Born on the Pacific coast, Kiirsti grew up exploring the coastal rainforests of British Columbia. She became interested in birds during her first year of undergrad when she did a project counting Barrow’s Goldeneye and Surf Scoter along the Stanley Park foreshore. After that, she was officially a bird nerd. Kiirsti worked on several bird research projects in various places, such as Canada Warblers in Northern Alberta, Yellow-breasted Chats in the South Okanagan of British Columbia, and American Redstarts in Jamaica. Kiirsti recently had opportunities to do seabird surveys in the Northwest Passage, work with colonially nesting seabirds on a remote island off the coast of Nova Scotia, and teach field ornithology to undergraduate students at Dalhousie University.
Kiirsti completed her Master of Science degree at the University of Windsor with research in Costa Rica looking at bird community recovery in regenerating tropical dry forests and vocal behaviour of Rufous-and-White Wrens. She completed her PhD at the Universities of New Brunswick and Acadia where she studied how wetland birds use human-creatd landscapes in Atlantic Canada (e.g. Nelson’s Sparrows nesting in agricultural fields). After completing her PhD, Kiirsti returned to the west coast where she now works as a wildlife biologist. Sometimes she puts down her binoculars long enough to enjoy other activities, including trail running, hiking, and volunteering.