Bird Banter

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #29 with Christian Hagenlocher

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 buy his new book at http://www.thebirdingproject.com/falconfreeway  Hurry to get a signed copy by preordering now. 

Here is info about the Hog Island NAS camp. https://hogisland.audubon.org/

Read more at the Bird Banter Blog. http://birdbanter.com/index.php/blog/

Good birding. Good day!

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #28: Cool Bird Facts

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 http://birdbanter.com/index.php/blog/

Also leave feedback at my facebook page @birdbanterpodcast

Until next time. Good birding. Good day!

 

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #27 with Tammy and David McQuade

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 mph using radar to find the widespread birds, and how social media has enhanced their efforts and experiences. 

Check out my post on birdbanter.com where I will leave more detailed information, but here are a few links about topics discussed.

https://www.facebook.com/david.mcquade.96

https://www.facebook.com/david.mcquade.96

Dorian Anderson's blog from his bicycle big year.  http://bikingforbirds.blogspot.com/

Christian Hagenlocher's The Birding Project page:  http://www.thebirdingproject.

Laura Keene's blog site  https://birdtherock.com/tag/laura-keene/

Blair Bernson's blog with details of many of his 50 state saga:  https://blairbirding.com

Olaf Danielson's Big Year Blog:  http://olafsbigyear.blogspot.com/

John Weigel's 2019 Big Year blog  https://birdingyear.com/back-in-the-game/

Good Birding and Good Day!

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #26 with Tim Larson

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 work, but is controversial because of the use of poisons with short-term effects on other animals than the intended rodents.  Still Tim makes a case that their use is effective, proven and more humane than allowing them to continue to prey on birds who evolved to breed on islands where there were no mammalian predators.  I hope you find the episode informative. Please leave a review or leave additional comments on the BirdBanter blog post related to the episode. 

Here is a link to the Facebook page about the project. https://www.facebook.com/Farallones-House-Mouse-Eradication-Project-534040270353530/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Here is a link to an article about the successful project on the island where Tim worked and mentioned early in the episode.  https://blog.nature.org/science/2015/12/15/miracle-palmyra-rats-birds-recovery-restoration-invasive-species-hawaii-nature-wildlife/?fbclid=IwAR0iIyQeuskChvJiokAEw9B7ImDNAZvJIidVbOBto8_DAYkl1zj8kXTEoQ4 

Here is a link to a video about rodent eradication. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/on-assignment/assignment-paradise-lost-found-n572216?fbclid=IwAR1FoCNxOaSVDxpGPAv1U2jZXWCa2fTiChaP7k740Bpcp-9RsN9Uy_Muv_M

Here is the mailing address of NOAA Tim mentioned as a place to send letters in support of the project. 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Room 5128
Washington, DC 20230 

Until next time. 

Good birding. Good day!

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #25 with Dr. John Fitchen

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 can get a 10% discount at this link using the code "banter": https://aerbook.com/store/fitchen

We talked a bit about the role of military physicians in early American ornithology, and you can read about this online at 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/44442753?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Be sure to check out the blog post enhancing this episode at http://birdbanter.com/index.php/blog 

Until next time.  Good birding. Good day!

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #24 with Nick Bonomo

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 to monitor migration, and of course his birding story.  

Nick has a blog, Shorebirder.com  https://www.shorebirder.com/

Here is a link to a resource for pelagic trips out of Cape Cod.  https://www.brooklinebirdclub.org/pelagic-trips-2/

Here is a link to the eBird primer on using radar to follow migration.  https://ebird.org/news/radar

Here is the site Nick recommends for access to radar data  http://weather.rap.ucar.edu/radar/

    -Nick suggests the following settings.

Product: 0.5 Reflectivity

Background: (doesn't really matter)

End date: Today

End time: Most recent

Loop duration: 3-4 hours...this gives you a good timespan to see migration in action. You can view the "liftoff" as the sun sets, or you can view the much more gradual "descent" of birds as dawn approaches.

 

I'll be sure to put up a blog post with this info on http://birdbanter.com/index.php/blog/

 

Until next time;  Good birding.  Good day!

 

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #23 with Ann Nightingale

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 great name. 

Here are links to some of the things we talk about in the episode:

Rocky Point Bird Observatory

http://rpbo.org/

A link to the bird call resource kit created by Ann and others.  http://rpbo.org/bird_call_resource_kit.php

You can find Ann on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/ann.nightingale

I hope you enjoy the episode.  Until next time.

Good birding. Good day!

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #22: Why Birding

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-blair-bernson/id1450449001?i=1000440536850  If you prefer a platform other than iTunes you can find links to Stitcher, Spotify and Podbean on BirdBanter.com  http://birdbanter.com/

Here is a link to the Dorian Anderson episode on why birding is so attractive. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bird-banter-podcast-episode-5-with-dorian-anderson/id1450449001?i=1000430710312

Be sure to check out the blog post on BirdBanter.com to see photos and supporting information. 

Good Birding. Good day!

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #21 with Dr. Geoffrey Hill

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/

This is his birding website:  https://www.ornithologistsblog.com/

I found this article about Dr. Hill's research and speciation theory very informative:  https://aeon.co/essays/why-do-the-most-flamboyant-males-have-the-evolutionary-edge

Thanks for listening. 

Good birding. Good day!

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #20 with the Willettes

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 for almost every Tahoma Audubon newsletter. You can see her work here:  https://www.tahomaaudubon.org/newsletter

Laurel Parshall is excellent photographer and you can see lots of her work on her Flickrer site https://www.flickr.com/photos/llp_unesolitaire

Check out the associated blog post about the Willettes on the Bird Banter website.  http://birdbanter.com/index.php/blog/

Until next time. Good birding. Good day!