We talk with Greg Miller, who was the inspiration behind Jack Black's character Brad in "The Big Year". Greg tells us all about what was real and what was embellished in the movie as well as other birding stories! Hear more from Greg on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GregMillerBirding/ Book at tour with Greg: https://wildsidenaturetours.com/team-member/greg-miller/

We talk with the current 2024 Lower 48 Big Year leader Ezekiel Dobson about his historic year, birding across the United States, birding in Kentucky where he's from, and more! Zeke is currently at 708 species for the year.

You can donate to Zeke's journey here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/big-year-lower-48-states

We talk to Jeff (Mr. Train) and Otys about what it's like birding in New Jersey, how people are working to reduce window strikes, especially in big cities like New York, and more!

Links

Mr. Train: Life Lessons for Better Birding and Beyond

Common Tern Article

Article about Mr. Train and Otys' work with window strikes

Otys Train's essay about window strikes

We talk about some of the most difficult bird identifications, some cool sightings we've had, and play around with some AI to see how it is at generating bird photos and other scenes.

We talk about why summer birding comes with its own set of challenges, the bird nesting season, as well as how cool nest box cameras are.

We talk to Wisconsin birder Cole Roecker about birding "Big Days", including the one from our latest video, the history of birding, and some of birding's biggest controversies, including feral cats.

We talk to 13 year-old birder Manny from Indiana about how he got into birding, birding in Indiana, the Inaccessible Island Rail, and more!

We give a preview about what it's like going to The Biggest Week in American Birding, which happens annually in Ohio. We will be releasing a bunch of content about it in the future. You can learn more here: https://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com

We talked with birder and field tech Max Carroll about birding in Vermont, shorebird survey, and field tech work, a peg-legged American Oystercatcher that's still kicking, and more! You can follow Max on instagram @max.manhattan.

I talk with Graduate Research Assistant Maria Bleitz about how the Covid-19 pandemic got her into birding, some of her research and work in Michigan, California, and Oklahoma, how goofy plovers are, and more!

We talk about marshes and marsh birds, and the world's largest freshwater cattail marsh, Horicon Marsh, as well as Limpkins, Whooping Cranes, and other species.

We talk with young birder Liam Hutcheson who just broke the State Big Year record in Washington in 2023. Discussions include birding in Washington, his Big Year, the proposed Barred Owl cull, and more. You can check out Liam's Instagram @liamhutchesonwildlife.

We talk with Alex Lamoreaux, one of the guides for Wildside Nature Tours, about his travels all over the world, his crazy stories, favorite experiences, and more!

Learn more about Alex and his tours at: https://wildsidenaturetours.com/team-member/alex-lamoreaux/

I talk with Holly Garrod, who is the coordinator of the Caribbean Bird Banding Network with Birds Caribbean about what it's like birding in the Caribbean, bird banding, and all things Todies! You can follow Holly on instagram @orn.ecology.

We talk about our favorite warblers, which ones are overrated and underrated, as well as what we're looking forward to this spring!

We talk with Wisconsin birder Tim Hahn about the Wisconsin birding scene, doing a county Big Year, sketchy encounters in the forest and more!

We talk with Ryan Rodriguez, a 16-year-old birder from South Texas, about what it's like being a young birder, guiding in South Texas, his quest to see the last  ʻakikiki in Hawaii, and more!

Duade Paton is an experienced bird and nature photographer who also runs his own YouTube Channel with nearly 80,000 subscribers. Hear about some of his favorite photography tips, some of his favorite gear, as well as what it's like living and birding in Australia. Make sure to check out Duade's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@Duade

We talk with photographer Matt Zuro about how he captures incredible bird photos, including many of the owl species that live in the northern United States, using thermal cameras for birding, and birding in Illinois. All photos seen in the video version of this episode are photos taken by Matt. You can check out his photos on his instagram @zurotography.

Owls are captivating, and fascinating to watch. On this episode we talk about owls you can find in North America, specifically discussing encounters we've had with these species, as well as some tips on how to find owls, and best practices for observing them ethically.

We went on our first pelagic birding trip out of Westport, Washington. We give a sneak peak about what we saw and what it was like and also talk about what you need to know before going on your first pelagic birding trip.

We (Derek and Ryan) talk about some of our coolest and most memorable experiences, as well as some of our most disappointing. We also go through some of the most interesting species on our life lists and some that we're excited to look for in the future.

We talk with Chris, creator of the "Looking at Birds" podcast about what's it's like making each episode, how he got into birding, as well as what it's like living in Arizona, birding festivals, and more! You can check out Chris's podcast here! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/looking-at-birds-a-birding-podcast/id1561550706

We talk with Rachel Clark, professional birding guide from "Central California Birding Tours" about what it's like to bird in the diverse habitats of California. We also talk about if all wrens are sassy, and some of our stories about finding and looking for rare birds, as well as the trip we took to California. You can check out Rachel's website at https://centralcaliforniabirdingtours.com.

We talk with Alex Harman, a graduate student at Oklahoma State University about what it's like birding in Oklahoma, the possibility of doing the Colima Warbler hike in Texas, the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch in Wisconsin, and more!

We talk with Justin LeClaire from the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program about birding in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, some of the rare birds currently in the state, his county Big Year, and more!

We talk with our friend and Wisconsin birder Eric Konkol about the First of the Year Birding Challenge, his work doing Marbled Murrelet and Spotted Owl surveys in the Pacific Northwest, as well as some of his recent trips, including what it's like to bird in South Texas.

Derek and Ryan talk about how they got into birding, the challenges they faced when first starting, and how they started their YouTube Channel "Badgerland Birding" which now has over 27,000 subscribers.

We talk about what it was like Birding at the Grand Canyon and seeing California Condors. Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan also gets a shout-out.

We talk about the new AOS update of what bird species are now considered the same and which ones are considered different.

We talk about the latest birding technology from smart bird feeders, to thermal monoculars, to binoculars that ID birds for you, and more!

We talk with Zach Matchinski about his work on Midway Atoll, including the birds that live there, how to get a job working with birds, broken camera lenses, and more!

We talk with Trey McCuen about traveling across the country to see birds, what it's like birding in Georgia, the start of his new guiding business, and his interesting experiences out in the forests of North America.

We talk with "The Bob Ross of Birding" Erik Bruhnke, who is always excited and passionate about the world of birding. He is a guide for Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours and is also involved with Hawk Ridge, doing migration counts!

Learn more about Erik here: https://www.ventbird.com/our-team/ErikBruhnke/26

We talk with president of the Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club, Spence Stehno about how birding has changed over time, the bird club, birding in Southeastern Wisconsin, and more!

We talk with gull Expert Amar Ayyash about all things gulls, including beginner tips, cool hybrids, some underrated species, his new book "The Gull Guide: North America" and more!

Link to the book: https://tinyurl.com/5n8xkt79

Link to the blog: http://www.anythinglarus.com

Link to the North American Gulls Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nagulls

We get the inside scoop about the 2024/2025 winter finch forecast from two of the compilers, Tyler Hoar and Matt Young. You can see the written forecast on the Finch Research Network Website: https://finchnetwork.org/winter-finch-forecast-2024-25

Link to the new Finch Field Guide (As Amazon Associates we do earn from qualifying purchases: https://amzn.to/3TNEgce)

We talk with the author of the "Birds of Florida" field guide Kirsten Hines about Florida birds and birding, invasive species, and more!

Link to Kirsten's book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/birds-of-florida-9781472993366/

We talk with Portage County, WI birder and eBird reviewer Rob Pendergast about Buena Vista Grasslands, Greater Prairie-chicken conservation, and more!

We talk about some spooky birds in anticipation of halloween, as well as the total species seen in a few states, what it would be like to do a Big Year in Rhode Island, and more!

You can support us on Ko-fi here! https://ko-fi.com/badgerlandbirding

We talk with Canadian birder and guide Josh Dewitt about birding in Manitoba, as well as Churchill, the polar bear capital of the world, Canadian stereotypes, and more!

We talk with Oklahoma birder and host of the "Bird's Eye View" Podcast Mathew G. Radford about birding in Oklahoma, Idaho, cryptids, and more! Check out his podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/6iSdFRrx8bXtRzQWTovwvy

We talk with Lillian Stokes and Matt Young, who authored the new "Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada" about what it's like making a field guide, the new book, finches, and more!

Link to the book (As Amazon Associates we do earn from qualifying purchases): https://amzn.to/48xcLKc

I talk with José Miguel Calvo Rivera from Costa Rican Nature, all about what you need to know before you visit Costa Rica, the top places to go, and some of the coolest species to see. We also talk about tours in the country, and some of the places we went and species we saw last time I visited.

Learn more about José's tours here: https://badgerlandbirding.com/costa-rica-birding-tours/

We talk with birder and writer Stuart Winter, who is a well-known figure in the birding and conservation community, primarily in the UK, all about what it's like to bird in the UK, differences between the UK and the U.S. and more!

We talk with our friend Dave who is a beginner birder, about the excitement of getting started, birding in western New York, the Biggest Week in American Birding festival, and more!