I've always struggled with these because I never know what to write. So here goes. My name is Tim Avery and I am
from Salt Lake City, Utah. I was born and raised in Salt Lake, and started birding when I was about 12 years old.
For the first couple years it was a weekend hobby, mostly looking for birds on family outings and vacations. When
I was 15 I convinced my dad to go to southeastern Arizona, and spend a week birding. The trip was nothing less than
incredible, seeing Elegant Trogon, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Blue-throated and Violet-crowned Hummingbirds and
Rose-throated Becard as well as a number of other specialty birds. I saw more than 60 new species of birds and started
to get hooked. When I was 18 I moved to Wisconsin to go to college. Being in the Midwest I was able to see more new
species of birds and the warblers were simply stunning. During my sophomore year I was greeted with an opportunity to
work for the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory as a Field Biologist in southwest Wyoming during the summer. I jumped at
the opportunity, and continued after my junior year as well. In 2004 I created a website to host some of my bird photos
which developed over time into the site as you see it today. In May 2005 I graduated with a Bachelors degree in
Studio Art with Departmental Honors from Beloit College.
After graduation I returned to Wyoming for one more summer, and in July of 2005 I was a member of a team of birders and
biologists who discovered and documented the first ever nesting Flammulated Owl in Wyoming. I moved back to Utah after
the summer and started doing a Utah Big Year in January 2006. However, I took a job in Indiana, and moved away from Utah
in May, ending my big year attempt. I spent 8 months in Indiana, where birding was about the only thing that kept me sane.
While there I was introduced to Ken Brock and a group of birders who spent their weekend lake-watching on the south shore
of Lake Michigan. I spent most of my weekends of the fall of 2006 with this group seeing all three species of Jaeger in
Indiana!!! As well as a King Eider, one of less than 10 sightings for Indiana. In December of 2006 I decided to head back
to Utah and in January I started yet another big year. After several months working in an office, I took a job with the
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources as a Wildlife Technician conducting riparian bird counts in southern Utah. During the
summer of 2007 I worked across the southern half of Utah, birding on a daily basis and helping build up the number of
species for my big year. Finally, on September 15, I saw my 333rd species of bird in Utah in 2007, breaking the previous
record of 332 set by Dennis Shirley in 2004.
When this was written I had seen 351 species of bird in Utah in 2007, and seen more birds in March, April, June, August,
September, October, and November than anyone previously. I had also been fortunate to find a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and
a Pine Warbler, two species previously not recorded in Utah.
Click here to see the complete list of birds seen in 2007.
I am currently running my own web design business, and birding as often as possbile, and taking lots of pictures. I recently
photographed my 350th species of bird, and updated my site with a new photo album to show these images to the public. I guide
out of state birders, photograph birds, and am working on several projects involving Utah birds and birding, including a
bird identification series for the Great Salt Lake Audubon Society, a checklist to the birds of the Kennecott Inland Sea
Shorebird Reserve, and an online guide to birding Salt Lake County. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look, feel free
to contact me with any questions, via my contact page my clicking here.
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