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Bird Watchers, Birders, Nature Lovers should hear the Bird Banter Podcast. Hear Birders talk about birdwatching, or birding for the more passionate. Hear their birding stories, about bird watching experiences, about birding research, birding travel, and birdwatching anecdotes. It’s fun, conversational and tries to be a birding ambassador to improve the world one birder at a time.
Episodes
Monday Nov 17, 2025
Monday Nov 17, 2025
On this episode I talk with Tim Lenz, a longtime back-end developer for eBird, member of record-breaking Team Sapsucker big days, and now the creator of BirdingApp, a new phone app that offers messaging, route planning, real-time rare bird alerts and more. Check it out.
As always contact me with suggestions for great guests, or any questions or comments.
If you are unfamiliar with eBird, check it out here.
On the blog on BirdBanter.com I'll list lots more related info and links of possible interest.
Until next time, good birding and good day!
Saturday Oct 18, 2025
Saturday Oct 18, 2025
Eric Hope is my guest for this episode of the podcast. I met Eric while chasing a couple of rare shorebirds at the Mouth of the Cedar River hotspot in southern King County, WA and thought at the time he might be an interesting guest. In the next few days he continued to find great shorebirds there, and I was sure I wanted to talk with Eric. I hope you enjoy.
As always suggestions for future guests are helpful. Contact me here.
Check out prior guest Charlie Wright's incredible eBird checklist from Dune Peninsula last month.
Here is a link to the eBird Hotspot for the mouth of the Cedar River.
Thanks for listening. Until next time, good birding and good day!
Friday Sep 12, 2025
Friday Sep 12, 2025
Ivan, creator of The Science of Birds Podcast, and I talk about his birding story, his work as a podcaster and a tour leader, how he researches and creates his episodes, and more. Enjoy.
Check out Ivan's tour company, Wild Latitudes
Thanks for listening.
If you have guest suggestions let me know on my Contact page.
Read more related info on the blog post about this episode.
Thursday Aug 21, 2025
Thursday Aug 21, 2025
On this episode Ron Weeks, a top Texas birder, veteran of multiple record big days, author of books on regional birding in Texas and elsewhere, and active speaker at bird festivals and elsewhere is my guest. We talk about his birding experiences, big days, and lots more. Enjoy.
Bird Banter Blog to see more details on this episode.
Contact Ed about guest recommendations or anything else you like.
Until next time, good birding and good day!
Monday Aug 04, 2025
Monday Aug 04, 2025
Zac Cota and I talk about his adventure as a traveling nurse exploring the country, birding, working and visiting as many as possible of what he estimates to be 1508 federally preserved natural areas, including National Wildlife refuges, National Parks and Monuments, National Forests and lots more. Hear about this quest, as well as his birding story and a little about life as a travelling nurse. Enjoy.
Here is a link to the Instagram page Zac is starting to document his experiences at the conserved areas.
Here is a link to the promised map Zac has created of all of the 1508 conserved areas.
Check out the Bird Banter blog post to see more.
Tuesday Jul 15, 2025
Tuesday Jul 15, 2025
On this episode Dr. David Mann talks about HaikuBOX, a small device that can record and identify bird calls and songs nearby, and send these recordings and IDs to a smart phone app for you to check anytime. It is pretty cool, and yet one more way for birders or researchers to monitor birds in an area. I find especially interesting, besides the device itself, the background story of how it was conceived, produced and marketed. It uses the neural net BirdNet from who else, Cornell, which uses similar computer learning technology to that used in Merlin.
It's pretty cool To see more detailed info check out the associated blog post on BirdBanter.com, and please leave comments there or in a review on your favorite podcast app.
Thanks for listening, and until next time, good birding and good day!
Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
Tuesday Jul 01, 2025
How do birds fly anyway? Well, in an incredible number of ways, adapted to their needs and circumstances. Birds have evolved from dinosaurs, some have evolved to not fly, others to fly in so many different habitats, circumstances and ways that to understand all of this is beyond human comprehension, but my guest on this episode, Dr. Peter Cavanagh, has set out to help readers understand a lot of what is understood, in a way that a non-PhD scientist can comprehend. Listen, read and learn.
Find Dr. Cavanagh online at on his website.
Here is a link to buy his book on Buteo Books.
Check out some pretty spectacular photography on his Instagram page.
Read more on the Bird Banter blog.
Leave a review or rating on your favorite podcast feed to help me out.
Until next time, good birding and good day!
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
Tuesday Jun 17, 2025
Rick Szabo is a birder, birding guide, and participant on the current NBC series Destination X, a reality TV competition where Rick's superpower is his knowledge of the range and distribution of the birds of most areas of the world. He remains in the competition at the time this episode drops, so watch to see if he can win the competition. Rick and his wife also make birding and travel videos you can watch on his You Tube channel as well as on his Instagram feed.
As always there are more links and info on the blog post associated with this episode on BirdBanter.com
Until next time, good birding and good day!
Tuesday Jun 10, 2025
Tuesday Jun 10, 2025
On this episode I Suzy Buttress, the host and creator of The Casual Birder Podcast, talk about her birding story, her podcast, and her community of birders that she has nurtured around her podcast audience. It is a good story of advocacy, ambassadorship, and enthusiasm for birding, and I admire her work.
Just prior to recording this episode, Suzy and I talked with me as her guest for her podcast, so that was a different experience too. Check out our episode together at the link above also if you like.
As usual, check out the blog post on BirdBanter.com where I'll discuss a few of the topics we cover in the episode.
Thanks for listening.
Good birding and good day!
Tuesday May 27, 2025
Tuesday May 27, 2025
Dr. Erick Masias and I talk about his relatively recent and intense start as a birder, and his involvement in the Chicago birding community, the BIPOC birding community, the local birding scene in Chicago, and about his upcoming move to the central California Bay area for residency. I really enjoyed hearing his story and stories. I hope you do too.
Paper on the breeding and migration of high Arctic breeding Sabine's Gulls.
Chicago BIPOC birders on Instagram
As always see the Bird Banter Blog post for more info and links.
Thanks for listening. Good birding and good day!