Bird Banter

In The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #30 with Peter Wimberger we meet on site at the Slater Museum of Natural History at the University of Puget Sound.  This was a new experience for me, getting out of my studio and doing a recording at the site we are discussing. It led to good inspiration and energy and I hope you find it enjoyable.  The Slater Museum has a website  linked here where you can look...

In this episode Christian and I talk about his recent trip to Attu, the eastern most island off Alaska that is still a part of the U.S. and therefore the American Birding Association Area, as well as his recent guiding experience and his time at the Hog Island National Audubon Camp as a counselor.  He also talks about the process of writing his soon-to-be-released book Falcon Freeway.   You can bu...

In this episode I go solo, and talk about things I'm learning as I take the Cornell University online course:  Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology.  You can find about it here:   https://academy.allaboutbirds.org I talk about bird anatomy and physiology, and try to focus on aspects of their structure and function that I find especially interesting.   Check out the accompanying blog post at  ht...

In this episode I talk with the McQuades, a birding couple who are on their 5th consecutive big year in the lower 48 states, and this is their 4th consecutive year of >600 species in the lower 48.  We talk about their birding stories, birding as a couple, birding while working full time, birding on what they call the last ABA birding frontier, the Gulf of Mexico, where they bird at speeds of >50 m...

In Episode #26 my guest Tim Larson makes a strong case for the use of poison to eradicate mice from the Farallone Islands off the coast of California.  Rodent infestation of bird breeding islands is a huge issue. Seabirds are facing incredible pressure on their populations from overfishing, global warming, and other issues without solutions that have been proven to work.  Rodent eradication can wo...

In The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #25 with Dr. John Fitchen we talk about the simlarities in our early lives, and then get into John's birding story. He started later than some birders, but when he got going, he hit is hard.  Attu, a record breaking county big year, and now a memoir.  Enjoy.  You can buy Dr. Fitchen's book Life through the lens of a Doctor-Birder: A Memoir on Amazon, or on you ca...

On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #24 Ed and Nick talk about Nick's recent Alaska trip, his 2019 "self-found" or "no chase" Connecticut big year where he is doing a big year where he does not chase birds found by others, rather looks for his own bird sightings.  We also talk about his role in leading trips for the Connecticut Audubon, including an upcoming trip to sub-Saharan Africa, using NEXRAD...

On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #23 my guest is Ann Nightingale, a Victoria B.C. birder who has become the face of Victoria birding, is a great birding ambasador, a very good birder, and a great guest on the podcast.  Be sure to hear about her trans-Pacific repositioning cruise, her work at the Rocky Point Bird Observatory as a bird bander a nd activist, and find out the origin of her enviably...

In Episode #22 I ask why am I, and I think lots of other people, birders.  Why birding and not fly-fishing or painting or a million other hobbies/passtimes.  Some stories and clips from previous episodes augment the answer. Enjoy. Here is a link to the Blair Bernson episode with the clip on. "The Rules of a Chase.   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bird-banter-podcast-episode-18-with-blai...

On this episode I talk with Dr. Geoffrey Hill, professor at Auburn University, about his birding as well as his research. We spend bit of time talking about his theory on speciation, involving compatability of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA.  It is pretty interesting, and I expect you will  find it informative and enjoyable.   Here is a link to The Hill Lab website   https://www.thehilllab.com/ Thi...

The Willettes?  Is this a broadway dance group?  A 60's music group?  No, its a group of birder women who love to go birding together.  That is of course when they are not drinking wine with bird labels, or buying or creating matching bird-theme apparel.  I hope you enjoy this episode with Wilette #1, #4 and #13, also known as Diane, Faye and Laurel.  Diane Yougenson-Quinn writes the lead article...

In this episode I talk with Will Brooks.  Will took the Pierce County, WA birding community by storm 3 years ago when he matriculated at the University of Puget Sound, about 1.5 miles from where I live.  Since he has found many of the rarities in the county, has set a new Pierce County big year record with 245 species, and has earned not just the respect, bur the awe of the rest of the county bird...

In this episode Ed and Blair talk about Blair's birding story as well as his 50-50-50 quest to see 50 species of birds in one day in each of the 50 United States each with a local birder. Enjoy. Check out Blair's blog at  https://blairbirding.com/ You can also find blair on Facebook as Blair Bernson or often posting to the Washington Birding listserv, Tweeters.   http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/p...

On Episode #17 Ed talks about the recent Memorial Day weekend, memories of this weekend gone by, and the recent ABC Birding meeting where Ken Brown from Episodes #2 and #6 presents a talk on birding names and nomenclature.   Ed talks about stumbling onto a colony of nesting Pigeon Guillemots on Anderson Island, and the Willettes, a group of women in the ABC club.  Check out the post on the ABC Bir...

In this episode Ed talks with Shawneen Finnegan, one of the top U.S. birders who offers a wealth of perspective on birding, rare birds commettees and what it has been like to be a top female birder when at times she was part of a significant minority.  Here is a link to Shawneen's Linked In page.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawneen-finnegan-4200501a/ Here is her new website where she show painti...

In this episode Ed talks with Alvaro Jaramillo about his career in birding and his experiences. Alvaro is an author, a tour company guide, a top expert in the American tropics, and a respected expert on gulls, new-world blackbirds, and pelagic birds.  You can follow Alvaro on his facebook page  or at his web site  Alvaro's Adventures ,   http://alvarosadventures.com/ He wrote the Peterson Guide to...

On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #15 Ed talks about his experience at the Moses Lake WOS convention he attended last weekend, as well as two mainstream tidbits of birding news. Link to the Atlantic article on the Birdsafe Cat Collar .  Maybe a way to allow your cat outdoors without killing so many birds.   https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2015/12/accessories-for-your-murderous-pet/419...

In The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #14 Art Wang is Ed’s guest. Art is a longtime birder and neighbor of Ed in Tacoma. Art stated birding at a young age in California, has a long history of environmental and political activism, and has a great birding story.  Enjoy. Here is a link to the Tahoma Audubon Society Bird-a-thon fundraising page for Art’s May 11th birdathon. Proceeds go to the education,...

Ed talks about the unexpected diversity of birding habitats found on his Morocco trip, as well as a little about the cultural differences observed between more populated and remote places. Desert Sparrow and Fulvous Chatterer searches take up much of the last day in the desert, and on the way to Ifrane Lesser Short-toed Lark and Wood Lark are two new lifers found.  The trip is winding down.  Back...

After a shorter day of birding host Ed Pullen talks about birding around Merzouga, a town on the edge of the Sahara that caters to tourists wanting a taste of the desert. Birding was great, seeing the Sahara was great, and having a shorter day was timely.  Check out BirdBanter.com for a post with photos and more details.  Good Birding. Good Day!

On Day 7 of Ed's Morocco trip the group leaves Agadir heading east in the valley between the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas Ranges, then crossed the High Atlas Range twice, first south to north, then back again in search of high-altitude specialties.  Then on to spend the night in the valley, before spending Day 8 in scrub-desert headed towards the Sahara. Highlight birds are Tristan's Warbler, Lea...

On Day 5 we leave Marrakech and travel to Agadir, with stops enroute for the Northern Bald Ibis, Audouin's Gull, Ruddy Shelduck, and lots more. The coast of Morocco we pass through is the vacation beach area of choice for Moroccans and has beautiful beaches, scrub-desert habitat, and lots of birds.  

In episode #12 hose host Ed Pullen talks with Dalton Spencer, a young birder from Lewis County, WA.   Ed first talks about an uncoming trip to Morocco, and then Ed and Dalton talk about life as a young birder.  It brings back memories of when every birding experience was new and exciting, and they discuss how a young birder gets involved in the birding scene.   A link to Dalton's eBird profile :  ...

On the 4th day of my Morocco Birding Tour we drove from Marrakech (not the butchered city name I use in this one take recording) to a ski resort on Oukoimeden Mountain in the High Atlas Range.  Our elevation in the parking lot from where we walked up was 8600' and we walked 7+ miles, so I'm about ready to crash as I post this episode. Our in-country guide is Mohamed Bargache, so we joked that toda...

On the third day of the Legacy Tours Morocco Trip we birded again in the upland area north of Rabat in heavy rain, and then stopped once at a Gazelle reintroduction preserve on the way to Marrakech.  The birds were cool, but the Medina at Marrakech is the primary topic of this brief episode. Enjoy. Good birding.  Good day!