On this episode I talk with Jason Zolle, a birder I know from Washington who recently moved to Colorado. Jason worked for several years as the Washington State Non-partisan counsel, and recently undertook a career change.
Jason’s story is yet another way that the changes to society during the pandemic restrictions led to more birding time for lots of us, and to increased passion for birding in others. Jason’s Art Website is here.
Information about the Rebecca Heisman episode and the book I recommend, Flight Paths is here. I loved this book, and have recently decided to use it as my choice for my book club (not birders) read for the meeting I’ll host in April. I think it is a birding book that will be of interest to non-birders too. I mention in talk with Jason about the use of elemental analysis of a birds primary feathers in determining where that bird bred. Here is an article on that topic.
It’s great to be back after a long break to be with my two kids in Costa Rica for the birth of each of their first child (so my first and second grandchildren) and then shortly after a birding trip to Colombia with Hillstar Nature and Mollee Brown. The time with family was great, both mom’s and babies are healthy and beautiful, and I am glad I took the break. That said, I’ve missed the podcast, and am happy to be back.
This episode was done at my house in Tacoma local birding buddy Bruce LaBar. One of the good things about the pandemic and quarantine is the improved ability to video conference, and I’ve used these exclusively for a while now, so it was fun to sit down in person and record an episode.
Here are lots of links and a few photos from the trip. Hillstar Nature Nighthawk Agency is Mollee Brown’s company. Montezuma Rainforest Lodge is the first lodge we stayed at and the home of Yessenia’s family. Tinamu Hotel was the home base for several trips to great birding spots and is great in and of itself with trails and feeding stations for Gray-headed Dove, a Golden-collared Manakin lek, and more. Doña Dora’s the great roadside restaurant and feeder station. The opening page of this site had a great video. PNN Navados My Trip Report on eBird This has a day by day narrative. Yessenia Ranbow-throated Thornbill (from Jim Hoagland) The group at a feeding station. Chestnut Wood-Quail Rufous-fronted Parakeet, a surprise and rare find on a cliff near PNN Los Nevados Lyre-tailed Nightjar Collared Inca Saffron-crowned Tanager Rainbow throated Thonnbill Common Potoo with chick Blue-headed Parrot Golden-collared Manakin on a lek Little TinamouCrimson-rumped ToucanetRed-headed BarbetWhite-shouldered Tanager
Well, Jean delivered Río at 6:57 PM Nov. 19, and I’m a grampa now for the first time. Pretty cool experience. We spent the next week at the Finca Cometa farm where Río was born, and came back to Jean and Alan’s primary home near Tinamaste, Costa Rica where I stayed a few more days. We all agreed that it would be great for Jean and Alan to have time with Río without grampa, and for me to take a break and go for an adventure. I wanted a place I could drive to, a place with some remotemess and an adventure element, and I chose to go to the Luna Lodge, near the entrance to PN Corcovada on the Oso Peninsula. It is an area I’ve never visited, in the only large low elevation tropical Pacific rain forest left in CR. I left Jean’s on the morning of Nov 29, and drove on a pretty rainy day about 4 hours to Puerto Jiminez. It is a small town where the lodge arranged a driver into the lodge. I opted (wisely IMO) not to try driving in as she they described the road as awful due to recent flooding, and I quickly agreed after at the start of the 2-hour dirt road drive we crossed a significant river (washed out bridge that has been out for 3 years) and subsequently crossed at least 8 more pretty fast and deep rivers in the Toyota Hilux 4WD pickup that was my transport. The drive in was pretty birdy, and the once the driver learned I was a birder was very patient with several stops for birds, including a stakeout of his, a lifer Tropical Screech Owl by the road. Tropical Screech Owl
The lodge is quite nice, though in the rain forest it is really wet at this time of year. There were few guests, one business retreat group from Budapest, one couple from Atlanta, and me at first, and just myself and one of the stayover guests from the Budapest group and me at dinner with the owner and the massage therapist. The story of the lodge is remarkable. See her book Married to Paradise.
I stayed there for 3 nights, and due to low census they upgraded me from the Hacienda rooms to a bungalow. The bungalow is a stand alone place with a two queen beds, a small porch with 2 rocking chairs, and a bath and open air shower in the back. Overall quite nice, but everything always wet from dew/humnidity. Food was excellent, service great.
I took 2-hour guided morning and afternoon birding walks on the first full day, and a 6 your 6-noon “safari” birding trip on day 2, when the guide recommended that vs. a hike to the PN Corcovado which was all in forest and on the beach with a low number and diversity of birds likely.
The second day the rain finally cleared, and we had a great morning. We started going to an estuary, where a pretty cool drive down a river bed to the mouth of the river brought us to a large sandy lagoon with a good number of waders. Almost immediately on scanning the mouth of the estuary I spotted a very distant wader that was acting like a Reddish Egret, stomping in circles and stopping to feed in the disturbed water. I called this to Mauro’s attention and he doubted me as he had never seen a Reddish Egret, and it was really too far to see field marks even with his scope. We looked everything else over, and I studied the bird, and was convinced it was a dark or red morph of a Reddish Egret. Mauro was agrieved at not cementing the ID, so I suggested we take off our shoes, pull up our pant legs, wade across the river, and walk out to see. I think he was a bit taken aback that this old man was up for this, but quickly agreed when I insisted. We walked across and out, water to just above our knees, and sure enough, even back-lit it was a for-sure Reddish Egret. Lifer for Mauro, and fun to get my guide a lifer.
We spent the rest of the morning going a few miles out the road, stopping frequently to try for hoped for lifers for me, Black-cheeked Ant-tanager, White-throated Shrike Tanager, and had no luck. Out luck improved on the drive back towards the resort when Mauro spotted a grayish raptor in a tree, and excitedly called out “Gray-headed Kite”, a bird I had asked about earlier, and he said he hoped so to but had never seen one, essentially his nemesis bird. It was very cooperative, letting us get out of the truck and walk quite close for photos. Took this shot because from out first vantage point I could only get good focus on this zoomed shot. Gray-headed Kite. Lifer for both of us.
We had a few other cool birds that allowed photos. (I just had my small super-zoom as I didn’t bring my long lens camera on this trip focusing on grandbabies not birds, and was bringing a LOT of baby stuff. Bare-tjhroated Tiger Heron Isthmian Wren Pale-breasted Spinetail Gray-headed Tanager.
I left about 8 AM to be driven to Puerta Jiminez today, and on the way out road repairs led to a 20 minute delay. While stopped a troop of possibly 100 Squirril Monkeys casually and playfully cruised past us mostly using a cattle fence wire as a tightrope. See my Instagram post to see this video as I can’t easily add it here.
The ride home was uneventful, Jean, Alan and baby Río are all well, and I go to pick up Marian in San Jose on Wednesday. Here is a link
Good birding! A great day today!
Thanks for following The Bird Banter Podcast. I’ve had a lot of fun, learned tons, and overall feel like I’ve grown as a birder by doing this podcast. My guest on this episode is Keith Corliss, a North Dakota birder living in eastern N.D in Fargo. I marvelled at our shared experiences, and had fun sharing stories. I hope you enjoyed it too. Keith’s email is on his eBird profile here.
Check out the Big Sit organizers site and info here.
Here is information on the San Diego Birding Festival, which I misnamed on the recording.
Check out the 5-Day pelagic trip on the Searcher our to San Diego in September here.
Here are some of the other podcast episodes I reference in the intro: Jim Kettelkamp #151
As I mentioned in the wrap to this episode, I think it is time for me to take a break, enjoy and support my family, and decide where to go with The Bird Banter Podcast in the future. For now, and always, good birding and good day!
Alex talks about how he has been enjoying birding in Eastern Washington since enrolling at Washington State University last year. Here is a link to Alex’s eBird profile where you can find his telephone number, or you can reach him by e-mail sowersalexander1 – at- gmail – dot- com I enjoyed talking with Alex, and hope you enjoy hearing from Alex too.
In the introduction I talk a bit about the differences between the two sides of the state, and looking at this topographical map of the state shows this graphically.
Here is a link to the Washington Birder website where some Washington birders submit their state and county life lists as well as big years, big days, etc.
Here are links to the eBird and Birding Hotspot sites for some of the sites Alex mentioned. Washtucna on Birding Hotspots site. Washtucna on eBird
We talk about Jacob Miller, Alex’s roommate at WSU and a previous guest on the podcast, as well as Liam Hutcheson, also a prior guest. Links on their names take you to the Bird Banter Blog post about their episodes were you can also hear the episode if you’re interested.
To hear more about birding in the Blue Mountains, check out the episode with Mike Denny, an incredibly knowledgible expert on the area as well as the birding there. Doing the recording with Mike and my good birding buddy Ken Brown, while sitting on the side of a logging road and watching three Great Gray Owl fledglings branching and being fed was one of the highlights for me of doing this podcast.
Thanks for listening, please subscribe on your favorite podcast feed, and let me know if you have guests you’d like to here from using the contact page.
Reading the book, Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying the Birds in Your Own Back Yard was a pleasure. I loved learning lots of detailed behavioral details of birds I thought I knew pretty well. I didn’t know that House Sparrows are a species of concern in parts of Europe, and that their maximum numbers in many areas here was in the days of horse and carraige travel, though it certainly makes sense.
Talking with Joan was fun too. Hearing her talk about how her teaching led her to write this book was cool. Her new publication due out soon, The Slow Birding Journal: A Field Diary for Watching Birds Whereever You Are should be a good exercise in observation and note taking.
There have been a lot of interest in birding closer to home. The 5-mile radius list interest has become very popular. Here is a link to a resource on how to keep a 5-mile radius list on eBird.
I enjoyed the layout of the book too. Joan writes about several local birding spots she birds regularly, and then goes into detail about several of the species seen in each of these spots. She gives suggestions for questions about each species a birder may want to investigate for themselves.
To see other podcast episodes on topics related to birding and the benefits of slowing down and really seeing the birds, along with other benefits, check out these episodes:
Thanks for listening. Until next time, good birding and good day!
David may be the only birder I know who may be more well known in the birding community by his business moniker, The Urban Birder, than by his real name. For sure I had heard about The Urban Birder, but wouldn’t have known David’s name until Diane Yorgenson-Quinn announced at our last ABC Birding Club meeting that after another member, Faye McAdams-Hand, read our annual book club book What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackermann,had contacted David to arrange a field trip to see the famous Kikinda, Serbia Long-eared Owl urban roosts this winter. This link is to a winter trip this year, but I’m not sure if it’s the one Diane and Faye are doing with David. If not, I’ll correct this link later.
We talk about the city day trip leader service David has set up. If you want a local birder to take you on an urban birding experience as you travel abroad, this service may be just what you want. Check it out here.
Next episode is going to feature Joan Straussmann talking about the Slow Birding phenomenon she has championed. Don’t miss it.
Thanks for listening. Until next time good birding and good day!
On this episode Ezekiel and I talk while he Zooms in from his car somewhere near San Diego, California where he was continuing his lower-48 U.S. big year. He saw #700, a Flame-colored Tanager in SE Arizona, and is in SoCal awaiting a pelagic trip. HE is currently at 702 for the year, adding the provisional species Burrowing Parakeet while awaiting the pelagic trip.
I love San Diego as a base for birding the area as well as the place for great pelagic birding. I’ve had an episode about the Searcher 5-Day pelagic which I highly recommend.
Follow Ezekiel on his Instagram page and support him on Go Fund Me if you feel motivated.
I’ve had lots of big year and life list birders on as guests.
Liam Hutcheson and his recent record Washington State big year
Peter Kaestner and his lifelong quest to see birds of the world.
Victor and Ruben Stoll on their record breaking Lower-48 big year.
Doug Hitchcock and his record breaking 400th species in the state of Maine (now much higher)
Raphael Fennamore and his King County WA big year.
Tiffany Keersten and her at the time record Lower-48 big year.
Matt Bartels and his quest for finding 200+ species of birds in every Washington State county.
Lynn Barber talks about record big years in the biggest states of Alaska and Texas.
And the craziest of all, Dorian Anderson’s bicycle big year story.
Thanks for listening, stay tuned to learn about Slow Birding and more.
Good birding and good day!
Thanks for listening. I had a blast talking with Abby, and learning about her work with Black Skimmers and Least Terns in the gulf beaches of Mississippi.
Here are some Black Skimmers Ken Brown and I saw after our trip on the Searcher, the trip I recommend to Abby.
“The buoyant flight of this bird, coupled with its dog-like barks, prompted R. C. Murphy (1) to describe Black Skimmers as “unworldly…aerial beagles hot on the scent of aerial rabbits.”
Its elongated wings and graceful flight pattern are captivating: the bird appears to almost flutter, languidly, yet is simultaneously agile and efficient. This long has captured the notice of naturalists, even of Charles Darwin, who, in observing skimmers foraging on a lake in Uruguay, described their flight as “dexterously managed” while they “ploughed up small fish with their projecting lower mandibles, and secured them with the upper half of their scissor-like bills”( Gould 1841).”
Here are links to some of the podcast episodes I mention on the podcast intro.
The Bird Banter Podcast #170 with Holly Garrod The Bird Banter Podcast #129 with Jackie Lindsey and Charlie Wright of COASST The Bird Banter Podcast #70 with Peter Hodum The Bird Banter Podcast #26 wioth Tim Larson
Thanks for listening. Until next time, good birding and good day!
