Favorite holiday gifts given and received is a major topic of this episode and among those gifts mentioned are a hockey stick, a mink coat, ten-speed bikes, and a vintage saucepan. Ben’s nightmare Christmas Bird Count experience and Bill’s Disney World surprise stories take center stage. Also mentioned are a conspiracy theory about wild birds,… Read more »
The Trump administration published documents today (December 6, 2018) detailing its plan to roll back Obama-era protections for the vast habitat of the greater sage grouse in order to spur oil exploration and development, according to the New York Times. Read the story here. The documents from the Bureau of Land Management are here.
Back to the North from points farther south, the fellows chat throughout a winter-themed episode about such topics as suet feeding, birding in Texas and Colombia, weather and birds, winter clothing, acclimatization, fogging optics, and Ben’s new-found love of silk long johns. Bill recounts a traumatic first grade incident involving yellow snow, and his latest… Read more »
Reprinted from the Birding Community E-Bulletin The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species maintains a record of how close species may be to extinction. BirdLife International is responsible for annually measuring the health of the world of birds for this tally. Every year, BirdLife updates which birds are stable, which are in recovery, and which… Read more »
The World Wildlife Fund on Tuesday released the 12th edition of its Living Planet Report, which it publishes every two years. The report’s Living Planet Index tracks more than 16,000 populations of more than 4,000 vertebrate species and finds that global populations of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians have declined, on average, by 60… Read more »
The boys connected via the Interweb to chat about the importance of bird clubs, favorite Feasts of Birdin’ (eateries) near birding hotspots, the upcoming (potential) winter finch invasion, and Ben’s latest life bird (and head cold). Bill shares his newest musical recommendation: the band Phox, from Madison, Wisconsin. Listen here: https://www.birdwatchersdigest.net/podcasts/otwtb/episode44.mp3
The birding dudes cover a smorgasbord of topics here, including a recap of the recent American Birding Expo, birding during migration, upcoming festivals, The Big Sit, and tips for your optics upgrade. They also celebrate, in the briefest possible way, Ben’s birthday. This episode was recorded in two parts, one via Skype between Wisconsin and Ohio,… Read more »
Ben and Bill share a baker’s dozen tips for enhancing your birding enjoyment, including where and when to go, and what to wear, eat, carry, think, hear, and do, and lots more. If you’re willing to take advice from these two guys, then you deserve all the joy that birding can bring you. They also… Read more »
(Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch) In late August, the Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch (MSRW) launched the first two components of its fall bird migration research. The Waterbird Count to learn about ducks, loons, and grebes began at McGulpin Point in Mackinaw City. The Hawk Count to study migrating day-time raptors started at Pointe LaBarbe west… Read more »
The likely lads are on the loose at the world-famous British Birdwatching Fair, where they’re seeing old friends, quaffing a few pints, promoting the American Birding Expo, Bird Watcher’s Digest, and helping to translate between American English and English English. They talk about the beauty and conservation of vultures and flamingos, new birds they’ve added to… Read more »
