If there is one thing better than a nice cold beer after a long day of spring migration I don’t know what it is. A mojito while birding in the tropics is often refreshing and a nice glass of red wine after a Christmas Bird Count is a great way to unwind. Birders know the wonderful combination that birds and booze is which is why Birdchick has long been a proponent of Birds and Beers and in Maine there are even dedicated trips called “Birds on Tap!” One of my favorite birding blogs is Bourbon, Bastards, and Birds and I’ve written a blog post in the past wondering about drunken birding.

This is all a long-winded way of saying that we on 10,000 Birds clearly need a dedicated writer exploring the intersection of birds and booze. Fortunately, we have just the person for the job: Tristan Lowery, birder, brewer, and, now, blogger. Who is Tristan Lowery? Let’s take a look at his biography, newly included on the Beat Writers Page here on 10,000 Birds:

Tristan Lowery’s busy homebrewing schedule took a hit in 2010 when he discovered birding and found that scanning the waterfowl at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on a frigid midwinter morning could be just as much fun as standing over a steaming mash tun in a sweltering Queens apartment in August. While his growing commitment to birding has undeniably diminished his brewing output of ales – fine and otherwise – Tristan finds that birding still affords him plenty of excuses to at least keep drinking beer, especially when celebrating life birds, lamenting unsuccessful chases, and capping off an exhausting Big Day or Christmas Bird Count. After leaving behind a hectic cooking career in New York City’s fine-dining scene, Tristan moved inland to the New York’s Capital District, where the relative abundance of Pileated Woodpeckers almost makes up for the fact that he’s only seen a single Sanderling in Albany County ever. When he isn’t birding his local patches in urban Albany, Tristan works in energy regulation for the State of New York.

He birds and he brews! And he’s lived in Queens! He’s a perfect fit for 10,000 Birds! Please join me in welcoming Tristan, who will be writing about the the area where booze and birds overlap on Fridays, just in time for you to learn new drinks for the weekend.

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.