About the Editor

A Board member for Stanislaus Audubon for over 30 years (1988 to 2021), Jim continues to serve as the Stanislaus Audubon Webmaster, StanislausBirds Groups.IO Administrator, Stanislaus County eBird Reviewer, & Stanislaus Bird Records Committee member. Jim was until recently, a teacher and administrator with Modesto City Schools. He taught Biology, Earth Science and Spanish for 20 years before serving as the District's Instructional Technology Supervisor for the last 14 years of his career. His expertise was in Digital Instructional Practices and Online Learning. Jim has served as past President, Vice-president, Secretary and Treasurer for Stanislaus Audubon Society as well as Program Chair and Field Trip Chair. He was also one of the early founding Board Members of the Central Valley Bird Club, participating in every Bird Symposium from its inception until COVID. 

Jim admits that he is as much a Bird Photographer as he is a Birder. Birding came first, but his passion for seeing birds was soon equaled by a passion to capture their beauty. His photography mentor, Bob Corey, introduced him to the Modesto Camera Club where he participated in their monthly slide competitions in their beginners group. He currently has over 25,000 images on his https://jimgain.smugmug.com/  site. His images have been featured on Audubon Field Guide, Birds of the World, All About Birds, Merlin Bird App and numerous websites.

THE SPARK

Jim's birding spark came while pursuing his BA in Life Science at CSU Stanislaus. Due to scheduling complications, he had to take Ornithology lab at the exact same time as his Organic Chemistry lab. To make up missed hours in the Ornithology lab he attended a local field trip led by Stockton Audubon Society member, David Yee, at Caswell Memorial State Park. As they were walking into the park, David drew everyone's attention to the bird on a wire that was calling, "Hic three beers", followed shortly thereafter by another bird calling chur-bit. The chur-bit bird, when seen, was a Western Tanager with brilliant yellow belly and A flaming orange head. David introduced him to "Birding by Ear" which sparked his life-consuming passion.

EMAIL:  jimgain@sbcglobal.net