Text reading 'The Bird in the Backyard' in a bold, stylized font with yellow and dark blue colors.

Gold award laurel wreath with a groom's tuxedo and bow tie icon at the top, and the year 2025 at the bottom.

Outline of two animal horns with text in the middle reading '2024 Best Short Film Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival'.

Text reading 'Wildscreen Panda Awards Nominee' surrounded by a circular frame of bamboo stalks and leaves.

Laurel wreath surrounding the text "LEO AWARDS NOMINEE 2025" in a decorative outline style.

Outline of an award plaque with text recognizing Gabriel Figueroa for the Wildfire Conservation Film Festival 2024, featuring a circular emblem with a bird and the letters WCFF.

Black and white graphic with a panther's face in the center, surrounded by leaves on either side. The text reads "Winner Santiago Wild" at the top and "Stories of Nature" at the bottom.

Silhouette of a person jumping in the air with raised arms, standing on a beach at sunset.

Two small children sitting in bright yellow bouncy seats with their hands raised and mouths open, outdoors on a wooden surface with blurred background greenery.

Official selection badge for the Kendrick Mountain Festival 2024, featuring laurel branches and mountain silhouette.

Line drawing of a lighthouse with film strips on a background of laurel branches, text reads 'Official Selection Gig Harbor Film Festival 2025'.

Outline of a trophy with an eagle on top, set against a plain background.

Black silhouette of laurel leaves forming a semi-circle.

Award badge for the 2025 Lookout Wild Film Festival, presented by LWFF, with a laurel wreath design and text indicating honorable mention.

Laurel wreath surrounding the text 'WILD & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SELECTION 2025'.

The Bird in My Backyard

Documentary Short, 20’

Producer, Director, DoP, Editor | Ryan Wilkes

Production Company | Trochilus Films

Produced in Association with CBC

Executive Producer for CBC | Lesley Birchard

Featuring Eric Pittman

Story Editor | Geordie Trifa

Story Editor | Niobe Thompson

Cinematographer | Jillian Wilkes

Original Score Composed by Jonathan Kawchuk

Sound Mix & Sound Effects Editing by David Parfit

Colourist | So Young Park

In an urban backyard on Canada’s West Coast, a window salesman has created a living laboratory for investigating hummingbird behaviour. The Bird in My Backyard follows citizen scientist, Eric Pittman, as he documents the journeys of two female Anna’s hummingbirds as they attempt to raise their young in his urban garden. It’s a story about the childlike curiosity in all of us, the wonders it can reveal and the doors it can open if we just lean in a bit closer.

Close-up of an older man with a beard and glasses looking upward while adjusting his glasses outdoors.

Close-up of a bird's head showing detailed feathers on top of the beak, facing directly towards the camera

An elderly man with a white beard, wearing glasses, a beige cap, and a black jacket with a colorful patch, is using a large telescope outdoors in a garden on a sunny day.

A bird feeding its chicks in a nest on a tree branch with moss and lichen.

An older man in outdoor clothing and glasses examining and holding a branch with red mushrooms and moss in a forest.

A hummingbird with a pink head and orange throat, hovering near a thorny branch with small buds.

Close-up of a hummingbird flying towards the camera with its wings spread wide and head facing forward.

A person standing on a wooden deck with a tripod, recording or photographing. They are in a backyard surrounded by trees and bushes, with a ladder supporting the deck.

A hummingbird is flying near a colorful bird feeder with a chain attachment.

Close-up of a man with glasses and a beige cap looking pensively into the distance, with a blurred outdoor background.

Close-up of a hummingbird sitting on a nest, with detailed feathers and a long beak.

A man with a beard and hat looking through a large telephoto camera lens mounted on a tripod outdoors with trees in the background.

Awards & Recognition

Nominated for Best Short Documentary | 2025 Canadian Screen Awards

Winner of Best Short Film, Wildlife & Environment | 2024 Jackson Wild Media Awards

Winner of Best Short Film | 2024 Banff Mountain Film Festival

Nominated for Wildscreen Emerging Talent Award | 2025 Panda Awards

Nominated for Best Documentary Short | 2025 Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) Awards

Winner of Best New Director | 2024 Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

Winner of Gabriel Figueroa Special Award | 2024 Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

Winner of Best Short Film | 2024 Festival International Nature Namur

Winner of Best Short Stories of Nature Film | 2025 Santiago Wild Film Festival

Nominated for Best Factual Short Format | World Congress of Science and Factual Producers, The Buzzies Awards

Nominated for Best Short Documentary Program | 2025 LEO Awards

Nominated for Best Short Documentary Direction | 2025 LEO Awards

Nominated for Best Short Documentary Cinematography | 2025 LEO Awards

Nominated for Best Short Documentary Sound | 2025 LEO Awards

Nominated for Best Short Documentary Music | 2025 LEO Awards

Official Selection | 2024/25 Banff World Tour

+ 25 festival selections & counting