E37 - Tom B + Western Screech Owl

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.com
• YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@BadgerlandBirding
• Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/7wtoWCxAaj0dvQuXq2nxYD?si=e9365264ac694f5f
• Their YouTube Episode on the Grenada Dove -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEQkzqRugc

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:57 - Derek’s Recent “First of the Year” Birding
• 06:54 - How Derek Became Interested in Birding
• 10:39 - Derek’s Earliest memory of a Bird
• 11:33 - Derek’s Memorable Encounter with a Bird: Grenada Dove
• 14:06 - Bird of the Episode: Snowy Owl
• 25:02 - How the Badgerland Birding YouTube Channel Began
• 33:58 - Derek Shares about the new Badgerland Birding Podcast
• 38:04 - Derek Shares One Last Thing 
• 38:44 - Outro

For 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. 

Chapters

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 00:33 - Jon’s Recent Birding
• 02:40 - Some of Jon’s WINGS’ Trips
• 04:35 - How Jon Joined WINGS
• 05:18 - Some of Jon’s Upcoming Trips
• 06:12 - Birding in Idaho
• 07:16 - How Jon became Interested in Birds
• 08:11 - 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 Rail
• 20:02 - Jon & The Field Guide to the Birds of North America by National Geographic
• 22:30 - Bringing Visual Representations of Birds to the Pages
• 26:30 - Jon & Peterson’s Guide to Warblers
• 28:34 - Connecticut Warblers that Walk?
• 32:46 - Jon & the AOS Checklist Committee 
• 37:50 - Before We Go
• 39:33 - Outro

For pictures of the Clapper Rail, please checkout the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcast

Thank 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!

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:33 - Welcome to the RGVBF
• 01:04 - Janine from Harlingen
• 08:06 - Jessenia from McAllen
• 10:15 - Cathy from Palm View
• 12:55 - Jeff from Edinburgh
• 16:43 - Keri from Port Isabel
• 21:01 - Scottie from Harlingen
• 24:16 - Ivan from Victoria, Mx
• 28:32 - Susan from Harlingen
• 30:46 - Bird of the Episode: Kookaburra w/Victor
• 43:42 - Outro

For 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:  genevieveogorman@gmail.com 

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:26 - Some of the Birds that Visit the Rescue
• 02:09 - Genevieve’s Background with Birds
• 05:44 - Bird of the Episode: Chicken
• 32:06 - How Genevieve Started her Rescue
• 37:48 - Typical day @ The Rescue 
• 43:26 - What Care looks like for Chickens
• 47:37 - Before We Go
• 48:16 - Outro

For 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: @lookingatbirdspodcast

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:17 - Recent Birding Trip to the Sky Islands
• 02:18 - Birding background
• 05:43 - Memorable Encounter with Snowy Cotingas
• 09:21 - Bird of the Episode: Ocellated Quail
• 20:34 - Guide to the Birds of Honduras (Not a Field Guide)
• 25:45 - Before we Go
• 26:29 - Outro

Thank 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 - @naturalistjourneys

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:34 - Peg’s Recent Trip to Bhutan
• 04:08 - Peg’s Birding Background
• 05:31- Peg’s Earliest Memory of a Bird
• 06:23 - Some of Peg’s Memorable Encounters with Birds
• 09:16 - Bird of the Episode: Elegant Trogon
• 28:48 - A Bit about Naturalist Journeys
• 40:40 - Ideas for Picking Your First Birding Trip
• 43:29 - What Keeps Peg Going After so Many Years
• 44:41 - One of Peg’s Favorite Domestic Birding Locations
• 48:15 - One Last Thing from Peg and her Next Birding Trip
•  50:03 - Outro

Eared 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: @arjandwarshuis
Check out his podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/de-vogelspotcast/id1557876333

Credit 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.

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:34 - Arjan’s Recent Birding @ Pena Blanca Lake & Canyon
• 03:43 - How Arjan got into Birding
• 11:36 - Sharing birding with Young People
• 14:10 - Arjan and Rarities
• 16:28 - Birding since the Big Year
• 19:14 - What Arjan goes birding with
• 21:36 - Memorable Encounter with a Bird
• 23:40 - Bird of the Episode: Great Bittern
• 31:22 - Arjan’s Recently-translated Book about his Big Year
• 35:38- Arjan’s Upcoming Children’s Book
• 40:45 - What Arjan is up to This Fall
• 44:04 - Outro

For 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 @uropsalis

For 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.

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:34 - Phil’s Recent Field Trip to Saguaro National Park
• 03:46 - Phil’s Birding Background 
• 11:53 - Bird of the Episode: Pinyon Jay
• 22:44 - Phil’s Field Work - Coffee Farm in Kenya
• 30:00 - Phil’s Field Work: El Dorado National Forest w/ California Spotted Owls
• 35:00 - Phil’s Field Work: Papua New Guinea w/ White-shouldered Fairy Wrens
• 41:03 - Co-authoring Habitats of the World
• 48:25 - Phil’s Next Book
• 49:13 - Outro

Thank 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.

Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:47 - DJ from Tucson
05:48 - Lindsey from Tucson
09:27 - Eileen from Green Valley
11:51 - Mary Beth from Tucson
15:12 - Marta from Tucson
18:17 - Kate from North Dakota
24:02 - Outro

Thank 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: @lookingatbirdspodcast

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:15 - Jeff’s Recent Southwest Wings Trip
• 04:04 - Bird of the Episode: Northern Mockingbird
• 18:24 - Native Plant: Desert Hackberry
• 25:21 - Native Plant: Desert Mistletoe
• 32:41- Jeff’s Southeast Arizona Birding Festival Experience
• 41:26 - Upcoming Events that Jeff is Involved With
• 43:26 - Outro

Thank you for listening!