Hornsby Bend and lead the Hornsby Bend section of the annual Austin Christmas Bird County. Enjoy volunteering on the Commons Ford Prairie Committee assisting with their quarterly bird surveys, nest box cleanouts, and other prairie restoration efforts. I will always consider myself an amateur birdwatcher, because there's something new to learn from even the most common backyard species.