The Badgerland Birding Podcast

We get the inside scoop about the 2024/2025 winter finch forecast from two of the compilers, Tyler Hoar and Matt Young. You can see the written forecast on the Finch Research Network Website: https://finchnetwork.org/winter-finch-forecast-2024-25 Link to the new Finch Field Guide (As Amazon Associates we do earn from qualifying purchases: https://amzn.to/3TNEgce)

We talk with the author of the "Birds of Florida" field guide Kirsten Hines about Florida birds and birding, invasive species, and more! Link to Kirsten's book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/birds-of-florida-9781472993366/

We talk with gull Expert Amar Ayyash about all things gulls, including beginner tips, cool hybrids, some underrated species, his new book "The Gull Guide: North America" and more! Link to the book: https://tinyurl.com/5n8xkt79 Link to the blog: http://www.anythinglarus.com Link to the North American Gulls Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nagulls

We talk with president of the Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club, Spence Stehno about how birding has changed over time, the bird club, birding in Southeastern Wisconsin, and more!

We talk with "The Bob Ross of Birding" Erik Bruhnke, who is always excited and passionate about the world of birding. He is a guide for Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours and is also involved with Hawk Ridge, doing migration counts! Learn more about Erik here: https://www.ventbird.com/our-team/ErikBruhnke/26

We talk with Greg Miller, who was the inspiration behind Jack Black's character Brad in "The Big Year". Greg tells us all about what was real and what was embellished in the movie as well as other birding stories! Hear more from Greg on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GregMillerBirding/ Book at tour with Greg: https://wildsidenaturetours.com/team-member/greg-miller/

We talk with the current 2024 Lower 48 Big Year leader Ezekiel Dobson about his historic year, birding across the United States, birding in Kentucky where he's from, and more! Zeke is currently at 708 species for the year. You can donate to Zeke's journey here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/big-year-lower-48-states

We talk about marshes and marsh birds, and the world's largest freshwater cattail marsh, Horicon Marsh, as well as Limpkins, Whooping Cranes, and other species.

We went on our first pelagic birding trip out of Westport, Washington. We give a sneak peak about what we saw and what it was like and also talk about what you need to know before going on your first pelagic birding trip.

We talk with birder Will Huggins about the tour he took with us in Wisconsin, as well as his birding adventures in the PNW, South Florida, Georgia, and more.

We talk about what it was like Birding at the Grand Canyon and seeing California Condors. Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan also gets a shout-out.

We talk about the new AOS update of what bird species are now considered the same and which ones are considered different.

We talk about the latest birding technology from smart bird feeders, to thermal monoculars, to binoculars that ID birds for you, and more!

We talk with Zach Matchinski about his work on Midway Atoll, including the birds that live there, how to get a job working with birds, broken camera lenses, and more!

We talk with Trey McCuen about traveling across the country to see birds, what it's like birding in Georgia, the start of his new guiding business, and his interesting experiences out in the forests of North America.

We talk to Jeff (Mr. Train) and Otys about what it's like birding in New Jersey, how people are working to reduce window strikes, especially in big cities like New York, and more! Links Mr. Train: Life Lessons for Better Birding and Beyond Common Tern Article Article about Mr. Train and Otys' work with window strikes Otys Train's essay about window strikes

We talk about some of the most difficult bird identifications, some cool sightings we've had, and play around with some AI to see how it is at generating bird photos and other scenes.

We talk about why summer birding comes with its own set of challenges, the bird nesting season, as well as how cool nest box cameras are.

We talk to Wisconsin birder Cole Roecker about birding "Big Days", including the one from our latest video, the history of birding, and some of birding's biggest controversies, including feral cats.

We talk to 13 year-old birder Manny from Indiana about how he got into birding, birding in Indiana, the Inaccessible Island Rail, and more!

We talk with Texas birder Ty Allen about Big Days, how he started birding, and about our new guiding network, which Ty is a part of! You can book a tour with Ty or any of our guides at www.badgerlandbirding.com.

We give a preview about what it's like going to The Biggest Week in American Birding, which happens annually in Ohio. We will be releasing a bunch of content about it in the future. You can learn more here: https://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com

We talked with birder and field tech Max Carroll about birding in Vermont, shorebird survey, and field tech work, a peg-legged American Oystercatcher that's still kicking, and more! You can follow Max on instagram @max.manhattan.

We talk with Master's Student Brooke Poplin about her research studying Harris's Hawks in Texas, including capture methods, technological advancements, other raptors, and more.

I talk with Graduate Research Assistant Maria Bleitz about how the Covid-19 pandemic got her into birding, some of her research and work in Michigan, California, and Oklahoma, how goofy plovers are, and more!