Looking at Birds: A Birding Podcast

My guest is Derek Sallmann, one half of the sibling-duo behind Badgerland Birding, a popular YouTube channel with a focus on birding, bird-feeding and nature in general. They recently launched a new birding podcast: The Badgerland Birding podcast. You can also find Derek and his brother Ryan, out and around Wisconsin, leading birding tours.For more from Derek and Badgerland Birding, check out the following:Blog - http://badgerlandbirding.wordpress.comYouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@BadgerlandBirdingPodcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/7wtoWCxAaj0dvQuXq2nxYD?si=e9365264ac694f5fTheir YouTube Episode on the Grenada Dove -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEQkzqRugcChapters00:00 - Intro00:57 - Derek’s Recent “First of the Year” Birding06:54 - How Derek Became Interested in Birding10:39 - Derek’s Earliest memory of a Bird11:33 - Derek’s Memorable Encounter with a Bird: Grenada Dove14:06 - Bird of the Episode: Snowy Owl25:02 - How the Badgerland Birding YouTube Channel Began33:58 - Derek Shares about the new Badgerland Birding Podcast38:04 - Derek Shares One Last Thing 38:44 - OutroFor pictures of the Snowy Owl taken by Derek and Ryan, please check out @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram. Thank you for listening!

My guest is Jon Dunn, lead author of the Field Guide to the Birds of North America by National Geographic, most recently the 7th edition in 2017, and a Tour Guide for WINGS, who has had a passion for birds most of his life. He’s led a few trips at this year's Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival and I’m happy he was able to join us for this episode. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:33 - Jon’s Recent Birding02:40 - Some of Jon’s WINGS’ Trips04:35 - How Jon Joined WINGS05:18 - Some of Jon’s Upcoming Trips06:12 - Birding in Idaho07:16 - How Jon became Interested in Birds08:11 - Earliest Memory of a Bird (Stellar’s Jay)09:18 - One of Jon’s Memorable Encounter with a Bird 12:44 - Bird of the Episode: Clapper Rail20:02 - Jon & The Field Guide to the Birds of North America by National Geographic22:30 - Bringing Visual Representations of Birds to the Pages26:30 - Jon & Peterson’s Guide to Warblers28:34 - Connecticut Warblers that Walk?32:46 - Jon & the AOS Checklist Committee 37:50 - Before We Go39:33 - OutroFor pictures of the Clapper Rail, please checkout the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcastThank you for listening,  I hope you enjoy the holidays and have a happy new year!

For this episode, I recorded interviews with visitors that stopped by my table at the Birders Bazaar of the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. In addition to those interviews, a returning guest, Victor Lawrence, spoke with us about the Kookaburra. I hope you enjoy the episode!Chapters00:00 - Intro00:33 - Welcome to the RGVBF01:04 - Janine from Harlingen08:06 - Jessenia from McAllen10:15 - Cathy from Palm View12:55 - Jeff from Edinburgh16:43 - Keri from Port Isabel21:01 - Scottie from Harlingen24:16 - Ivan from Victoria, Mx28:32 - Susan from Harlingen30:46 - Bird of the Episode: Kookaburra w/Victor43:42 - OutroFor pictures of the Kookaburras and some of the other birds discussed this episode, please check out @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram.Thank you for listening!

My guest is Genevieve O’Gorman, a bird lover who runs her own Chicken Rescue right here in Tucson, where we are recording this episode, so you might hear a few roosters and hens in the background. She previously volunteered at the Chicken Run Rescue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she received her first chicken. She also worked with chickens and other farm animals at the Bluebird Gap Farm in Hampton, Virginia, where among other responsibilities, they made chicken sweaters for those without feathers. If you have any chicken-related questions, you can reach out to Genevieve via her email:  [email protected] Chapters00:00 - Intro01:26 - Some of the Birds that Visit the Rescue02:09 - Genevieve’s Background with Birds05:44 - Bird of the Episode: Chicken32:06 - How Genevieve Started her Rescue37:48 - Typical day @ The Rescue 43:26 - What Care looks like for Chickens47:37 - Before We Go48:16 - OutroFor pictures of some of the chickens discussed on the podcast, please check out @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram. Thank you for listening!

My guest is Robert Gallardo, a California native who moved to Honduras in 1993 for the Peace Corps and then stayed for the tropical birds. He is now considered the country's leading authority on both birds and butterflies. He leads tours for Naturalist Journeys and Fauna Ventures to Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago. Robert is the current President of the Pro Nature Honduras Foundation, a small non-profit which promotes nature-based sustainable tourism and environmental education. He is also the co-founder of the Honduran Ornithological Society. He has authored two editions of the "Guide to the Birds of Honduras." Along with his most recent book: "Guide to the Butterflies of Honduras.” For more information on some of the tours Robert leads, you can check out:https://www.naturalistjourneys.com/https://faunaventures.com/For more information about both of his books, you can check out the following article:https://blog.naturalistjourneys.com/2022/07/29/butterfly-guide-book/For pictures of some of the birds discussed in the episode, please check out the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcastChapters00:00 - Intro01:17 - Recent Birding Trip to the Sky Islands02:18 - Birding background05:43 - Memorable Encounter with Snowy Cotingas09:21 - Bird of the Episode: Ocellated Quail20:34 - Guide to the Birds of Honduras (Not a Field Guide)25:45 - Before we Go26:29 - OutroThank you for Listening!

My guest is Peg Abbott, she is the owner and lead guide of Naturalist Journeys, LLC. Peg has been designing, guiding, and organizing natural history tours for more than 35 years; working for the National Audubon Society and other organizations before launching Naturalist Journeys in 1998. Her work has taken her all over the world, from Alaska to Africa and many other locations. She has conducted research on several bird and mammal species and keeps a close interest in Yellowstone and Mexican Wolf reintroduction projects. After 20 years in and around the Yellowstone area, Peg made the move to the wonderful birding location of Portal, AZ, where she currently resides.For more on Naturalist Journeys:Website - https://www.naturalistjourneys.com/Instagram - @naturalistjourneysChapters00:00 - Intro00:34 - Peg’s Recent Trip to Bhutan04:08 - Peg’s Birding Background05:31- Peg’s Earliest Memory of a Bird06:23 - Some of Peg’s Memorable Encounters with Birds09:16 - Bird of the Episode: Elegant Trogon28:48 - A Bit about Naturalist Journeys40:40 - Ideas for Picking Your First Birding Trip43:29 - What Keeps Peg Going After so Many Years44:41 - One of Peg’s Favorite Domestic Birding Locations48:15 - One Last Thing from Peg and her Next Birding Trip 50:03 - OutroEared Quetzal Call Credit: Derik Bowen, XC567245. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/567245.For pictures of some of the birds discussed on the podcast, including the Elegant Trogon, please check out the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcast Thank you for listening!

My guest is Arjan Dwarshuis, an avid birder, professional guide, writer and conservationist. A name you are probably most familiar with for the Guinness World Record he set in 2016, by observing 6852 bird species across 41 countries in a single year. Not too long ago, his book about this big year, The (Big) Year That Flew By, was translated from Dutch into English, and made available to a broader audience. He also hosts his own podcast focused on birdwatching – De Vogelspotcast. Today he’s here all the way from the Netherlands, for the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival. For more on Arjan:Check out his website: https://arjandwarshuis.com/Check out his Instagram: @arjandwarshuisCheck out his podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/de-vogelspotcast/id1557876333Credit for Great Bittern Call: Ulf Elman, XC798475. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/798475.Credit for American Bittern Call: Harry Lehto, XC233158. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/233158.Chapters00:00 - Intro00:34 - Arjan’s Recent Birding @ Pena Blanca Lake & Canyon03:43 - How Arjan got into Birding11:36 - Sharing birding with Young People14:10 - Arjan and Rarities16:28 - Birding since the Big Year19:14 - What Arjan goes birding with21:36 - Memorable Encounter with a Bird23:40 - Bird of the Episode: Great Bittern31:22 - Arjan’s Recently-translated Book about his Big Year35:38- Arjan’s Upcoming Children’s Book40:45 - What Arjan is up to This Fall44:04 - OutroFor pictures of some of the birds discussed on the podcast, check out @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram.Thank you for listening!

My guest is Phil Chaon,  a life-long naturalist with a background in botany and wildlife biology. Phil has taken field work jobs all over the world and now leads trips for Lindblad Expeditions focused on birds, wildlife and photography. In addition to guiding, Phil works as an audio analyst, training AI systems to categorize bird songs and he also co-authored Habitats of the World and the forthcoming Habitats of North America. For some of Phil's Photography, check out his Instagram @uropsalisFor more on Phil's upcoming expeditions, check out: https://www.expeditions.com/about/expedition-team/philip-chaon/And finally, for pictures of some of the birds discussed on the podcast, check out @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram.Chapters00:00 - Intro00:34 - Phil’s Recent Field Trip to Saguaro National Park03:46 - Phil’s Birding Background 11:53 - Bird of the Episode: Pinyon Jay22:44 - Phil’s Field Work - Coffee Farm in Kenya30:00 - Phil’s Field Work: El Dorado National Forest w/ California Spotted Owls35:00 - Phil’s Field Work: Papua New Guinea w/ White-shouldered Fairy Wrens41:03 - Co-authoring Habitats of the World48:25 - Phil’s Next Book49:13 - OutroThank you for listening!

This is my second time at the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival and similar to my other festival episodes, I interviewed birders visiting the Nature Expo. We talked about some of their memorable birding experiences as well as their experience at the festival. Chapters00:00 - Intro00:47 - DJ from Tucson05:48 - Lindsey from Tucson09:27 - Eileen from Green Valley11:51 - Mary Beth from Tucson15:12 - Marta from Tucson18:17 - Kate from North Dakota24:02 - OutroThank you for listening!For pictures of some of the birds discussed on the podcast, please check out @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram.

Today my guest is a familiar one, Jeff Babson, you might remember him from a number of previous episodes, namely 7, 16, 22, 23 and 42, all of which I encourage you to check out, if you haven’t already listened to them. Jeff is an all-around naturalist who currently works for the Pima County Department of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, as the county’s Wildlife Viewing Program Specialist. He also runs his own eco-tour and environmental education company, called Sky Island Tours. You will often find Jeff leading walks that focus on birds, insects and plants. Next week, he’ll also be leading a trip at the upcoming Southeast Arizona Birding Festival to Cienega Creek. This is the last episode in the series about backyard birds and native plants. This one will be a little different, as Jeff's background is not in horticulture, although he is quite familiar with these plants where they naturally occur in the southwest. For more on the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, please check out their website:https://tucsonaudubon.org/festival/For some pictures of the Northern Mockingbird, please checkout the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcastChapters00:00 - Intro01:15 - Jeff’s Recent Southwest Wings Trip04:04 - Bird of the Episode: Northern Mockingbird18:24 - Native Plant: Desert Hackberry25:21 - Native Plant: Desert Mistletoe32:41- Jeff’s Southeast Arizona Birding Festival Experience41:26 - Upcoming Events that Jeff is Involved With43:26 - OutroThank you for listening!