We had the good fortune of connecting with Benny Jacobs-Schwartz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Benny, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

When I started getting into birding in my early 20’s I realized I was often the only one in my age group on outings. However, amongst my naturalist community at UC Santa Cruz I saw that birding was rapidly gaining popularity amongst my peers, and we needed more representation from this generation. I figured, I was up for the task! To kick things off I needed a fly logo, a catchy slogan, and to have an engaging presence. “They’re not gonna watch themselves” had a strong message, and was an inclusive way to invite folks without being overbearing or boring. Then I identified my brand’s focus on BIRDS, TOURS, and THREADS.

In 2017 I started offering local birding tours to beginners in LA and throughout California. The outings incorporated fresh educational tools developed to help newbies get excited and interested in birds. Simultaneously, I began producing bird inspired merch which blended a healthy balance of comedy and art. To channel my love for photography and storytelling, I started creating educational videos and compelling images for my social media platforms.  

In recent years birding has exploded in popularity, and I’m happy for it! 

Next up is leading international birding and ecology trips to tropical places like Costa Rica and Ecuador! That way folks can join me on epic adventures, observe hundreds of gorgeous birds, and see how interconnected the globe is, as many of the birds that spend the summer season in North America spend winter or the non-breeding season in Central & South America!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

Growing up I never saw myself as an entrepreneur or an artist but I knew I loved nature, and loved getting outside with friends. As my love for birds took flight in 2011, so too did my desire to document and share them with others. As I began to post lots of bird images, a buddy encouraged me to create social media accounts dedicated to just this! Shortly thereafter I dropped my inaugural piece of merch – a tank top featuring a photoshopped image of ~15 different birds I photographed during my time in Costa Rica. I started selling them to friends and co-workers at my summer camp, and people loved it. This support gave me the confidence to keep pushing my vibe, and sharing my stoke with all those around me. This formalized the beginning of my lifestyle brand BIRDS by BIJS. 

Since then I have catapulted into a very serious passion of avian photography and have photographed birds from Borneo to Alaska and Ecuador!

I use my bird photographs, as well as some catchy clothing designs to get the attention of the general public and engage them. By approaching topics of conservation and ecology through style and fashion, I’ve been able to reach an audience that probably wouldn’t have been interested in learning about birds prior.

Through my work, I want folks to understand that the healing benefits of the natural world can be accessed even in the urban sprawl of Los Angeles. In recent years, lots of research has come out sharing just how beneficial birding and nature viewing has on people’s mental health and overall well being. I want everyone to be well, so we should go birding!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
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Los Angeles is a massive city, but it also contains three mountain ranges and is chock full of amazing nature viewing opportunities so we’d be sure to check those out!

If I had a buddy visiting in the springtime we’d go on a big day of birding! We’d start up high in the Angeles National Forest for sunrise and be greeted by the dawn chorus of breeding boreal birds like the Mountain Quail, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Purple Finch, Stellar’s Jay and we’d keep our eyes peeled for the gorgeous and enigmatic White-headed Woodpecker. We’d ramble through the mountains, moving down lower in elevation looking for Lawrence’s Goldfinch, and many others. As we drop down into the foothill communities we’d look for other forest and shrubland birds like the Wrentit, California Towhee, Spotted Towhee, California Scrub Jay, and Nuttall’s Woodpecker.

From our foothill birding fun, we’d descend into the Arroyo Seco of North East LA. Here we’d keep our eyes peeled for riverine birds like the Pacific-Slope Flycatcher, Wilson’s Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Warbling Vireo, the drunk robin-like song of the Black-headed Grosbeak, and maybe even the gorgeous Western Tanager with its bright yellow body and the males with their flame colored head.

By late morning, we’d snack on some trail mix, and then dive into a delicious sandwich full of veggies, yummy deli slices on some fresh sourdough. We’d continue our birding fun and meander through the Pasadena area to see if we can spot any exotic birds like Red-whiskered Bulbul, Mitred Parakeet, Yellow-headed, Lilac-crowned, or the more common Red-crowned Parrots!

We would then make our way to the LA river near Willow Street to pick up lots of shorebirds, waders, swallows, and plenty of waterfowl! Some targets here would be the handsome Black-necked Stilt with their skinny red legs, black bodies, and long tweezer-like bill. This location is also great for waterfowl like Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Widgeon, Redhead, Bufflehead, Blue-winged, Green-winged, and Cinnamon Teal. This location is quite productive and hosts over 200 species of birds, and sometimes rare things tend to show up, so we’ll keep our eye out for any birds that have been reported as rare here!

For the last couple of spots of the day we’ll see what’s kicking around the Long Beach area, which can be quite productive for several species of terns, gulls, loons, cormorants, and much more! Also, this is a nice spot to finish off a full day of birding with an industrial sunset! We’d then grab some dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then tally up all the birds we saw on our epic spring migration day!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

I am blessed to have lots of amazing mentors, leaders and inspiring figures in my life. Big shout to all the amazing Adventure Treks instructors of my teens, my U.C. Santa Cruz Natural History Field Quarter professors, Stephanie Olsen, and my UC EAP professors in Costa Rica all who have encouraged my endless passion for the environment, ecology and creating an inclusive community of nature lovers!

Website: www.birdsbybijs.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/birdsbybijs

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-jacobs-schwartz-a4462471/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birdsbybijs/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLmFVePzaahtbS678e6uTnA

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