TAMERRA JONES

“Birding has always been a respite from the chaos. It’s where I go to make my big problems feel small and remember that I am just one tiny, tiny piece of this big, beautiful, crazy world.”

Meet Tamerra Jones: hobby birder, self-proclaimed baddie, and environmental advocate from Orlando. Online, she documents the joys of birding through photos and funny videos, never takes herself too seriously, and makes a steady case that birdwatching and nature belong to everyone.

She also took the Portal into the field for us, paired it with her Nocs, and came back with a Great Blue Heron mid-wingspread.

The Bird That Chose Her

Tamerra didn’t choose the birdwatching baddie life. It chose her.

She started birding in 2023, after the pandemic, looking for a way to get outside and reconnect with the world after too long indoors. It also seemed like a cheap hobby. (“Or so I thought,” she says.)

Her spark bird was an Osprey. She was so puzzled trying to figure out what she was looking at that she scraped her knee in the attempt. That’s when she knew she’d caught the bug.

Lifer #400

Three years in, Tamerra logged lifer #400: a Bay-breasted Warbler.

This fall migration felt like a full-circle moment. She started birding during a fall migration, back when she was still learning the basics. This time she had three years of IDs under her belt and a birding community behind her. “I felt like a superhero out in the field.”

The Bay-breasted didn’t come easy. It was moving with Blackpoll Warblers, so she had to look past the at-a-glance field marks and study legs and feet, undertails, and contrast to tell them apart. A good bird and a good lesson.

There’s a Lot of Beauty in the Swamp

Ask Tamerra and she’ll tell you Central Florida is slept on as a birding destination.

The region packs a lot of ecosystems into a short drive. Scrub habitat is home to the Florida Scrub-Jay, found only in Florida and one of her favorites. Beaches and freshwater springs bring in coastal and wading birds. Marshes and wetlands hold Snail Kites. The supporting cast includes alligators, panthers, otters, bears, and wild boar.

In her words: “Just like Shrek, there’s a lot of beauty in the swamp!”

Tamerra’s Florida Spots

If you’re exploring Southwest Florida, Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is on her must-visit list.

Closer to home, her regular rotation includes:
Orlando Wetlands
Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive
Black Point Wildlife Drive at Merritt Island
Mead Botanical Garden

They’re not exactly secrets, but they’re popular for a reason. On any given visit, she says you can count on 30 to 40 species.

Birding by the Forecast

In Florida, the birds help with the weather report. Local folklore says the White Ibis is the last bird to take shelter before a hurricane hits. As long as the ibis are still around, you’re in the clear.

Storms don’t keep Tamerra home, either. Some of her best birding days have come right after a big storm or heavy rain, when wildlife moves and behaves differently as conditions shift.

In the Field With the Portal

Tamerra took the Portal, our screen-free camera, out for a day of birding. With no screen to check, she let go of chasing the “perfect shot” and snapped moments as they came.

“It felt like being back in the 90s, which is truly everything to me as a millennial.”

Pairing the Portal with her Nocs was seamless. Snap photos, glass with the binoculars, or use both together, all without feeling like she was juggling a million things in her hands.

Her favorite shot of the day: a Great Blue Heron on the bank, caught just as it opened its wings.

Turning Off the Noise

For Tamerra, putting the phone down feels like turning off the noise. There’s a lot of digital chatter out there, and it’s hard to step away from. Tools that ground you in the moment, she says, make you more present and a better birder.

That’s the point of the whole thing. With anxiety running high, and phones turning up the volume, birding has always been her break from the chaos. It’s where the big problems get small.

What’s Next

Tamerra is still championing the birding baddies of the world. She’s giving a talk with Alabama Audubon on November 13 and planning more for 2027.

Follow along on Instagram and TikTok at @tamerrathewatcher.