Hello and welcome to Birding with Leslie!
Birding With Leslie is a Northern Virginia backyard birding, native gardening, and wildlife storytelling brand created by Leslie.
What began with feeding backyard birds in April 2023 has grown into a much bigger love of creating a space where birds, butterflies, pollinators, and other wildlife can thrive.
I'm Leslie — a backyard birder, bluebird landlord, native plant enthusiast, wildlife gardener, and aspiring nature photographer. I live in Northern Virginia, about 45 minutes outside of Washington, D.C., where much of what I share happens right in my own backyard.
My yard has become my little wildlife sanctuary — filled with nest boxes, bird feeders, native plants, pollinator gardens, wildlife cameras, and plenty of unexpected visitors.
How Birding With Leslie Began
I started regularly feeding birds in April 2023 and quickly became fascinated by the birds that were visiting my yard.
In 2024, I installed my first nest boxes and became a very excited bluebird landlord. That first nesting season brought Eastern Bluebird families, Carolina Wrens, and an entirely new appreciation for what happens in our own backyards when we create habitat for wildlife.
Since then, Birding With Leslie has expanded beyond bird feeding and bluebirds to include nest box stories, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, native plants, butterflies, monarchs, pollinator gardening, wildlife cameras, seasonal garden changes, and the everyday surprises of sharing a yard with nature.
And sometimes, the best stories are the ones I never planned to capture.
What You'll Find at Birding With Leslie
Here you'll find:
Backyard birding — the birds that visit, feed, nest, raise young, and occasionally cause a little chaos in my yard.
Nest box stories — especially Eastern Bluebirds, chickadees, wrens, and woodpeckers.
Native gardening — the plants I'm adding to create better habitat for birds, butterflies, and pollinators.
Butterflies and pollinators — including monarch caterpillars, milkweed, host plants, nectar plants, and the creatures that find them.
Wildlife camera moments — the things my cameras catch when no one is watching.
Nature photography and video — documenting the beautiful, funny, surprising, and sometimes imperfect moments happening outside my door.
Life through the seasons — watching the birds, garden, and wildlife change throughout the year.
A Softer Way to Experience Nature
Birding With Leslie is also about slowing down enough to notice what is happening around us.
A hummingbird returning to the same perch.
A bluebird carrying food to a nest box.
A woodpecker settling in for the night.
A monarch caterpillar appearing on milkweed.
Or simply sitting outside and listening to the sounds of the backyard.
Birding With Leslie follows life after 50 through birds, native gardening, and quiet moments in nature — creating a softer way forward through the changing seasons of work, family, and everyday life.
You don't need acres of land or a perfect garden to make room for wildlife. I'm still learning, experimenting, changing things, and occasionally discovering that nature had completely different plans than I did.
That's part of the fun.
Birds of Birding With Leslie
My Northern Virginia backyard has welcomed an incredible variety of birds, including Eastern Bluebirds, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Blue Jays, American Goldfinches, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Carolina and House Wrens, White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Gray Catbirds, American Robins, crows, hawks, sparrows, winter visitors and many more.
And I'm always watching to see who shows up next.
Come Along With Me
Whether you're an experienced birder, planting your first native plant, putting up your first nest box, or simply enjoy watching wildlife from your window, I hope Birding With Leslie inspires you to look a little more closely at the nature around you.
You can follow Birding With Leslie on YouTube for backyard bird stories, wildlife camera footage, native gardening, butterflies, nest boxes, and quiet moments from my Northern Virginia backyard.
Thank you for visiting Birding With Leslie. I'm glad you're here.
— Leslie
If you liked what you found here, I'd love to hear your thoughts—please feel free to leave a comment! If you're from the Virginia area, don't hesitate to say hello. Thank you so much for stopping by; I truly appreciate your support."
Copyright © 2026 Birding with Leslie. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, or re-upload of this material is strictly prohibited without the express consent of the copyright owner. For permission requests, contact hello@birdingwithleslie.com