My guest is a familiar one, from Episode 8, Karen Vandergrift. This episode, she talks about her ranch in Uruguay, birding around there and the bird of the episode is the Raven. She tells us about the Common Raven and Chihuahuan Raven, while delving into some cultural perceptions of these birds and how those perceptions are connected to actual traits they possess. While cicadas can be heard during portions of this episode, they do quiet down long enough to hear some of the nearby birds.

For photos of some of the birds from each episode, please check out @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram. 

My guest is Rick Taylor, author of the recently-released Birds of Arizona field guide and one of my favorite pocketable field guides - Birds of Southeastern Arizona. Rick tells us about how he became interested in birds, what went into making this field guide, along with a deeper dive into some of the new features, like the range maps. The bird of the episode is the Eared Quetzal, a bird that he reported the first sighting of, in the United States, 45 years ago, to the day (10/15/77). We go on numerous tangents, discussing a number of different birds. In the background, you'll hear a variety of hummingbirds and the occasional Acorn Woodpecker. 

For more information on Birds of Arizona, please visit https://www.rwmorse.com

For pictures of some of the birds discussed on the podcast, please visit @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram.

My guest is Alyce Bender, a Wildside Nature Tour Leader, Contributing Writer to the Journal of Wildlife Photography and a Tamron Ambassador that has photographed birds all over the world. She talks about birding in Japan, wildlife photography, one of her favorite owls in Arizona - the Western Burrowing Owl and then the bird of the episode: the Whooping Crane. 

Learn more about Alyce @ https://www.abenderphotography.com 

Check out her photography on Instagram @abenderphoto

My guest is Kathe Anderson. She frequently leads field trips in the Phoenix-area and at wildlife festivals across the state. She participates in multiple local survey programs and Christmas Bird Counts, along with authoring articles for local Audubon Society newsletters. We talk about some of her experiences on field trips, counts and she tells us about the Rock Pigeon.

For some pictures of Rock Pigeons, please checkout the podcast's Instagram - @lookingatbirdspodcast

During the episode, Kathe references these two books, both great places to learn more about pigeons:

A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird by Rosemary Mosco

Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the Most Revered and Reviled Bird by Andrew Blechman

My guest is Jeff Ryan, an author, adventurer, photographer and historian, who joins us virtually, all the way from Portland, Maine. He recently released his new book on September 1st – This Land was Saved for You and Me, which we’ll talk about during the episode, along with some of his wildlife encounters on the Appalachian Trail and he'll also tell us about the Common Tern.

•For more about Jeff, his new book and his other books, please visit his website - www.jeffryanauthor.com

Please also check out @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram for pictures of some of the birds mentioned in each episode. 

For this episode, I have 8 guests! I tried something a little different and brought my setup to the Nature Expo at the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival. I asked each guest to share  a memorable birding experience and how they got into birding. 

For this episode, my guest is Luke Safford, the Director of Engagement and Education for the Tucson Audubon Society. He coordinates the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival each year, is involved with the Tucson Valley Christmas Bird Count and also leads a number of field trips. Luke tells us about his role at the Tucson Audubon Society, planning the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, and finally, about a bird commonly seen at the Sweetwater Wetlands: the Common Gallinule. While the cicadas are still out, they weren’t as loud this time around. I hope you enjoy the new intro and outro music!

If you're in Tucson this weekend, stop by and see me at the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, I'll be there on Saturday (8/13/22).

This is the conclusion of a 2-part special focusing on avian predators and their prey, in the southwest. This episode focuses on predators, and returning as my guest is Jeff Babson;  as an all-around naturalist, he had plenty to share on the topic of avian predators. Listen in as we talk about predators, their unique tools, and how they adapt to survive and thrive in the hot summer months. The featured bird of this episode is one you might have seen near your home, especially if you have feeders, the opportunistic Cooper's Hawk. 

You can look forward to the release of the next episode right before the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival!

This is part 1 of a 2-part special focusing on avian predators and their prey, in the southwest. This episode focuses on prey, and returning as my guest is Jeff Babson;  as an all-around naturalist, he had plenty to share on the topic of avian prey. Listen in as we talk about what birds eat and how their prey survive and thrive in the hot summer months. The featured bird of this episode is one you are likely familiar with, the Mourning Dove, and hopefully you learn something new about them, just like I did!

My guest is Daniel Klem Jr., a professor of Biology and Sarkis Acopian Professor of Ornithology and Conservation Biology at Muhlenberg College. After dedicating the last 48 years of his life to avian window collisions, he is widely-recognized as the foremost authority on the subject; he has recently released a book on the topic - Solid Air, The Invisible Killer: Saving Billions of Birds from Windows. Dan tells us about his book, about becoming a professor, some wonderful observations of birds, including the American Woodcock. 

• For more about Dan, please visit his website - danielklemjr.org 
• While you can find his book on Amazon, please support his publisher by purchasing directly from them at - solidairbook.com