Bird Banter

Russell Rogers is a talented birder who has changed his primary area of field work and study from birds to beetles. We talk about his birding story, including his time in Washington State where I met him, and about how he diverged into the less common study of beetles. Beetles are the order Cleoptera, the largest order in the Insect class of animals.  Listen to learn more about these cool bugs from a birder turned beetle-guy.  Enjoy. 

Kathleen Foley, program director for the Westermn Bluebird San Juan Reintroduction Project is my guest on this episode. We talk about the project, her experiences both with bluebirds and birding on the islands and elsewhere.  Really cool stuff IMO.

Check out the project at at the San Juan Preservation Trust website here. 

See more on the Bird Banter website blog post.

Until next time. Good birding and good day. 

On the 100th!!! numbered episode of The Bird Banter Podcast I talk with  father-daughter birders Scott and Sierra Downes.  There are lots of birding families, but IMO lots more birders who have not been  blessed with children who become avid birders.  We talk about birding together, as well as their travels and experiences.  Sierra was the recipient of the Patrick Sullivan Young Birders Award and plans to attend the BSBO Camp Chiricahua this summer, Covid allowing.

Be sure to check out the BirdBanter.com blog post with more details on this episode.

On this episode I talk with avid eBirder, San Juan County, WA birder, longtime Yellow Island resident, and bird song audio recording enthusiast Phil Green. He has an interesting story and I hope you enjoy getting to know Phil as much as I did on this episode.  

Here is a link to Phil's Yellow Island Blog. 

Here is his eBird profile. 

Check out the Bird Banter blog post for more details. 

Thanks for listening. Good birding and good day!

This is an episode I do solo without a guest. I try to talk about my experience on a recent family trip to Costa Rica.  The challenge of focusing on important time with family while being lured into birding a very birdy habitat was ever present.  Check out the blog post on the Bird Banter website to see photos and more details about the trip.

Here are links to contact the guides I used, Carlos Ureña and Andres Chinchilla.

I’ll be back soon with a more usual episode with a guest.  Until then, good birding and good day!

On this episode I talk with Jordan Boersma.  Jordan is without a doubt the first guest I know of who has had to avoid pirates to get to an island expedition, though John Sterling did worry about cannibals in one of his early work experiences that he talks about on the podcast. Jordan is working on his PhD at Washington State University, and we talk about his study of testosterone levels in female White-shouldered Fairywrens, ice worms and Gray-crowned Rosy Finches on Mt. Rainier and more.  Enjoy.

See Jordan's website to look at his research or contact him via Twitter @jordan_boresma 

Until next time. Good birding. Good day!

On this episode Neil and I talk about his work with raptors, especially his recent PhD work on Rough-legged Hawks, but also rapelling down to put motion-activated cameras on Gyrfalcon nests in Alaska, California Condor conservation work, and more.

Contact Neil via his instagram or twitter accounts using just his name @neilpaprocki Enjoy

On this episode Eric Heisey and I talk about his birding, his research on Savannah Sparrows at the Ryan Norris lab working on an island in the Bay of Fundy with a breeding population of Savannah Sparrows. 

You can reach out to Eric by email heiseyew -at- email-dot-com

Please leave a comment and review and review

Thanks. Good birding and good day!

Jon Anderson is a hard guy to miss on a birding trip.  He is a big guy with a big moustache who is not shy about joining in any conversation, and he enjoys both birding and birders. On this episode we hear about Jon’s birding and career stories as well as about his peregrination in his first year of retirement. Enjoy.

You can contact

Jon by email festuca-at-comcast-dot-net

Be sure to check out the blog post on birdbanter.com where you can read more about this episode and topics we discussed.

Until next time. Good birding and good day!

Debbie Beer is a birder, traveler, and works at Nature Lands, a land trust in the Delaware Valley area. We talk about her birding and travels. Sometimes on an episode it is fun when I learn that I share experiences with a guest.  Both Debbie and I have birded in Kenya and Morocco, as well as the greater NYC area.  Enjoy.

Debbie is active in the Delaware Valley Ornithologic Club, and won the Bob Billings Big Year award in 2020. 

See the Birdbanter.com blog post for more details about this episode.

Until next time. Good birding. Good day.