Birders' Buddy: A Cottage Industry

"This is definitely a cottage industry. Birders' Buddy is just "me and my sewing machine."

Betsy and her sewing machine produce such an excellent vest because she, herself, is an avid and committed birder. She and her husband, Steve, participate yearly in the Christmas Bird Count, Northern Arizona Audubon Birdathon, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bald Eagle Count, Arizona Game and Fish Songbird Survey, and are compilers of the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas.

She is an active conservationist and has written articles for Bird Watcher's Digest. She also has sponsored the Southwest Michigan Annual Team Birdathon for all seven years of its existence. As Birders' Buddy she is a corporate sponsor of American Birders' Exchange on AOL, the oldest online birding club in the world.

"The vest idea was conceived when the National Geographic guide came out - at that time Roger Tory Peterson didn't think he would ever have time to revise his Western guide, and the National Geographic was the greatest thing since sliced bread to hit the west coast. Unfortunately, it would not fit into my husband's back pocket like the Golden Guide, which was the most updated until that point. We have been more or less the 'brand name' of vests ever since that time.

"One of the most important points to stress about the vest is that it is an 'All-season birding vest' The only other products that are -- or were -- on the market were just too hot for summer use. I really like what Rick Bonney says about using it in a wide variety of weather conditions."

If you have a question for Betsy, you can e-mail her at birdvest@birdersbuddy.com

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