Ken and I have been planning and dreaming of going on several of Brian Patteson’s North Carolina Pelagic trips for years. This year it finally happened, and as in all long awaited and anticipated trips it didn’t go quite as we had planned. We planned 3 trips in 5 days, with a day to rest and bird on land between trips. We didn’t plan on a very unusual sustained low pressure cell off shore just south of N.C. that caused strong sustained NE winds and high seas. As it turned out our first and last trips were cancelled, but with luck we got on a trip for the first planned day off, so we managed 2 trips offshore.

Here is my eBird trip report.
You can find Patteson Seabirding website here.
I mention The Science of Birding Podcast so here is a link to the associated website.
Seabirds are extremely interesting for many reasons. They spend their lives at sea, and can fly using amazingly little flapping, a technique called “dynamic soaring.” Here is a video that explains some of the science behind this flight type.

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Spring is a great time of year, and for birders it has the added attraction of the fast-paced, almost frantic at times migration of our bird species that winter south of us, and breed near us or north of us. Many of the neotropic migrants are decked out in their fresh breeding (“alternate” for us Humphrey-Parkes users) and seemingly every day brings new species and surprises.

In the introduction I talk about the great migration watch site in Tacoma, Dune Peninsula.
It can be humbling to watch top birders like Charlie Wright and Will Brooks ID birds in flight at great distance or by their flight calls, but even for birders like me of lesser talent, it is really fun and exciting. (links are to the blog posts related to podcast episodes with them as guests). Here is a link to the eBird list of Charlie Wright on May 22, 2022 when he counted 4705 Western Tanagers, and Will had over 500 prior to when Charlie showed up at 9:13 AM. A massive flight day for this beautiful species.

I really loved reading Flight Paths. I strongly recommend reading it for any birder or natural phenomenon lover who also likes good stories and to learn about how science leads to better understanding of nature.

Buy the book whereever you get your books, or on a link on Rebecca’s website.
One relatively new and exciting system for tracking the movement of birds (and other organisms) is the Motus system. It is a growing network of small, affordable receivers that can help track a bird as it moves in migration.

Light level geolocators are pretty cool too. Read about them here or in Rebecca’s book.
To read more about thee Bird Genoscape Project use this hotlink. Here is a video that makes it easier to get a feel for the projects uses and goals.

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Good birding and good day!

On this episode I talk with Bryony Angell, Seattle area birder, writer and adovocate for women birding. Bryony writes professionally about many birding topics, but recently much of her focus has been on women in birding, as guides, as travelers, and in other leadership roles. She grew up in the Seattle area, the twin daughter of two birders, and we talk about her childhood trips to the Skagit River area, how the area has changed over the years, and her birding near home in Skagit County now.
You can check out Bryony’s website here. Use the contact page if you want to reach out to her.
We talk briefly about the Feminist Birding Clubs around the country. They have expanded to have clubs in many of the larger U.S. cities, and are proponents of inclusivity in the birding community.
Let me know if you have suggestions for guests or topics you’d like to hear on the podcast. Use the conact page above to get in touch.
Until next time, good birding and good day!

On this episode I talk with Francis Canto Jr., a birder and birding guide from Belize. He was recommended as a podcast guest by a listener, Juli DeGrummond, who recommended Francis after she took a Road Scholar birding trip with him in Belize. Francis is an avid birder and photographer. He was recognized by his country by being chosen as the photographer for the art on the countries current postage stamps, featuring a series of common Belize birds.
We talk about great places to go birding in Belize, and the Crooked Tree Wildlife Refuge, so check out this link to learn about this area.
You can find Francis on Facebook, and Instagram. He has a blogspot website also, The 501 Birder. Here is his eBird Profile.

I first met Mikuláš Řimánek in 2018 when he was a Rotary Exchange Student with the Tacoma 8 Rotary Club, and Fred Matthei introduced Mik to me and other local birders. Mik joined us on a multi-cay winter trip to North Central WA and it was obvious that he was talented. I was disappointed to miss the chance to reconnect on his recent brief trip to Tacoma, but when Fred called to tell me about his extraordinary work with young birders in the Czech Republic I knew that I wanted to learn more and see if Mik would share his story on the podcast. He agreed and it was very informative and left me hopeful that WOS can find a way to encourage the development of such a program in WA. If any readers have suggestions or feedback use the Contact Page above to reach out to me.
You can find Mik on Facebook or Instagram and see his profile on eBird with these links.
Thanks for listening. Until next time, good birding and good day!

On episode #147 I talk with David Swain, a BC based birder, trekker, supporter of high elevation village schools in Nepal, and an executive for a large tree growing company. Overall a really interesting person whom I met on my recent cruise to Antarctica.
David started and champions the Altitude Project, a Canadian charity that provides support for several schools and villages in the super-high elevation villages in Nepal that David visited on treks in Nepal. We talk about his trekking, his birding in Nepal, his work for a large Canadian tree growing company, and more.
You can find David on Facebook to follow him and his project.
Thanks for listening.
Good birding and good day!