Out There With the Birds

Latest Episodes:

Episode 96: Reader Rendezvous, Part III Jul 09, 2021

Show notes

So, what do people who have travelled with us have to say about our Bird Watcher's Digest Reader Rendezvous Birding Tours? Welcome to our Reader Rendezvous podcast series Part 3! Join host Wendy Clark as she talks with long-time "repeat attender" Roger Taylor and brand new Reader Rendezvous attendee Julia Jackson about their personal experiences on Reader Rendezvous tours, their feelings about traveling in the US and abroad for birding during this post-Covid era, all things birds and birding.

Episode 95: Reader Rendezvous, Part II Jun 18, 2021

Show notes

Did you know that Bird Watcher's Digest leads bird watching tours for our friends and subscribers all around the world? Our Reader Rendezvous birding tours began in 2014 and quickly evolved into a beloved experience for our staff members, our magazine columnists, and our attendees. In this podcast episode, Kelly Ball and Wendy Clark continue reminiscing about past Reader Rendezvous, discuss how recent events changed as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, and give a glimpse of new and fun destinations to look forward to in 2022 and 2023!

Episode 94: Reader Rendezvous, Part I Jun 11, 2021

Show notes

Did you know that Bird Watcher's Digest leads bird watching tours for our friends and subscribers all around the world? Our Reader Rendezvous Birding Tours began in 2014 and quickly evolved into a beloved experience for our staff members, our magazine columnists, and our attendees. In this podcast episode, Kelly Ball interviews Wendy Clark who helped develop the Reader Rendezvous Tours from the beginning. They discuss how and why we started our tours, what happened with the tours during the COVID-19 crisis, and how our tours are revitalized and moving forward in a post-COVID era. Join Kelly and Wendy as they reminisce about birding with Bill, hilariously funny Rendezvous stories, and the heart of our mission that continues to drives us onward: Birding Is Better With Friends!

Episode 93: An Interview with Mark Garland May 28, 2021

Show notes

Host Dawn Hewitt chats with Mark Garland, a naturalist who has been sharing his enthusiasm for nature with others professionally for over 40 years. Readers of BWD know him as the author of Birder's Question Mark, a column in which he answers questions on birdy topics far and wide. In March of 2019 he was awarded the Paul Bartsch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Natural History from the Audubon Naturalist Society. A popular, highly-demanded, full-time professional birding and nature guide based in Cape May New Jersey, he led tours in Alaska, Central America, and beyond--until COVID-19 struck. In this episode, Dawn chats with Mark about how he launched his career as a naturalist, how his life changed during the COVID era, how he became involved with the Thompson family and Bird Watcher's Digest, and much more!

Episode 92: An Interview with Scott Weidensaul May 14, 2021

Show notes

Scott Weidensaul is living a life of avian adventure. His recent book, A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migration, has become a New York Times bestseller--and for good reason: Scott is a masterful storyteller. A field ecologist and bird bander, a founder of Project SnowStorm and Project Owlnet, and an active bird migration researcher, his Migrations column keeps BWD readers eager to receive and devour each new issue. In this episode of Out There with the Birds, editor Dawn Hewitt asks Scott about his long ties to Bird Watcher's Digest, and recent revelations resulting from rapidly evolving technology on bird migration.

Episode 91: New River Birding & Nature Festival Apr 16, 2021

Show notes

Rachel Davis is a lifelong lover of the outdoors and a native of the New River Gorge region of West Virginia. A self-proclaimed "girl of the woods", Rachel has enjoyed West Virginia's New River Gorge as her backyard throughout her lifetime. She currently serves as a Co-Coordinator of the New River Birding & Nature Festival and manages all communications for the festival. She lives with her fiancé in a cabin in the woods in West Virginia, and enjoys hiking the deer trails, raising chickens, and drinking in the wonderful wildlife that surrounds her in all seasons. Join Rachel and Wendy Clark, BWD's publisher, as they chat about the upcoming New River Birding & Nature Festival taking place in late April of this year, and the juiciest secret you may not be aware of: You can participate in this year's virtual festival for FREE!

Episode 90: Bruce Wunderlich, Master of BirdTography Apr 02, 2021

Show notes

If you have admired the appearance of Bird Watcher's Digest, it is Bruce Wunderlich, our production director, who should get the credit. Bruce lays out each issue of BWD and its sister publication, Watching Backyard Birds, places the ads and photos, builds the table of contents, and otherwise assembles each issue. He is also a professional and award-winning bird photographer, and many of his magnificent photos appear on the pages of both magazines. He also contributes the BirdTography column in each issue of BWD. Listen in as BWD editor Dawn Hewitt interviews her colleague and friend in this episode of Out There With the Birds.

Episode 89: Spotted Owl Conservation with Ryan Wickiser Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

Ryan Wickiser is a field biologist who has studied California spotted owls in Eldorado National Forest. This work enabled him to become intimately acquainted with this rarely seen species. He gets to know them so well, in fact, that he’s able to identify them by their unique hoot patterns! Host Kelly Ball asks him how forestry and conservation practices have evolved over time; why barred owls are considered an invasive species in the Pacific Northwest; and about the other species, such as northern goshawks and great gray owls, that he surveys as part of his work as a wildlife technician.

Episode 88: Alvaro Jaramillo, the Bird ID Guru Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

Alvaro Jaramillo is among the best in the world at bird ID, and regular readers of Bird Watcher's Digest know him from the Identify Yourself column. His knowledge of birds is deep and wide, but his advice and insights are accessible for birders of all skill levels, and he’s a fun, sweet guy. In this episode of Out There with the Birds, Bird Watcher's Digest editor Dawn Hewitt chats with Alvaro about how nature and birds snagged him when he was a kid, as well as some of his remarkable accomplishments!

Episode 87: An Interview with Pete Dunne Feb 19, 2021

Show notes

Pete Dunne is one of the most well-known and respected birders in North America, probably because he has been a prolific author of books on birds and birding for the past 30 years or so. One of his many areas of expertise is how to be a better birder, and that is the focus of his column, Pete's Tips, in Bird Watcher's Digest. BWD editor Dawn Hewitt had the honor and pleasure of interviewing Pete recently while he was waiting out winter at his in-laws' home in sunny California.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected