We were lucky to catch up with Sally Siko recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sally, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

For me, being a birding guide is literally a dream come true. I used to be a professional event photographer.
Many years ago, I had a dream that I showed up to photograph an event and got distracted by a warbler flying around a pond behind the venue.
I tried for an hour to photograph the elusive bird (to get a better look for an ID) and missed shooting the event itself.
This is known as event photographer nightmare fuel, lol!
I woke up in a disoriented panic thinking for a second that the dream was real lol!
My heart was racing and there were tears in my eyes.
Once the sleep fog cleared of course I was relieved that scenario was nothing more than the normal stress of event photography work manifesting itself.
Still a tinge of the dream lingered.
The knowing that something else was out there beyond my reach.
To be clear, I loved my job.
Yet, that dream left me feeling like something important was missing in my day-to-day life.
I knew something had to change.

As a child, I spent the majority of my time exploring the outdoors.
While most girls were interested in going to the mall to go shopping, I wanted to find birds and animals.
I’d spend hours in the woods, hiking through creeks, turning over rocks to find salamanders and crayfish. Sometimes I’d encounter a deer laying in a thicket and would try to sneak up on it to see how close I could get before it would run off.
Most of all I wanted to to learn everything I could about the natural world around me.
I felt like I needed to know how the biological system was tied together, to truly understand the value of each link in the chain of life.
In particular, the migration habits of birds has always fascinated me.
To think that a tiny Prairie Warbler could migrate thousands of miles twice a year to end up on the same twig year after year is astounding.

It starts with asking what.
Then why?
Then how?
Then when?

After years spent watching the day to day lives of familiar species (Robins, Mourning Doves, Chickadees and Titmice), I started noticing birds which were not that common showing up in my area.
To see a bright yellow Prothonotary Warbler in the trees for the first time, viewing a flock of migrating American Wigeons or finding where Painted Buntings frequented a feeder made me feel great.
I relished the chase and the buzz I’d get from identifying new (to me) birds.
To go into the mysterious dark woods with the intent of learning something new felt like some sort of adventure. And wow, to actually find what I was looking for after searching for days was a rush!

Fast forward to adulthood, it felt there were no more adventures to be had from my position sitting behind a computer starting at marketing reports or editing thousands of photos in Photoshop.
I was growing soft and feeling dull.
Plus, I was getting lonely in my digital isolation.
I needed the scent of pine trees, the feel of moss, mud and rocks under my boots and sunlight on my face.
I craved the sense of accomplishment that comes with doing the research, making a plan and seeing it through to the end.
Event work was easy.
Perhaps a little stressful at times (hence the dreams lol) but not overly so.
A straightforward way to earn a living without much to challenge my abilities.

Growth though, is rarely achieved without difficulty.
Doing hard things as a habit makes us stronger.
I wanted to get better.
To feel better!
I needed a challenge, something that required real work in the mental and physical realm.
I needed to go birding.
A few weeks after that weird nightmare filled night, I decided to get serious with my eBird listings and purposely made time in my life to go find new species of birds.
I took tons of gorgeous photos of interesting birds and got out of my office to travel every week someplace new.
It wasn’t easy but it was fun!
Hot summer mornings hiking through mosquito filled swamps searching for Limpkins, cold winter days spent on icy wind driven sand dunes looking for Snowy Owls, a hard life but immensely rewarding when a new bird was found.
Over the next year, I lost 75lbs of weight, became a better photographer and found true peace of mind in the woods, marshes and fields.
This was exactly what I thought I needed but still, something was missing.
Then, I got it.
People!
Birding (generally) is a solo activity and I wanted to find a way where I could connect with my fellow North Carolina birders so that we could share in the joy of birding together.

But how?
The answer was to pull from my experience as a photographer and website designer to build a home on the internet (bestlifebirding.com) that highlights the birds that I’ve found along the way.
It’s not just pretty photos though as I always include location maps of my birding spots and share detailed behavioral information on every species of bird I’ve spotted.
That way others can learn what I’ve learned and then go out and see for themselves what I’ve found!

My website traffic grew quickly and it wasn’t long before I started fielding questions in the comment section about my findings on a regular basis.
What is that bird look like during the breeding season?
Where exactly did you find it?
How did you take that photo?
What kind of gear do I need to buy to take photographs like yours?
When should I go birding in my area?
What will I find if I travel to this place in the spring or winter?

To answer these questions, I started leading small group bird photography tours and holding wildlife photography workshops here in the United States.
Thus Best Life Birding was born!
It was (and still is!) awesome.
I mean when else can I be in a place and talk endlessly about birds and photography with people without getting eye rolls, lol!
But it’s more than that…

I also share stories and photos submitted for my own website’s publication by my fellow North Carolina bird photographers and bloggers.
After all, it’s a fact that happiness is the one thing which increases the more that we share it with others!
There are a huge number of talented wildlife photographers and writers here in the Tarheel State with a story to tell so why not lift up the wider community of N.C. birders by amplifying the voices of other people who are on a similar path?
Above all else though, developing connections between people across all demographics has led to friendships and professional opportunities which are of priceless value to me.
In short, birds bring people together. Given the polarized nature of society in contemporary times, seeing the love and spirit of cooperation between communities flourish gives me a reason to hope for humanity as a whole.

Today cameras in hand, I get to go out every week into the world on a mission to share the birds and places which bring me joy.
Better yet, I am never alone on this journey as countless friends, readers and clients are always with me every step along the way.
It’s an incredible feeling!
To think that I can make other people happy by sharing what I see and what I’ve learned about the birds I love, is everything I ever wanted to grow up to be someday.
This is Best Life Birding!

Sally, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a birder and photography instructor from Raleigh North Carolina. My job is too help people find new birds to add to their species life lists and to teach folks how to capture stunning wildlife and bird photographs.
I deeply enjoy bringing people together from all walks of life in an effort to see the natural beauty of birds and animals found throughout the United States.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I spent 9 days searching for the only known Snowy Owl in the Mid Atlantic during February of 2022. It took a cumulative 23 miles of hiking over sand dunes in 60mph winds at temperatures in the 30’s to finally see this bird and to be able to share the moment with my guest.
100% worth it haha!

Birding requires patience and resilience.
Sometimes the target bird is gone by the time we arrive or the weather takes a turn for the worse.
The important thing to remember is that choosing to at least try and see something new, even when we fail is always better then choosing to stay home and ride the couch.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

*See the answer to the first question on this interview.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bestlifebirding.com
• Instagram: @bestlife_birding
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northcarolinabirding
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BirdwatchingNC

Image Credits
Sally Siko of Best Life Birding