A Born Bird-Lover

Laying out the welcome mat for feathered friends— from blue jays to owls and everything in between

- Jim Stickel

I don’t remember when or how my interest in birds began. If I were to guess, I would have to say that it began when photography became a very important part of my life. The variety of colours, sizes and habits of birds intrigued me and with the ability to capture them through a lens, my enjoyment of them increased.

This interest in birds was something that I shared with my late father. Long before I caught the “bird bug,” he was feeding them in his beautiful yard in Milk River, Alta. My dad was old-school, a man who worked hard all his life, and I was surprised that bird watching would become one of his favourite things to do. My mom did not share the same enjoyment in watching birds as Dad. He liked to feed them fairly close to their deck and because of birds doing what birds do, it often became an annoyance to Mom to have to clean the deck as much as she did.