On this episode I report on birding the Great River Road, and various places nearby, from Memphis to Davenport, Iowa and then on to Omaha.  Overall a great experience, seeing new states, new roads, and getting an appreciation for the great river. 

Highlights were great looks at Sedge Wren, some fabulous National Wildlife Refuges, and of course the Mississippi River and all it entails. 

For more details, photos and related information see the blog posts under Ed's Birding Notes on the Bird Banter website. 

Stay tuned for some great guests coming soon. 

Good birding. Good day!

On this episode I fill in between episodes with guests.  On the first week of my planned 3 week road trip up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Iowa, Marian and I bird around New Orleans, venture south to see the destruction, rebuilding and birds of Grand Isle, and head north as far as Memphis.  We bird in 4 states, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee. For listeners this will be a different episode, and I hope you enjoy it, but if not my more typical episodes with guests will return after the trip.  

To see more details about the trip check out the Ed's birding notes on the BirdBanter.com website. here and here. 

Good birding. 

On this episode Alex Marine and I talk about birding Missouri, his birding story and his 2021 Missouri birding big year. Alex also helps me learn about birding in Missouri along the Mississippi river area in preparation for a road trip I'll be taking soon. 

You can reach Alex on Facebook or Instagram. 

As always learn more about the details and things mentioned on this episode on the Bird Banter Blog. 

Until next time. Good birding and good day!

On this episode I talk with Raphael Fennimore about his 2021 King County, WA big year, his experiences with marine mammal research, his scuba diving, his photography experience with a new mirrorless camera and more. I hope you enjoy.

Reach Raphael at Raphael.Fennimore - at- gmail - dot- com or via his Instagram Feed @RaphaelFennimore

See more details and hopefully interesting information on the BirdBanter.com blog. 

Please leave a rating and review.  Thanks for listening. 

On this episode Dr. Klem and I talk about one of the leading and least well publicized causes of bird mortality in the world which is collision with glass surfaces. Birds simply don't see glass as a barrier, try to fly through it, and die in startling numbers.  Hear the facts, learn what you can do, and be able to make informed decisions about the ways you can help reduce this tragedy. 

Dr. Klem is a professor of ornithology at Muhlenberg College. He recently published a book, Solid Air: Invisible Killer, Saving Billions of Birds from Windows. 

You can buy the book at Hancock House Publishing

You can find more details at Dr. Klem's website. 

Also find lots more details at my blog post on BirdBanter.com

Do you know anyone who does not love Bird Note, the 2 minute immersion into bird life and lore on NPR radio?  I sure don't. My guest on The Bird Banter Podcast #125, Nick Bayard, is the Executive Director of  Bird Note.  I learned that Bird Note is so much more than the NPR Bird Note Today show. Listen, enjoy and learn. 

Hear Bird Note Daily here. 

Support Bird Note here

Subscribe to Bird Note email list-serv here

Read more about todays episode on the Bird Banter Blog here. 

Until next time,  Good birding and good day!

On this episode Michael Todd, the top eBird lister in Tennessee and I talk about birding his home state, his birding story, his mentors, and more.  

Michael mentions several top Mississippi River floodplain hotspots in Tennessee on the episode. Here are some eBird links to those areas. 

Ensley Bottoms Maxxon Wastewater Lagoons

Tennessee NWR Big Sandy Unit

It was really fun to hear about a new place and from a birder who really knows the area well.

As always check out the blog post about the episode where by the time this airs I'll have more details about my birding in the Nashville area. 

'Good birding and good day!

On this episode David and Dee Simpson talk about their Florida birding, their company Birding with David Simpson, Dee's blog Dee at Eight AM, and their birding stories. 

Dee posts a photo and an educational poem about where she is and what she sees every morning on her blog. David does bird guiding in Florida and beyond, and is an avid state and county lister in Florida, with over 150 species seen in every one of Florida's 67 counties.  

David has a passion for teaching visitors about everything natural in Florida, and this passion comes through clearly on the podcast episode.  

Dee and David have a You Tube Channel with educational videos about birding in Florida that I find really good. 

As always see more about the episode on the BirdBanter.com blog post.

Until next time, good birding and good day!

On The Bird Banter Podcast #122 Tiffany Kersten talks about her record breaking Lower 48 United States birding big year, seeing 726 species while raising awareness for the safety of women in nature.  It's a great story and Tiffany tells it well. 

You can see Tiffany's blog here. 

Read more about the year on The Bird Banter blog and find other big years on the podcast prior epsodes #121 Will Brooks and Jason Vassallo, #4 Christian Haganlocher, #5 with Dorian Anderson and his Biking for Birds Big Year, and #79 with Lynn Barber on her Texas and Alaska big years. 

As always comments and feedback are welcome, and if you have ideas of guests you'd like to hear on the podcast contact me on the website contact page. 

Thanks for listening. Until next time good birding and good day!

On this episode I talk with two young Washington State birders who are good friends, who met in an unusual circumstance, and who undertook big years in 2021.  Jason saw the 9th highest total species list ever seen in the lower 48 states, while documenting every sighting by photo or audio means, and did so while maximizing the fun, adventure and wonderlust experience of the year. Will broke the Washington State big year record by 6 species in a year when arguably the top vagrant location was closed to birding.  Both great accomplishments and it made for a lot of fun conversation. Enjoy.

See the Bird Banter blog post for lots more details.

Follow Jason's Instagram accounting of the big year. @Jason2021BigYear

Watch a video on Seattle News 5 for a brief discussion of Will's year.