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Birdwatching and Safety for Diverse Birders
668 Plays6 months ago
Join Dexter and Jason in this jam-packed episode, where they emphasize the crucial role of planning in ensuring a safe and enjoyable birding trip. The homies delve into the basics of safety, including the essential steps to plan your visit to a birding area.
Are you aware of what you need to safely get there, bird, and safely get home to those folks who love you the most? This includes making sure you have things like food and water if you need it for a longer trip, accessible and safe parking or public transport; clothes are safe and comfortable for the conditions you will be in; sunscreen, gloves, hats, and other items to ensure your physical self is well taken care of. Additionally, the homies dive deep into safety in numbers and ensure that you let folks know where you are going. There are natural (large carnivores, dangerous plants, venomous reptiles) and human dangers (social or political groups that do not accept those different from them) in some areas, and we must ensure we are aware of those. There are several examples throughout history of folks being harmed in the outdoors simply due to who they are. Feel free to use technology (e.g., Find my iPhone or other similar apps) to share your location with others if you can.
In a separate episode, they covered birding ethics and inclusive birding. The homies return to some of those themes when it comes to ensuring we are aware of how we impact the safety of others on the trail. For example, how men… or bears… approach women on the trail, ensuring we are not overstepping bounds and only presenting safe and equitable spaces. There is also consideration given to how some of these points of safety may change depending on a disability that someone may be challenged with at any point and how we should consider those when going out in groups.
As heavy as this episode is with tips and advice, the homies keep it fun and uplifting at all times. As usual, there are many laughs along the way. There are some lesser talked about topics like common birding injuries and how to take care of yourself during your bird outing. In the end, they want you to be safe on the bird trail, no matter who you are.
Be sure to follow our podcast on Instagram at @thebirdjoypod and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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Transcript
Introduction and Friendship
00:00:00
Speaker
My guy, my guy, what's good? It's that time again, Jason. My favorite time of the week. My favorite time. I know people are like, man, where do you find time to have a podcast and do all this stuff? I was like, how could you not want to talk to the homie for an hour a week? I know, right? It don't even feel like work, does it? It don't even feel like work. Man, if we live next to each other, this would probably be a weekly occurrence either way, whether we were recording a podcast or not. It'd just be like, yo, you trying to meet me at the Marsh? Where are you going today? It's funny when you say that you want to meet me, meet me here, meet me there. And I don't know about you, but when I think about some fellow people of color and some of the homies, when I tell them to meet me in the woods, bro, they get kind of scared.
00:00:49
Speaker
We may meet you in the woods.
Birding Safety: An Inclusive Space
00:00:51
Speaker
And like, for me, I'm hoping this week, bro, with this podcast, let's talk a little bit this week about birding safety. And maybe we can break down some of these myths, at least answer some of the questions people typically have when it comes to how can I make sure I'm safe when I go out there? If I'm going to meet you out there, I want to make sure I'm safe. You think we can talk about that today? Yes, sir. And applied to everyone. There will be some things that are specific to black and brown folks, maybe specific to women, maybe specific to folks that will come from different backgrounds of all over. So I hope we can have a good conversation today because it is something that everybody should be thinking about when they go in the outdoors is how can they make sure that they get back home to the people that love them the most every single time? And that's really the case.
00:01:42
Speaker
That is the key. And we want to say welcome. We want to welcome everybody to the Bird Joy podcast. I'm Dexter Patterson. And I'm Jason Hall. And this podcast is for all the homies out there that want to find a little birdjoy. A little birdjoy. And they want to be safe as they're finding a little birdjoy. Let's go. All right. So we've been, you know, we've been diving through quite a bit when we think about this podcast and all the different things we've been talking
Planning and Preparation for Birding
00:02:09
Speaker
about. yeah Now we're going to talk about safety. And I i figured what's best in is just start with some of the basics, the basics of bird watching safety. Yeah. And you know, let's start here. Birdwatching or birding is typically something you have to do outdoors. Now, certainly there's ways to do it from the safety of indoors at different times. But for the majority of this part of the conversation, just understand we're talking about when you have to actually put on pants and leave the house. So what does that look like? And really the first thing you want to think about is, did you plan where you're going?
00:02:45
Speaker
This is usually the first step people have, right? It's it's where am I going? Can I park there? Can I even get there? What's it like there? And that has a myriad of things that you have to go through, right? So what's the weather going to be like? What are the trails like? You know, what are the people like? What are the resources like? Is there somewhere to get help if I need help? Now, this may not be an exhaustive list if you're going down the street to your local park, but there's still things that will apply. Are you going there at a safe time of day? Do you have the right clothes on?
00:03:16
Speaker
It is oppressively hot in Philadelphia right now. Like it is. Somebody is mad at somebody because it's too hot outside to be anything else. Like it is. That's why you said you're trying to stay hydrated. Yeah, man. this There's some hateful heat out there today and like. i was thinking to myself oh you know maybe i'll just go for you know quick walk around the neighborhood do some bird atlas counts and
00:03:47
Speaker
man ah just went to like take some recycling out and my body was like nah hoie you just look you already sweating you just walked around the side of the house look at you know it can be something very simple that you take for granted, right? Like the heat cold or a place that you're probably very familiar with like down the street at your local park, the basic stuff. Did you plan your trip? Whether it's a short trip, a long trip, did you evaluate all of the factors necessary to yourself safe? And that's usually where most people start. And sometimes they skip over the safety part and they just want to get there and do the thing, go find the bird. I've been in some situations where I did not plan appropriately and
00:04:25
Speaker
things got a little wild you know what i mean yeah i love that talk about that importance of planning and preparation because the weather i mean it's a press of the hot there it was here not too long ago and then today i woke up and i felt like fall so like it's one of those things where like you need to step outside before you go i'm like. Okay. Check your little weather app. Say, all right, I might be out for two hours. you know What's the weather going to be like in a couple hours? and And understanding that and dressing appropriate clothing and footwear for those conditions. Maybe it's going to rain a little bit. We talked about we talked about before going out and the and it just started raining. And I was prepared for that though. I wore my waterproof shoes and I had ponchos for people and different things. And if I showed up and I didn't have that, some of those people that stayed for that rainy event probably would have left because I was not prepared. You definitely got to be prepared. I would also say it's oppressively hot. You talked about staying hydrated. So having a water bottle, if you're going to go out and it's really hot and you're going to be out there for a while, making sure that you have a water bottle, maybe some snacks.
00:05:31
Speaker
If you need some snacks, especially if you're going out with the kids, I know when I go out with the kids, I always tell them to put a little snack in their bag just because I know how they get where even and I'm not going to have them out there for hours or anything like that. But even after 30 minutes, they're I'm hungry. um So yeah, make sure you got your, you got that water bottle and no snacks cause ah the kids are definitely going to need it. Your sunscreen, insect repellent. Just as much as it's been oppressively hot, it has been raining like
00:06:01
Speaker
crazy. Mosquitoes, awful right now. Ticks this year, insanely bad. I don't know how they are out there by you, but they're really bad in Wisconsin right now. Deer flies and all these different things. I would say at least have some some insect repellent as well, just in case you need it. You may not know those are some basics. And I think one last thing that I would throw in like that general birdwatching safety category is when I go out, I tell people where I'm going. I inform inform people and maybe that's just something that I just did because I'm a person of color. I'm a black man and I'm going out into the woods. Since the beginning, I'll always say, hey, wife, I'm going here. Kids, tell your mom I'm going this place. Like I let people know exactly where I'm going. So at least they know where I'm going to be at.
00:06:50
Speaker
Absolutely, absolutely. I do that with my wife all the time. And it's something I started doing once we got serious in our relationship, because I'd be going some places that I probably shouldn't be. And I, you know, I'd be off trail sometimes looking for something weird. And I used to have to travel a lot for work. And I would go birding and like just be walking around Istanbul in Turkey by myself in nighttime. And my wife was like, no, you can't be can be out there doing that. We actually use technology. So I use um the the Find Your iPhone app um my um there you go on my phone. And I just share my like my location is constantly shared with her. Because at any given moment, I could be off chasing a bird somewhere.
00:07:28
Speaker
or doing something and like I want her to know like she knows like what my schedule is, whether I remember to tell her or not, she can see where I am. And it's really helpful for me because I know that there's somebody checking on me. Right. Like we've talked about this specifically, like, hey, if I tell you I'm going birding, if you don't hear from me in three hours and you're not seeing the ping on the thing, right. Like you might want to call somebody. You know, the other thing that that that leads to right is is having a sense of that, you know, your ability to actually connect with the world with where you're going. Like, did you charge your phone? Right. I keep the charger in the car is connected to the Jeep because I and I try to remind myself if I'm going somewhere, like throw it on the I don't care if I'm at 80 percent, throw it on there, get that other 20 percent while you're driving. And when you get there, one thing I like to do is first check and see, do I have reception where I'm parking? Right. You can get the border charges. Right. Yeah. portable chargers are a must. Two of them, bro. Yep. No joke. Because there's nothing worse than knowing that if your phone was charged, you could get yourself out of a situation and it's not charged. So if you're fortunate enough to have a cell phone with you all the time, make sure it's charged. But yeah, like those are those are like very simple technological things that I think take habitual practice to. You got to practice telling people where you're going. You got to practice planning and slowing down, taking some of the excitement out for a second and logically planning where you're going.
00:08:52
Speaker
thinking about what you're going to wear and all the stuff we talked about. Once you kind of get all that planning done, you've told people where you're going. You got your bug spray if it's the summertime or your galoshes if it's rainy. Another key, keep a couple of plastic bags in the car because you never
Challenges for BIPOC Birders
00:09:08
Speaker
know what you can use them for. And we all know too many plastic bags in the world. So if you get some from a store for some reason, There's some things you can do to reuse them. I used to keep them in my car in case I went somewhere and I didn't bring um waterproof shoes. You could just wrap the plastic bags around my shoe. I roll like that. I don't care as long as my feet stay dry because wet feet in the forest is no bueno. It can cause a lot of things in your foot. and You don't want to be out there doing.
00:09:32
Speaker
that. But once you get there, taking stock of your surroundings. I don't know if I told you, I told you this story, but I was, uh, you know, during black birders week, I went out to salt lake city to hang out with the homies at the Tracy aviary. Ashley Cleveland put me on, uh, at outdoor auntie on Instagram. And after I was finished with that, I went up to visit some family in Idaho and I was like, oh, let me just, you know, I'm going to go up to this place. You know, it was called Good Enough, Good Enough Trail or Good Enough Gulch or something like that. Right. Wild name. But it's just in the mountains in Southeast Idaho. There's nobody around.
00:10:05
Speaker
I just started walking down this trail and I'm walking, and I'm chilling, I'm vibing, I'm watching a little fly catcher build a nest and like, and then something came over my body where I was like, bro, you're not in Pennsylvania no more. There's bears out here, mountain lions out here. Like, I didn't even, I was just like, you know, that was Jason. I was just, I was frolicking through the forest, right? I was vibing, you know, I was vibing. And it was dead silent in the forest, dead silent. And the only thing I could think was, there might be a reason everything is quiet right now, you know? So I got like 200 yards down the trail and I was like, I'm gonna go ahead, turn around, head back to the vehicle. Cause even though my family knew where I was,
00:10:48
Speaker
i had I had no bear spray. I had no walking stick. I had nothing to protect myself. The one lesson I want to give there is like, if you're going to go somewhere different than where you normally are, plan for that. Check that, right? Because there are other creatures that could impact your safety. You could impact their safety by not approaching the forest, right? Yeah. A couple more stories like that. Yeah, we trouble we probably should put that in the basics. I mean, we we got to It's really important to understand not only the local terrain you're going to, but the potential wildlife that you could encounter there. So I think i think that's really important. That should be part of the planning process, where we're talking about planning planning and preparation. I think to us going out to some of these places, when I was first getting into birding, I would tell you living in Wisconsin, we have ah what they call up north the Northwoods. And it's very rural. It's some of the most pristine land that we have in the state. And a lot of the rare birds and we have Kirtland's warblers that nest in the central part of the state where we have like some jack pines and and different things. And, but the further you go, obviously you're getting closer to Canada and these are, you know, getting closer to the boreal forest. And a lot of these birds, that's where they go to nest. And I will see all these, you know, we've talked about e-birds so much, I would see all these like rare bird alerts coming. It's three hours away, four hours away.
00:12:15
Speaker
And when I was first started getting burdened, I was scared to go to those places. As a black man, as a black birder, as a person of color, I would be afraid to go to those places. I didn't understand how to navigate those outdoor spaces up there safely. I didn't know what I would deal with in regards to maybe potential biases and discrimination. and racism, that stuff is real and scary for people of color. And like when I was first getting started burning, I don't know about you, it kept me, bro, from a lot of those places. I'd love to talk about you know a little bit and discuss some of those unique challenges faced by BIPOC murders when we go to the woods, when we go to some of these rural areas in wilderness, because I know we're not the only ones that feel like that.
00:13:02
Speaker
No, no, we're not. And and unfortunately, a lot of us have gone through those experiences, right, where you got people following you. You got I have people pull up next to me in their car and just stare at me and just kind of then drive away like like like just, you know, like it's just it's just there's some things that and get immediately connected back to a lot of the trauma that black and brown folks have felt in the outdoors in the last 450 years right in this country. It's it's good to be aware of. And that's part of the reason why you want to tell people where you're going and you want to evaluate where you're going. Right. Like I have friends that will tell me if I, you know, if there's a bird somewhere far away and they know that space, they will tell me, like, Jason, like, if you're going to go, maybe let us come with you, because there's some social and political themes that run through that town in Pennsylvania that could be scary. Right. And and we don't want you up there by yourself now.
00:14:00
Speaker
Is it sad that somebody has to say that to me? Yeah, it is. It's sad that there's still places in this country like that where I know I will be more at risk just because of the color of my skin. But am I happy that I have allies around me that are willing to tell me the truth? Right. yes Absolutely. Right. So that's another point of safety. like If you have friends, whether they're black and brown folks, folks in the queer community, folks in different religions, you know, and you know that there may be some dynamics where that bird is that could make them uncomfortable, make them less safe. Tell them it doesn't mean they won't go, but you're giving them more information so that they can make plans to be more safe. That's a real big thing that we don't talk about enough as birders is like,
00:14:43
Speaker
Sharing the the knowledge around potential hazards from other people at that space. I love that you say that I also think that's also the benefits of going out with clubs like ours Yeah, that's the whole point where you go out within color burning you have a whole flock of people around you A whole squad of people that when you show up to that place, you're not alone and you have somebody like you and you already talked about this. When you go to places, you're looking out for who else is out there. What but what potentially could happen for my members? um So that is a huge benefit and we're the same way. you know We're out here, whether it's myself or Jeff or Rita, we're paying attention.
00:15:26
Speaker
There are people, and and i like I said, if somebody tells me that they're apprehensive or they say this is their first time in a place like this, guess who's like walking next to them a lot during that event? Yeah, absolutely. right You can see the wall and the the defense mechanisms just slowly starting to come down because now they can they can focus on being in the moment because they feel safe. And that is so important. It's not about being weak. It's not about any of that. It's about being safe. It's about doing what you need to do to enjoy the space. yeah So many of our members, they come out because they know and they get that, right? they they They know they're not going to get lost. They know, hey, do you know what this plan is? Maybe I don't. But guess what? Jeff is a master naturalist. He probably can tell you what that is, right?
00:16:12
Speaker
about me. Leaves of three, let it be. That's probably poison ivy. yeah There's certain things, right? You go out with people, you can learn so much with everybody in the communities. I would encourage if you're afraid or maybe a little apprehensive, that is normal. I felt like that for a long time. And I want our listeners to know that yes, Dexter, the one that you see singing, dancing and having all the fun in the woods and saying, you ready? Let's go. Was afraid to go. All right. To some of these places. And I want, I want our listeners to know that because you're not alone. It's very normal. There are groups out there, hopefully in your communities. If not, maybe you can create one or start to build a community that creates these spaces that allow people to be free in the outdoors. That's the key. You don't want that opportunity to find that bird joy to pass them up because we didn't plan appropriately for the safeties of the you know safety of those around us. Right. Like that's really that's really the key. You want them to get as much as they can out of the joy because things are safe. I mean, it's just like anything else. I used to be terrified of flying. I'm not anymore because I learned more about what these airlines do for safety. Now, granted.
00:17:21
Speaker
this year's been wild on some airline stories for the most part i learned that they learn these lessons these triple redundant systems after that to up to and i've flown enough to where i can understand it it's the same thing with our interaction with other that that consistency of preparation with group with yourself is gonna make you more safe it's not just gonna make you feel more safe is gonna make you more safe because you've prepared for it right and you have ah consistency in that community that you're going out with one of the thing i would say right is it is it another piece of this is we always talk about the accessibility and burning right and for people that are challenged with disabilities that they're overcoming. The planning is slightly different too if i say to
Inclusivity in Birding
00:18:00
Speaker
myself is there safety there to where i can get out of there if i need to get out of there yeah that's that's for me walking in a privileged way on my two feet but what if you're in a wheelchair can you get out of there.
00:18:11
Speaker
What if it starts to rain and you're in a wheelchair? nine What if the weather changes? What's the parking like? These things are different. And I can't pretend to say that you know that I know what it's like to be challenged with something like that. But I can tell you that those people that live those lives have to do that extra planning. They have to do that planning. And so anything you can do as a community to support that, right whether it's making sure the right signage and access points are at your local green spaces, that the information is available in whatever way possible. like Those are all really big things. And I think sometimes we forget about that a little bit because some of us may not live those lives. so
00:18:49
Speaker
um yeah you know understand that there's it there's a dynamic to all of this, you know including being a woman. I've seen the the wild debate on social media around being safe around a bear or a man. And I'm not i'm not gonna weigh in, but I will tell you, it's a valid conversation. And so- It's a real conversation. It's a real conversation. If I am, for me, like let's talk about, like we talk about personal safety for yourself. Well, if I'm in the forest, i don't want I don't want someone to be afraid of me. I understand why they are, like why women are afraid of men. So like what am I doing to make sure that I'm not overstepping my bounds and not doing something that's making them uncomfortable or making them unsafe? And one thing I always think about, because this happens to black and brown folks too, is like not everybody needs your help.
00:19:34
Speaker
but Yeah, the mansplaining over top. To me. They just assume you don't know what you're doing. Bro, like that's usually where like I feel and I hear from a lot of women that like you know they get this unwanted conversation on the trail that usually starts with some sort of mansplaining or nonsense and then progresses into anger or something because the dude doesn't get the hint the normal human hint of like, hey, I'm just out here vibing. I don't need you to talk to me. I don't need you to hike with me I don't need you like I just hello, goodbye, have a good day. yeah um So like understanding those social cues when you're out with one another, cause sometimes just that awkwardness of lingering in a conversation that you don't need to be in is the start of making someone really uncomfortable and feeling unsafe in the space. There's obviously a myriad of other things. That's one that I think is really easy for us to be like, hey, be nice, be courteous, smile, continue on your way. Unless someone stops you and says, excuse me, I have a question or I need help. Just move on. Yeah. Really big thing. I think that really, it speaks to that, that significance of having representation in bird watching.
00:20:42
Speaker
Right? So like when you and i when I, if I go to the Northwoods, they they don't see people like me in the woods a lot with binoculars and camera and stuff. yeah But if they see it more often, guess what happens? If it's not a once in a blue moon, it's not a one-off. If it becomes a regular thing, and that's ultimately what I hope to try to like be a part of the solution for in my state, is that we go to these places on a more consistent basis, that we make seeing a black man in the woods with binoculars normal, yeah where that significance of that representation, same with women in the outdoors. I see it all the time. I've talked about this with my friends at the Feminist Bird Club. you just The leadership and seeing women lead, that's exciting to see women lead and in these outdoor spaces. and The more we see that, the more people of color, the more
00:21:32
Speaker
disabled people and differently abled people, as you mentioned, the more we see that on the trail, the more we see people taking advantage of like using power wheelchairs on the trail. yeah like There's organizations out there that help with that type of stuff. And as leaders of bird clubs, I think we're uniquely kind of plugged in with some of this stuff because we have to think about when we're planning, we have to think about accessible birdwatching locations. yeah We have to think about, and you know, I remember the last time I was out with a member, her mom is, she's disabled. She can't get around on the trails. And I wanted to remind her, first thing I said is how's your mom, right? Hadn't seen her in a while. And I said, uh, also remind her that we have.
00:22:14
Speaker
the opportunity to collaborate. There's an organization called AccessAbility Wisconsin, and they have this goal and this mission to put a powered wheelchair in every county in the state. Wow. And they're they're doing some amazing job. The Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, they have one. So people can actually reserve that for their for their field trips and things. And I love seeing this happen. I love seeing this happen because the more you see those things, the more they become part of the conversation, the more it doesn't seem like this extra, like you're doing so... No, it's just a part of it. right like It's just kind of a part of it. And and I love that you brought that into the into the fold because I feel like that as a person of color, going into some of those rural spaces. And also there's that educational opportunity there. you know I want people to see me there. Getting over that fear was one of the best feelings ever. I'll tell you that because I was i was blocking myself from so much bird joy.
00:23:12
Speaker
Some of the best birds I've gotten have been in some of these secluded areas and some of these places where I say I never would go. yeah But I did the planning. I did the research. I talked to people in the community. I've gone to you know some of the places I didn't go alone the first time. So I leaned on a community, I leaned on my people. Oh, it's a beautiful thing to just kind of see that come together. And I feel the same way when I see members that have unique needs that get met. And it's just a beautiful thing to see everybody getting what they need because that's equity in my mind.
00:23:46
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. and there's And there's plenty of work to be done there. there's There's plenty of opportunity for us to continue getting better, but you're right. Being able to overcome those fears, helping others overcome those fears. And 99% of the time, those fears are are well-founded based on someone's experience in life or the space that they're going. So I would encourage people, if you have an inclination every time someone talks about safety in the outdoors to Poo poo that or please don't please don't don't because we talked about this in the episode on inclusivity.
Physical Safety and Comfort
00:24:18
Speaker
You don't know where people are coming from. And the point is not to have them assimilate to your point of view. The point is to find ways, like you said, to create equity so that they can experience the space and get the same amount of bird joy out of it.
00:24:30
Speaker
There's a ah lot to unpack here and and there's gonna be additional conversations around this particular aspect of it. i'm I'm very excited to have it and I hope we can have some guests on in the future as well. And there's other aspects to being safe out there as well and and something we don't talk about enough is just like the general activity of birding on the trail. Like physically. I was doing some research for this episode. There is a orthopedic group and I'll try to put a link in the show notes that had a list of the most common birding injuries. so What do you think they are? Yes. Yeah. Right. angle yeah braink
00:25:06
Speaker
right Sprained ankles. You're just walking. You're looking around. You're not And I'm telling you, I'm telling you. Oh, the tree roots. Oh. That's right. That's right. You know, stuff like, so like sprained ankles, right? I've seen a lot of stubbed toes on tree roots and rocks. Stubbed toes. Because you're not, because you're looking and walking and like, so like one key thing, right? Sprained knees, too. Sprained knees. So especially if you're not on a gravel path, you know, flat pathway, gravel or paved or grass that you know is absolutely flat. Pay attention. Stop. And I tell people this. I tell this to kids a lot because they get in this habit of walking and looking through their binoculars at the same time. And I'd be like, no, like we don't. I get it. Right. Number one, you're going to make yourself dizzy. Number two, where are you going? You know, You know, like walk into the tree, homie, like, relax. I know you're excited, you know, but like, I literally have to teach them, like, okay, when we want to look at something, we stop, see where we are first. And then we pull the binoculars up so that we can see like, are there holes around us? And if we decide to take a step to the right to get a better view of that bird, are we stepping in a hole? Are we stepping off a cliff? Are we stepping into the water? Right? Where are we?
00:26:23
Speaker
Are there animals around that we need to be aware of? And so like that, I found that website, uh, really helpful and also funny just because you don't think of common injuries when you think of burning. And the last one I'll talk about is warbler neck. and We've all gotten this. if you like it's like they' literallyt is is It's like a real thing on this website. It's legit. I love the way they talk about it because Warbler Neck is if if you live somewhere that gets a lot of warblers, warblers are leaf cleaners, so they hang out up in the trees, so you're just looking straight up with your binoculars.
00:26:57
Speaker
your chin's up in the air and your head's back. And so by the end of doing that for a couple of hours, your neck is sore, that your upper back is sore, your jaw might be sore in some cases. And so they talk about taking breaks during burning to reset your posture. And I had never thought about that. They were like, you know, pull your head down, put your binoculars down for two minutes. stretch your head forward stretch your head to the left and the right roll your shoulders back maybe bend down and touch your toes like because when you're standing for three hours and your body's locked in that position and you're constantly going up with your eyes all this pressure you're putting on your lower back and neck and i was like then why don't we talk about this more often like
00:27:36
Speaker
you know this like stretching during birding, right not just grinding your body. like It's not normal for you to stand in one spot for three hours and look up in a tree. It's not. I don't care what anybody says. We were built to move. That's what our bodies are good at doing. so you know That kind of safety out on the trail, just physical motion, paying attention, right and it goes hand in hand with bringing water and staying hydrated, bringing snacks. You made me laugh earlier because you were talking about kids bringing snacks. And I was like, I know some i know some adults, myself included, that get hangry if I don't bring a snack. And like yeah you know you got to get yourself ready. So like all these things to keep your body physically in the best position possible is really important. It's so funny. I always joke about warbler neck. But once spring migration pops off, i'm all you know i'll I'll post something like, stretch your necks, it's warbler season. But never literally had a conversation about, hey, maybe when your neck is hurting, you should stop.
00:28:30
Speaker
and stretch. Take a break. It's okay. It's okay. Like we never talk about it. Like we never talk about like resetting your body after three hours of burning. So I think it's a good time to, you know, and you said stretch your neck. That would be a great early spring t-shirt. Stretch your neck and get ready for war of the season. It's spring. Hey, we got a lot of t-shirt ideas. We do. We might have to... We're thinking about getting through season one. This is episode 11. I'm thinking about this. We're doing 12 episodes for season one. Next week is the last episode for season one. Maybe we take a look after that last episode of season one and maybe we like examine the potential of dropp ah dropping some swag during season two. Yeah. That'd be exciting. As we continue to grow and, you know, yeah, we've had, uh, yeah. Yeah. They've actually sent us some suggestions on some interesting stuff. Yeah. yeah That would be fun. That'll be fun. And we can make them so they're nice, breathable t-shirts. So people aren't getting too hot back to the burning safety idea. There you go. and let's And let's talk about, so we we talked about summer, but winter birding is different safety, right? And you and I do winter birding, like we have an actual winter. Man, I tell you what, the biggest smiles I get on people's faces is when we have bird outings in the winter and I bust out that Costco sized box of hand warmers. People are like, yo. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Frostbite is a real thing, right? We don't bird in places where you can probably get frostbite. I mean, I have. I've been to Saxon Bog and and in February. Again, when people are uncomfortable, if their hands are cold, their feet are cold, they're paying less attention to their surroundings. They're trying to just stay warm. And you get people that end up not paying attention and rushing to get out of a place or trying to do something extra to stay warm. And they hurt themselves having hand warmers, appropriate gloves. they also associate that
00:30:23
Speaker
experience with birdie yes exactly whichre getting your I know. I couldn't even feel my fingers. I've had those moments, but especially those newbies, I don't want to do that to no newbies. I'm trying to make sure that they they feel good and they're nice and toasty and they make it day. you know That's right. So like if you listen to our episode so far, you want to be able to get to a place that you know how much bird joy is awaiting you. And even if you're Dexter and you go to see Greater Prairie Chickens in a hoodie only,
00:30:59
Speaker
You can still power your way through it, right? You can still power your way through it, right? Players messing up, too. You know what I'm saying? The players mess up. Players mess up. You know what I'm saying? Hey, you see, I sent you a picture of me out burning in my house shoes, bro. Yeah, listen, it happens. You know what I'm saying? It happens. It happens. I like to drive places in my house shoes and my Crocs and then put my hiking shoes on. And I sometimes forget my hiking shoes, so you just got to roll with what you got. And I was like, well, I'm here now. You know what I mean? It was like, this definitely is not safe. I'm just saying it was not safe. I felt rocks under my feet. That's the only way I literally got on the trail and I felt rocks. And I'm like, what is going on? I looked down. I said, oh, no. Oh, my God. Oh, you had on the debos. He's ready to go. I had on the debos. I did a whole mile and a half. I did a mile and a half hike in those joints. Wow. That's dedication. That's dedication. So they need to go ahead and go ahead and sign me. You know what I'm saying? Let's go ahead. Let's just make that deal happen now. A little sponsorship. You know, make some trail version of the debos. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. That would be dope. That would be awesome. That would be dope. Awesome, man.
00:32:17
Speaker
um but um every else so this I'm going to have to post that picture on Instagram when we do this safety episode. People need to know, man, what they hear. This is just facts. This is just real stuff. It's real stuff. oh man
00:32:37
Speaker
Let's get serious again.
Visibility and Conservation
00:32:39
Speaker
All right. So um there's there's other things I think to consider with your surrounding. One other thing is um a lot of places where we like to bird there is active hunting. um I have to be aware of when the hunting seasons are near me in Pennsylvania. I got to throw that orange on. And I used to be really opposed to this. I was like, nah, man, you have to wear the gun and be able to see who humans are. That's not true. I was being an idiot. But I also was like, oh, I want to be able to creep on these birds. I don't want to wear a bunch of bright orange to birds. They know you coming. They know you coming. They know you coming either way. So grab your orange. You can get a cheap, just orange beanie. Or I got the vest.
00:33:18
Speaker
um And I just got in the in the hunting season, I just keep it in my Jeep. So like no matter where I'm going, I can just throw this like kind of shiny vest on top of whatever I'm wearing because I don't I don't want to get shot. And I don't want anyone to make that mistake and have to deal with that mistake in their life either. It's a it's a good habit. And regardless of where you are on the the hunting continuum, hunters do contribute a lot to maintaining these spaces. So I think the least we could do in some cases is is make ourselves visible, even if we're not there to shoot something and we're there to see a bird. But I think it's really key. And that just goes. Yeah, those hunters, those hunters. And last week we talked about birding and conservation, but a lot of people don't think about it. A lot of the hunters are some of the biggest contributors to conservation. They contribute a lot of dollars. You know, yeah, they want to hunt, but they want they want to protect these species. Most of them right there. There are some people that just are not ethical I've met some amazing hunters and ah Christopher Kilgore, he runs color in the outdoors and he's a BIPOC man and I love what he does in the state and he is a hunter. He grew up loving birds. He grew up on the lake and loving watching mallards in the morning and different things. and
00:34:28
Speaker
He doesn't like to hunt ducks, but he gets it. And and he was able, he has like 90 something acres of land and and we were walking one day. We collaborated on an event at Horicon Marsh and he lives close to the marsh. And I remember talking to him and we just had an amazing conversation about hunting. Cause I saw like deer stands on his land and different stuff. And he does ice fishing and deer hunting and all these different things. When you hear from a person that you know, loves the land and loves animals. and just loves nature. When you hear a person like that talk to you about that, it's game changing. It's so eye-opening and educational. Shout out to Color and the Outdoors and the homie Chris Kilgore for an amazing work he's doing. Yeah, there's another one too, Hunters of Color.
00:35:12
Speaker
Cause our homie, Al Troutman just got, I think he's one of their new, um, yeah, I think he's one of their new, uh, uh, another one we were talking to like where yeah was talking to us down. We were down. He was talking about hunting too and yeah talking about how delicious the recipes are. He's another person that we know loves birds, loves nature. wildlife, the outdoors, and he's a hunter. So yeah I would say talk to the people like that that, that you know, that you know, get it because it's eye opening. It really is. Yeah. Yeah. It really is. It really is. And I, you know, that's a, that's a, that's a big part of this. I mean, it just goes right into the bucket of understanding where you're going, what those dynamics are.
00:35:53
Speaker
What rules do you need to follow to keep yourself safe? Other safe and the bird safe. and And just a quick plug, right? Like we did an episode on ethical birding and a lot of those rules are around keeping the bird safe. And we did touch a little bit on this episode that we're doing now. So this is kind of a continuation of that after this episode is done. you'll have a better sense of not only how to keep the bird safe but yourself safe. you know There's iss a couple other funny things i want to I want to talk about. The thing that I'm most guilty of when it comes to bird safe is birding and driving. o Listen, I have these certain times of year. My wife, like she knows if I see a bird. I feel attacked. I feel attacked right now.
00:36:33
Speaker
Like my wife knows if I see a bird while we're driving because I tap on the brakes a little bit, I lean forward over the steering wheel. You know, I'm like looking out with my eyes and looking at the road, you know, I'm like quick turn to the left, you know, trying to follow something. I got to tell you folks, like, don't do it. It's. I've had situations where I wanted to see something so bad that I've just pulled over to the side of the road and put the blinkers on and got away from my car up on the side somewhere. If I want to check something out, sometimes I'll get really good looks at like red shouldered hawks on the highway near me at certain times of the year, because normally it's mostly red tailed hawks, but certain times either red shoulders hang out, especially some of the younger ones looking for a quick meal and they just look really pretty. And I'm just like, I can't be counting red shouldered hawks while I'm driving down this highway.
00:37:15
Speaker
the You know, but it's, it's, it's, it's, it's something that I've heard other birders talk about and it's hard not to do. It really is. But I, I encourage folks let go of that. The other thing I'll talk about is eye safety. We, you know, we go birding on these sunny days sometimes. And I always try to make people aware of where's the light, right? And this is mostly something that photographers are always thinking of is the light at their back side in front of them. And depending on the season year, and you can have birds that are flying in and out of the sunlight. them look like they're flying directly into the sun. And I tell people like, be careful, know where the sun is, because you can easily scan with your binoculars too quick and get banged right in the eye. Your binoculars don't necessarily have UV protection. And so if you're allowing that light to just go through all those
00:37:58
Speaker
piece of the glass right into your eyeball. It's not great. So just be aware of where the light is. Take breaks with your eyes. You're constantly looking up at the sky and it's really sunny. Take like five, five minutes and just go rest your eyes somewhere just because it's it's it can be a problem. I've had people start to see like, you know, spots and stuff or get that fatigue in their eyes, you know, and people got to drive home. People got to do other stuff so like we don't talk about it a lot. Keep your eyes healthy. If you're if you're able, you know, fortunate enough to use your eyes. Right. Like keep them healthy. Don't stare into the sun. Yeah, to piggyback on that, that's where the sun hats come in really handy. some You know, the sunblock and you're on all that different stuff, polarize glasses if you need them. But I particularly love my my hat with the tail on the back. So the back of my neck don't just get baked. I'm talking about, bro, I don't know how it came on. Like Sunday morning pork bacon. um like real looking Looking like pork belly. you know
00:38:56
Speaker
Like, yeah, it gets dark. Yeah, I was in St. Roy and I just got I got I got lit up, man. The sun and the sun and the islands like just got no protection from the UV rays. And like, I don't care what anybody tells you. Don't let anyone tell you that because your skin is darker, that you can go without sunscreen in some of these spots. Like, just put it on. I promise you, it's not going to hurt you. It'll it'll make things better. Like I used to be like that. I used to think, oh, you know, once I get a little tan for the summer, I'm good. I'm good. The sun will light you up and skin cancer does not care. So like put your sunscreen on please. Yes. Yes. Safety, safety,
Accessibility and Technology
00:39:35
Speaker
safety. I mean, I don't think we should leave without letting people know there are tools out there to kind of help them find trails that are more accessible and and things like that. How about a shout out to birdability? Birdability um is another is a great one. You said you had one in Wisconsin, right?
00:39:53
Speaker
Yeah, we got the the homies in Wisconsin, the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance. They got powered wheelchairs. And then we also have Accessibility Wisconsin. Wisconsin are really trying to help get more people out, youth, veterans, like everybody. They got a beautiful, beautiful mission. They they really do. Yeah. And it's also, um, Access Birding, which is a ah newer national organization, and they are constantly providing other resources and places to go for birding. And I'm actually working on a project with them to um provide some educational video snippets on um accessible birding for black and brown folks. right And what is that for us? That's beautiful. That's Trying to get some info out. So there's a lot of you know the the the organizations we just mentioned. um If you're in Philly, PCAS,
00:40:42
Speaker
PC, a S, it's an adaptive sport community and they do birding events with us from time to time. That's another great one. And we'll put all these links in the show notes so you guys can get them and link it up on Instagram. There's a lot of growing groups, which is great for those reasons and obviously in color birding and. operating club of wisconsin are always on the front lines of trying to make sure that we're safe out there in the outdoors and so i encourage you if you're involved with other burning organizations in your area the next time you guys have your community meeting or your group meeting or your staff meeting whatever talk about this what things are you doing to ensure that burning is safely accessible for everyone no matter where they're from.
00:41:21
Speaker
I'll tell you when I go to places and I see that effort put in and it might not even be for me. I'm like, like I i already feel better. Like I'm like, they get it. I'm happy to be here. You know, like that stuff matters. So those little bitty decisions, even if people don't need them. You know, when we create an event and shout out to our Madison area coordinator, Sean, she, uh, Sean Radcliffe, she'll make sure that she'll tell people how long the hike's going to be, what to expect on the trail, what type of trail. And she does all that research on that. So people know what they're getting into so they can handle that planning and preparation process. So shout out to Sean. There are some amazing people out here doing stuff. I love the track your iPhone idea. Yeah. you do that with your family, the GPS thing, if you are starting to go out and explore, maybe you just partner with somebody so they know where you're going to make sure that you're still safe. i I love that idea, actually. Oh, that's great, man. I do it to another level. Yeah. And you can do it temporarily. Like my sister lives in Southern California, and she's she's she's in a newbie birder, but she's so excited. She'd just be my sister goes places, my sister Octavia. Occasionally, if she's going somewhere wild, go she'll send me a little ping, sharing her location. you know I'm all the way on the West Coast, but I can call her husband Sean. I can call her daughter Ryan. like We can make sure that she's taken care of. um Unless you're one of these clowns out there doing nefarious things, right you can definitely use this this this technology right because it's it's easy to do, and it gives the people that love you the most the ability to try and get you help if something goes wrong, which is really That peace of mind too, right? It really is. It's like, hey, my people know where I'm at. I'm being aware. I'm paying attention to my surroundings. I plan for this trip. I know where I'm going. My phone's in charge. I got backup. I'm hydrated. I got my bug spray and my hat on. I'm ready. And every every year we hear about people that go on these, what are supposed to be just a quick morning hike and end up lost.
00:43:18
Speaker
are gone in these big state parks. One of the things out here consistently is, oh, they you know they didn't exactly tell me where they were going in the park or we didn't even know they were there. um just Somebody found their car in the parking lot. right like Tell people where you're going and what you're doing. It's just a really great habit. You'll find more times than not. like People love you and they want you to return home safely. Yeah. Also, I encourage all of our listeners, share some of your own tips and experiences in regards to bird watching when we drop this. Cause I'd love to hear from you all about what you do. How do you plan? You know, obviously everybody's different, but I'd love to hear from you all any of the tips and experiences that you've had out here in regards to birding and safety.
00:43:59
Speaker
finished with one story. When we took the trip to Tanzania last year, my wife was in the tent that we were staying in. And we had this rule that said, if you're going to walk from your tent to the to the main tent at night, you have to flash your flashlight three times and like tell the guard. Right. And we had a Maasai tribesman. He would walk over and he would escort you back to the tent. And I remember one morning I got up earlier. I did that because I wanted to get early coffee,
Personal Experiences and Safety Insights
00:44:26
Speaker
watch the sunrise. And this place was ridiculous. It was like zebras outside the tent. Anyway, so I do that and my wife's still sleeping and it's still dark out and she comes walking up with no tribesmen. and I'm like, hey, what are you doing? She was like, what? Like, it's fine. It's like almost sunlight. Right. And I was like, you don't hear these lions over here. And it was just the lions were roaring less than a mile from us finishing up their night of hunting. Right. This is also like a few hours after I heard the hippo right outside of our tent. That's great. At another camp, we asked one of the guys, why do you guys have to escort us? like We can see the pathway and everything, and they were like, listen, when you're at home in America, you know what it sounds like to hear a dog snarl. You may know what it sounds like to hear other things in your environment that present danger. He's like, you have no idea what it sounds like to hear a hyena. and You have no idea what it sounds like to hear a lion or a leopard in the bush.
00:45:18
Speaker
We do. That's why we walk. Right? Any other questions? I was like flashing off flashlights. I was like, every time. Every time. Because I'm not about to end up on ABC Nightly News, you know man man man taken by leopard up a tree you know in the middle of Tanzania because he's not following instructions. Yeah, right? na No. That's a big one. Jason. do Not their wrestling gators. yeah Crocodiles. You ain't know I can do this.
00:45:53
Speaker
yeah i know i had do this
00:45:59
Speaker
Oh man, we've gone off
Conclusion and Future Outlook
00:46:02
Speaker
the risk. This is amazing. Bro, this was so fun, man. This was, and ultimately we want our people to be safe so they can go get as much bird joy as possible. That's right. As goofy as we like to get, like we want y'all to be safe and we want you to be safe. And there's no way that we could do the first season of the bird joy podcast and not talk about birding safety. I want to thank everybody for joining us today on the Birdjoy podcast. We hope that you enjoyed exploring the world of birding with us today. I want to shout out all my homies and wisko. Check out the BIPOC Birding Club website. If you want to see what we got going on, BIPOC Birding Club.org.
00:46:43
Speaker
yes yes yes thanks again for all y'all listening can't wait to hear how y'all feel about this episode and give us some maybe some information we missed right it would be awesome if you're in the filly area in color birding dot org we'd love to have you out for some fun and safe birding Yes. Please share, review, subscribe. Shout out to all your fellow birders. Help us spread a little bird joy. Next week, we are going to wrap up season one. Cannot believe it. This is already an episode. We're getting through the first season of the bird joy podcast. Never thought that I would have a podcast with you, let alone be this close to wrapping what up, my guy. I know, it's wild, man. I'm so excited for what's to come, though. I feel like this journey is going to be fun. I appreciate anybody rolling with us. All right, bro. I'll see you next week. Peace. Peace.