My name is Nicholas Yerkes and I have been an avid bird watcher for almost 5 years now. I bought a house during COVID, and since everything was shut down, so were all of my out-of-house hobbies. I realized I needed a new hobby I could do from almost anywhere, that was free, easily accessible, and long lasting. A hobby with something to work towards. 

I spent the better part of a month trying to figure out something, anything that I could spend my time on. Learning, understanding, getting good at. I came up with nothing, and it was frustrating. I was at a home improvement store and passed by the bird feeders and realized I didn’t have one, and would love to put one in my backyard. 

I purchased a regular yellow bird feeder and some seed. The seed had a picture of a cute little black and white bird that I, having zero previous interest in birds, did not recognize. The seed bag said it was a Black Capped Chickadee. I assumed it being on the front of the bag meant that seed would attract a Chickadee to my feeder, and rightfully so. 

I put up the feeder and go back inside my house for a few minutes, and when I come back outside not even 5 minutes later, I walk by the feeder and hear a cute little noise, and I look up to see the very same bird, the Black Capped Chickadee on the feeder. I sat in awe for more than 10 minutes an watched this bird come back 4 or 5 more times. I was totally hooked, I knew this was a hobby I would love and after a solid year of learning about every bird I could, I took the plunge and bought a camera setup for photography, and the rest is history. 

Perch with Nick!

@let’s.gobirding on Instagram & Youtube

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What’s Your Story?

In an effort to place the spotlight on the birding community I am seeking birders who are interested in sharing their spark bird story to be featured on the Modern Birder Collective. Whether you’re a backyard birder, nature trail birder, or in an urban setting, every birder has a story to tell which can inspire others to discover the joy of birding.

SUBMISSION

Want to share your story on the Modern Birder Collective?

It’s easy! Simply write up your unique spark bird experience and email it to modernbirdercollective@gmail.com. Be sure to include the following:

• Your name as you’d like it to appear in the published post.
• A photo to be used as the featured image.
• Your story, written by you, I’ll copy and paste it directly into the post. It can be as short or as detailed as you’d like to capture your experience.
• Any social media handles (optional) you’d like to include so fellow birders can connect with you and grow the community. 

Looking forward to connecting with you soon & happy birding!