Looking at Birds: A Birding Podcast

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 - So...

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 - ...

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 re...

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 ...

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 ...

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 pod...

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.

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:...

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 e...

My guest is Frank Mead, an Arizona native who’s spent the last 10 years in the horticulture industry. Some of his experiences include working in the Conservation Core, a branch of Americore, where he helped to build trails in national parks and cooperated with fire crews during fire season. While he doesn’t have a formal background in birding, his older sister is an avid birder and has taken him along for many birding outings.

Today my guest is Abby Wing, an owner, designer and builder here at Rozet Nursery. Abby spent 17 years in the San Francisco Bay area before moving out here to Tucson, there she pursued formal education, including her California Naturalist Certification, and acquired experience working with a number of gardeners, herbalists and contractors. Here at the nursery, Abby specializes in sustainable design, medicinal and edible plants, roc...

My guest is Kendall Kroesen, the Community Outreach Coordinator for Mission Garden, who you might remember from Episode 39. With a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology he participated in a number of archaeological and conservation projects. In the early 2000s, he left social science and joined the Tucson Audubon society, where he created the Urban Bird Habitat Program and was involved with rural habitat restoration.

He’s joinin...

Today my guest is Jennie MacFarland, a returning guest from Episode 6, a nearly life-long Arizonan that loves exploring different habitats in Southeast Arizona. She currently works as a Conservation Biologist for the Tucson Audubon Society and coordinates the Important Bird Areas Program and other bird survey conservation projects. Jennie organizes several large-scale community science efforts in Southeast Arizona each year, includ...

Today my guest is Sara Pike, a birder of 30 years and currently a Tour Manager for WINGS birdwatching Tours, she manages 20+ domestic tours in the US along with Guyana and even a sub-antarctic New Zealand cruise. Before WINGS, Sara worked with the Tucson Audubon for 11 years, where she was involved with retail, operations, marketing and even helped launch the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival. Today, she still volunteers with them...

My guest is a familiar one, Nic Grant, you might remember him from Episode 20. He is a Marine Science Instructor and Aquarist at the Catalina Island Marine Institute. Although Nic’s educational background in the biological sciences might be unrelated to birds, his growing up in Cape May, New Jersey sure is. Birding a variety of habitats throughout the year and witnessing the massive fall migrations, allowed him to build a solid fou...

My guest is Isabelle Zapata, the Learning Center Coordinator at the Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary where we recorded this episode. She leads youth education programs where she enjoys sharing her passion for studying avian behavior and companion parrot husbandry. Outside of her role here, she continues to work with children as a public-school music teacher.

You will hear a number of exotic birds in the background and you...

For this episode, similar to my other festival episodes, I interviewed birders visiting the festival. We talked about some of their memorable birding experiences as well as their experience at the festival. The first interviews were recorded indoors and the rest were recorded outdoors.

In the background, you will hear an occasional airplane and also some exotic birds from a nearby table run by the Free Flight Bird Sanctua...

This is the final part of the 3-part series and focuses on the eggs of our avian friends. My returning guest is Kathe Anderson ( Episode 27), who is a lifelong-learner and sharer, of anything bird-related. She frequently leads field trips in the Phoenix-area and at wildlife festivals across Arizona. She participates in local survey programs and Christmas Bird Counts, along with authoring articles for local Audubon Society newslette...

This is part 2  of a 3-part series covering avian mating behaviors, their nests and finally their eggs. Today my guest is Karen Vandergrift, who you might remember from Episode 8 and Episode 30. Certified as a Master Naturalist in both California and Arizona, with experience as a docent on Alcatraz Island, at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and most recently at the Laboratory of Tree ring research at the University of Arizona. Kar...