You may remember John from episode #31 when we talked about his upcoming birding big year traveling only by unicycle and on foot. Well, as with all things 2020 Covid-19 intervened, but the start of his planned big year is story enough to warrant having John back to hear how is adventure went. In a nutshell, crazy and super cool. Enjoy. Here is a link to John's blog. Check out the BirdBanter.com blog post here and leave a comment about your favorite big year stories. Thanks for listening. Good bi...
Oct 10, 2020•38 min•Ep. 89
Sometimes as birders we are too quick to overlook the beauty of our common species in search of uncommon or unexpected birds. Non-birders and birders alike may enjoy as I take a deeper look at 5 species commonly seen in most places in the United States. Why do geese poop so much? Why is it Canada Goose but not America Redstart? Check it out. Also see the associated blog post with photos and more info on these common birds. Here is a link to the Wild Turkey Thanksgiving Episode . Please share thi...
Sep 26, 2020•35 min•Ep. 88
Matt Yawney talks about finding vagrants in Grant County, WA, his birding story and more on The Bird Banter Podcast #75. Be sure to read the blog post associated with this episode on The Bird Banter website . Leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcast feeds. Until next time. Good birding. Good day!
Sep 14, 2020•40 min•Ep. 87
Jason Fidorra and I talk about his experiences as the Washington State Wildlife manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Benton and Franklin Counties, as well as his experiences as a field researcher prior to that job, his birding story, the shrub-steppe habitat of his area, and more. Enjoy. You can find Jason on Facebook. He also moderates the Tricities Birders Facebook page . Be sure to check out the blog post on BirdBanter,.\\.com for more details....
Sep 02, 2020•52 min•Ep. 86
On The Bird Banter Podcast #72 with Kimball Garrett we talk about Kimball's extensive experience as a Los Angeles County, CA birder, his work as the Collections Manager for the L.A. Natural History Museum Ornithology Collection, of his time in the golden days of California birding, and his birding story and experiences. Enjoy. Here is a link to Kimball's bio and contact info at the museum. Check out the blog post on BirdBanter.com for more information related to the episode....
Aug 24, 2020•50 min•Ep. 85
On The Bird Banter Podcast #71 host Ed Pullen talks about resources birders can use to learn to be better birders, to identify birds, and to further their enjoyment of birding. See the Supplemental Information blog post on BirdBanter.com for links to find most of the resources mentioned in this episode. Please subscribe to The Bird Banter Podcast wherever you get your podcast feeds to not miss future episodes, and leave a rating and review on your podcast feed platform. Until next time. Good bir...
Aug 10, 2020•38 min•Ep. 84
Peter Hodum is a professor at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA and is a passionate birder and researcher of seabirds. We talk about his passion and work with seabirds off the Washington coast as well as in the Juan Fernández Islands off Chile. Peter is an eloquent speaker, penultimate teacher, and I know you’ll enjoy hearing his birding story. For lots of photos and much more detail check out the post on the Bird Banter blog at http://birdbanter.com Here is a link to Peters not-for-pr...
Jul 31, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 83
Hear about birding in San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico from a local guide and top local birder. San Blas is an area where you can find a large variety of species and habitats all on short drive day trips while based in this delightful coastal community.
Jul 24, 2020•48 min•Ep. 82
On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #69 with Francisco Garcia we talk about birding in the San Blas area of Nayarit, Mexico on the west coast between Mazatlán and Puerto Nuevo. Francisco runs Safaris San Blas, a birding guide service in that area, and was recommended as a guest by Heather Ballash and Marcus Roening when we recorded Episode #64. Here is a link to the Safaris San Blas Facebook page where you can find Francisco’s Phone number and email address. Here is a link to the ABA A Birder’s G...
Jul 24, 2020•48 min•Ep. 81
On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode with Dennis Paulson we talk about his start as a bird watcher, his life as a naturalist, his dragonfly studies and publications, his travels, and a bit about the politics of conservation and environmentalism. Birding, Bird Watching, and the love of nature are common themes. Enjoy. You can reach dennis by email at dennispaulson - at- comcast.net He is on facebook as @dennis.paulson.10 and as he mentions he posts educational info with photos regularly. Read more ...
Jul 17, 2020•50 min•Ep. 80
On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #67 with Dr. Roger Lederer we talk about not just birding and ornithology, but tips on how to prepare for a career in ornighology, travel, and his birding website Ornithology.com Below are some links to topics we discuss. Here is the page on Ornithology Careers. Here is the Osher Foundation site for adult courses Dr. Lederer discusses. Here are links to some of the other episodes I talk about in the intro. Blog post on the Mary Gustafson Episode #55 Good birdin...
Jul 10, 2020•37 min•Ep. 79
Andrew took me out birding in Wahkiakum County, WA and we recorded this episode after a great day of birding. We talk about the Alcyon Farm, his home and wonderful natural area, birding in Wahkiakum County, his Skamokawa Swamp Opera band, his Sea Kayak Business, the history of steemboats on the Columbia River, and more. He is a fabulously talented and interesting person. Here is a link to the facebook page of the Skamokawa Swamp Opera and here is a link to Columbia River Kayaking. Read and see l...
Jul 03, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 78
Patrick O’Donnell is my guest on Episode #65 of The Bird Banter Podcast and we talk about all things birding in Costa Rica. Patrick lives in San Jose, Costa Rica, is a guide for day trips from San Jose, leads trips for his local birding club all over the country, and writes extensively. He has published the Costa Rica Bird Finding eBook which I downloaded in Kindle format, but is available in other formats also. He is a leader in the Birding Club of Costa Rica Check out the blog post on the Bird...
Jun 25, 2020•37 min•Ep. 77
On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #64 with Heather Ballash and Marcus Roening we talk about being a birding couple, about their extensive experience birding in Mexico, and about our local Pierce County, WA birding community. You can read more about related topics on the Bird Banter Podcast Blog . Please leave a review and rating on the podcast feed of your choice, and reach out to me if there are guests you’d like to hear from. Until next time. Good birding. Good day!...
Jun 16, 2020•38 min•Ep. 76
On this episode Mike Denny sits with me and Ken Brown, in a remote area of the Northern Blue Mountains, and we watch and listen to a recently fledged trio of Great Gray Owlets and their parent as we talk about the owls, the area and Mike's amazing passion for birding, education and the environment. See how many species of birds you can ID from the background of the recording. Here is a link to The Secret Life of the Forest: The Northern Blue Mountains. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PuebOvlZu4...
Jun 08, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 75
On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #62 my daughter, Jean Pullen, and I talk about her passion, restorative agriculture in the tropics. Jean lives in Costa Rica and is in the process with her partner Alan of restoring a hectacre of previous pastureland into a productive, earth-restoring agriforestry project. Jean also works with Jungle Project. You can read more about restorative agriculture at Kiss The Ground . You can follow Jean on Facebook Be sure to check out the blog post on the Bird Banter...
Jun 01, 2020•37 min•Ep. 74
On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #61 Stefan Schlick and I talk about birding in the Pacific Northwest, his experiences as a birding trip leader, and a bit about dragonflies and . Stefan is a top ABA birder with roots in Germany who has lived in several top ABA birding areas. He now is a full time birding trip guide based near Portland, OR. You can find his Portland Audubon Society trips on their web site . Stefan's web site is Birdmeister's Blog See the supporting notes and more info on this e...
May 25, 2020•42 min•Ep. 73
On The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #60 I talk with Nate Swick, whose job with the ABA is loosely defined as digital content manager, but birders know as the keeper of the ABAs Rare Bird Alerts page, more recently from the ABA Podcast, and as one of the primary faces of the ABA online. Nate is an avid birder, and has helped bring the ABA into the online world in a meaningful way. I enjoyed talking with Nate, and hope you enjoy listening. Here is a link to the ABA Join and donate page as promised ...
May 18, 2020•41 min•Ep. 72
On this episode I talk with Gary Bletsch, a birder from Skagit County, WA who is an avid county birder, a funny guy, and a lot of fun for me to get to know. You'll hear a lot about Skagit County birding, as well as about Gary's travels and his birding story. We talk about the Washington birding website WA Birder . Check it out on this link. Here is a link to the trip report for the Pierce County big day I participated in this week. Bruce LaBar from episode #3, Will Brooks from episode # and Pete...
May 10, 2020•45 min•Ep. 71
On this episode I talk with Dave Irons, a top birder, an eBird reviewer, prior regional editor of North American Birds, author of the new book Field Guide to the Birds of Oregon, and a really educational and interesting guest on the podcast. Enjoy. Here is a link to buy the Field Guide to the birds of Oregon on Buteo Books. I mention the episode with Dave's wife Shawneen Finnegan. Here is a link to that episode on Apple Podcasts . You can find links to several other platforms on the Bird Banter ...
May 01, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 70
Pete Salmansohn, knows as Puffin Pete, is my guest on The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #57. Pete has worked as an educator for National Audubon Society and other organizations, and has been especially involved in education about seabirds off the Maine Coast. We talk about the highly successful and ongoing reintroduction of Atlantic Puffins and other seabirds to breeding islands off the Maine Coast. Enjoy. We talk about Hog Island Audubon Camp and here is a link to their site. Here is a link to a ...
Apr 22, 2020•46 min•Ep. 69
On this episode I talk with Mike Bergin, the founder of the largest Birding Blog on the internet about how 10,000 Birds came about, its incredible run of popularity, and about his birding story. Mike is a true birding ambassador and I expect you to enjoy listening. Here is a link to 10,000 Birds We mention the Suzie Gilbert, my guest on the last episode of this podcast, has new novel published recently. You can buy a copy of Unflappable on her website. Be sure to leave a rating and review on you...
Apr 11, 2020•48 min•Ep. 68
On Episode #55 I talk with bird rehabilitator and author Suzie Gilbert. We talk about her progression from volunteer at a local raptor rehab program where her experience as a writer led to a newspaper column, a children's book and eventually to having her own in-home bird rehab center. Her first adult book was a memoir about the challenges of trying to balance life as a Mom and a rehab center owner and manager. Her new novel, which I can vouch for as a fine read, is Unflappable, a novel about a ...
Apr 08, 2020•49 min•Ep. 67
In this episode Nate and I talk about his early birding years in the Tacoma area with his older brother Chris, his early photography on a birding trip to South Africa, and his progression from birding into becoming a professional nature photographer and photography tour leader. It's a fun story, and I think you'll enjoy hearing about Nate's career and travels. You can follow Nate on facebook @ChappellPhoto or at his web site http://www.trogontours.net/ The Tahoma Audubon Society that Nate mentio...
Mar 30, 2020•45 min•Ep. 66
Ryan Merrill and I talk about his birding story, birding in Washington State, and about his local patch birding. He also talks about his work on the Washington Bird Records Committee, and life as the husband/father in a family with a young child as a birder. Enjoy. Photo Credit: The photo of the Swallow-tailed Kite used in the thumbnail for this episode is by Laurel Parshall. You can hear Laurel and other "Willettes" on episode #20 of The Bird Banter Podcast. You can reach Ryan by e-mail: rjm284...
Mar 22, 2020•41 min•Ep. 65
On this episode I am joined by Stephanie Seymour, the artist of the recently released album There Are Birds. She is an avid birder, has her own private official hawkwatch station at her home in New jersey, and is a longtime professional musician. This album has 12 songs, each with the song title being the name of a listable North American bird except the final track, Migration is Over. Three of the songs are included in this podcast. Enjoy. You can buy Stephanie's album at her website: There Are...
Mar 13, 2020•43 min•Ep. 64
Lane Epps and Corrie Fulsom-O’Keefe Episode Podcast notes On the Bird Banter Podcast Episode #51 I talk with two women who have maintained and nourished a long-time and long-distance birding relationship. They actually used a recent episode of this podcast to help plan a birding trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and interestingly on that podcast two of my best birding buddies and I talk about our trip. I hope you enjoy the episode. Lane works with the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge, and here ...
Mar 06, 2020•48 min•Ep. 63
In The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #50 Nathanael Swecker and I talk about his extensive experiences birding on the huge military post in Tacoma, Joint Base Lewis McChord, about his bird banding at the Morse Preserve, his work with the Tahoma Audubon Society where he is serving at the current president, and about his experience as an openly gay birder. He is an exceptionally engaging and articulate guest, and I think you'll enjoy his story. You will find more details about this episode on the ass...
Mar 06, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 62
I got home from Texas this week, the next day chased and found a lingering Siberian Accentor in Cowlitz County for a new Washington State bird to me, and now sit down to reminisce about the trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. I talk briefly about my time with Ken and Bruce, but mostly about stretching myself, leading a trip of 11 people to the valley, far outside my past trip-leading experience and off my home turf. It worked out pretty well. I had fun and I think the others did too. W...
Feb 17, 2020•41 min•Ep. 61
I’ve been in the LRGV now for almost 2 weeks, and am starting to feel like I can find my way around. I am also starting to meet some of the local birders, and today was able to meet with Mary Gustafson. I learned that Mary and I have at least one thing in common. Ken Brown was helpful to us in our earlier birding days. When Mary was at UPS Ken often took her out locally birding. You can hear Ken's birding story in episode #2 . Mary is a top national birder, and has lived in the Lower RGV for abo...
Feb 06, 2020•59 min•Ep. 60
