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When he was seven years old, Pete Dunne was presented with two instruments that would define his life. One was a pair of binoculars; the other a book—a book about birds. One brought intimacy; the other knowledge and through them the woodlands behind his suburban home became a portal that opened onto a world of discovery and wonders.

Pete Dunne uses his talents and energy to make the natural world real for others through his twelve books. He’s latest title includes Birds of Prey.

A field birder with an international reputation, he has served on the board of the American Birding Association and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. An authority on the optical needs of birders he has served as a marketing and product advisor to Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski Optik, Nikon, Bausch and Lomb and others.

Dunne takes time to lead an every Monday morning bird walk in season, and in Autumn assist with the Cape May Hawk Count—the count he established 35 years ago. “It keeps me grounded in what is real and what is important,” he explains.

He is also the founder of, and a 33-year veteran of the World Series of Birding. Called “The Worlds Greatest Natural Treasure Hunt,” the annual event attracts over 100 teams and has raised over $9,000,000 for conservation.

In recognition of this event, and for “life time achievement” promoting the cause of birding, Dunne was awarded the American Birding Association’s Roger Tory Peterson Award in 2001. Other awards include the EPA Environmental Protection Award, Governor’s Conference on Tourism Environmental Award and the 1991 Winchester Good News Hunting Writer’s Contest 1st prize.

When not working as New Jersey Audubon’s Ambassador of Birding, writing, traveling, or birding; Dunne spends his time with wife Linda and the couple’s Labrador retriever, Raven in the riverside hamlet of Mauricetown, NJ.

Show Notes:

Mentioned In This Episode:

New Jersey Audubon

The World Series of Birding

Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO)

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The post BCR 086: Pete Dunne; 2nd For The Record, Legacy Interview™ Series appeared first on BirdCallsRadio™ | Exploring birdlife around the world™.

Both Tom and Scott are Co-Authors of The Warbler Guide Book and The Warbler Guide App. The Warbler Guide and App are published by Princeton University Press and recently won the National Outdoor Book Award. The Warbler Guide App just won the 2015. Design Award for AAUP Book, Jacket and Journal Show.

Tom Stephenson has been birding since he was a kid under the tutelage of Dr. Arthur Allen of Cornell University. His articles and photographs are in museums and many publications including Birding, Birdwatcher’s Digest, Handbook of the Birds and Handbook of the Mammals of the World, and Guide to the Birds of SE Brazil.

Tom has lectured and guided many groups across the US as well as in Asia, where he trained guides for the government of Bhutan. He has donated many recordings of African and Eastern Himalayan rarities and other species to Cornell’s Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds.

He was on Zeiss’s digiscoping team for the World Series of Birding and in 2011 his team won the World Series Cape Island Cup. Tom and team also hold the US record for a Photo Big Day, capturing 208 species on camera in a 24-hour period.

Scott Whittle has 20 years of experience as a professional photographer and educator.  His B.A. in Literature from Northwestern University and M.F.A. in Photography from the School of Visual Arts reflect his passions for writing and photography, and his love of learning and exploration has taken him to over 30 countries and all but four U.S. States.

He is a one-time Big Year record holder for New York State, his and Tom’s team holds the U.S. Photo Big Day record. Scott’s work has been published in a wide variety of well-known newspapers, magazines and other media outlets.  After an extensive photography career in New York City, he now lives and works in Cape May, N.J.

Show Notes:

Mentioned In This Episode:

The Warbler Guide & App

BCR 168: BirdGenie App

BCR 104: Lucas Stephenson, Young Birder

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Patrick Comins, Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon Connecticut

Patrick Comins is Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon Connecticut and has worked in the bird conservation arena for the last 20 years. He began his career at the McKinney NWR, conducting biological surveys for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He has been with Audubon Connecticut as the Director of Bird Conservation for Connecticut since 2000, overseeing Connecticut’s Important Bird Areas and other conservation programs, including the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. He is a former president of the Connecticut Ornithological Association and was the 2007 recipient of their Mabel Osgood Wright Award. He has written several articles on bird conservation and identification for the Connecticut Warbler and is a founding member of the Connecticut Forestlands Council and former president and chairman of the Friends of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge.

                                                       Stratford Point, Stratford CT ©Patrick Comins All Rghts Reserved

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                                                            Stratford Point, Stratford CT ©Patrick Comins All Rghts Reserved.

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Chandler S. (Chan) Robbins, Emeritus “War Room” office at U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel MD. Photo taken 6/30/16 ©Mardi W.Dickinson Kymry Group All Rights Reserved.

Chandler S. (Chan) Robbins at U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel MD.

Chandler Robbins recently celebrated his 98th birthday with family in New Hampshire. Some weeks prior to that I visited Chan in his office aka the “Emiritus War Room” at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in South Laurel to conduct this interview. The visit was graciously facilitated by his daughter Jane, who pointed out that Chan still came to the office several times a week to work on ongoing projects. It is difficult to summarize the highlights of his 60 year career, but without doubt there are accomplishments that have had a profound impact on world wide conservation and modern ornithology. The Balimore Sun, May 26, 2016, quoted John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, who described Robbins as “one of the world’s most important figures in ornithology and conservation.” What is sometimes missed in the press is the fact that he was an incredibly hard working and talented field scientist who worked collaboratively with a host of talented men and women.

Chandler was banding birds in 1937 under a permit issued to his father since he was under age at the time. After WWII he took a job as junior biologist in the national banding office at the Patuxent Research Center. He retired in 2005 from Patuxent. Some career highlights include:

DDT studies. He said it all started when the Department got a letter from a lady in the Midwest who was disturbed by the large die-off of robins on collage lawns from application of DDT. This led Robbins to study the effects of the pesticide DDT on breeding bird populations in forests that had been sprayed with DDT in the 1950’s and published the results in the Journal of Wildlife Management. These studies were ignored until Rachel Carson, who had been technical editor for the Journal, published Silent Spring several years later.

Forest Fragmentation. One of Robbin’s longest projects was a study of the effects of forest fragmentation on breeding birds. It began in Maryland with Eastern woodland birds and surrounding states in 1974, then spread to the wintering grounds of these birds in Mexico, the West Indies, Central America, and Venezuela. In the Latin American countries, he always collaborated with local biologists or organizations. They discovered that most songbirds required unfragmented forest on their breeding grounds, but in the winter they lived in fragmented forests that the resident tropical species avoided during their breeding season, so they would not be competing for food with the tropical birds. In the course of our prolonged field work in Guatemala and Mexico we provided enough documentation to assist in establishing the Cerro San Gil Reserve in Guatemala (47,600 ha.) and the Rancho Sandoval Reserve in Campeche, Mexico (8,000 ha.). At the Guatemala sites at Cerro San Gil, the conservation organization FUNDAECO established a research station which they named After Chandler Robbins.

He organized the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the data gathered from these BBS studies has had and is still having a profound effect throughout current ornithology.

He coauthored, with Herbert Zim, Bertel Bruun, and illustrated by Arthur Singer, the groundbreaking Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification, Golden Press in 1966 with revolutionary colored illustrations, and facing maps and descriptions.

In 1976, he was one of three Americans selected to write and negotiate the USA/Soviet Union Migratory Bird Treaty, which was the first treaty to protect not only the shared species, but also the habitats these species required, setting the example for future treaties.

With John Aldrich and Bob Stewart, Robbins served as technical editor of Audubon Field Notes/American Birds from 1951 through 1989

One of his most remarkable stories stems from chance encounters with an Albatross named “Wisdom”. He was involved in aircraft safety problems at the large airports, one of greatest problems was with nesting albatrosses near the runways at Midway atoll in the Pacific. One of the Laysan Albatrosses he banded there in 1956 was an adult female later to be known as Wisdom. Robbins re-banded Wisdom in 2002 and later learned she was the same bird that he had banded in 1956. In February 2016, Wisdom’s egg hatched under the care of her mate, and so it was that Wisdom was a mother again at the estimated age of 65.

He quietly helped revolutionize bird banding. Using the new Japanese mist nets he urged banders to carefully determine and record the age, sex and weight of each bird prior to release. Until then, banders simply ringed the birds and released them, missing opportunities to gather valuable data.

The Balimore Sun recounted this recent quote by Robbins, “It’s too quiet; there are not enough warblers anymore,” he lamented. “People don’t give birds a second thought when they use pesticides.” Chandler Robbins did and is still doing his share on this, it is now up to others to continue the work. Lets hear from our First “For The Record: Legacy Interview” with Chandler S. Robbins directly.

Chandler S. Robbins coauthored, with Herbert Zim, Bertel Bruun, and illustrated by Arthur Singer, the groundbreaking Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification, Golden Press in 1966 with revolutionary colored illustrations, and facing maps and descriptions.

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Chandler S. (Chan) Robbins, Emeritus “War Room” office at U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel MD.©Mardi W.Dickinson Kymry Group All Rights Reserved.

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Katie Fallon Author of VULTURE (2017) and CERULEAN BLUES (2011). Birder, tree-hugger, educator. Cofounder of Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia.

Katie Fallon is the author of the nonfiction books Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird (University Press of New England, forthcoming March 2017) and Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird (Ruka Press, 2011). Katie’s first children’s book, Look, See the Bird! is forthcoming from Hatherleigh Press (summer 2017). Katie’s essays have appeared in a variety of literary journals and magazines, and her essay “Rebirth” (published in River Teeth, Fall 2013) was listed as a “Notable” in Best American Science & Nature Writing 2014. Katie is also a Co- Founder of the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving wild birds through scientific research; outreach and public education; and rescue and rehabilitation. The ACCA is based near Morgantown, WV, and each year treats more than 200 injured wild birds, conducts dozens of environmental education programs, and sponsors citizen-science research projects. Katie has taught creative writing at Virginia Tech and West Virginia University. Her first word was “bird.” 

Show Notes:

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The post Episode #082: Katie Fallon appeared first on BirdCallsRadio™ | Exploring birdlife around the world™.

Great White Pelican, (probable female in breeding plumage), extralimital, roosting with American Pelicans, J.N.Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel Island, Florida. ©Townsend P. Dickinson All Right Reserved. Photo may not be used without written permission. Please respect the wishes of the photographer. www.kymrygroup.com

A Conversation with our next guest Judith “Judy” Davis who was the first person to identified the Great White Pelican that landed on Sanibel Island, Florida from Sunday, February 28, 2016 till Monday March 1, 2016.

Judy is a retired educator of New York State and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Judy has been a birder since Jr Audubon in 1947. She has been Volunteer at .J N. Ding Darling for 18 years that includes roving or guiding along Wildlife Drive, helping with biological surveys and helping new volunteers with bird Identification especially shorebirds including painting signs which luckily are being replaced. Additional NEW article Click here on Great White Pelican at Ding Darling

Show Notes:

The post Episode #081: Judith Davis, Great White Pelican appeared first on BirdCallsRadio™ | Exploring birdlife around the world™.

Bonnie Paton Moon, Daughter of the Late Wally and Marion Paton and Larry Morgan “Ambassador For The Birds,” Stewart & Caretaker for the property of Paton’s Birder Haven; are the next special guests on BirdCallsRadio WORLDWIDE, Internet Streaming & BCR iTunes. Come join us for Part 1 of this extraordinary interview.

Birdwatchers from around the world come to enjoy watching the hummingbird feeders that Wally and Marion Paton & family put out for all to enjoy for over 30 years. Feeding stations were set out attracting hundreds of different species including rare ones like the Violet-crowned Hummingbird. (Paton’s is considered one of the most reliable spots in the U.S. to view the Violet-crowned) First Certified sighting of the Cinnamon Hummingbird was at the Paton’s in 1992. One of only 2 sightings in the U.S. at that time. Other rare birds include the Plain-capped Start Throat.  Paton’s Birders Haven Photo taken by the ©Paton Family. All Rights Reserved. Photo may not be used without written permission. Please respect the wishes of the Paton Family.

In 1974, Wally and Marion Paton, life-long gardeners, naturalists bird-lovers began to plant flowers and install water features on their property in Patagonia Arizona. They put up hummingbird feeders and had great success, attracting Violet-crowned Hummingbirds along with even rarer species like the Cinnamon Hummingbird and Plain-Capped Star-throat. When the couple realized birders were crowding outside their fence to get a better view, the Paton’s opened the gate and welcomed them inside. So began this conservation story of two dedicated naturalist that lives on as a testament to their vision.

Birdwatcher, Conservationist and naturalist from around the world enjoy the sites and sounds of the Paton Property forever!

Birdwatchers from around the world come to enjoy watching the hummingbird feeders that Wally and Marion Paton & family put out for all to enjoy for over 30 years. This was a photo taken inside the families home looking out at the birdwatchers each and every morning. Paton’s Birders Haven Photo taken by the ©Paton Family. All Rights Reserved. Photo may not be used without written permission. Please respect the wishes of the Paton Family.

Bonnie Paton Moon is a daughter of the late Wally and Marion Paton of Paton’s Birder Haven. After her mother’s passing in 2009, Bonnie embarked on a 4 and 1/2 year odyssey, to preserve and protect her parent’s internationally renowned birding Mecca known as Paton’s Birder Haven in Patagonia, AZ. Due to the foresight of the Paton family, and the partnership of the American Bird Conservancy, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours and Tucson Audubon Society supported by over a thousand generous supporters, this little gem of birding paradise has now been saved in perpetuity. Saved not only for the birds that have come to depend on the Paton’s habitat for food and water, but also for the future generations of birders and nature enthusiast can share this delightful oasis in the desert.

Standing in front of the famous fountain that the Late Wally and Marion Paton built in April 21, 1996 at Paton’s Birders Haven. l. to r. Larry Morgan “Ambassador For The Birds,” & Caretaker for the property of Paton’s Birder Haven.”, Bonnie Paton Moon, Jackie Paton Covey, Daughters of the Late Wally and Marion Paton of Paton’s Birders Haven.  Photo taken by the ©Paton Family. All Rights Reserved. Photo may not be used without written permission. Please respect the wishes of the Paton Family.

BCR 130: Bonnie Paton Moon, Paton’s Birders Haven Update Part 2

Click here and go to Know Your Bird Calls for our NEW Contest to win a prize starting on this show! Your answer must be in for the deadline of Monday May 19, 2014 at 12 noon! As of May 27, 2014 no one picked the correct answer. BCR will extend this contest till June 2, 2014.

Wally and Marion Paton celebrating the completion of the newly completed fountain at Paton’s Birder Haven on April 20, 1996. Photo taken by the ©Paton Family. All Rights Reserved. Photo may not be used without written permission. Please respect the Paton Family.

We thank the American Bird Conservancy, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, and Ann Cullen Smith whom at the young age of 105 year old and staunch conservationist, encouraged many to do the right thing and protect this jewel property called Paton’s Birders Haven; and Tucson Audubon’s Paton Center for Hummingbirds, including many of BirdCallsRadio guests and thousand of others who have donated so generously to save this slice of heaven. BUT, Most of all, to Wally and Marion Paton and the entire Paton family to have to foresight and know the importance of being real conservationist and saving a piece of heaven for all to enjoy!

Paton’s Birder Haven Original Wooden Sign. Photo taken by the ©Paton Family. All Rights Reserved. Photo may not be used without written permission. Please respect the wishes of the Paton Family

Thanks for your support of BirdCallsRadio.

The post Episode #080: Bonnie Paton Moon & Larry Morgan appeared first on BirdCallsRadio™ | Exploring birdlife around the world™.

Yellow Warbler, male, singing in spring on territory, Crane Creek, Ohio. ©Townsend P. Dickinson. All Rights Reserved. Photo may not be used without written permission.

 Here’s how to play.

Thank you to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology for there generosity in contributing the audio recording of a bird sound for BirdCallsRadio first “Know Your Bird Calls” Contest.

Here is the 1st Know Your Bird Calls sound. Listen here.

http://birdcallsradio.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/violet-crowned-hummingbird-1-mex-chirping-calls.mp3

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Julie Zickefoose, naturalist, writer, artist, author of “The Bluebird Effect” Flyer & Illustrations by ©Julie Zickefoose. All Rights Reserved.

Julie Zickefoose comes to Connecticut for a evening  talk hosted by the Potapaug Audubon tonight Thursday, April 10th, 2014 at 7:00 P.M., “The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds” Location & Directions Click here for map.  Old Lyme Town Hall, 52 Lyme Street Old Lyme CT 06371. I-95 Exit 70.

Julie is a popular wildlife artist, naturalist, writer, and author of Letters from Eden: A Year at Home, in the Woods, and The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds, a recent pick for Oprah Book Club “Book of the Week.”

Julie draws inspiration for art and writing from her 80-acre wildlife sanctuary in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio – land from which she says she learns something new every day. She and her husband, Bill Thompson III, ” have seen more than 180 species of birds and nearly 70 species of butterflies on their nature sanctuary.”

The Bluebird Effect, according to Zickefoose, “has grown from 40 years of working with, studying, drawing and helping birds; trying to fix them when they’re broken and mothering them when they’re orphaned.” The book includes more than 320 illustrations by the author.

For more on Julie Zickfoose: Website juliezickefoose.com

Listen to a past interview on BirdCallsRadio with special guest Julie Zickefoose here 

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Dorian Anderson, Biking For Birds stops in southern CT for an interview with host Mardi Dickinson on BirdCallsRadio on  January 17, 2014. ©Mardi Welch Dickinson/KymryGroup. All Rights Reserved.

Dorian Anderson Biking For Birds joins host Mardi Dickinson on location in southern Connecticut in a impromtu interview together as he takes a short break to refuel and rest from biking and birding fundrasier. This is the first leg of Dorian’s Journey across the county. We will get into the birds Dorian has seen, type of equipment and gear he has onboard to situations Dorian has encountered plus much more.

Biking for Birds is a year-long environmental odyssey aimed at protecting wild birds and their habitats. During this twelve-month endeavor,  which commenced January 1 from Cape Ann, Massachusetts., geneticist Dr. Dorian Anderson, a Philadelphia native, hopes to see and photograph 600 species of birds while pedaling his bike 15,000 miles across the country.

To further eliminate a carbon footprint during his travels, Dr. Anderson will not have a support vehicle to assist him; everything he needs will be carried on Dorian’s  back and his bicycle. This Big Year permutation will certainly add an unprecedented level of adventure to the endeavor, and it should set a new standard for environmentally sustainable travel.

The immediate goals of this endeavor are three-fold. First, I want to find as many bird species as possible. If I can complete the proposed route, I should find between 550 and 600 species. I hope my efforts to achieve this goal will promote heightened interest in birds, bird watching, and bird conservation. Second, I hope Biking For Birds will showcase the bicycle as a healthy and environmentally sustainable form of transportation. Third, I have partnered with both The Conservation Fund and the American Birding Association. and I hope to raise $100,000 (or more!) on behalf of these organizations that focus on land conservation and promotion of birdwatching, respectively. – Dorian Anderson

Corporate partner Best Western will provide him with lodging, and 100 percent of all donations raised will go to The Conservation Fund and The American Birding Association. Those who wish to donate or follow Dr. Anderson’s epic adventure should visit his blog at bikingforbirds.blogspot.com

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