The Bird Joy Podcast

Bird Joy Podcast Season 4 Finale: Reflecting on Growth, Community, and Bird Joy In this special Season 4 finale of the Bird Joy Podcast, hosts Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall reflect on a season full of meaningful conversations, powerful stories, and a growing global community connected through birds and nature. Season 4 has been about more than birding—it’s been about connection, creativity, and...

This week on the Bird Joy Podcast, Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall sit down with science writer, naturalist, and illustrator Rosemary Mosco, the creative mind behind the beloved comic Bird and Moon . Known for blending humor, art, and ecology, Rosemary has built a unique space where birders, scientists, and curious nature lovers can laugh while learning about the natural world. Rosemary is the aut...

On this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall sit down with Sharon Dorsey, an urban naturalist, wildlife biologist, educator, and founder of SharInNature , to discuss birding, outreach, and the power of building an ecological identity. Sharon’s work centers on helping people notice and connect with the ecosystems that surround them, especially in cities and everyday spac...

This week on the Bird Joy Podcast, Dexter and Jason sit down with Christopher Joe, a farmer, conservationist, birder, and founder of Connecting with Birds and Nature Tours in Alabama. Chris is a native of Greensboro, Alabama, and the steward of Joe Farm, a 200-acre Black Angus cattle farm in Newbern that has been in his family since the mid-1800s. A graduate of Alabama A&M University with a de...

What happens when fashion, natural history, conservation, and art collide? In this episode of Bird Joy, we’re joined by New York City’s premier licensed professional taxidermist, Divya Anantharaman, an award-winning artist whose work spans museums, galleries, fashion houses, and natural history institutions. Divya specializes in birds, small mammals, and anatomic anomalies, blending scientific pre...

In this episode, we sit down with Trentön Schulz-Franco, founder of the Special Bird Service Society in Canada. SBS is an outdoor community rooted in Victoria and Vancouver that is redefining what belonging in nature can look like. Special Bird Service centers Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour, as well as 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, creating intentional spaces where people feel safe, seen, and g...

Today we’re joined by Vikas Bhatia ( Vikas Wildlife ) — wildlife filmmaker, photographer, and composer whose work blends sound and image into immersive stories from the Amazon to the Arctic . We talk about what it means to make the environment a main character, how his background playing in bands shaped his editing rhythm, and the creative leap of composing original music for his wildlife films. V...

In this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, we’re joined by Sam DeJarnett, creator and host of the Always Be Birdin’ Podcast , for a powerful conversation about joy, resistance, and collective liberation through birding. Sam shares her journey into birding through wildlife rehabilitation and her experiences with exclusion in traditional birding spaces. These experiences pushed her to build something...

In this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, we’re joined by Casey Girard , an autistic artist, illustrator, naturalist, educator, and birder based in Asheville, North Carolina, whose work lives at the intersection of art, birds, science, and community care. Casey shares how art and birding became sources of refuge, how early experiences in illustration and education shaped their visual storytelling,...

In this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, we’re joined by Liz Lopez, also known as @browngirlbiologist, for a wide-ranging conversation about field biology, curiosity, and belonging in science and outdoor spaces. Liz shares her journey into biology, how identity and mentorship shaped her path, and what it really means to work as a biological monitor protecting threatened species across California....

In this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, Dexter and Jason are joined by Tarik Shahzad, a Chicago-based birder who made history in 2024 by recording 294 bird species in Cook County, setting a new county record during what’s now known as the Tarik Big Year. Tarik shares how growing up in Chicago as a birder of Pakistani and Bosnian descent shaped his relationship with nature, identity, and belonging...

Today on the Bird Joy Podcast, we welcome Jody Allair—an avid birder, naturalist, and communicator who has been living a full-on bird life for decades and still brings curiosity, joy, and humanity to everything he does. Jody began birding and banding as a teen at Long Point Bird Observatory and now serves as Director of Communications at Birds Canada, where he leads media efforts, co-edits BirdWat...

In this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall sit down with photographer Angela Ledyard for a robust conversation about creativity, presence, and belonging in nature. Angela shares how photography became a lifelong relationship rooted in curiosity and care, beginning with watching her grandparents document everyday life in Cleveland. She reflects on learning the craft ac...

Season 4 opens with Dexter and Jason celebrating their return to the Bird Joy Podcast and reconnecting with the Bird Nerd community. They reflect on how much they missed recording together, hearing from listeners, and sharing the energy of building a birding community. The hosts catch up on fall birding highlights, from the simple joy of being back in the field to meaningful milestones like Dexter...

Season 3 of the Bird Joy Podcast comes to a powerful close with hosts Dexter and Jason revisiting the highlights, laughter, and love that made this season unforgettable. From deep conversations on legacy and identity to global birding adventures, this episode is a celebration of nature, joy, and the people who make the outdoors a more inclusive space. Plus, a sneak peek of what’s coming in Season...

In this powerful season finale of Bird Joy, Dexter and Jason sit down with their brother and longtime collaborator, Christopher Kilgour, a transformative leader in the outdoor community. Chris is the founder of Color in the Outdoors, steward of Piece of Mind Acres, and co-founder of the Underground Hiking Collective. From growing up near Tenney Park with ducks and his mom to becoming a fierce advo...

In this globe-spanning episode, we sit down with legendary birder George Armistead. This man has guided trips on all seven continents and made it his mission to craft wild and meaningful birding adventures. We discuss the roots of his passion, the power of group travel, the behind-the-scenes magic of The Life List podcast, and how birding culture is evolving globally.  Whether you’re a backya...

In this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, hosts Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall sit down with Dr. Miyoko Chu, Senior Director of Communications at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Dr. Chu is a powerhouse at the intersection of science, storytelling, and technology, known for her pioneering work on the Merlin Bird ID app and her beautiful, bird-inspired books. We explore her journey into ornithology,...

In this joyful and thought-provoking episode, Dexter and Jason sit down with Danielle Belleny, a wildlife biologist, birder, storyteller, and co-founder of Black Birders Week. Danielle is known for her ability to blend ecology, joy, and cultural reflection, and she encourages us to see nature in often-overlooked places, particularly cemeteries. Her celebrated works include *This Is a Book for Peop...

In this episode, Dexter and Jason are joined by Nicole Jackson, environmental educator, urban birder, nature photographer, and co-organizer of Black Birders Week. Nicole shares her journey into environmental education, the healing power of nature, and her passion for making outdoor spaces more inclusive. From grassroots work in Ohio to national initiatives like Let’s Go Outside! with Cornell Lab o...

In this special on-the-road episode, Dexter and Jason visit the Soaring Eagles of Chase STEMM Academy in Toledo, Ohio, for an inspiring conversation with 6th and 7th-grade student ambassadors. Just steps from Manhattan Marsh, these young scholars are exploring nature, STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Medicine), and their big dreams. Shout-out to Vonda Hogle for helping bring this...

In this inspiring episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, hosts Dexter and Jason sit down with renowned photographer, author, filmmaker, and speaker Dudley Edmondson. With a career spanning over 30 years, Dudley has captured nature's wild beauty and redefined who belongs in those wild spaces. From the Arctic Circle to inner-city green spaces, Dudley's work weaves together storytelling, healing, and repre...

We’re celebrating Black Birders Week with a very special guest: Corina Newsome — wildlife biologist, conservation scientist, and one of the original co-organizers of the first Black Birders Week in 2020. In this inspiring episode, Corina joins Dexter and Jason to talk about her journey from zookeeper to passionate advocate for environmental justice, and how she’s helping reshape who feels welcome...

In this episode, Dexter and Jason sit down with Kojo Baidoo — a 23-year-old birder, Princeton graduate, and self-proclaimed vulture enthusiast — to explore how one young conservationist is flipping the script on one of the most misunderstood birds in the skies. Kojo shares how his birding journey began in Maryland and took flight during his time studying Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Princ...

In this inspiring episode of The Bird Joy Podcast , Jason and Dexter sit down with Shane Alden Edwards, better known online as The Wild Dryad . A self-taught illustrator and botanist, Shane has captured the hearts of over half a million nature lovers through his vibrant educational content centered on plants, ecology, and outdoor learning. From early creative roots in aquaponics and drawing, to le...