Tag: birdwatching

The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #66 with Andrew Emlen Additional Info


Andrew trying to hear a Hutton’s Vireo from his Alcyon Farm.

 

To record this episode of The Bird Banter Podcast I had the privilege of spending the day birding in Wahkiakum County, WA with my guest Andrew Emlen. Andrew is the top eBird lister in Wahkiakum County, is a very good birder, and a super nice guy. In addition he lives on and owns the Alcyon Farm, a fabulous Creekside property with a large area of restored riparian habitat and is a proprietor of Columbia River Kayaking.

Andrew and me looking for an American Dipper from the bridge across the creek on his farm.

On our day in Wahkiakum Andrew took Marian and me birding on his farm, and in local areas before we sat in the shade in the early afternoon at one of his Kayak put-in spots to talk about his birding story and his esperiences birding, kayaking and living in the area.

A Barn Swallow nest on Andrew’s porch viewed through a mirror on a pole to show the nestlings.

Many of Andrews Kayak trips are for Road Scholars, the over-55 experience based learning network. He leads 5-day kayak and nature courses in the lower Columbia River area, as well as some trips to the Sea of Cortez, in California Baja.
Andrew talks briefly about Steamboat Slough. Here is an article about the history of the steamboats of the Columbia.
Andrew is also the base violin player for the Skamakowa Swamp Opera band. You can find them on Facebook here. If you like music by birders, check out The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #52 with Stephanie Seymore.
Andrew’s farm is called Alcyon Farm, derived from the generic name for kingfishers, Halcyon, and for the myth of Halcyon. Read about it here.

A female Purple Martin on gourd nest at Alcyon Farm.

Andrew’s Alcyon Farm has made use of the USDA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to restore the Creekside riparian corridor at his farm.

One of many Osprey we saw near the Columbia on our day of birding.

The Baja kayak trips that Andrew leads are through Sea Kayak Baja Mexico. Check it out on their web site here.
The Julia Butler Hansen Preserve in Wahkiakum County is well knows for its birding, as well as for the Columbia race of White-tailed Deer.

 

If you enjoyed the music of the Skamakowa  Swamp Opera you can buy their last album on Amazon.

 

Notes Supplemental to The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #53 with Ryan Merrill


Ryan Merrill and I talk about his birding story,  birding in Washington State, and about his local patch birding.  He also talks about his work on the Washington Bird Records Committee, and life as the husband/father in a family with a young child as a birder.  Enjoy. 

You can reach Ryan by e-mail: rjm284-at-gmail-dot-com

Here is a link to the Washington Bird Records Committee site:  

This is info about the Seattle Audubon Society Young Birders activities:  

The Swallow-tailed Gull Ryan found in WA made the local media in many places. Here is an example:  

Ryan talks about Carkeek Park near his home in Seattle. Here is info about that local park:  https://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/parks/carkeek-park

I hope you all stay well, get birding often, and until next time. Good birding. Good day!

A Great Day Today

Sandhill Crane seen in Orting today. Look how close it is to the parked car in a driveway in the residential neighborhood.

It’s been snowy in the Puget Sound area for a few days, and today I was starting to feel really anxious to get out side and go birding. That said, this morning it was raining hard, about 34 degrees, and just not reasonable to go birding.
The day started to pick up when Bruce LaBar texted to see if we could move his time to record The Bird Banter Podcast episode #3 up to this morning, since he chose not to try to drive to his yoga, and instead wanted to walk to my condo.

He got here about 10 AM and we recorded the episode. Here is the podcast.

After Bruce left I was able to get the post-production editing done, and publish the podcast, and decided to go for a walk. On the walk on the Ruston Way waterfront a flock of Bushtits made an appearance, for a Pierce County FOY species for me.

Just as I got home Michael Charest put out a text to our county listers that he had a Sandhill Crane in Orting. It appears that the heavy snow forced an immature SACR down and it has been foraging in a residential neighborhood since yesterday. I called Bruce and Will Brooks, and we dashed out to see the crane, exactly where Michael reported seeing it, and photos were had by all.

 

This went so easily we had time to drive the Orting Farm loop, where in the same location Will found a Swamp Sparrow last fall, one was calling from out in the field, and I heard it call several times clearly, and this made my second “county first” species of the day.

Pretty good stuff for a day that started as a weather-bound house day.

I hope you enjoy the podcast. You can also find it Here on the iTunes Store.

Good birding!

The Bird Banter Podcast: Episode #2 with Ken Brown

We saw this adult Cooper’s Hawk on our recent North-central WA ABC birding club field trip that Ken led.

Ken Brown is my first guest on The Bird Banter Podcast and I was very intentional in insisting the Ken be my first guest. The most important reason is that Ken has been my mentor, best birding buddy, good friend and travel buddy for many years. In addition Ken is a suberb birder, a great teacher of birding, and has been a supporter of many beginning and developing birders.

Gull identification is one of Ken’s strengths. Here is a Herring Gull along with other gulls at the Gog-li-hi-ti wetland mitigation in Tacoma, WA

We have been on many field trips both locally and across the U.S. For the last decade or so I have been Ken’s unofficial right-hand-man as he has led field trips for his birding class and for our ABC Birding Club. Ken is an expert at planning and leading field trips, and I help with submitting eBird lists, “croud control,” and with locating and occasionally identifying birds by ear as his hearing has diminished in recent years.
I hope our mutual respect and friendship come through on this podcast, and that you enjoy.
Here is a link to the podcast on the iTunes store.