This is part one of an exclusive two-part interview with Bill Thompson, III, long-time co-host of Out There With The Birds. On March 25th, Bill passed away at the age of 57 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Shortly before his passing, Ben took some time to interview Bill about his life as a… Read more »
Alvaro recounts tales from Japan, including fish eagles, fish owls, and talking toilets. Also, the guys discuss the Chilean/Argentinian divide, and geography’s impact on both bird distribution and human culture. The topic turns to the true Zen nature of birding and how it may challenge some of your bird ID assumptions! All this and more… Read more »
Alvaro warns against getting creative when packing for a birding trip. Also, blue jays, green jays, brown jays, and gray jays are all part of the intriguing family of corvids. What makes these birds so inquisitive and social? Listen here and find out! https://www.birdwatchersdigest.net/podcasts/otwtb/episode51.mp3
Ben and Alvaro discuss bird behavior in winter and how big birds, little birds, and vagrant birds cope with temperature extremes. Some birds fly away from the weather while others become zombie birds, preying on their fellow feathered friends! It’s looking like spring in Southern California while Alvaro braces for more winter as he discusses… Read more »
Episode 49 is a special two-part episode of OTWTB. Bill and Ben have a heartfelt discussion about why 2019 is going to be a different kind of year for the podcast, and why it will be the “Year of the Big Sit” for Bill. Ben then welcomes Alvaro Jaramillo to the show, and we learn… Read more »
By Rack Cross When it comes to birding trails one size does not fit all. Kingsport, nestled in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains of Northeast Tennessee, hosted an unforeseen series of events in our city of about 54,000 people that resulted in a municipal birding trail that serves to improve the quality of life… Read more »
Heatwaves can have a negative impact on breeding birds, according researchers at Lund University in Sweden. Overheated birds have smaller offspring with lower chances of survival, their study showed. In spring 2018, Andreas Nord and Jan-Åke Nilsson, researchers in the Department of Biology at Lund University, presented results showing that small birds reach a body… Read more »
Arguably the most beautiful bird species in the world, resplendent quetzals are found only from extreme southern Mexico to extreme northern Panama. They are birds of the cloud forest, dependent on fruit-bearing trees, especially those in the Lauraceae family, including the wild avocado. The IUCN considers resplendent quetzal as near threatened on its Red List,… Read more »
Ben gives LeBron-like advice for buying binoculars for kids or beginning birders, explains the visual difference between roof- and Porro-prism binoculars, and updates us on his last backyard bird sighting: a red-breasted nuthatch. Bill talks about a rusty blackbird encounter and how to tell rusties from common grackles. Then the boys welcome Clay Taylor from… Read more »
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 »
