BWD is Back! (Please Subscribe!)

 It's been quite a winter, quite a spring. Peaks and valleys, highs and lows. As I look back, I can honestly say that I have rarely had quite such a goose to my energy, focus, and happiness as being involved in the revival of Bird Watcher's Digest (now BWD Magazine). We wanted to shorten the name, even as we enlarge the magazine. In my mind, BWD stands for Bird Watcher's Digest, but I decided it also stands for  

Birds Wonder  Delight

and THAT's what we are all about. 

In my new position as Advising Editor, have been working, writing, editing, painting, contacting writer and painter friends, building networks of talented contributors. You'll my fingerprints all over the July/August issue! It's tremendously exciting to know it's coming out so soon.

 I had to paint the first cover, of course--and it's my 30th for the magazine! I wanted it to be a surprise, but this little painting has work to do, wooing subscribers past, present, and future, so here it is, ta-daa!

I was so ate up about painting the first cover on our new redesigned full-sized magazine that I had to throw the first try away. Aaack! Second try came out better than I'd hoped, whew!  I guess I worked out all the gremlins on that hapless first try.

Curious: would you buy a commemorative fine art giclee print of this? I'm considering offering one for sale in the July/August issue. Price $75 (includes shipping) Let me know in the comments section?

The cover story, about Henslow's sparrows, is derived from a piece I wrote, longhand, on a jet to South Africa, and had saved ever since, wondering what I'd do with it. There's nothing like having to sit in one place for 21 hours to get your thoughts down on paper. I wrote all night and into the next day, since sleeping sitting up is not in my repertoire. 

And there's nothing like losing a magazine that was a huge part of your life, to help you understand what it meant to you. After 35 years, I was not going to let it go down without a ripple--or a fight. We all felt that way. We have fought hard to bring it back, on every front.

I can't tell you what a joy it is to work with Editor Jessica Vaughan, Advising Editor Dawn Hewitt, Photo Editor Bruce Wunderlich, Social Media Sarah Clark, designer Lisa Coe, Web Coordinator Shanna Lukes, and our two fabulous publishers, Rich Luhr and Mike Sacopulos. We are a lean, mean, no-nonsense team with ONE focus, and that's making the best birding magazine we know how.

Those first four names (with mine, the fifth) should be familiar to our subscribers. We're aiming for continuity, and improvement too. This is our big chance to change what needed to be changed, drop what needed to fall away, and focus on excellence in the magazine. Please give us a try!

I am delighted to tell you that BWD's subscriber portal is now up, de-bugged and running smoothly.  There is a tremendous amount of tech knowhow and work encoded in that sentence. Here's a salute to Rich, Mike, Isaac and Shanna, who've been sweating for many weeks to get the subscriber base imported, and to get us to this heady point.

At bwdmagazine.com, you can 

subscribe

and

check the status of your existing subscription.

If you were owed issues by Bird Watcher's Digest when it ceased operations in December 2021, BWD will give you a complimentary equivalent subscription to our new publication. You will receive the number of issues left outstanding, up to a maximum of six (one year's worth). Curious about your status? Look it up at the link above. 

Here's to love, dedication and perseverence; to good literature, fabulous photography, and beautiful bird paintings. No other birding magazine has consistently featured art on its cover, and I am committed to bringing you the best bird art possible. BWD Magazine is your one-stop shop for all that, and we are SO proud to bring it back!

Because our social media accounts were deleted and must be built back from the ground up, it would mean a lot to us if you'd follow us on Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/bwd_magazine/

and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/BWDmag

Thank you for your support--it means the world to us to see the subscriptions start coming in. We have so many Birds, so much Wonder, such Delight, to share.