Part two of the Bird Wise Observations series is now out! I’m interviewing individuals who make up the various user groups responding to the annual migration and presence of wild bird populations to the Skagit Valley of Washington state. The Skagit Valley is a rich agricultural region of the state, as well as a world-class birding destination for the Arctic migrants that winter here. The series explores the complexity, joy and challenges that both people and birds bring to this working landscape.

Seattle-based birder Izzy Arévalo Wong is the birder! Because this is my website page I can give you a little background on Izzy (that’s the fun of sharing this content from here, you get the additional intel behind the stories). Izzy serves as an elder bad ass in my community of birders with opinions on our greater birding culture, and graciously shares her voice across birding media from her perspective as a someone who has long represented a distinct presence in birding. She talks about inclusion in the birding scene at Birds Connect Seattle, and is one of a dozen voices quoted in this story about demographic-specific birding tours in the American Birding Association’s Birding Magazine (full disclosure, I wrote both stories—when you find a great source, it becomes a bit of a romance!).

In Bird Wise Observations, she weighs in as a birder who’s visited the Skagit for over 30 years every winter, admiring the birds, appreciating the dynamic landscape, and sharing a memorable story from her early days as a visitor. You’ll have to read it to find out!