You might call him the Bird Man of Warren, because Tom Myers loves birdwatching and attracting visitors to his “Bird of the Week” TikTok videos.

Myers, who lives in Warren, teaches third and fourth grades at Skyline Elementary School, part of the Portland Public Schools system. When not immersed in schoolbooks and class instruction, Myers loves to head out on his kayak in search of area birds, perhaps that rare bird he can brag about.

But of note to those outside the greater Portland area, and certainly those within, is his popular TikTok series, available under Teacher Tom, @birdoftheweek.

“I make these ‘Bird of the Week’ videos every Sunday that I post onto the TikTok account,” Myers said. “I show them to my class on Monday mornings.”

Myers has been creating his “Bird of the Week” videos for over three years. He said he tends to post birds who frequent Oregon, Washington and California.

His videos are not only a hit among students at Skyline; They’re attracting a much larger audience.

“It grew really quickly,” he said. “I have around 235,000 followers, which is crazy.”

His videos get tens of thousands of views and dozens, perhaps hundreds, of comments. He said that, as an example, a viewer may ask what bird will be featured next.

“American Crow has over a million views,” Myers said. “Black-capped Chickadee and the Mourning Dove, those have around a million, too. I think its probably just the birds that are most common, that people are most familiar with.”

Myers, who has been birding about seven years, has always enjoyed the great outdoors and activities involving nature.

“But it wasn’t until I bought a kayak and started paddling around that I really started noticing birds,” Myers said. “I got binoculars, got a field guide and it, kind of, just went from there.”

Myers enjoys kayaking around Sauvie Island, Scappoose Bay and along the Columbia River.

One of the attractions of bird watching, Myers said, is that the hobby can be done anytime of the day.

“You can do it while you’re working in your back yard, or when you’re out paddling or hiking,” he said. “There are birds everywhere.”

As we enter February, Myers said the most common birds and waterfowl include swans, ducks and river birds, such as loons.

Around Columbia County and Sauvie island, you may luck upon birds of prey, such as hawks, eagles and owls.

A birdwatcher is always hoping to spot a rare bird, and Myers spotted one in Columbia County.

“The most recent, and probably my rarest bird, was this winter I had something called a Pine Grosbeak,” he said, noting the bird is usually found in the Wallowa Mountains. “This winter has just been really good for them. They’ve kind of spread out and showed up in some of the unexpected places … the bird has never been seen in the county before. I saw one while I was getting the mail. It was on a top of a tree in my backyard.”

Because of the TikTok phenomenon, Timber Publishing of Portland will be publishing a field guide for kids that Myers worked on for the last year. It won’t come out until 2025.

In case you’re on the fence about deciding whether to take up birdwatching, Myers said there’s a possible health benefit to the hobby.

“Even if you go birding and don’t really find any birds, it’s a calming and very relaxing experience,” he said. “You usually end up noticing bugs, flowers, mushrooms, or something. You’re just kind of exploring nature and it’s definitely good for you.”