Episode 49: Bird Migration with Scott Weidensaul: Post Episode Trailer 1
Post Episode Trailers are short episodes in which I highlight an earlier episode that is worth watching. This episode is about Episode 12 of The Bird Podcast in which author and migration expert, Scott Weidensaul talks about the amazing feats that birds do in order to migrate. https://youtu.be/n9au9YFdxVE Scott Weidensaul and snowy (©Beth...
Episode 48: Behind the scenes with Allison Shultz of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
In which we go behind the scenes to see the fascinating aspects of the bird specimen collection of one of America’s most well-respected museums. You really should watch this episode but in case you cannot, here it the audio only version. In this episode, she shows us house finches, parrots, frigatebirds, penguins, condors, munias, whydahs and the...
Episode 47: The complex web of factors that influence bird migration with Dr. Yaara Aharon-Rotman
Where she talks about how multiple nations and habitats need to cooperate to help these champion migrants. In this episode, Dr. Yaara Aharon-Rotman speaks about long distance migration, mainly among shorebirds but also passerines. We have explored migratory shorebirds before in Episode 43. Here, Dr. Rotman talks about how national...
Episode 46: Rescuing black kites with filmmaker Shaunak Sen
Interview with a filmmaker who won the L’oiel d’or or Golden Eye in Cannes for best documentary film in 2022. We have a different sort of guest for this episode: a filmmaker. Shaunak Sen’s film “All That Breathes” premiered at Sundance Festival, where it won the Grand Jury award and then won the L’Oeil d’Or (Golden Eye) for the best documentary...
Episode 45: Avians to the rescue with Bittu Sahgal
Our guest today is the much-admired Bittu Sahgal. Mention Mr. Sahgal and three words come up: Sanctuary, activism, and conservation. He founded Sanctuary magazine in 1981. It morphed into Sanctuary Nature Foundation in 2001. In these capacities, and in his role as the President of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Mr....
Episode 44: A life with birds and insects with Dr. Bernd Heinrich
About ravens, tree swallows, great horned owls, woodpeckers, golden-crowned kinglets, crows and more. Our guest today is distinguished academic, author and ultra-marathoner, Dr. Bernd Heinrich. He talks about owls, ravens, tree swallows, painted snipes, great horned owls, crows and much more. This episode is about the various birds that Dr....
Episode 43: Challenges of the Arctic-breeding shorebirds with Dr. Erica Nol
Today we are talking with Dr. Erica Nol of Ontario, Canada about challenges of the arctic-breeding shorebird. Dr. Nol is a professor at Trent University in Canada. Her research interests lie in the biology and conservation of shorebirds across many areas in Canada and beyond. In particular, she studies the impacts of climate change on the...
Episode 42: Birds in myth and legend. Part 4 of 4
Part 4 of How to bird-watch series In which the author loops in some history and fables and talks about her habitat. Birds are the stuff of myth and legend in every culture. Some of the most beautiful poetic images come from birds. My father, an English professor, loved the Romantic poets: Keats, Shelley, and Wordsworth, who lived in the...
Episode 41: The art of seeing in bird-watching
How to bird watch Part 3 In which the author talks about how to see. Ayurveda divides us into three phenotypes: vata, pitta and kapha. Vatas have acute hearing and enjoy the sense of touch— if my memory serves right. Pittas have acute vision and enjoy the sense of smell. Kaphas have acute taste and enjoy the sense of touch. As a classic vata, I...
Episode 40: The pleasures of bird watching. Part 2 of 4
In which the author connects birds and bees with flora and foliage Nature is both generous and opportunistic. Trees attract birds during certain seasons; and then allow other trees to get that opportunity. The red silk cotton tree beside my house was agog with birds when it flowered a few months ago. Today, it stands bereft, with its flowers and...