This Birding Life

Join host Bill Thompson, III, on his recent birding tour of renowned hotspot Cape May, New Jersey, where he interviews Tom Reed, Mark Garland, and Dr. David LaPuma, expert migration counters from the Cape May Bird Observatory. Along the way he visits the Avalon Seawatch, the Cape May Point Hawk Watch, and South Cape May Meadows talking about migrating seabirds, raptors, songbirds, and monarch butterflies.

Author JR Ripley chats with Bill about his recent birder-murder mystery novel A Birder's Guide to Murder, set at the American Birding Expo. The book is part of the Bird Lover's Mystery series published by Kensington, in which the heroine, Amy, solves murders, while simultaneously running her specialty retail birding store. JR, whose real name is Glenn Eric Meganck, also writes novels in other genres under other pen names, is a professional musician, and is kinda into zombies, too.

Tom Stephenson is the creator of BirdGenie, an app that recognizes bird songs recorded on your cellphone. Bill interviews Tom about his fascination with sound and sound technology, the cross-over between musicians and birders, and how the BirdGenie app came to be. This interview was conducted outdoors during the New River Birding Festival in West Virginia in May 2018.

In part 2 of Birding in Columbia, TBL host Bill Thompson, III, travels to the Caribbean lowlands near Camarones to visit additional sites along the Northern Colombia Birding Trail. We hear from three different Colombian guides as well as three of Bill's travel companions about the wonders (and challenges) of birding in Colombia. The origin of the vermilion cardinal's colorful plumage is explained by the mythology of the Wayuu People. And we hear the full and tragic birding origin story from guide Angel "Neke" Ortiz Menenses.

In Part 1 of Birding in Colombia, Bill joins a group of avid birders in the Santa Marta region of northern Colombia to explore the Northern Colombia Birding Trail. Besides amazing birding and lots of endemics, he encounters a new generation of excellent local birding guides poised to accommodate an influx of ecotourists to this newly opened birding destination.

During his recent trip to Honduras, TBL host Bill Thompson, III, interviewed naturalist, photographer, and birding guide Erik Bruhnke. Their conversation covers Erik's start as a birder, his favorite birding spots, his love of lifers and beer, his hatred of mylar balloons, his Zen of Birding philosophy, and his favorite “swear” words.

Host Bill Thompson, III, interviews Elisa, Cayenne, BJ, and Ryan, founding members of the California Young Birders Club. These young adults share their birding origin stories, discuss what it's like to be a birder among their peers, the advantages of technology, and their plans for the future.

Host Bill Thompson, III, interviews James Adams, co-manager of the Lodge and Spa at Pico Bonito in Honduras, about the recent news that the lodge's owners plan to close it down. Pico Bonito is one of the finest ecolodges in the Americas--if not the world--so there are many people who are hoping the lodge can re-open under new ownership.

Host Bill Thompson, III, talks with Stephen Ingraham, author of "Point and Shoot Nature Photography," about the explosive popularity of small, super-zoom cameras. Steve has decades of experience as a photographer and has fully embraced today's digital technology. His self-published book is a how-to guide for those who want to take high quality bird and nature images without the daunting cost of a full-sized digital SLR camera.

Bill talks with Noah Strycker, self-described birdman and adventurer, who was the first person ever to see more than 6,000 bird species in a single, worldwide birding Big Year. Noah is the author of “Birding Without Borders,” which recounts his 2015 World Big Year.