The Canadian Bird Nerd is spreading her wings and the whole world is invited to watch.
“I was born with a genetic illness that has gotten worse as I got older,” said the Canadian Bird Nerd, 37-year-old Jessica Duquette, who lives in Foothills County near the Sheep River. “I have been kind of cooped up at home and haven’t been able to do much.
“I turned to these online bird-streaming channels and got into it and that is how I started my own camera sites... and I kind of got caught up in it myself.”
Duquette has two 24-hour livestreams, which have been shown since 2019. One is at her garden and the other at her feeders.
At present the Canadian Bird Nerd has 4,000 subscribers and has had almost 1 million views from over 40 different countries.
She finds watching birds relaxing.
“Watching birds is peaceful for me,” she said. “If I could be an animal, I would love to be a bird — the freedom to fly and go anywhere you want. There is something so peaceful and innocent about watching bird activity at your feeder.
“It is a large learning experience as well. You get to learn about different birds, the different behaviours they have... and to see how they interact with other birds is so fascinating.”
The touch of nature has helped Duquette with her disease.
“I can’t get out of the house as often as other people,” she said. “Because of my arthritis and heart problems I can’t go on long walks.
“So, I get to sit at home and have the peace of bringing nature to me and bringing it to my own backyard. Recording the activity, I can go back and look and see it year-round.
“It is really relaxing. I get to see sunrises, snowfalls, thunderstorms from a whole new angle... It helps me cope with the life I can’t have.”
She set up the Canadian Bird Nerd channel so others can share her enthusiasm.
“Watching the Cornell Lab Feeders and knowing what it did for me – it made me feel like a kid again,” Duquette said. “I wanted people from around the world to know what it looked like from a Canadian perspective and seeing Western Canadian birds.
“Little did I know, it led to universities and schools all across North America using it for their studies.”
She added seniors' facilities have used them as well.
The type of bird captured on the Bird Nerd cameras depends on the time of day and season.
“Pretty soon you will see a lot of redwing blackbirds, grackles, a lot of different sparrows,” Duquette said. “I have three different type of woodpeckers that come, blue jays, magpies, different type of bunting and one of my favourite birds, chickadees.
“It gets really busy in the spring.”
She estimates she will go through 20 pounds of birdseed in a week during the spring.
Sometimes you see more than birds. A highlight reel from the Bird Nerd cameras shows deer, skunks, a coyote and other animals visiting Duquette.
And of course, a squirrel eating at the feeders like he was at a buffet can also be seen the odd time.
Duquette got her passion for birds as a child while visiting her grandparents’ farm near Edmonton during the summer.
“They were really dedicated to feeding birds and whenever I saw an injured bird, I would bring them home — my parents loved that — and we would call Fish and Wildlife or a rescue organization," she said.
“We have been feeding birds my entire life.”
Her grandparents lived in one of the rare places in Alberta which has cardinals.
Duquette plans to also post instructional videos on feed and cleaning feeders.
Viewing of the Canadian Bird Nerd site is free. However, donations can be made to cover the cost of feed.
TELUS is providing her with high-speed Internet and is showcasing the Canadian Bird Nerd for Optik TV customers through Video on Demand, Indigenous Voices on channel 126, and Curiosity Corner on channel 720.
“Without the high-speed Internet, I wouldn’t be able to bring it to everyone,” Duquette said.
She said she will be offering a nest camera in the future.
“A lot of people are bored at home right now because of the pandemic,” Duquette said. “They can take their world into the window of Canada and our birds and the scenery here."
