Out There With the Birds

Latest Episodes:

Episode 45: Ben's Backyard Bird Feeding Tutorial Nov 01, 2018

Show notes

With the guys poised to head off to far-flung birding destinations, Ben asks Bill for advice on his backyard bird feeding efforts. Bill, who is the Guy Fieri of Bird Feeding, dishes the knowledge on mixed seed, suet, peanuts, and the best foods for feeding birds. They discuss the never-ending battle with feeder marauding squirrels. Ben also asks Bill if he's ever eaten squirrel. Bill's latest musical recommendation: Brandi Carlile's new album "By the Way, I Forgive You," featuring the amazing (and totally timely) song "The Joke."

Episode 44: Hooray for Bird Clubs and Feasts of Birdin'! Oct 17, 2018

Show notes

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.

Episode 43: Live from Cape May, New Jersey! Oct 03, 2018

Show notes

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 and one in person, live, in Cape May, New Jersey, during the Cape May Reader Rendezvous.

Episode 42: Tips for Enhanced Birding Enjoyment Sep 10, 2018

Show notes

Ben and Bill share a baker's dozen tips for enhancing your birding enjoyment, including where and when to go, 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 extend an invitation to listeners to join them on a birding safari to South Africa.

Episode 41: Live from the 2018 British Birdwatching Fair Aug 28, 2018

Show notes

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 the Global Big Year Challenge™, and the long shadow cast by the BBC TV show from the 1950s "Bill and Ben: The Flowerpot Men." All this is discussed while sitting in a giant beer tent in the middle of a sheep pasture. Please note: This was BEFORE they had a beer.

Episode 40: Summer Fun & Games Aug 13, 2018

Show notes

Summer activities--both recent and upcoming--are the focus of this episode's discussion between Bill and Ben. They brag about their super-smart daughters and wonder how the apples could fall so far from the tree. They chat about Ben's upcoming canoe trip, the new issue of BWD, upcoming Reader Rendezvous, and about Bill's recent (amazing) baseball catch on national TV. Bill shares a music recommendation: American treasure John Prine.

Episode 39: Live From Outdoor Retailer Jul 31, 2018

Show notes

Ben and Bill take a break during the Outdoor Retailer show in Denver, Colorado to talk about the products, trends, and environmental awareness they found at this major event for retail stores. Like Johnny Appleseed, they planted the seeds of birding awareness among the many cool folks and companies they encountered. And there was free beer. Birding tip: It's time to look for southbound shorebirds, swallows, martins, and nighthawks.

Episode 38: The Stoke is High! Jul 17, 2018

Show notes

The stoke is high for Ben and Bill's upcoming trips to Man Camp (People Camp) in West Virginia and to Colorado for the Outdoor Retailer Show. In this episode, their Zugunruhe has them all over the place topicwise, including fledglings at feeders, higher hummer numbers, famous Birding Expo keynote speakers, the new Duck Stamp, and the demise of the Porro prism binocular (according to the LeBron James of Birding Optics). Bill's music recommendation is TroubleFunk, out of Washington DC.

Episode 37: Go West, Old Men! Jun 29, 2018

Show notes

Recorded live in three parts during the recent Bird Watcher's Digest Reader Rendezvous trip to northern Colorado, this episode features lots of voices. Bill and Ben welcome special guest Clay Taylor of Swarovski Optik to talk about birding optics and his most recent life bird. BWD's own Emily Jones joins in as do many of the Rendezvous participants, to talk about favorite birds, life birds, good food, Pawnee Grasslands, and the ever-majestic Rocky Mountain National Park. Oh, and, in case you didn't know, the "p" in ptarmigan is silent.

Episode 36: Seek and Ye Shall Find (Or Maybe Not) Jun 15, 2018

Show notes

The gents talk via Skype about their personal fitness regimens, post-spring bird action, appreciating nesting birds, a booby in Maine, jinx birds for 2018, the upcoming Colorado Reader Rendezvous, legalized marijuana and the implications for bird feeding, birds you cannot find by seeking them, their first-ever trip to the Outdoor Retailer Show, and whether or not high-end optics are worth it. Oh, and Ben finally saw a peregrine falcon, but Bill still needs a great horned owl for the OTWTB Global Big Year Challenge™.

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