On this episode Michael Hobbs is my guest. Michael is a longtime WA birder who has done a survey of the birds of Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA weekly for almost 30 years! This is one of the top eBird hotspots in King County, WA, and Michael has documented the weekly occurance of birds there in great detail. This is a fabulous database of birds at a fairly typical varied Puget Sound low elvation park, and has to be unique in its detailed documentation. You can contact Michael by the email on the site if you want to join the survey some Thursday.
Michael is also an avid WA county birder, with >150 species in each of the 39 WA counties. We talk a bit about county birding on the episode. You can see all about county birding and more on the Washington Birder website. Here is an example of the great content on the site, the 2022 year-end report of county birding for the year.
I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.
Until next time, good birding!
Category: Blog
The Bird Banter Podcast #162 with William McLean Greeley Additional Info
Learning about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and about the champion behind the act, Senator George McLean, Birdman of the Senate, has been both enjoyable and eye-awakening for me. It is always inspiring to hear about how one individual can make such a difference in the course of world events. As I mentioned in the episode Snowy Egret, along with many of our other spectacular waders, was one of the birds I saw and was in awe of on my first day of birding in the Everglades.
Will McLean is the author of a biography on his Great-great Uncle, Senator George McLean he titles
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Connecticut Yankee Goes to Washington: SEnator George P McLean. Birdman of the Senate.
I’m reading the book now and am leaning a lot abouot the late 19th adn early 20th centuries, as well as about the man himself.
You can buy the book on Amazon, or atthe RIT Press site at the links here. Check out Will Greeley’s web site here.
Learn more about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act on the US Fish and Wildlife Website here. Since the initial act with Canada and England in 1918, treaties were signed with Mexico in 1936, and Russia in 1976. Here is a list of the species and families of birds protected by the act.
I also learned about the “Supremacy Clasuse” in the U.S. Constitution.
Article VI, Clause 2:
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
Will talks about how by making the protection of birds an international treaty the issue of states rights was overcome.
Here is a link to a Field and Stream article about the first commercially successful pump shotguns which became popular in the 1890’s, and at a time with no game limits and plentiful wildlife, as well as a booming trade in feathers, having more than 2 shots with a double-barrel shotgun was wildly popular.
I hope you have enjoyed the hearing Will’s story, find his book a great read, and until next time, good birding and good day!
The Bird Banter Podcast #161 with Frank Izaguirre
On this episode you’ll hear from Frank Izaguirre, an editor of the ABA’s Birding magazine, and a PhD candidate in English with his discertation covering Field Guides and how they have influenced conservation.
We also talk about the relatively new ABA social media channel ABA Community. I’ve started using it and it is pretty cool.
To hear a more detailed discussion of his discertation work, watch this You Tube.
Here is the old Golden Guide that Kay used to keep her life list of birds and as her field guide when we first started birding.
Thanks for listening.
The Bird Banter Podcast #160 with John Oshlick Additional Information
On this episode John Oshlick and I talk about his birding story, birding in Connecticut, the American Flamingos blown north by Hurricaine Idalia. John is an avid birder, and his career as a physician hospitalist allows him to occasionally make short-notice chases to find rare birds like the American Flamingos that Hurricaine Idalia blew up from the Yucatan Peninsula.
I still have not seen an American Flamingo in the U.S. despite at least twice hiking the Snake Bight Trail in the Everglades to try for a distant look.
John also talks about birding on the Long Island Sound, and on the ferry from Connecticut to Long Island to try for seabirds in the state. Long Island and the Islands at the mouth of the sound prevent most real pelagic species from entering the sound often.
In my introduction I mention hoping to attend the New River Birding Festival sometime to visit West Virginia. This would also allow me to visit Maryland.
John also mentions Great Gull Island as a tern breeding colony, so here is a link to info about that spot.
Thanks for listening. Until next time, good birding and good day.
The Bird Banter Podcast #159 with Ken Ostermiller and Adam Jackson Additional Information
On this episode I talk with Ken Ostermiller and Adam Jackson, the creators of a cool website that lets birders know more about an eBird hotspot they want to visit. Have you ever used the Google Maps directions on eBird to visit a hotspot, only to find that the destination has no access to the hotspot, or when you get there you just don’t really know the best way to get around the site? If not, trust me, it will happen if you visit a few hotspots. Now you can just go to BirdingHotspots.org and get information about how to bird the spot. Where to park, which trails are best, what a local birder thinks is important information for a visiting birder.
Ken started this site years ago for his home state of Ohio, and with the web design and data base help of Adam they have made the site useful for birders in the U.S., Canada and hopefully in the future other places too.
This site is an open source, not-for-profit site and is crowdsourced. You can help with the crowdsourcing feature like this:
I have volunteered as an editor for the site for Washington. We certainly could use additional WA editors. Contact Ken if you’re interested. It’s easy and fun.
Ken and Adam also talk about their birding stories, as is usual for the podcast, and I hope you both enjoy the episode, make use of the website, and lend your local knowledge to visiting birders to your favorite sites by adding representative photos and details about how to bird the areas.
Thanks for listening. Good birding.
The Bird Banter Podcast #158 with Molly Adams and Sydney Golden Anderson of the Feminist Bird Club
I’ve followed the story of the Feminist Bird Club off and on for several years online, and have been curious and interested in knowing more about the club and its story. Now, thanks to Molly and Sydney talking with me for the podcast, I know more and have greater respect and awe than ever. I did much of my early birding in New York, and some of it in Central Park. I can rememember standing by a row of trees just starting to grow their new spring leaves, and marveling not just at the several warblers hopping around in the treetops, but at the dozens of birders straining to see them. I was amazed that many of the apparently more experienced birders were identifying the birds by their songs and even chip notes, and just loved the whole experience. Spring in Central Park is pretty special. That was my experience as a young white male. I know that the experiences of others may have been different, and most of us have heard stories of birders of color being harrassed and worse in the park.
Molly started the Feminist Bird Club in 2016 after a non-welcoming experience in the park, and the club has had extraordinary growth and popularity since then. Listen to this episode to hear about the more inclusive and nuanced definition of feminist that Molly talks about. It’s not your 1960-1990’s “White Feminism” that I grew up with.
Molly and Sydney also have a new book out that you can buy online.
Visit the Feminist Bird Club of New York and Chicago and Seattle at these links.
Many are also on Instagram.
I talked about the site to learn details about birding at eBird hotspots. Find this at Birding Hotspots website. It works well on mobile devices. Please suggest edits with photos and tips for birding.
Thanks for listening, and until next time good birding and good day.
The Bird Banter Podcast #157 with Greg Harrington additional info.
On this episode I had fun talking to Greg about his birding story, really moving from an avid but novice birder to a proficient and passionate birder in just a few years. And what a few years they have been. Greg has done a Washington State big year in 2021 when he saw 367 species in WA, a number that until that year would have been the WA record, and has travelled to all of the lower-48 U.S. states to bird. See his eBird profile here, where you can also find his e-mail address.
We talk about A Birder’s Guide to Washington on the episode. You can find it online at the WOS website here, or buy it at Buteo Books here. ‘
We talk about the website BirdingQuiz.com and about Larkwire, two good resources to help learn bird identification.
The old but still fabulous book by Jerry Cooper, giving detailed planning and route info for U.S. birding trips is still available at Amazon. I couldn’t find it on Buteo.
If you have suggestions for guests on the podcast, or just want to reach out to me, use the contact page on this site.
Thanks for listening. Until next time, good birding and good day!
The Bird Banter Podcast #156 with Scott Harris Additional Info.
On this episode Scott and I talk about his start in birding as an adult, his quest to see all of America’s lower-48 raptors, his writing career and more.
Find Scott’s book on Amazon or at his website.
I found Scott’s morph from a beginning birder later in life to a passionate raptor enthusiast pretty interesting. Scott is not one to go into a hobby casually. He has made the leap to birder with gusto. I would not have guessed that finding some of the winter visitor raptors to be the more difficult for him, as birds like Northern Hawk-Owl and Gyrfalcon create such buzz when found that the birding community usually knows where to find one. Goshawk, one of his other tough finds nests in enough areas that I’d have thought it would have been pinned down more quickly. The little owls, like Boreal and Flammulated Owls can be really tough, and it looks like he found local experts to help with them. Anyway, it was fun to hear about his quest and his new book.
His next project is to see many of the birding spectacles in the U.S. I’d love to hear what you’d list in the top 10 birding spectacles in the U.S. Here is a list of mine without great thought (The Ones in Bold I’ve seen, the others just heard about):
1. Platte River Sandhill Cranes
2. The Morning Flight at Cape May, N.J.
3. Spring Migration at Bear Divide, CA
4. A big flight of Broad-winged Hawks at Hawk Mountain, PA
5. The Snow Geese on Fir Island, WA
6. The Hummingbirds at the feeders in S.E. Arizona in late summer.
7. The Blackbird flocks at many places in the southern U.S. (e.g. on mornings in McAllen on the wires)
8. The huge flocks of Sooty Shearwaters and California Gulls off the Washington State coast in late-summer to early-fall.
9. Spring Migration at Magee Marsh (or other locations on a fallout day)
10. Shorebird Migration in spring at any of several staging areas, like Bowerman Basin, WA, or the Delaware Bay.
Leave comments with your to birding spectacles.
Good birding and Good Day!
Smith Island Boat Trip with ABC for Horned Puffin
On July 5th 26 other birders and I met Matt Stolmeier, Marian’s nephew, and captain for Outer Island Excursions at the Skyline Marina in Anacortes, WA for a chartered trip on their 30/person boat hoping to see the Horned Puffin that has visited the Tufted Puffin colony on Smith Island for the last few summers. We had tried last summer, and though it was a great trip, failed to see the Tufted Puffin. Matt takes many whale watching tours annually, and also has three scheduled bird watching trips this year planned. You can book one here.
Matt is an excellent spotter, and has several other boats on the water, which turned out to be really a good thing. We left the dock at 4PM, with the hopes that as the evening approached more puffins would be nearing the colony ready to feed their young at dusk. On the ride out we saw moderate numbers of Rhinoceros Auklets, cormorants, gulls and enjoyed the great weather and calm seas.
On arrival at Smith Islands we began to see good numbers of the breeders there.
We sorted through dozens of Tufted Puffins like this but for our first couple of hours failed to find the Horned Puffin.
As we headed back to the area by the kelp beds where most of the Tufted Puffins were staying Matt got a radio message from one of the captains of another Outer Island Expeditions boat that he had the Horned Puffin in sight. We headed back and after a few minutes of tension, got killer looks and photo ops.
After we got long and great looks at the HOPU, Matt offered a treat. He gave us about an extra hour and we headed out to see the T-99 pod of Orcas not far away.
After enjoying the whales, Matt also gave us a nice time at the Williamson Rocks, which is a rocky island near the harbor.
We got back to the dock about 8 PM with happy faces and expanded state and many life lists.
Be sure to think of Matt if you want a trip to see the birds.
Good birding!
The Bird Banter Podcast #155 with Dan Scheiman Additional Info.
On this episode Dan and I talk about birding in Arkansas, his birding story, and more. Check out his eBird profile here.
You can learn more about the Audubon Plant for Birds program on the Delta Audubon Plant for Birds website. Dan talks about several Arkansas hotspots. Check them out on eBird.
Bald Knob NWR
Stuttgart Municipal Airport , the place for Smith’s Longspur in winter.
I loved the Wapanocca NWR Here is my blog post about the day we birded there. There seem to be endless roads, and many Field Sparrows and Dickcissels.
Dan also mentions the eBird article on how to add historical sightings into your ebird lists. Here is the article link.
As always suggestions for guests, best with contact information, are appreciated. Use the contact page to send your wish-list of guests.
Thanks for listening. Until next time. Good birding and good day!