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.

Conveniently, right before the backyard bird segment began, a nearby Northern Cardinal began calling!

I apologize for all the cicadas in the background, as their sounds come and go throughout the episode. 

Chapters

• 0:00 - Intro
• 00:59 - Some of the Birds that Visit Green Things
• 01:36 - Frank’s Background with Birds
• 05:07 - Bird of the Episode: Northern Cardinal
• 8:53 - Native Plant: Desert Ironwood / Olneya Tesota
• 16:11 - Canyon Hackberry / Cletus Reticulate
• 22:22 - Yellow Bells / Tacoma Sans
• 29:33 - About Green Things
• 31:28- About Poinsettias
• 33:08 -  Frank’s Role at Green Things
• 34:25 - Upcoming Classes @ Green Things
• 35:43 - Outro

For more about Green Things, please check out:

• Their website: https://greenthingsaz.com/ 
• Their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenThingsAZ
• Their Instagram: @greenthingsnursery 

For pictures of the Northern Cardinal and some of the native plants discussed, please check out the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcast

Thank you for listening!

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, rock work, custom pots and gardens for children.

She's joining us today for our second episode focused on backyard birds and native plants that might attract them.

For more about what's going on at Rozet Nursery, please checkout their Instagram: @rozetnursery

For some pictures of the plants we discussed, a few nursery visitors and the Gila Woodpecker, please check out the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcast

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:34 - Rozet Nursery Avian Visitors
• 02:59 - Abby’s Background with Birds
• 05:49 - Bird of the Episode: Gila Woodpecker
• 11:33 - Native Plants: Saguaro, Blue Palm & Yuccas
• 14:05 - Tip: Water Drainage Test
• 20:02 - Next plant: Brahea Armada / Mexican Blue Palm
• 20:38 - Tip: Deep Watering
• 24:17 - Native Plants = Velvet Mesquite + Blue Palo Verde
• 27:14 - Tip: Planting Proximity
• 29:03 - Tip: Mulching
• 33:15 - Native Plants: Yuccas 
• 34:14 - A bit about Rozet Nursery
• 40:43 - Upcoming events at Rozet Nursery
• 43:03 - Outro

Thank you for listening!

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 joining us today to kick-off a little summer series focused on backyard birds and native plants that might attract them. 

For more about what's going on at Mission Garden, please check out:
https://www.missiongarden.org/events

For some pictures of some of the birds and plants we discussed during this episode, please checkout the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcast 

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:34 - Mission Garden Summer Visitors
• 01:57 - Bird of the Episode: Abert’s Towhee
• 12:30 - Native Plant Segment: Mid-story Shrubs
• 26:28 - Gardening Tip: Leaf Litter
• 28:23 - Native Plant Habitat Considerations and Structural Diversity
• 31:23 - Upcoming Mission Garden Events
• 34:47 - Outro

Thank you for listening!

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, including the Elegant Trogon surveys of five Sky Island mountain ranges.

This is the second episode of two that focuses on the Tucson Birdathon, through the eyes of a local team, the Wrenagades. This episode, we'll talk about how the Birdathon went this year, getting into the details of the route, some of the highlights and trends.

More on the Desert Purple Martin Project (Including some videos of them!)
https://tucsonaudubon.org/purplemartin/

More information on the 2023 Southeast Arizona Birding Festival (Aug. 9-13, 2023)
https://tucsonaudubon.org/festival/

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:34 - Recent Elegant Trogon Survey
• 03:26 - 2023 Birdathon Recap
• 18:54 - Trends from the Birdathon
• 20:36 - Things that went well & Things that didn’t
• 23:40 - Curve-billed Thrasher in the Background
• 23:47 - Bird of the Episode
• 33:31 - Southeast Arizona Bird Festival
• 34:39 - Desert Purple Martin Request
• 38:03 - Outro

Thank you for listening!

Please checkout the podcast's Instagram - @lookingatbirdspodcast -  for some pictures of some of the birds discussed on the podcast. 

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 and helps with the annual Tucson Bird Count.

This is the first episode of two that focuses on the Tucson Birdathon, through the eyes of a local team, the Wrenagades. This episode, we'll talk about what a birdathon it is, and how this team will approach it this year. This episode was recording before the actual birdathon, and the next episode will be with another team member and will be recorded right after the birdathon.

Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 0:34 - Recent Birding
• 4:09 - Birding Background
• 6:13 - What is a Birdathon? 
• 9:02 - Memorable Birdathon experience
• 10:48 - The Wrenagades
• 16:21 - Some of their Birdathon Stops
• 20:45 - Some Avian Regulars they Hope to See
• 21:25 - Bird of the Episode: Elf Owl
• 21:57 - Add Elf Owl call
• 30:17 - Outro

Thank you for listening!

Please checkout the podcast's Instagram - @lookingatbirdspodcast -  for some pictures of the Elf Owl and some of the birds that were around Tucson Audubon's Mason Center where this episode was recorded.

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 foundation for his interest in birds. Since this is our second time together, the episode will focus less on Nic’s birding background and more on the birds here at Catalina Island.

Chapters

• 0:00 - Intro
• 0:36 - Nic's Recent Encounter with a Brandt's Cormorant 
• 3:06 - Ways that Birds Adapt to Living on Catalina Island
• 8:59 - Ways that Birds Adapt to Living on Other Islands
• 9:34 - "Rules" that Organisms Follow on Islands
• 13:00 - The Hawaiian Honeycreeper Adaptations
• 15:30 - Possible Future Avian Adaptations on Catalina Island
• 17:07 - San Clemente Spotted Towhee Adaptations
• 20:31 - Island Loggerhead Shrike Adaptations
• 25:40 - Bird of the Episode: Belted Kingfisher
• 39:24 - Outro

Please check out the podcast's Instagram - @lookingatbirdspodcast and thank you for listening!

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 can look forward to pictures of some of them on the podcast's Instagram - @lookingatbirdspodcast soon.

One change that has occurred since the recording of this episode is that the Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary is once again open to the public! Please check out their website for more information - https://www.freeflightbirds.org/

And for more about some of the great things going on there, check out their Instagram - @freeflightbirds.

Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:57 - What birds might we hear in the background?
01:32 - Isabelle's Background with Birds
04:27 - Bird of the Episode: Blue and Gold Macaw
14:57 - How New Birds Come to Free Flight
17:01 - Re-socializing New Birds
20:04 - Differences between Staff & Visitors Interacting with Birds
21:34 - Importance of Keeping Birds in the Friend Zone
24:18 - Things that Contribute to Free Flight being a Good Habitat
28:02 - Types and Characteristics of Parrots
29:48 - More about the Parrots at Free Flight
33:38 - Info for Potential Adopters
41:46 - A Little More about Free Flight
43:04 - Outro

Thank you for listening!

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 Sanctuary, that I actually was able to visit on another day and that interview will be the next episode (44).

Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:43 - David from Greenville, TX
05:37 - Luke from Orange County, CA
10:18 - Wendy from New Orleans, LA
12:52 - David from Nebraska 
16:45 - Robert from San Diego, CA
20:16 - Felicia from San Diego, CA
23:56 - Anitra from San Diego, CA
27:24 - Greg from Lynchburg, VA
31:25 - Author & Illustrator Margaret Harmon
35:35 - Outro

Thank you for listening!

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 newsletters. Kathe also presents at festivals, like the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, where we first met and she also presented on eggs.

Chapters
00:00 - Intro
01:13 - Recent Bird Count Experience
07:36 - Introduction to Avian Eggs
08:55 - Parts of an Egg
09:51 - The Journey of an Egg
14:37 - The Shell
15:52 - Egg Shapes
17:02 - When Does an Egg Hatch?
19:16 - Egg Fragments after Hatching
20:24 - Eggs and the Surrounding Environment
21:11 - Relationship between Nests and Eggs
25:19 - Birds that Lay Eggs in Others’ Nests
26:29 - Egg Size and Bird Size
27:52 - The Egg Rule
29:05 - The Phalarope’s Eggs
32:08 - Brown-headed Cowbirds & Their Many Eggs
35:33 - Nest Parasites Outside the US
36:49 - Maintaining Egg Temperatures
39:02 - Summary of Egg Segment
39:33 - Bird of the Episode: Gambel’s Quail
51:26 - Outro

Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival 2023
https://verderiver.org/birding-festival/

For pictures, please check out the Podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcast

To look at birds while you listen to the podcast, please check out the Podcast's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lookingatbirds

Thank you for listening!

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. Karen also leads birding field trips for the Tucson Audubon Society.

Time Stamps
00:00 - Intro
01:10 - Karen's Recent Trip to Uruguay
04:32 - Introduction to Nests
06:55 - Cup Nests
17:25 - Spherical Nests
24:22 - Ground Nests
28:40 - Underground / Burrowing Nests
30:45 - Platform Nests
33:36 - Cavity Nests
39:26 - Floating Nests
42:25 - Pendant Nests
46:26 - Crevice / Ledge Nests
49:10 - "Oddball" Nests
53:46 - Bird of the Episode: Rufous Hornero
60:54 - Outro

For pictures, please check out the Podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcast

To look at birds while you listen to the podcast, please check out the Podcast's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lookingatbirds

Thank you for listening!