Tag: Bird Watching

The Bird Banter Podcast #112 with Pete Janzen: Additional Information

I enjoyed talking about birding Kansas with Pete Janzen this episode. Pete was really informative, and I learned a lot about a place I know little about prior to talking. The Kansas eBird list includes 458 species, and Pete has listed 437 of these. He talks about Kansas hotspots Quivira NWR and Cheyenne Bottoms, both fairly near his home in Wichita.

You can find both of Pete’s books on Amazon. The Guide to Kansas Birds and Hotspots and The Birds of Sedgwick County and Cheney Reservoir.

I did not know that Kansas has the largest remaining population of Lesser Prairie Chickens or that it was possible to see both species of prairie chicken on the same lek. If you need these species check out the tours Pete recommends on this website. You’ll not only see the birds, but support their conservation efforts.

You can find Pete on Facebook easily.

Here is a link to an article Pete wrote about the Rufous-crowned Sparrow response to new habitat created by wildfire in Kansas. For more

As I mentioned I’m on the lookout for good birding guests from every state. If you know good candidates, help me reach out to them. Send me an email on the Contact page here. Here is the article I mentioned in the WFO newsletter about megafires and the history of western U.S. wildfires.

Thanks for listening. Until next time; Good birding and good day!

The Bird Banter Podcast #78 with Nick Lund Supplemental Information


I had a blast talking with fellow Mainer Nick Lund on The Bird Banter Podcast #78. Nick, “The Birdist”, has carved out a niche in the ABA birding community as one of the top writers, speakers and birders especially in tune with birding in the broader context of life in America. He writes the blog, “The Birdist”, and is a regular guest on the ABA Podcast with Nate Swick, especially on the “this month in birding” segment.
Nick works for Maine Audubon, an independent Maine conservation organization, and his birding story is fun and inspirational. I especially enjoyed hearing how he got started in birding after stumbling across a used Peterson Field Guide with hand-written field notes in the side columns. This reminded me how my late wife Kay taught me to keep my notes as she had been taught by writing the date and county of every first sighting.

Kay’s original Golden Guide field guide book, copyright 1966. It is her life list, and essentially a travel diary. It has been to the bottom of McGrath Pond in Oakland, Maine.

Here are Kay’s field notes/life list notation of her “spark bird” a Cedar Waxwing seen on the Middle Fork of the Weiser River in Adams County, ID 9/4/1976 where she first started birding while living with three young CA birders and working on a Boise Cascade brush crew,
This is the Peterson Field Guide that I bought at the Ranger Station in the Everglades on my first day of birding there. It is the first Peterson Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies that has the plates in color and next to the descriptions rather than in black and white and in a separate section.
Here is the page showing some of the waders I saw on my first day of birding in the Everglades with Kay. 4-17-1986.

Here are links to some of the things we talked about:
Maine Audubon
The ABA Podcast episode on birding Newfoundland

Good Birding. Good day!

Supplemental Notes on The Bird Banter Podcast #71 Ed on Birding Resources

On The Bird Banter Podcast #71 I talk in detail about resources birders, both experienced and beginners, can use to get more enjoyment out of their birding, to learn to better find and identify birds they see, and about my own progression from beginner to a more experienced and proficient birder today. Here are links to help find some of the resources mentioned in the episode. Enjoy.

Episodes with great individual birding stories:
The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #2 with Ken Brown
The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #3 with Bruce LaBar
The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #68 with Dennis Paulson
The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #45 with Annie Meyer

The North American Field Guide Recommendations

Sibley Guide to the Birds second edition
The National Geographic Guide to the Birds of North America 7th edition (note I inadvertently stated that there is an 8th edition on the podcast, my mistake there.
The Birds of North America by Kenn Kauffman
Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding.
The ABA’s Guide to the Birds of Oregon by David Irons

Supplemental Bird ID guides mentioned in the podcast episode:
Pete Dunne’s Field Guide Companion Kindle Edition here. Tough to find in hardcover edition.
Hawks in Flight by Dunne, Sibley and Sutton
Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest by Dennis Paulson out of print, this link to an expensive used book on Amazon.
Oceanic Birds of the World by Howell and Zufelt
Molt in North American Birds by Howell is out of print and quite expensive used.

The Phone Bird ID apps mentioned are:
Sibley V2
iBird PRO after further research I don’t recommend buying this app as it sounds like future support could be in question.

The eBird app is described here.
The Merlin App for bird ID is described here.
This is a link to the ABA page to find any state or regional listserv for bird sightings.
I talk about Jerry Cooper’s book: Birdfinder: A Birder’s Guide to Planning North American Trips. Used copies are available inexpensively.

Please leave comments with other suggestions or advice to birders about resources you like. Thanks.

Good birding. Good day!

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #68 with Dennis Paulson Additional Info.


I have knows about Dennis Paulson since first moving to  the Puget Sound area in 1987, and after getting his Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest book have enjoyed reading that and reviewing it every spring and fall as migration approaches.  Dennis is an iconic figure in the Washington birding community.  He has taught the Seattle Audubon Master Birding Class for many years, curated the Slater Museum at the University of Puget Sound and taught there, has talked at just about every local and regional birding related event for decades, and is such a nice guy that he is truly beloved by WA birders.

We talk about lots of topics on the podcast. Here are links to some of them.

Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest is out of print, and expensive on Amazon. If you want a copy, search and maybe you can find one.

Shorebirds of North America a Photographic Guide is still available.

Hawks in Flight by Pete Dunne and others is here on Buteo Books.

Pete Dunnes Field Guide Companion is the third book I mentioned that is one of my favorites.   It is best found as a Kindle Book on Amazon now, as the hard cover ones are expensive.  It is not a book with photographs or color plates, so a digital version should be great. ‘

Here is a link to the online Slater Museum Collection  of wings and tails.  You’ll need to search by scientific name, so be prepared.

Both of the dragonfly books we discussed,  the Dragonflies of the East and Dragonflies of the West are still available on Amazon.

We talk about the Washington Ornithological Society convention. Here is a link to the WOS web site.

The Audubon Guide to the Birds of Oregon we talked about is by David Irons, my guest on The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #58. with a link here.

You can find the Seattle Audubon Society website page on the here to check on the next Master Birding Class with Dennis.

Thanks for visiting. Please subscribe to the Bird Banter Podcast wherever you get your podcast feeds.

Good Birding. Good day!