Stratford bird lover hopes to record all species on Island

A Stratford, P.E.I. woman is on a quest to collect photos of birds on the Island.

Denise Motard created the website Birds of the World, which has a section dedicated to bird species on the Island.

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Since Motard has started the website, she has also picked up some contributors to help her in her quest, which she appreciates since her equipment leaves a little to be desired.

"Unfortunately I don't have the best camera to take bird photos, my zoom is not powerful enough, so I'm getting mixed results," said Motard.

368 species of birds on P.E.I.

According to the P.E.I. government there are 368 bird species that can be viewed on the Island. While Motard is a little behind that, with around 40 bird species identified, she wants to complete the set.

"My hope is to get as many birds as there are on the field checklist," said Motard.

Motard expects it may not take long to complete the list, especially with a few devoted contributors.

"If I get a few contributors, who already have almost like a database of different photos, I think it's going to increase quite fast," said Motard.

A life-long love of birds

While Motard originally started the website as a place to post photos of birds she took on her travels to Japan, New Zealand and Hawaii, her love of birds extends back to her early life in Montreal.

"It's a fascination with birds [I've] had for a good part of my life," said Motard.

Since she's loved birds from an early age, it only made sense for her to become involved in the Island's birding community when she moved to the Island.

"I've been on the Island for 11 years and ever since the beginning I've been involved in those organizations," said Motard.

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