One half LYFER founder, the rest all bird!
Josh Symons didn’t start birding as an adult, he simply forgot he’d already begun. Somewhere around age six or seven, his aunt & uncle handed him a pair of bins and, just like that, birds imprinted themselves on his brain. But life moved on, the memory slipped… until three decades later when history repeated itself.
After a casual chat with his uncle Doug (yes, our very first Bird Tales contributor), another pair of bins arrived in the post. Josh lifted them to his eyes and everything came back, the feeling, the fascination, the spark he didn’t realise he’d been carrying all along.
Since then, birds have threaded themselves through every corner of his life. Travel plans, weekends, the art in his home, even conversations with friends who didn’t sign up for bird chat but now mysteriously point out rosellas at brunch. Alongside his partner James (the other half of LYFER), that rediscovered spark became a full-blown life project (yep, LYFER!). The wild idea to take birding to the world of lifestyle brands through designer products, story-telling, and a whole lot of heart.
Josh knows that birds make our lives bigger, brighter, and infinitely more interesting. He also believes the underdog always wins in the end, which probably explains why he’s all in on showing the world how cool birdwatching really is.
What is one bird encounter you will never forget?
In August 2023, my aunty and I set off for a two & a half week tour across the USA and Canada, which would be my aunty's first international trip in her life. We landed in LA and on the first day, settled into some sightseeing. While I'm not sure if a birder is never not birding, birds were not a focus of this first day, we just wanted a great start to the trip!
As part of the 1st day itinerary, we stopped in at the Le Brea Tar Pits. We were wandering around the pits and we could here this buzzing, like a bumble bee or maybe a drone? I could see these small birds flashing past, similar to our thornbills, but didnt think it was them. As I got closer to try and ID the small birds the buzzing got louder... they were HUMMINGBIRDS!
Experiencing their sound & movements, it was such a surprise and a spectacular life moment! I was able to also snap some photos which I needed for the next 2 weeks to try and determine exactly which of the 360+ hummingbird species it was. It was Ana's Hummingbird, and I will never forget that moment.
You’ve got a golden ticket to go anywhere in the world to see a bird? Where would you go and why?
I'll be cashing in that ticket and heading to New York City for October. The mission? Be there in Central Park for the autumn "Big Drop"! It's hard to believe - what is probably one of the greatest urban parks in the world - is also an incredibly important pit stop along the Atlantic flyway for bird migration.
Apparently you can also catch a Starling murmuration over Central Park, so I'll grab one of those please! Better yet, after a day of boosting the Life List, we can head out in Manhattan for dinner and drinks.
How is birding part of your life today?
Birds are part of my everyday.
I am still fascinated by the urban birds that live around us, noticing their behavior, specific individuals and their personalities. While I would love to be out there in the field a lot more, over the last year, I've been more sat behind a computer building this little start up brand LYFER.
Its an absolute joy to combine birds and my career background which is marketing to engage with birds in a slightly different way too. I've loved every moment of my journey with birds. From those intimate moments when its just me and them or sharing my passion wth my family and friends. Even though I get less time to actually get out and see the birds as much as Id like, I think of birds constantly.
Lyfer is a bird-watching lifestyle brand in Australia offering original, premium & ethically-made apparel and accessories for modern birders.
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