Who am I, anyway?

The short version:

My name is Lisa Kohler.  I’m a 20-something avian enthusiast living in Mountain View, California, with my boyfriend, Ben,  Peach-faced Lovebird, Paco, and Labradoodle, Meela.  I’ve always enjoyed writing and have recently found interest in photography; so voila, here’s my blog!

The long version: 

Let me start at the beginning.  I grew up in the South San Francisco Bay Area, and an odd visitor to my backyard as an elementary school student first piqued my interest in birds.  Amused by some strange whistles in the backyard, my family happened upon a stray Ornate Lorikeet sitting on the telephone wires.  Tempted to fly into our atrium by some chopped apple, my mom promptly caught him with an old butterfly net.  His wings were partially clipped, so we knew he had belonged to someone. We posted signs, but never heard a peep.  So, we decided to keep him!  We names him Gizmo, but the name didn’t stick.  My mom (who cleaned up most of his watery, nectar-filled poops) called him Beast; my brother and dad called him Bird (how creative), and I called him Piddy (don’t ask, it just came to me one day).  In the months and years that passed, Piddy and I became quite the pair.  He took up territory in my room, and would attack anyone else who dared step foot on my carpet.  I came to expect him to be sitting by the door, waiting for me to come home from school (no joke- we have no idea how he knew when to come out, but he was there every day)… until the day I realized he wasn’t there.  He had gotten attacked by a Sharp-shinned Hawk (we think) while checking out the potted plants in the backyard.  :-(

It amazed me how intelligent he was, and how I connected with him so well I could tell what mood he was in by the way he would dilate his eyes.  It was this phenomenal, unexpected relationship that first got me into birds. 

While I attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo for my BS in Animal Science, I took advantage of the ample Open Space, State Parks, and coastline to hone my birding skills.  There, I also learned about the morphology and physiology of birds, and generally a lot of fun facts about them. It’s these facts that I try to impart in my blogs, to make them more interesting and maybe even educate a few people.

I then headed off to UC Davis for my MS in Avian Biology, where I did my thesis on the effects of dietary protein on the reproduction of cockatiels.  I wasn’t a big fan of Davis (not much good birding easily accessible, among lots and lots of other reasons), so I was happy to get out of there to the slow and comfortable Napa.  Ben’s company in Napa got bought by McAfee, so we moved back to the Bay Area where we are currently trying to “live up our twenties.”  Whatever that means.  :-)

The long long version:

Just kidding.  If you want this version, you have to become my friend first! :-)

Hope you enjoy all I have to offer! I take requests! :-)