On this episode Michael Todd, the top eBird lister in Tennessee and I talk about birding his home state, his birding story, his mentors, and more. Michael is works full time, and during the Covid pandemic has had a tremendous workload with lots of overtime, so I appreciate his taking time to do this podcast episode. I was especially pleased to talk with Todd because shortly after recording the episode Marian and I flew to Nashville, TN for a brief stop on the way to Florida to visit my brother and then on to Costa Rica to visit my daughter and son-in-law. I was really pleased to hear a bit about Tennessee birding before I got in a tiny bit of birding there.
Michael mentions several top Mississippi River floodplain hotspots in Tennessee on the episode. Here are some eBird links to those areas.
Ensley Bottoms Maxxon Wastewater Lagoons
It was really fun to hear about a new place and from a birder who really knows the area well.
My brief time in Tennessee was interesting. On the first day we headed to an close to the city hotspot called Shelby Park and Bottoms. It was a windy but warm and very pleasant morning, and we managed to see 27 species, including a nice flock of Eastern Bluebirds, and overall had a nice time birding. By the next day it had turned bitterly cold, and birding was limited by temperatures at or below freezing all day long, and high winds. The only really notable bird was a Ross’s Goose in Centennial Park that has made eBird alerts nearly daily for much of the winter. We were really there to see some music and the city, and birding was secondary, so a nice trip.
I hope you enjoy hearing from Michael in this episode.
Good birding and good day!