The Badgerland Birding Podcast

We talk about our annual "First of the Year Birding Challenge", as well as an all black Great Egret in Louisiana that has been the topic of debate.

We talk with Nigel and Kayleigh from the Backyard Aviary Adventures about birding in the UK, their channel, differences between the US and the UK, and more! Check out their channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@UCttsXR6K5jNFphVesZge2Wg

David Brown of Lyco Birds joins the show to discuss birding in Delaware, hawk watching, and more!

We talk about what we've been up to recently with 1 hour birding challenges, philosophical and ethical ideas about birding, who we've had on the podcast and more. Thanks for sticking with us for 100 episodes!

We talk with Everett Wery of The Birding Voayge YouTube channel about his channel and his new game called "The Birding Game". Check it out at thebirdinggame.com!

I talk with musician and artist Tommy Siegel about his "Extremely Accurate Birds" artwork, his band Jukebox the Ghost, his songs incorporating bird vocalizations, and more!Links to Tommy's work (Note: While many of Tommy’s comics are family-friendly, some do contain adult themes): https://tommysiegel.net/

Birder, author, and podcaster Sparky Stensaas discusses his recent birding adventures and what's on tap for the Sax-Zim Bog this winter.

I talk with Harish Thangaraj, who was part of the team that re-discovered the Jerdon’s Courser, one of the rarest birds in the world. The Jerdon's Courser is a mysterious species that was once thought to be extinct, but was then rediscovered in 1986 in India. After that, it vanished again for nearly 20 years. That is, until a team of researchers — including Harish Thangaraj — found it once more, and in a completely new area. Today, Harish joins me to share the incredible story of how they made that discovery, what it was like in the field, and what it means...

I talk with Jed Aplaca and Pete Deichmann from Houston Audubon about their efforts to buy a new section of land to preserve in Bolivar Flats as well as the Red-vented Bulbul population in Houston, and more! Help preserve the flats here: https://houstonaudubon.org/conservation/protectbolivar.html

Learn more about the flats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CO0cTfePPMhttps://youtu.be/zTJPxSK8MIY

I catch up with Will Huggins to here about his most recent trip to Panama to find tropical bird species including the elusive Harpy Eagle.

We talk with Ken Behrens of the Naturally Adventurous podcast about our top birding destinations in the United States, how to dip your toes into international travel, and what it's like living in Madagascar! Learn more about Ken and the podcast here: https://www.ken-behrens.com/naturally-adventurous-podcast

On his album titled "Lifer", musician Aaron Grych incorporates bird songs that you may be familiar with, and encourages people to listen more closely to the world around them. Listen to the album here: https://quokkaband.bandcamp.com/album/lifer

The creator of the new documentary "Beyond Our Senses: Bank Swallows" David Busse discusses his film.

Tyler Hoar and Matt Young join the show to give everyone their first look at the 2025-2026 winter finch forecast!

https://finchnetwork.org/winter-finch-forecast-2025-2026?fbclid=IwZnRzaANGJkBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHlBkHKQ8LXOptt0KZzNE8pbC5rIWeAnHNpVWjX-Zv2ViUCX26xlr29V1TG30_aem_SDxiy_-jvGlv8oAFfB6YeA

Mathew Radford discusses his podcast, birding in Oklahoma, Sasquatch. and more!

Peter Mundale (a hawk watcher at Hawk Ridge in Minnesota) discusses fall migration and some trends to look for this year in the bird world.

Danny Bernard is trying to see 100 birds in each of the lower 48 United States in a single calendar year while also meeting different people from those states, and seeing their most iconic places. Hear about Danny's journey, and the best and worst of his trip! Learn more here: https://peopleplacesbirds.net/

Artist and owner of Forest Press, Margie Griggs discusses how she got into birding and what it's like to be a bird artist.

On this week's episode we share an interview we did a few years back with Dr. Chris Haney, talking about his book "Woody's Last Laugh - How the "Extinct" Ivory-billed Woodpecker Fools Us Into Making 53 Thinking Errors".

You can purchase the book here (As Amazon Associates we do earn from qualifying purchases): https://amzn.to/3rSz9sQ

We talk about if we think the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is extinct, our recent nemesis birds and more!

We talk with our friend and experienced bird guide Rachel Clark about what's been going on in the California birding scene, the downfall of our favorite Sasquatch mural and more. If you'd like to take a tour with Rachel, head to centralcaliforniabirdingtours.com

We talk with "The Grouse Guy", Jeremiah Psiropoulos about birding in Colorado, finding grouse, Colorado-style pizza, and more! Learn more about Jeremiah and his tours here: https://antigonewildlifetours.com/about

We discuss our latest birding adventures, searching for the smallest gull in the world as well as our first full day of birding in Colorado. Thanks to Brome for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at https://store.bromebirdcare.com/

Peter Mundale joins the show to discuss birding topics from the state of Minnesota including the state of Connecticut Warblers, the Sax-sim Bog, and the crazy owl winter that was.

Thanks to Brome for sponsoring this episode! Learn more at https://bromebirdcare.com

Nathaniel Wegner has been along for many adventures with the Badgerland Birding crew and an extremely skilled birder even without having a drivers license.

There has been a proposition to destroy important old growth forest on South Padre island in South Texas that is great for migratory birds. Here is how we can stop it from being destroyed.

What you need to know, from Jusin LeClaire: "Perhaps the final battle to save the SPI Convention Center native habitat is coming this Tuesday.The SPI City Council has decided NOT to listen to the wills of thousands of their constituents. They are sticking with their latest plans to destroy the majority of native habitat at the Convention Center for...

Cole Roecker joins the show to discuss ur recent 150 species Big Day as well as what it's like birding in Chicago, Illinois.

We catch up with Tim Hahn, who did a Waukesha, WI County Big Year in 2025 and talk about his total, birding in Wisconsin, the Breeding Bird Atlas, and more!

We talk about what we've been up to, birding in may the past few weeks, about crane populations, and more!

We talk with Pat Ready from the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin about the decline and recovery of the Eastern Bluebird. You can learn more here: https://www.braw.org/

We talk with Marissa and Easton from Coddiwomple Chronicles about exploring Wisconsin, birding for the first time, travel tips, and more! Check out their instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/coddiwomple_chronicles/

Thanks to our sponsor Brome Bird Care!: https://bromebirdcare.com/en/

We talk with Owen Kroeze, a 17 year-old birder from the Netherlands, all about what it's like birding there, difference between the Netherlands and the United States, and more!

We talk about non-native and invasive species that have taken over the United States as well as some American animals that have made a home in Europe. Visit our shop here: https://badgerlandbirding-shop.fourthwall.com/

We talk with Mr. Train (Jeff Train), co-founder of "Our Tern", a project to help protect Hoboken, New Jersey's honorary bird, the Common Tern. Learn more here: https://www.ourtern.com/

We talk with Matt Miller, director of science communications for the Nature Conservancy and editor of the Cool Green Science blog all about birds, bird conservation, and more!

We talk to our friend Aiden, a young birder from Ohio about what it's like to bird there, the Biggest Week in American Birding, and more!

We talk all about the different ducks you can find in the United States, give an update on the orange Snowy Owl in Michigan, give an update on the warbler bracket, and more!

We talk about spring migration, the orange Snowy Owl in Michigan and how it may have gotten that way, our America's Favorite Warbler Bracket, and more!

We talk with author and naturalist Stan Tekiela about how he got into making field guys, the highs and lows of having a career involving wildlife, and more! This was filmed in 2022 so some of the new books he mentions are probably out now!

We share an interview we did with Arjan Dwarshuis, who broke the Global Big Year Record in 2016 by observing 6,852 different species of birds in a single calendar year. We talk with Arjan about his amazing Big Year as well as his new book, "The (Big) Year That Flew By"!

We talk about a recent pelagic trip that Derek did out of North Carolina, different experiences between east and west coast pelagic birding trips, and what makes them so cool and difficult.

We talk with the new Lower 48 Big Year record holder, Ezekiel Dobson about his year, his challenges, and his favorite moments!

We talk with Ivan Philipsen from "The Science of Birds" podcast all about his background, his birding tours, and his podcast. You can learn more about the podcast here: https://www.scienceofbirds.com and support podcast here: https://www.patreon.com/scienceofbirds

We talk with Florida birding enthusiast Noah Steinberg about what it takes to do a Florida Big Year, the excitement and disappointment of rare bird chases, and more!

We talk about birding in Florida, the Space Coast Birding and Nature Festival, and more with famous birder Greg Miller!

We talk with Tarik Shahzad who broke the Cook County, Illinois Big Year record in 2024 with 294 species. His record-breaking bird was an incredible Short-tailed Shearwater. Hear all about his Big Year and more!

We talk with the President of Fresno Audubon, Rick Grijalva about birding in California, mostly around the Fresno area, the Morro Bay Birding Festival, being a bird guide, and more! Learn more about Fresno Audubon here: https://fresnoaudubon.org

We talk with Travis Layton, known online as "Trav in the Bush", all about bird photography, Canada, being a social media influencer, and more! Get Trav's free photography guide here: travinthebush.com/badgerland

Link to Trav's workshops: https://www.travinthebush.com/photography-workshops-2025

We talk with Dee and David Simpson, who are a passionate birding duo known for their expertise in Florida birds and wildlife and guiding. Learn more about Dee and David: https://birdingwithdavidsimpson.com

https://deefairbanks.com

We talk with graduate student researcher and guide Evan Farese, who researches Gray Hawks in the Rio Grande Valley, all about his work, finding South Texas rarities, and more!

You can book a tour with Evan here: https://tiffanykersten.blogspot.com/p/bird-guiding-rates-information.html

We talk with author, illustrator, and naturalist Miles McMullan, who is from Northern Ireland, but now lives in Colombia. We talk about his innovative books on neotropical wildlife, his new US field guide to the Birds of North America, which we helped collaborate on, and more!

You can preorder the guide here! https://pelagicpublishing.com/products/field-guide-to-the-birds-of-north-america?srsltid=AfmBOoqNyfdrTCq-75x8AvbYHWyJMcVWjbktvl82CLQDkuG5uS7A47xx

We talk with Minnesota author, naturalist, and photographer Sparky Stensaas about all things Sax-Zim Bog including the best time to go, top species to see, and more!

Learn more about the Friends of Sax-Zim: https://saxzim.org

Linkt To Spark's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/sparkystensaas

We talk with a crew from the Space Coast Birding Festival and learn all about what the highlights are, what bird species you can expect to see and more. The festival takes place yearly in Florida in January and this year will occur from January 22-26. You can learn more on their website: https://scbwa.net

We talk with our friend Dave who is a beginner birder, about the excitement of getting started, birding in western New York, the Biggest Week in American Birding festival, and more!

We talk with birder and writer Stuart Winter, who is a well-known figure in the birding and conservation community, primarily in the UK, all about what it's like to bird in the UK, differences between the UK and the U.S. and more!

I talk with José Miguel Calvo Rivera from Costa Rican Nature, all about what you need to know before you visit Costa Rica, the top places to go, and some of the coolest species to see. We also talk about tours in the country, and some of the places we went and species we saw last time I visited.

Learn more about José's tours here: https://badgerlandbirding.com/costa-rica-birding-tours/

We talk with Lillian Stokes and Matt Young, who authored the new "Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada" about what it's like making a field guide, the new book, finches, and more!

Link to the book (As Amazon Associates we do earn from qualifying purchases): https://amzn.to/48xcLKc

We talk with Oklahoma birder and host of the "Bird's Eye View" Podcast Mathew G. Radford about birding in Oklahoma, Idaho, cryptids, and more! Check out his podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/6iSdFRrx8bXtRzQWTovwvy

We talk with Canadian birder and guide Josh Dewitt about birding in Manitoba, as well as Churchill, the polar bear capital of the world, Canadian stereotypes, and more!

We talk about some spooky birds in anticipation of halloween, as well as the total species seen in a few states, what it would be like to do a Big Year in Rhode Island, and more!

You can support us on Ko-fi here! https://ko-fi.com/badgerlandbirding

We talk with Portage County, WI birder and eBird reviewer Rob Pendergast about Buena Vista Grasslands, Greater Prairie-chicken conservation, and more!

We get the inside scoop about the 2024/2025 winter finch forecast from two of the compilers, Tyler Hoar and Matt Young. You can see the written forecast on the Finch Research Network Website: https://finchnetwork.org/winter-finch-forecast-2024-25

Link to the new Finch Field Guide (As Amazon Associates we do earn from qualifying purchases: https://amzn.to/3TNEgce)

We talk with the author of the "Birds of Florida" field guide Kirsten Hines about Florida birds and birding, invasive species, and more!

Link to Kirsten's book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/birds-of-florida-9781472993366/

We talk with gull Expert Amar Ayyash about all things gulls, including beginner tips, cool hybrids, some underrated species, his new book "The Gull Guide: North America" and more!

Link to the book: https://tinyurl.com/5n8xkt79

Link to the blog: http://www.anythinglarus.com

Link to the North American Gulls Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nagulls

We talk with president of the Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club, Spence Stehno about how birding has changed over time, the bird club, birding in Southeastern Wisconsin, and more!

We talk with "The Bob Ross of Birding" Erik Bruhnke, who is always excited and passionate about the world of birding. He is a guide for Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours and is also involved with Hawk Ridge, doing migration counts!

Learn more about Erik here: https://www.ventbird.com/our-team/ErikBruhnke/26

We talk with Greg Miller, who was the inspiration behind Jack Black's character Brad in "The Big Year". Greg tells us all about what was real and what was embellished in the movie as well as other birding stories! Hear more from Greg on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GregMillerBirding/ Book at tour with Greg: https://wildsidenaturetours.com/team-member/greg-miller/

We talk with the current 2024 Lower 48 Big Year leader Ezekiel Dobson about his historic year, birding across the United States, birding in Kentucky where he's from, and more! Zeke is currently at 708 species for the year.

You can donate to Zeke's journey here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/big-year-lower-48-states

We talk about marshes and marsh birds, and the world's largest freshwater cattail marsh, Horicon Marsh, as well as Limpkins, Whooping Cranes, and other species.

We went on our first pelagic birding trip out of Westport, Washington. We give a sneak peak about what we saw and what it was like and also talk about what you need to know before going on your first pelagic birding trip.

We talk with birder Will Huggins about the tour he took with us in Wisconsin, as well as his birding adventures in the PNW, South Florida, Georgia, and more.

We talk about what it was like Birding at the Grand Canyon and seeing California Condors. Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan also gets a shout-out.

We talk about the new AOS update of what bird species are now considered the same and which ones are considered different.

We talk about the latest birding technology from smart bird feeders, to thermal monoculars, to binoculars that ID birds for you, and more!

We talk with Zach Matchinski about his work on Midway Atoll, including the birds that live there, how to get a job working with birds, broken camera lenses, and more!

We talk with Trey McCuen about traveling across the country to see birds, what it's like birding in Georgia, the start of his new guiding business, and his interesting experiences out in the forests of North America.

We talk to Jeff (Mr. Train) and Otys about what it's like birding in New Jersey, how people are working to reduce window strikes, especially in big cities like New York, and more!

Links

Mr. Train: Life Lessons for Better Birding and Beyond

Common Tern Article

Article about Mr. Train and Otys' work with window strikes

Otys Train's essay about window strikes

We talk about some of the most difficult bird identifications, some cool sightings we've had, and play around with some AI to see how it is at generating bird photos and other scenes.

We talk about why summer birding comes with its own set of challenges, the bird nesting season, as well as how cool nest box cameras are.

We talk to Wisconsin birder Cole Roecker about birding "Big Days", including the one from our latest video, the history of birding, and some of birding's biggest controversies, including feral cats.

We talk to 13 year-old birder Manny from Indiana about how he got into birding, birding in Indiana, the Inaccessible Island Rail, and more!

We talk with Texas birder Ty Allen about Big Days, how he started birding, and about our new guiding network, which Ty is a part of! You can book a tour with Ty or any of our guides at www.badgerlandbirding.com.

We give a preview about what it's like going to The Biggest Week in American Birding, which happens annually in Ohio. We will be releasing a bunch of content about it in the future. You can learn more here: https://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com

We talked with birder and field tech Max Carroll about birding in Vermont, shorebird survey, and field tech work, a peg-legged American Oystercatcher that's still kicking, and more! You can follow Max on instagram @max.manhattan.

We talk with Master's Student Brooke Poplin about her research studying Harris's Hawks in Texas, including capture methods, technological advancements, other raptors, and more.

I talk with Graduate Research Assistant Maria Bleitz about how the Covid-19 pandemic got her into birding, some of her research and work in Michigan, California, and Oklahoma, how goofy plovers are, and more!

We talk about going to see American Woodcocks in the spring, some interesting encounters we've had with people while birding, the controversy of feral cats, as well as some interesting new gadgets we've been testing.

We talk with young birder Liam Hutcheson who just broke the State Big Year record in Washington in 2023. Discussions include birding in Washington, his Big Year, the proposed Barred Owl cull, and more. You can check out Liam's Instagram @liamhutchesonwildlife.

We talk with Alex Lamoreaux, one of the guides for Wildside Nature Tours, about his travels all over the world, his crazy stories, favorite experiences, and more!

Learn more about Alex and his tours at: https://wildsidenaturetours.com/team-member/alex-lamoreaux/

I talk with Holly Garrod, who is the coordinator of the Caribbean Bird Banding Network with Birds Caribbean about what it's like birding in the Caribbean, bird banding, and all things Todies! You can follow Holly on instagram @orn.ecology.

We talk about our favorite warblers, which ones are overrated and underrated, as well as what we're looking forward to this spring!

We talk with Wisconsin birder Tim Hahn about the Wisconsin birding scene, doing a county Big Year, sketchy encounters in the forest and more!

We talk with Ryan Rodriguez, a 16-year-old birder from South Texas, about what it's like being a young birder, guiding in South Texas, his quest to see the last  ʻakikiki in Hawaii, and more!

Duade Paton is an experienced bird and nature photographer who also runs his own YouTube Channel with nearly 80,000 subscribers. Hear about some of his favorite photography tips, some of his favorite gear, as well as what it's like living and birding in Australia. Make sure to check out Duade's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@Duade

We talk with photographer Matt Zuro about how he captures incredible bird photos, including many of the owl species that live in the northern United States, using thermal cameras for birding, and birding in Illinois. All photos seen in the video version of this episode are photos taken by Matt. You can check out his photos on his instagram @zurotography.

Owls are captivating, and fascinating to watch. On this episode we talk about owls you can find in North America, specifically discussing encounters we've had with these species, as well as some tips on how to find owls, and best practices for observing them ethically.

We (Derek and Ryan) talk about some of our coolest and most memorable experiences, as well as some of our most disappointing. We also go through some of the most interesting species on our life lists and some that we're excited to look for in the future.

We talk with Chris, creator of the "Looking at Birds" podcast about what's it's like making each episode, how he got into birding, as well as what it's like living in Arizona, birding festivals, and more! You can check out Chris's podcast here! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/looking-at-birds-a-birding-podcast/id1561550706

We talk with Rachel Clark, professional birding guide from "Central California Birding Tours" about what it's like to bird in the diverse habitats of California. We also talk about if all wrens are sassy, and some of our stories about finding and looking for rare birds, as well as the trip we took to California. You can check out Rachel's website at https://centralcaliforniabirdingtours.com.

We talk with Alex Harman, a graduate student at Oklahoma State University about what it's like birding in Oklahoma, the possibility of doing the Colima Warbler hike in Texas, the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch in Wisconsin, and more!