On this episode I talk with Iowa birder and retired physician Dr. Jim Kettelkamp. Jim has rekindled his passion for birding, developed in his childhood, and become a top Johnson County, Iowa big year birder, as well as advocate for backyard habitat and visitor to several great ABA birding sites. We talk about all of this on the episode. One of the topics we talk about is the serious decline in grassland and insectivore bird species from Jim’s youthful birding to now. He mentions how the change in agriculture, from smaller farms with many hedgerows to giant farms with no habitat in sight, seems to be a major factor. This got me to remembering a visit to England a few years ago when I visited a large commercial farm. Although the scope of the farm was large, there were well established hedgerows between fields, and good numbers of birds using the habitat. I recall the owner talking about how this was financially viable due to subsidies and regulations that made if financially advantageous to leave these areas natural. In the agricultural areas of the U.S. that I have seen, the opposite seems to be true. Leaving fields fallow to recover is pretty common, but still there is little habitat other than bare fallow fields, with no shrubs or trees between the fields. Here is an article discussing some of the programs.
If anyone knows about similar programs in the U.S. I’d love to have you let me know about them. This Cropwatch article is the closest I can find.
You can reach out to Jim on Facebook here @jim.kettelkamp
Thanks for following The Bird Banter Podcast. Until next time, good birding and good day.
Category: Blog
The Bird Banter Podcast #150: Ed Talks about a Winter Trip to the Florida Keys and Costa Rica
On this episode I go it without a guest, and talk about my 6-week winter getaway trip to Big Pine Key and Costa Rica. It was primarily a chance to visit family, get out of the Western Washington winter rain, and relax, but as a birder I of course managed a good amount of birding time too.
I had not been to the Florida Keys in the winter, so had no idea what to expect. I’d hoped to see some early migrants returning north to breed as March arrived, but saw mostly resident species and winter visitors.
The waders were great, with all 4 big white waters, Snowy Egret, Great Egret, white morph of Reddish Egret and the white morph of Great Blue Heron, along with juvenile Little-blue Herons.
Few warblers were seen, but Palm, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle’s race), and Prairie were common. Any chance to be in a part of the world not your usual home makes for fun birding, as common birds there are not the ones I see daily at home in WA.
In Costa Rica I had excellent birding on a 5-day trip with Carlos Ureña in the Quetzal Valley area, and near La Fortuna, especially at the Arenal Obseratory Lodge grounds.
It was great to have time with my children and their partners, as Jean lives in Costa Rica, and Brett is a nomad, travelling where he pleases and working online.
Check out the Ed’s Birding Notes tab above to see posts on some of the aspects of the trip.
I anticipate more typical episodes to follow, with great guests talking birding, so stay tuned. Thanks for listening.
To see some photos from the Costa Rica trip, check out this Flickr Album.
Flickr photos from Costa Rica
The Bird Banter Podcast #149 with Mikuláš Řimánek Additional Information
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!
The Bird Banter Podcast #148 with Holly Merker Additional Info.
On The Bird Banter Podcast #148 I talk with Holly Merker, an accomplished birder, educator, and therapist who has been a leading advocate of using birding, and being in nature as a means of therapy through mindful birding and an intentional process.
Check out her neew book on her website. Note the coupon for free shipping.
Holly has long been a well respected and recognized birder. She leads field trips for George Armistead’s new birding company, Hillstar Nature Tours, she is a leader at both the Hog Island ABA Birding camp for both adults and youth, as well as at acting as the director of the ABA’s Camp Delaware Bay. She has served as a member and as the chair of the Pennsylvania Bird Records Committee, is an eBird reviewer, has served on the board of the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and most recently was awarded the 2022 Conservation and Education Award by the ABA.
If you get the feeling that Holly is an accomplished and highly respected birder you’d be correct. In addition Holly has been a leading advocate of intentional birding, and for the use of birding and nature as a means of therapy. Holly mentions that the term Ornitherapy was first coined by a British physician, Dr. A.F. Cox who wrote an article in the British Journal of Medicine in 1979. I have not been able to find that article, and if anyone can send me a copy or a link, I’d love it.
You can see the Ornitherapy.com website at this link.
Holly also started The Mindful Birding Network, and on the website you can find lots more on that topic., as well as join and participate in online workshops and meetings.
To see more about Forest Therapy and Forest Bathing check out this website.
The Ornitherapy Facebook page is here.
Here is a link to the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy
Here is some information about phytoncides that Holly discusses on the episode.
Here is an article about Attention Restoration Theory.
You can get Holly’s book at her website, with a free shipping coupon here. Https://ornitherapy.com/
I feel like I was so blessed and lucky to have the chance to spend an hour talking with Holly about Ornitherapy, her experiences and insights. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Good birding and good day!
The Bird Banter Podcast #147 with David Swain
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!
The Bird Banter Podcast #146 with Peter Kaestner additional information
On this episode you’ll hear from Peter Kaestner, the birder who has seen more species of birds than any living human, using the IOC checklist currently shown on IGoTerra Peter lists 9,729 of the 10,933 extant species on the IOC checklist. That is 89% of the living species in the world. I had thought that there must not be any places Peter could go and find more than a handful of new “lifers” but I was wrong. Peter has trips planned to the Phillipines and Viet Nam where he hopes to add more-or-less 50 new species to his list in each place.
Peter worked for a career for the U.S. Diplomatic Service. Before hearing Peter talk on my recent cruise to Antarctica I had little idea of what a career as a U.S. diplomat involved. It was a great career for Peter, leading him to life and see areas of the world most of us will never experience.
Peter and his wife now often travel for pleasure and birding, as well as diving, and Peter also works for Rockjumper Worldwide Birding Adventures as a part-time guide. This gives him the chance to help others experience the world of birding, as well as travel extensively.
You can reach Peter via e-mail. He keeps his e-mail address current on his eBird profile. It’s not hard to find him, just look under the explore Top-100 list for the world, all-time. He’s of course #1.
To read about the Antarctica trip, here is a link to my trip report.
As of this time, Peter’s most recent lifer I believe was the endangered and remote Hooded Grebe. You can see a great video of this bird by a previous guest, Paula (and Michael) Webster on YouTube here.
Thanks for listening. As always if you have suggestions for guests you’d like to hear from on the podcast, let me know
Until next time, Good birding and good day!
The Bird Banter Podcast #145 with Victor and Ruben Stoll additinoal info.
On this episode I catch up with Victor and Ruben Stoll as they recover from their record breaking 2022 Lower-48 big year. I had a chance to meet them at the Lake Forest Park, WA Red-flanked Bluetail stakeout last March, and they caught a shower and a few hours of sleep at our home before heading to a Westport Seabirds pelagic trip.
You can see their eBird profiles for more details. Ruben eBird Profile Victor eBird Profile
You can also find them on facebook. Victor on Facebook Ruben on Facebook
To hear about Tiffany Kersten’s 2021 Lower-48 big year check out The Bird Banter Podcast #122 with Tiffany Kersten.
We talk about Jerry Cooper’s book: Birdfinder: A Birder’s Guide to Planning North American Trips on the episode. It was fun to hear that other birders have found this book as helpful as I have over the years. I really think that Victor and Ruben should think about writing an update to this book. They certainly have the first-hand experiences to do so. The 1995 book is out of print, but you can find it used at Buteo Books.
I’m not sure but I think this is an article about the high wind storm the Stoll’s encountered on their chase to see the Garganey in Montana in May.
It sounds like Victor and Ruben have as high a regard as I do about Michael Todd, a previous podcast guest and Tennessee birder who was on episode #124.
As always, if you have suggestions for podcast guests, please let me know using the Contact form here.
Until next time, good birding and good day!
The Bird Banter Podcast #144 with George Armistead Additional Info.
On this episode you will hear from George Armistead, a well known ABA birder, tour leader, podcaster, and all around interesting guy. We talk about his our trip to Antarctica, so after the last episode where I talk about the trip in detail, George can add another perspective and some new stories.
Check out George’s bird tour company Hillstar Nature .
You can find George on Facebook and Instagram too. Hillstar Nature has their own Facebook page too.
I promised more information on a number of topics in this post too. To keep this from being just too much I’ll keep it brief with links to more detail if you’re interested.
Beginning in 2011 the South Georgia Heritage Trust began the eradication of rats on the South Georgia Islands. This was controversial in that it used rodenticides, and was by far the largest land mass with rodent infestation that eradication had ever been attempted. The project was highly successful, and by 2016 rats were likely completely eradicated, but it was not until 2018 that the official declaration of a rat free South Georgia was given. You can read more about it here. Birders who visited South Georgia on the recent expedition cruise I was on saw many South Georgia Pipits, a marked difference from stories of birders who visited 20 years ago (I missed the visits with Covid isolation). The continued vigillence is intense, and we had rat-sniffing dogs search our ship before one landing.
Early in his career Geroge worked in several capacities at the Academy of Natual Sciences in Philidelphia. If I get to Philidelphia again it will be on my must-see list of places to explore. It is the oldest natural history museum in the U.S. and has a great collection of bird specimens. I remember many years ago speakers and others talking of getting photographs from VIREO, the program George mentioned in the episode.
The Bird Safe Philly project reminded me of talking with two prior guests on the topic of light polution and bird safety. First was the episode with Alex Israel of the New York Audubon Society and learning about the Safe Flights Program there. YOu may also enjoy hearing about the dangers to birds from glass collisions, especially in homes like you may live in on the episode with Dr. Daniel Klem.
For many birders the Christmas Season brings the fellowship, birding and experience of the Christmas Bird Counts. George talks about how important the CBCs have been to him, especially the early ones when he met other young birders and the joy of the fellowship of birding. It is still not too late to find a CBC for this year. It’s easy to find your local count or another. If you are looking in Washington State where I live, look here on the WOS websitge. For a worldwide look, check this cool site.
I’ll end with a link to this site explaining Katabatic Winds. In summary it is a wind tha flows downhill after cooling and changing pressure. They can be extraordinary in places like South Georgia with big mountains near the ocean.
Again, thanks for reading and listening. Until next time, Good birding and good day!
The Bird Banter Podcast #143: Antarctica Additional Info.
I will make this unusually brief, as I wrote a full trip report under the Ed’s birding notes tab of this page. See lots of photos on my Antarctica Flickr album.
Stay tuned for the next Bird Banter episode with George Armistad. I hope have several upcoming episode with fellow birders I met on the trip.
The ABA was a main driver behind filling a ship with birders for a birding focused expedition cruise, which added greatly to the focus and fellowship on the ship.
For me one of the best parts of the trip was meeting Alvaro Jaramillo, and spending time with him and his co-leader Ricardo Matus. Both are not just extremely accomplished birders and guides, but have a fabulous depth of knowledge about the bird world. Alvaros lecture on the likely new species split from Wilson’s Storm-petrel was great, but all trip we got to learn life history and exquisite details of innumerable topics. Super fun to be around Alvaro and Ricardo.
Rockjumper Birding was the organizer and primary birding tour managers, and did a fine job.
If all goes as planned my next episode will be a talk with one of the top guides on the trip, and fellow podcaster George Armistad. Follow his podcst (along with Alvaro Jaramillo and Mollee Brown) Life List: A Birding Podcast.
Until next time, good birding and good day.
The Bird Banter Podcast #142 with Francis Canto Jr. Additional Info.
As I mention on the episode, Belize was one of the first places outside the U.S. where I birded with my late wife Kay. We took a trip to Belize, and while at an ecolodge hired a guide for a couple of half days, and enjoyed the dry tropical forest birding there. We also took a side trip to Tikal, the famous ruins in Guatamala and also spent some time at Caye Calker on the coast. Overall a great trip. Talking with Francisco brought back really good memories.
Francisco was recommended as a guest by a listener, which is one of my favorite ways to find great guests for the podcast, so please let me know who you’d like to hear from on the show.
I had no idea that hawk watching was such a special time in Belize, and seeing large numbers of Hook-billed Kites there sounds pretty unique and intriguing.
I did know that for a small country, Belize has a nice mix of habitats, from coastal to the mountains, and all areas in between. You can check out Francisco’s eBird profile here.
Thanks for listening. Until next time, good birding and good day!