Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Manny

Manny Salas

Hi! I'm Manny, and I am an avid birdwatcher and photographer. I, of course, love all wildlife and the outdoors. I enjoy exploring the natural areas of our heavily urbanized Oakland County, where I have spent much of my life.

While I've always been intrigued by nature and birds since childhood, my fascination with the marvelous avian creatures really snowballed after conducting a volunteer migratory bird count and discovering the vast database of the citizen science project, eBird, in 2019. Since then I have become more involved with the birding community at large, been honored to have volunteered with the Johnson Nature Center and Oakland Audubon Society, and taken part in the 2021 Kirtland's Warbler census. I will continue along this trajectory this coming fall, as I major in wildlife ecology & conservation at Michigan Technological University, in Houghton, Michigan.

I'm delighted to be able to share the wonders of nature I see at the Johnson Nature Center through my camera lens with everyone, and I hope to inspire others to take a closer look at these fascinating feathered animals!