Welcome.

My name is Jaya (Jeremy) Alcorn. Jeremy is my legal name. It works but just barely. Jaya is my name of preference and is a nod to my genderfluidity.

I’m a bit of a twitcher and I definitely have lofty goals for myself. However, I am not an expert birder (whatever that means) and I have no desire of becoming one. Birding is my number one hobby but I have others that I use to strike a balance in my life.

I’m still working on my goal of birding in all fifty states in the U.S. I also recently had the privilege of beginning my international journey to find birds.

Topics

It took me a year to decide whether or not I wanted to write about birding. Truthfully, I’m still not sure about my choice, but here I am.

My main focus will of course be birds and birdwatching. However, if that were all I desired to discuss I would not have created this space.

Initially, I wanted to give queer folks (or anyone considered other) some visibility in this hobby. More importantly I wanted to connect straight cis-folks to the reality that queer folks experience when being out in the world.

I’ve also long been a fan of punk rock and am also interested in those who are finding a connection between punk and birding. When possible I will explore this as well.

There is so much more that has to be included as we weave through the story of birds and bird watching.

Sure I’m going to share my personal stories about birds. Those are the easiest narratives to write. I would be doing birdwatching a grave disservice if I stopped there. I know some folks just want to read about birds. I wish we lived in a world that would make our stories and hobbies so idyllic. I can’t walk through a field in South America while looking at birds and not also be reminded of the rainforest that used to thrive there. Our current reality demands that we look deeper.

Environmental conditions, policy, culture, privilege, sex, gender, race, biology, ethics and a multitude of other issues shape our world and influence how we spend our free time. I will be exploring these themes as well.

Style

I am a proponent of bird names for birds. As such, when a bird species still retains the name of a person, I will omit the possessive. It may take you a micro second to adjust but not much longer than that. Once bird names are updated I will endeavor to go back through and change them in my writings. If I miss one feel free to let me know.

I have also been choosing to write in gender neutral terms when possible and I expect to continue that here as well. I will create exceptions for when I need to speak with specificity to make a point.

I favor dry sardonic wit. I also feel that cursing can often be appropriate. Expect both.

I hope you enjoy. Have a merry migration and a happy fallout.

Warmly,
Jaya

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My eBird Profile – https://ebird.org/profile/MjA0NTMwMg