Life List: A Birding Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

We're birders, talking about birding! George, Alvaro, and Mollee pulled up their personalized taxonomy updates from eBird (get an overview, all the data, and your personalized report) to chat about their life list updates and what else has changed around the globe. 

Come for the nuts and bolts, stay for the taxonomic camaraderie!

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to. 

This episode, we’re joined by Brian Sullivan—birder, photographer, and co-leader of one of the most transformative projects in the birding world: eBird. From the earliest red-tailed hawk obsessions to building a global platform used by millions, Brian shares stories that bridge fieldwork, data, and wonder.

Highlights include:

• How eBird grew from a niche experiment to a cornerstone of global ornithology
• Red-tailed hawks, pelagics, and what it means to really know a species
• The evolution of Birds of the World and where bird data is headed next
• Balancing tech, fieldwork, and the joy of birdwatching

Come for the redtails and migration maps…stay for the big-picture vision that’s shaping the future of birding.

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to. 

We're all here—Mollee, George, and Alvaro—to catch up on birding and nature stories from home and Alvaro's adventures spanning oceans...and two Great White Norths! Yup, with our usual dose of wildlife weirdness, too. 

Highlights include:

• An incredible polar bear sighting alongside Ivory Gulls and (cue Alvaro's scream) Ross's Gulls
• Birding in Svalbard, Norway, and Finland
• Pelagic reports from the Farallon Islands
• Skunks, tomato juice, and what actually helps when your dog gets sprayed
• Yard list joys and surprises—from mulberries to Least Bitterns
• Plus, read about Cory's Least Bittern here

Come for the booby stakeouts and skunk drama…stay for the midnight sun, polar silence, and birding in life’s liminal spaces.

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to. 

Marshall Iliff joins us for this interview episode where we discuss big days, vagrancies, and more!

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to. 

Covid hit the pod, but didn't keep us down for long. We're back to catch up on spring migration, The Biggest Week in Birding Festival, west coast pelagic research, and a curious towhee behavior.

Species mentioned:  Arctic terns, various warblers, Eastern Towhee

Check out: 

• BirdCast
• Birding Your Best Life
• Kowa Scopes

Send your topic ideas to lifelistpodcast@gmail.com

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to. 

It's all over the news, but is there concrete evidence that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker still exists in the United States? George and Alvaro discuss these magnificent woodpeckers along with updates from Alvaro's tour in Cuba. 

Locations mentioned: Cuba

Book recommendation: Vagrancy in Birds by Alexander Lees and James Gilroy

Upcoming tours: 

• New Jersey Deep Water Pelagic with Hillstar Nature
• South Africa Birds and Wine with Alvaro's Adventures

Send your topic ideas to lifelistpodcast@gmail.com

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to. 

George recounts his adventures in India, Mollee talks about visiting El Salvador, and Alvaro gets a rare bird in his yard while we're recording!

Locations mentioned: India, El Salvador, Costa Rica

Movie recommendation: 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible

Send your topic ideas to lifelistpodcast@gmail.com

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to. 

While George is away in India, Alvaro and Mollee are off on adventures of their own!

Highlight bird species: Northern Mockingbird, various New World warblers, Black Swift, Broad-winged Hawk

Locations mentioned: Chile, Argentina, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Cuba

Don’t miss out: on the Broad-winged Hawk Project and Moonlight drives nocturnal vertical flight dynamics in black swifts by Anders Hedenström, Robert A. Sparks, Gabriel Norevik, Colin Woolley, Greg J. Levandoski, and Susanne Åkesson.

Send your topic ideas to lifelistpodcast@gmail.com

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to. 

Episode 18 is a special one: our first interview with ornithologist, guide, and artist Dan Lane!

Ever wondered what it's like to discover a new bird species...and what to do after discovering it? You won't want to miss this interview where Dan recounts the epic 20-year journey in the discovery of the Inti Tanager. 

Cool links: Learn more about Dan on his website

Send your topic ideas to lifelistpodcast@gmail.com

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to. 

We start by, what else? comparing pelagic updates from the east and west coasts with a few European bird names thrown in. Did we watch the Super Bowl? Superb owl? Tune in to find out. Measure Alvaro's junk food identification skills before we dive into some *drumroll* bird mysteries our hosts have experienced!

Species mentioned: Egyptian Plover; Vermilion Flycatcher; Brujo Flycatcher; and you know, various alcids and gulls and raptors

Cool links: 

• Check out this awesome drone footage of Hillstar Nature’s recent pelagic
• And see a sample trip report on eBird

P.S. Pardon the interruption from a very cute and well-meaning golden retriever.

Send your topic ideas to lifelistpodcast@gmail.com

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com. 

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George's company, Hillstar Nature; Alvaro's company, Alvaro's Adventures, and Mollee's company, Nighthawk Agency, to see more about what we're up to.