Bird Joy Podcast Season 4 Finale: Reflecting on Growth, Community, and Bird Joy

In this special Season 4 finale of the Bird Joy Podcast, hosts Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall reflect on a season full of meaningful conversations, powerful stories, and a growing global community connected through birds and nature.

Season 4 has been about more than birding—it’s been about connection, creativity, and belonging. Through conversations with photographers, scientists, artists, conservationists, and community leaders, Bird Joy continues to highlight the many ways people engage with and find meaning in the natural world.

This season also brought major milestones. Episode 50 featured Divya Anantharaman, blending science and art in unforgettable ways, and shortly after, the podcast surpassed 50,000 downloads following the episode with Christopher Joe. Now at Episode 54, Bird Joy continues to grow in both reach and impact.

Dexter and Jason also share a behind-the-scenes look at how the show comes together each week, emphasizing the teamwork and intention that power the podcast.

The episode revisits standout guests like Angela Ledyard, Jody Allair, Tarik Shahzad, Liz Lopez, Casey Girard, Sam DeJarnett, Vikas Bhatia, Trentön Schulz-Franco, Sharon Dorsey, and Rosemary Mosco—each bringing unique perspectives on storytelling, representation, and the joy of birding.

Across the season, key themes emerge: belonging in nature, the power of storytelling, creativity in science communication, and community-building through shared curiosity.

Looking ahead, the hosts begin dreaming about Season 5 and invite listeners to help shape what’s next. As always, this episode is a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey.

Here’s to spring migration, new lifers, and the joy of paying attention.

Until next time—keep chasing that Bird Joy.

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin 

In Color Birding 

This week on the Bird Joy Podcast, Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall sit down with science writer, naturalist, and illustrator Rosemary Mosco, the creative mind behind the beloved comic Bird and Moon. Known for blending humor, art, and ecology, Rosemary has built a unique space where birders, scientists, and curious nature lovers can laugh while learning about the natural world.

Rosemary is the author of The Birding Dictionary, named one of the Best Books of the Year by the American Birding Association. The pocket-sized guide celebrates birding language with witty definitions and playful illustrations that capture the quirks of birding culture. Her writing and illustrations have appeared in National Audubon Society publications and The New York Times, and she has written science books for readers of all ages on topics ranging from butterflies to the solar system.

In this episode, Dexter and Jason explore how drawing and observation shaped Rosemary’s path into science communication, and why comics are such a powerful tool for making complex ideas accessible. They discuss the culture and inside jokes of birding, the inspiration behind The Birding Dictionary, and how humor (see BloodCheep) can help people sit with the uncertainty and wonder that often come with science.

The conversation also reflects on belonging in nature spaces, the role of creativity in learning, and how curiosity — whether through a sketchbook, a comic panel, or a pair of binoculars — can change the way we notice the world around us.

From birding slang to creative science storytelling, this episode celebrates the joy of paying attention and the many ways art can invite people deeper into nature.

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, curiosity, and the culture of birding, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. 

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin

In Color Birding

On this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall sit down with Sharon Dorsey, an urban naturalist, wildlife biologist, educator, and founder of SharInNature, to discuss birding, outreach, and the power of building an ecological identity.

Sharon’s work centers on helping people notice and connect with the ecosystems that surround them, especially in cities and everyday spaces. Through birding, research, education, and storytelling, she encourages people to see themselves as part of nature rather than separate from it.

In this conversation, Sharon shares her journey into wildlife biology and fieldwork, her experiences studying wetlands and shorebirds, and how her scientific background informs the way she teaches others to observe the natural world. She also discusses her writing, including her book Shorebirds: A Compare and Contrast Book and her contribution to Been Outside: Adventures of Black Women, Nonbinary, and Gender Nonconforming People in Nature.

The episode also explores Sharon’s work through SharInNature, her approach to community outreach, and how representation, storytelling, and everyday observation can help people build deeper relationships with ecosystems around them.

Whether you’re a longtime birder or just starting to notice the wildlife in your neighborhood, this conversation offers inspiration and practical ways to reconnect with the natural world right outside your door.

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin 

In Color Birding 

This week on the Bird Joy Podcast, Dexter and Jason sit down with Christopher Joe, a farmer, conservationist, birder, and founder of Connecting with Birds and Nature Tours in Alabama.

Chris is a native of Greensboro, Alabama, and the steward of Joe Farm, a 200-acre Black Angus cattle farm in Newbern that has been in his family since the mid-1800s. A graduate of Alabama A&M University with a degree in Agribusiness Management, Chris now serves as a District Conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. His life’s work sits at the intersection of land stewardship, conservation, and community.

In a region where Black land ownership has faced generations of intimidation and loss, Chris understands just how sacred land can be. Through birding tours hosted on his family’s private property, he has created a rare and powerful space. A space where people from all walks of life can gather, feel safe, and experience nature through joy and connection.

Joe Farm has become especially known for the breathtaking arrival of Swallow-tailed Kites each year during hay cutting season — a spectacle that draws birders from across the region and opens deeper conversations about access, representation, and belonging in the outdoors.

In this episode, we explore Chris’s childhood roots on the farm, the responsibility of carrying generational legacy, and the challenges of building an ecotourism business in Alabama. We talk about what it means to often be the only Black person in conservation spaces, how the national conversation around race and birding has evolved, and how hosting Christian Cooper and National Geographic on his property shaped his journey.

At its core, this conversation is about more than birds. It’s about legacy. It’s about ownership. It’s about community. And it’s about what becomes possible when people experience nature together.

Plus, stay tuned for a joyful lightning round where Chris shares his favorite bird to photograph, the sound in nature he loves most, and what “Bird Joy” truly means to him.

You can learn more about Christopher Joe and book a tour at Birds and Nature Tours.

Remember — Bird Joy is for everyone, even YOU.

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin 

In Color Birding Club

What happens when fashion, natural history, conservation, and art collide?

In this episode of Bird Joy, we’re joined by New York City’s premier licensed professional taxidermist, Divya Anantharaman, an award-winning artist whose work spans museums, galleries, fashion houses, and natural history institutions. Divya specializes in birds, small mammals, and anatomic anomalies, blending scientific precision with emotional storytelling and symbolic design. Check out her work here.

Divya’s path wasn’t linear. She left the corporate fashion world to pursue her love of natural history, becoming the resident taxidermist at the Morbid Anatomy Museum and building a global following for her taxidermy, skeletal, and entomology displays, as well as jewelry and wearable art rooted in wonder.

Divya shares insights from her feature in the documentary Rearranging Skin, her book Stuffed Animals: A Modern Guide to Taxidermy, and her collaborations with institutions, artists, and conservation groups like NYC Bird Alliance and NYC Plover Project.

At its heart, this conversation explores the human-animal relationship, conservation, legacy, memory, and what becomes possible when science becomes art.

If you’ve ever felt the pull of curiosity toward feathers, form, history, or preservation, this episode is for you.

Science. Style. Wonder. And a whole lot of Bird Joy! 

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin

In Color Birding Club  

In this episode, we sit down with Trentön Schulz-Franco, founder of the Special Bird Service Society in Canada. SBS is an outdoor community rooted in Victoria and Vancouver that is redefining what belonging in nature can look like. Special Bird Service centers Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour, as well as 2SLGBTQIA+ folks, creating intentional spaces where people feel safe, seen, and genuinely welcome outdoors.

Our conversation explores the difference between access and belonging, the personal journey that led Trentön to build SBS, and the responsibility outdoor leaders carry when guiding people on colonized land. We talk about healing, joy, storytelling, and the power of community-led spaces to transform our experience of nature. Trentön shares affirming moments from SBS gatherings, the challenges of growth, and what it takes to protect a community’s soul while expanding its reach.

This episode is a reminder that birding and outdoor culture can be places of care, accountability, and connection when community comes first. If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like to build a space where people truly belong, this conversation is for you.

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin 

In Color Birding Club 

Today we’re joined by Vikas Bhatia (Vikas Wildlife) — wildlife filmmaker, photographer, and composer whose work blends sound and image into immersive stories from the Amazon to the Arctic.

We talk about what it means to make the environment a main character, how his background playing in bands shaped his editing rhythm, and the creative leap of composing original music for his wildlife films. Vikas shares field stories from extreme habitats, the patience required to capture animal behavior, and how he balances brand collaborations with his artistic voice.

We also dig into gear, risk, creative burnout, and advice for emerging storytellers trying to find their lane in a noisy, algorithm-driven world.

This episode is about storytelling as craft, adventure as discipline, and creating art that honors wild places.

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin 

In Color Birding Club 

In this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, we’re joined by Sam DeJarnett, creator and host of the Always Be Birdin’ Podcast, for a powerful conversation about joy, resistance, and collective liberation through birding. Sam shares her journey into birding through wildlife rehabilitation and her experiences with exclusion in traditional birding spaces. These experiences pushed her to build something new rather than walk away.

We explore how birding can serve as protest and community care, how dominant narratives in conservation have excluded Black and Brown birders, and what becomes possible when knowledge is shared horizontally rather than through gatekeeping. Sam also unpacks her mycelium metaphor for community, offering a vision of birding spaces as interconnected networks where supporting one another strengthens the whole.

This episode centers on birding as joy, birding as resistance, and birding as a tool for imagining more inclusive, liberatory futures, all wrapped up in a fun and thoughtful Bird Joy Lightning Round that captures Sam’s philosophy and heart.

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin 

In Color Birding Club

In this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, we’re joined by Casey Girard, an autistic artist, illustrator, naturalist, educator, and birder based in Asheville, North Carolina, whose work lives at the intersection of art, birds, science, and community care. Casey shares how art and birding became sources of refuge, how early experiences in illustration and education shaped their visual storytelling, and why representation through projects like their Black Birders illustrations matters so deeply.

We explore how neurodivergence influences creative practice and sensory connection to nature, the role of art in supporting mental health, and how birds can offer grounding and hope during difficult times. Casey also reflects on their recent collaboration with the Feminist Bird Club of Asheville, which raised over $11,500 for BeLoved Asheville after Hurricane Helene, an inspiring example of art as mutual aid.

This heartfelt conversation centers art as refuge, birds as teachers, and the power of creativity and community in moments of challenge and care, capped off with a fun, art-focused Bird Joy Lightning Round.

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin 

In Color Birding Club

In this episode of the Bird Joy Podcast, we’re joined by Liz Lopez, also known as @browngirlbiologist, for a wide-ranging conversation about field biology, curiosity, and belonging in science and outdoor spaces. Liz shares her journey into biology, how identity and mentorship shaped her path, and what it really means to work as a biological monitor protecting threatened species across California.

We dive into her love of snakes and how education can transform fear into understanding, explore the realities of monitoring, compliance, and conservation work, and discuss how moving between ecosystems, from land to sea, sharpens observation and adaptability. Liz also reflects on the importance of communication, teamwork, and empathy in field science, and her connection to Latino Outdoors as a source of community and representation.

The episode wraps with a fun Bird Joy Lightning Round that highlights Liz’s curiosity, humor, and deep respect for the natural world.

BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin 

In Color Birding Club