After moving to Michigan, Lisa was met with a variety of wildlife, which inspired her to partake in this hobby.
Lisa wrote: “When I moved to the US from my native country Germany, I noticed that the birds here are more colorful and different than in Germany. I wanted to share them with my family and started taking photos.”
Lisa also shared about her creative process: “I enjoy seeing the beauty of the bird anatomy, the delicate patterns, the feathers, the colors, and of course their antics. How they pose, etc. The creative process mainly consists of choosing the best photo out of thousands that my system takes each day and then editing it a bit. The reward is being able to share it with the world and seeing how others enjoy it as well, learn something, or are becoming more fascinated by nature.”
Lisa is still fascinated with observing and photographing birds even though it’s been 8 years since she started. She explained what keeps her interested to this day.
“I am still infatuated with the beauty of the birds, with their feather detail, as well as entertained by their antics. It is exciting to capture scenes that I haven’t seen before by placing cameras in different spots or just getting lucky with what happens. And of course, migration time is always exciting because you never know who might come for a surprise visit,” wrote Lisa.
As you might imagine, upkeep is a very important part of Lisa’s daily life. She shared what goes into the essential daily maintenance of feeders and baths.
"My feeders are all squirrel-proofed (either with baffles or by design—like the weight-activated ones), so I basically leave all foods out, except for my camera bowls, because I take my photo cams in at night. The smaller dishes I refill several times a day, and they hold maybe 1.5 cups of seed. Other than that, I have a platform feeder and one or two hanging feeders. I think it all sounds a lot more than it is. In the summer, I have oriole and hummingbird feeders out on top of that. I refill and clean them every other day. Cleaning feeders and baths should be your regular routine as a person who does backyard feeding."
In a more recent interview, Lisa shared about the yearly calendar she makes: feel free to check it out on her website!
“I make a calendar with my photos every year. It is a means to celebrate and look back on the year that I enjoy a lot. I started a couple of years ago because people asked about it, and found a service that does things on demand and in good quality. It is a lot of fun to go through the entire year and think about which photos would work. I make a folder with candidates and then go from there. Usually, I want the photo to be of a bird that is nicely centered and focused and somewhat fitting for the season.
I would not use a hummingbird for December, for example. The calendar represents what is happening in my yard in that month. Some years I have a lot of favorite photos and it is harder. Last year it was easy because things were a little slower than normal with me having medical issues for a bit that forced me to take a break. But some years I have so many fun photos that they are good for more than one calendar. For last year, I had three - a regular one and two grackle-only ones, one with grumpy grackles, and one with grackles throughout the year. I loved making these.”
Coming back to the topic of regular visitors, Lisa commented on who tends to show up the most and what their behavior is like.
“It all comes down to the season, but the birds that show up the most in general are probably the mourning doves and the blue jays. They tend to not migrate, so love a regular food and water source like my yard. But as the season settles in, you will always note some others that may have distinctive features so you recognize that they come a lot. There is a chickadee with a long toe on the middle "finger", a junco with a crooked foot, and a female cardinal with very red eyebrows, for example. Some like to share, others not so much. And then, of course, there is the nocturnal crowd - mostly flying squirrels and skunks and a bunny right now. I do love them all,” wrote Lisa.
As for the evolution, Lisa shared what has changed since she first started observing birds.
“I have started to explore video a bit more in recent years, and I love to try out different setups that give me insights into behavior and visitors in different areas of my yard. I love my little group of trail cameras for that because they don't need extra cable or batteries (they run with solar power), so I can put them in spots where the other cameras do not reach. I have filmed the flying squirrels here at night, for example, and I have been using a Birdfy 2 camera feeder as well, which is a lot of fun to see the regular crowd up close and interacting.
My homemade setup still takes the cake for closeup photos that go into the calendar selection. I am always motivated to hunt for fun footage, always thinking about new ‘scenes’, so it never gets boring. And I need it to not get boring because otherwise, I do not feel motivated to write something up for a post.”
Lastly, Lisa added: “Keep your feeders and bird baths clean and ready. If you can't put a feeder out, a water source may give you almost as much enjoyment. And think beyond feeders - plant native shrubs and trees in your yard and avoid using pesticides to help wildlife and improve your own mental health. We are living in a wild time, and anything that is beautiful and enjoyable can make things better.”
