'I'll see you in the birds': Calgary mother finds comfort in birdwatching after losing son to brain cancer

Rather than retreat into their grief, she said the family has chosen to continue doing what brought Easton so much joy

Amanda Moppett-Beatch remembers the early mornings when her son, Easton, would wake up eager to ask where they would be going birdwatching that day. Now, the Calgary mother begins each morning with a cup of coffee and the sound of birds chirping, a quiet ritual that helps her feel close to her son, who died on June 12 at age 12 after a three-year battle with brain cancer. Described by his mother as a beautiful, brave and resilient boy, Easton discovered a passion for birdwatching and photography after his diagnosis in 2023, when gruelling treatment forced him to give up his other passion, hockey.

“When hockey was taken from him, he was like, ‘You know what? I guess I like birds,'” Moppett-Beatch recalled. “He picked up my old camera and we just started.”

“It gave him a new sense of purpose (and) something to work towards.” Just weeks after Easton’s death, his parents and nine-year-old sister, Ellie, have continued birdwatching, using it both to honour his memory and help navigate their grief. “It’s so hard to pick ourselves up.

There are days where you just want to stay home,” Moppett-Beatch said. “Birding has been a way that we can just pick ourselves up, and a reminder to look up. “It’s giving us a purpose now to keep taking steps forward when all we want to do is cry, cry, cry,” she said.

Rather than retreat into their grief, she said the family has chosen to continue doing what brought Easton so much joy. “We could just sit in sadness and be in a dark room for the rest of our lives, but we just feel like we’re more connected to Easton in this way,” she said. “He really tried not to let cancer stop him from living his life, and that’s what we’re trying to do now.”

Family looks to finish Easton’s ‘Big Year’ birding challenge One of the ways they’re doing that is by completing Easton’s 2026 “Big Year” — a birding challenge to identify as many bird species as possible in a calendar year.

After surpassing his goal of spotting 250 species in 2025, Easton set his sights on reaching 300 birds in 2026. He spotted 136 species before his death. In his final days, his younger sister promised they would finish the challenge for him, Moppett-Beatch said.

“It’s been a bit of a blessing, to try and continue to achieve this goal for Easton,” she said. “It’s like, we got to get out there and see more birds. “We are choosing to have this be part of our grief process as a way to not let cancer ruin the rest of our lives.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Moppett-Beatch arrived at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary with her camera, ready for another outing in the hopes of adding more birds to the list. Inside her backpack was a hardcover book created by Easton’s uncle, filled with hundreds of bird photographs Easton captured during countless hours spent outdoors. ‘I have things to do.

I have birds to see’ Easton was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in June 2023. After a relapse in July 2024, doctors gave him just a 10 per cent chance of survival and estimated he had three to six months to live. He lived another 23 months — a testament to his resilience, his mother said.

Last year, he and his mother helped draw attention to Alberta Health Services cuts that would have eliminated treats for children receiving treatment at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, such as juice boxes and popsicles. After families spoke out publicly, the decision was reversed . Before cancer, Easton was a healthy, active boy who played hockey with the Northwest Warriors.

But surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and later immunotherapy meant he could no longer play. Birdwatching filled that void. And even as his health declined, Easton remained determined to get outside.

Last Halloween, while trick-or-treating, he suffered a seizure that sent him to hospital. His mother feared she might lose him, but the following day, he wanted to go birdwatching. “He was like, ‘I have things to do.

I have birds to see,'” she said. Birds a daily reminder Following Easton’s death, his family has also focused on raising money for pediatric cancer research. On Saturday, Easton will be honoured during a riderless bike ceremony at the Alberta Ride for Cancer in Strathmore.

His father, Jeff, will hold the ceremonial bicycle while family members walk behind it. For Moppett-Beatch, the birds remain a daily reminder of her son. She imagines that if Easton were a bird, he’d be a blue jay.

“They’re so resilient, even through the harshest winters,” she said. Referring to the eulogy she delivered at her son’s celebration of life, Moppett-Beatch said the connection she has with her son would continue through the birds they had come to love together. “Bye for now my child,” she said.

“I’ll see you in the birds, and I’ll see you in the morning when I feed the blue jays.” Catch up with the day’s headlines, curated by our editors and delivered to your email inbox at lunchtime on every business day. Sign up now for the Calgary Herald Noon News Roundup.