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Season 4 Recap: Reflecting on Growth, Community, and Bird Joy
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Bird Joy Podcast Season 4 Finale: Reflecting on Growth, Community, and Bird Joy
In this special Season 4 finale of the Bird Joy Podcast, hosts Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall reflect on a season full of meaningful conversations, powerful stories, and a growing global community connected through birds and nature.
Season 4 has been about more than birding—it’s been about connection, creativity, and belonging. Through conversations with photographers, scientists, artists, conservationists, and community leaders, Bird Joy continues to highlight the many ways people engage with and find meaning in the natural world.
This season also brought major milestones. Episode 50 featured Divya Anantharaman, blending science and art in unforgettable ways, and shortly after, the podcast surpassed 50,000 downloads following the episode with Christopher Joe. Now at Episode 54, Bird Joy continues to grow in both reach and impact.
Dexter and Jason also share a behind-the-scenes look at how the show comes together each week, emphasizing the teamwork and intention that power the podcast.
The episode revisits standout guests like Angela Ledyard, Jody Allair, Tarik Shahzad, Liz Lopez, Casey Girard, Sam DeJarnett, Vikas Bhatia, Trentön Schulz-Franco, Sharon Dorsey, and Rosemary Mosco—each bringing unique perspectives on storytelling, representation, and the joy of birding.
Across the season, key themes emerge: belonging in nature, the power of storytelling, creativity in science communication, and community-building through shared curiosity.
Looking ahead, the hosts begin dreaming about Season 5 and invite listeners to help shape what’s next. As always, this episode is a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey.
Here’s to spring migration, new lifers, and the joy of paying attention.
Until next time—keep chasing that Bird Joy.
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Transcript
Season Four Finale Welcome
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to season four of the bird joy podcast your host Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall are back with more birds more bird joy and plenty of laughs along the way each episode brings new stories fun conversations and a whole flock of good vibes we're happy you're here we really miss the homies and we hope you enjoy this season you ready let's go Welcome back to the bird joy
Celebrating Major Milestones
00:00:27
Speaker
podcast. I'm Dexter Patterson here with the homie and co-host Jason Hall. And today we got a special episode because this is the season four finale of the bird joy podcast.
00:00:39
Speaker
First of all, wow. Like looking back on this season as I was putting this together and season four was something special, man. It was something special, wasn't it?
00:00:50
Speaker
Sure was man. Sure was. Everybody brought the energy and the joy. it was awesome. Yeah, we had some incredible conversations with some amazing guests from all across the birding world. Photographers, scientists, artists, conservationists, filmmakers, community leaders. All of these people are helping people and connect with birds in the natural world in their own unique ways.
00:01:14
Speaker
A couple of cool milestones that we hit this season. Our conversation with Divya Anath Rahman became our 50th episode of the podcast, which is pretty dope.
00:01:24
Speaker
And then that following week, we actually surpassed 50,000 downloads of the podcast after our conversation with Chris Joe from the Joe farm. both significant milestones for the Bird Joy podcast. And if you're somebody who's just discovered us, you know, and just discovered the Bird Joy podcast this season, welcome all three of the earlier seasons full of conversations, stories and Bird Joy, ah a lot of Bird Joy actually waiting
Gratitude for Listeners
00:01:52
Speaker
for you. This is episode 54. Bro, this is unreal. officially spent at least 54 hours sitting and talking to each other about Bird Joy, which is super cool. You know, you mentioned people that maybe just found us this season. Like we really, really want to take a moment to thank our listeners, everybody who listens every week, everybody who drops a comment on the socials, whether you've been with us from the beginning, like our homie Cole. Yeah. Or you're someone that just found us because you saw us at the San Diego Bird Festival, right? We are so grateful that you are here with us. Bird Joy has always been about more than the birds, if you haven't figured that out yet.
Diverse Voices in Birding
00:02:32
Speaker
It's about community. It's about curiosity. It's about paying attention to the world around us. So today, I think we we got we got some time to take a little bit of a look back, little reflection, right, on some of the guests and some of the things that were really special to you and I as we worked our way through this season. So, you know, let's...
00:02:48
Speaker
Let's get into it. So here we are, bro. Like I said, episode 54, season four our finale. When you look back on this season, what kind of stands out to you the most?
00:02:59
Speaker
Oh, man. um We had a lot of different voices from different spaces this season. I mean, i think we've had that in other seasons as well. I think it was more pronounced this season where we were, you know, I think in previous seasons we pulled in foragers. But this season we had some some folks that were into snakes. We had taxidermist. Like, that's that's wild. Yeah.
00:03:20
Speaker
And everybody was surrounding the same joy, like
Impact and Growth of the Podcast
00:03:23
Speaker
whether it was birds or other part of the wildlife. And I think every single one of our guests brought a level of quality to the conversation, right? And so they they just really expressed themselves in ways that we, you know, you and I hope, right? We tell them before we start recording, like, this is just meant to be a conversation, just hanging out in the living room, hanging out at a restaurant. It's not supposed to be wild. And I think it's really special for you and I to see when they relax and they just they just let the joy flow. You know?
00:03:51
Speaker
I think part of that is what really caused a lot of growth in our podcast this season as well as people were seeing themselves, seeing their communities, seeing their spaces represented in the conversations we had. So community grew a little bit, you know, which was which was great. Yeah, that was every week. It's always kind of cool. And we were chatting a little bit before we started recording about how somebody was telling us out at San Diego Bird Festival that they found our podcast because they were researching Christian Cooper. which is kind cool. You know, when you're thinking about growth, like people are finding us in some super unique ways. And it was super humbling. Like there were literally people that just drove to that festival because they listened to our podcast. You know, was just like, I didn't know how to. I mean.
00:04:35
Speaker
answer the questions or like, I was just like, this is kind of cool. This is very
Behind the Scenes of the Podcast
00:04:40
Speaker
humbling. Yeah. Big, big, big thanks to everybody out there for the support because it's definitely seeing this every, every week, week by week, seeing that growth, seeing the conversations online and super proud. Like I was, I was looking at all the different conversations, we talked about the variety and diversity of voices that we brought. But I like today as was i was putting this together and and getting prepared for our conversation today, ah that was just like super proud.
00:05:09
Speaker
Like I was just like, voice This is kind of cool, man. Like, i can't believe we talked to all these amazing people. And it was one of those times where sometimes you're in a mix of we've been doing so much where you don't leave a lot enough time to slow down and just like sure appreciate what is happening and and ah really appreciate what we've been able to do this this season. It's ah it's been pretty cool, man. I don't know that they all understand like how much work goes into it. I know you're producing every episode, right? And because you're producing, you're in there, you're editing, you're moving stuff back and forth, but you, you know, you get kind of an inside look on what the perspectives are on a really, really detailed front. So like, what are you most proud of in that
Teamwork and Storytelling
00:05:52
Speaker
sense?
00:05:52
Speaker
I really do enjoy the, that time where I get the to sit there and edit and listen to the conversation back. and And it's funny, you've mentioned this a couple of times about listening, like you're not a part of the show. and So like when I'm editing, I'm like editing, like I'm not a part of this show. Like I, what if i was producing this show for these these folks that are talking to these amazing people and i really try to focus on that and that helps provide like some i think some consistency for the show and then really kind of keeping with like adding in bird sounds and calls i think that's kind of fun because when people hear us talk about a certain bird they get they get some sounds you know obviously they They make so many, but they get they get some sounds. And then I always feel grateful. Like, as I'm listening to it, i always send, I'll send you text messages too. I'll be like, man, this one's so good. And I felt like every week was like that. know, just like sometimes you're sitting with these stories and you're like, wow, like they trusted us. There's a lot of vulnerability in some of our episodes and stuff.
00:06:55
Speaker
Just the fact that they trusted us with so many other their stories is is super humbling and, you know, really lends itself to that community that we're continuing to grow with the podcast. So yeah, just super proud, man. I always, every week I look forward to being able to text you about like how excited I am about that week's episode. And then when I dropped that sucker in the drop box, you get to listen to it. I'm right on it. i'm right on if If everybody didn't know, I get it. I get a sneak peek on like, Wednesday or Thursday, day right? Where it kind drops into the Dropbox and like, I feel like I'm like, when I was a kid, my mom worked for Disney, so I could go to Disney Studios and see movies like three weeks before they came out. It would be like, go to work with your parent day. that's's That's what it feels like. I get to listen to it first. And I listen to it usually then, and then once it drops on this on the on the public platform, I listen to it again. And and then you're right. i
00:07:44
Speaker
I don't get to see the editing. So from the point that we record to when it gets dropped in, sometimes it's a few weeks. So I, you know, my brain is not, I'm not keeping track of that. So it's like a fresh new thing for me. Like I really get to experience it as like a fan. So yeah, man, it's just, it's just such a fun thing. And like, I think it validates too. And like, I'm listening as a fan and I'm cracking up laughing or I'm getting a little teary eyed or I'm like feeling something.
00:08:08
Speaker
Where it's different than when I'm in the interview trying to conduct the interview. So, yeah, man, kudos to you on the editing and everything, man. I do want to talk about all the amazing guests we've been able to get, but I kind of want to stay here with this kind of like behind the curtain vibe that we got. A lot of folks don't know, like it's literally just me and you. We kind of divvy up the work and we do a lot of different things. We split up the work so we can make sure that every week we're able to have something. And big part of that is making sure that we got guests. So talk a little bit. You handle that. So talk a little bit about. booking guests and I mean you do that you also manage the social media and you're chatting with people and writing show notes and doing cover art so there's a lot of different things that you do that people don't know but talk a little bit about that week to week process I'm just out here trying to keep up with you, homie.
Structuring the Podcast's Vision
00:09:00
Speaker
Like I am just always so impressed actually by your vision for these things. And so it's an honor for me to be able to jump in and help and process and contribute because I do not teach this kind of thing at a professorial level at a university like my dear friend, Mr. Patterson does.
00:09:19
Speaker
Booking guests for me is like, you know, just using my communication skills to slide in DMs, right? Organizing it. I've learned a few things over the last couple of seasons on how to do this, right? It's something that I feel like i'm um I'm pretty good at, right? At least starting conversations with people and maintaining those relationships and trying to. and And I hope all of our guests feel like you know, that was done the correct way, you know, in terms of um how they were approached and and and all that all that good stuff. And then from a social media standpoint, you know, as those videos go up, it's just great for me to see pings on my phone all day, who's commenting, what their thoughts are.
00:09:53
Speaker
And the clips are so different, you know, so it's so fun. You know, we can go from something very serious to something very silly, and our audience seems to react to that. So, You as far as the show notes and the cover art go, you know, it's really trying to make sure we put the right links in you know, make sure the cover art, the names are spelled correctly. We got a decent photo of the person. Recently this season, I started messaging people to be like, hey, what music do you want to drop with your episode? So if people notice, the music has been a little wild this season because I just, I started getting on top of asking people. So like Sharon's sharingron song with the with the bird flu, And she was like, I don't know, can you do it? And I was like, hey, it's your episode, let's do whatever, right? And then Rosemary saying that she was super into metal and I was like, well, listen, my son just got into Metallica, you want me to drop some? she was like, yeah, let's go. So, That part has been really fun where you're giving the guests an opportunity to express their episode release through music that they also love. It's been super fun, man. And you're the engine behind this whole thing. So I'm just trying to hop in and contribute where I can and and just talk a bit about what you actually do, Dexter, because i don't think people realize how much work it takes to get the level of quality in these episodes that we have.
Crafting Joyful Episodes
00:11:05
Speaker
And I'm
00:11:06
Speaker
and And, you know, how do you structure that? Because there's a consistency in our work that I think people really appreciate. And so talk a little bit to the folks about how you do that on on ah on a weekly basis. I think us early, we put a lot of work in before we even started season one, really thinking about like How did we want this to be? How long do we want it? What's the structure? And we, and obviously we, we continue to grow season by season, but like before we even started in season one, we really were thoughtful about how we wanted the podcast to be that that's a big part of it. Really understanding like, this is why we created this podcast and we really don't kind of steer away from that. Like we, we stay grounded in, in what we wanted this to be. And that's super helpful. And then really being like, we want these conversations to be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, maybe a little longer. we We're going for an hour, but no less than 45 minutes. It just feels like that's not worthy ye right of the guests that we are. are talking to, but staying in that tank that same time range of that hour also helps because if we're talking to somebody for an hour, it's probably about a two hour edit for that episode. So we're we're looking at a couple hours there to edit that hour. And then you're you're thinking about, right, now i got to find some bird calls and some sounds and different things. That might be another hour. And then we're thinking about before we even do that, we're preparing the interview and really wanting like, all right, what's the story here?
00:12:40
Speaker
You know, i I'm always asking myself no matter what, like I tell people all the time, like with radio, with podcasting, anything audio, like anytime you're storytelling, and you got to ask yourself, where's the story? So then I'm like, all right, if we talk to these people, where is the story? And trying to find unique angles to talk to people is is really important for both of us. And then saying, all right, I see the story.
00:13:04
Speaker
Now, where's the joy? Putting that together, that could be maybe another couple hours, right? Really kind of forming that. So it takes some time yeah with every episode to be really intentional about not only what's the story want to tell, how can we make that joyful?
00:13:22
Speaker
How can it match the vision that we created for this podcast and and really making it fun along the way? But ultimately, bro, everything that we do, it's really a team effort week by week and We do like to start early. We have a couple, we'll record two people every Sunday or whatever day we try to do it on Sundays, but sometimes you know how schedules are. sure We're typically recording two at a time. So we're, we're usually working ahead, which is really nice. We're we're both really busy with new jobs um and families and, birding clubs and and all of that. It really is, man. We we balance each other really well and and that really kind of helps us be able to bring some amazing conversations to people every week when we're in the season. Yes, sir. It's my it's my Sunday afternoon.
00:14:08
Speaker
Meet up with Dexter and some homies from somewhere, right? It's actually a great period of time and I never get tired of the period that we're recording. Like I've yet to do a recording with just you or with any guests and walk away not feeling like my cup is full. So like as much as it's returning to create content for the people, I mean, there's some weeks where like we text each other for the next two hours after the recording being like, that was so awesome. Like, did you spend this like this? And like, you know, sometimes we want to run out of house and go birding or go for a hike or do something afterwards. Like, cause we're just inspired by all these folks. And so,
00:14:42
Speaker
I think the fact that you prepare things so well, homie, makes it very easy to just step into the podcast and only worry about paying attention to our guests, getting really deep with them on what's happening. So kudos to that. And I and i think that's part of the reason why we've been successful. And one of those big success points this season has been our 50th episode. so I'm like dawdling around the San Diego bird festival, just minding my own business, hanging out. And you come up and you're like, yo, we just hit our 50th episode.
00:15:09
Speaker
I was like, what? And in my head, you know, like that meme where Zach Galifianakis is pretending he's Rain Man and he's trying to calculate all the formulas on the chalkboard. I was like, we can wait a minute, wait a minute. You know, so that was really awesome. and And I'm wondering, like, as that hit you, like before you even told me, like, what is that? What does that mean to you, homie?
00:15:30
Speaker
It was crazy because I was like, we were on our Bird Joy outing, right? And I was like, wait, it's Friday. Oh, we got an episode dropping today, you know? But when I scheduled it out, we were on the we're on the Pacific time, right? yeah So when I schedule it, I'm like, I can't ask him. I'm like, when is this thing going drop? Because was like... We're over here on the West Coast. Yeah, I'm like, is it going to drop the normal time? Because like the Zencaster was showing a different time. Like, wait, you live in California now. Like, what what's going on here, Dexter?
00:16:06
Speaker
So i'm ah I'm literally, I bop on quick on my laptop to go look at our our show in Zencaster. And that's when I saw it was showing that our episode dropping that day was episode 51. And I was like, whoa, wait a minute. Like, so I didn't even know at that time, right? I didn't even know the week before when we talked to Divya that that was episode 50. Like I didn't even know. That was kind of crazy to talk about an amazing conversation for episode 50. So it was kind of like in this moment of like trying to figure out like, is this episode dropping today? Like I was like nervous and weird, like time zone changes to realizing holy cow, like we've literally been showing up having these conversations. Like you said, 50 sometimes already we've shown up to either talk to ourselves for an hour or with another homie. So.
00:16:57
Speaker
Man, it's kind of crazy, bro. And then at that same time, I was like, oh, now I'm looking and I'm like, oh, there's 51 episodes now. Oh, and look how many downloads we have. And then that was over 50,000 as well. So we hit two milestones this season.
00:17:12
Speaker
I know, right? It's good work, man. It's good work. There used to be this old newscaster here in Philly, and he always had this tagline because he would go out and like get footage of people doing volunteer work. And he'd be like, good work in the community.
00:17:26
Speaker
and like That's what wow that's we've been doing, you know, and our community is growing. And we learned that together as we were out in San Diego. And there are people that are just now finding
Invitation to Explore Past Seasons
00:17:38
Speaker
us. What do you what would you say to those folks about that just showed up in season four? Like, what what would you say to them about the earlier seasons? Man, first of all, I'd say welcome.
00:17:47
Speaker
right uh you are welcome here i hope you're finding joy i saw someone the other down with socials that said they had caught sharon's conversation and now they were working their way backwards right and other people like yeah you gonna love it like take your time so i would say take your time set it up for some good road trips some good commutes back and forth to work um you could go back and start at season one season one it's dexter and i and we're hitting a number of i think critically foundational topics to birding. So everything that you hear us talk about in a more specific sense with our guests, we've covered in ah in a deeper a deeper way per episode. Everything from birding with family to birding as a black or brown person, finding joy, like, you know, birding as mental health. Like we covered a lot of different topics. I certainly would encourage you to go back there. But, you know, really the through line you're going to see with all of this is that in every episode, guests or no guests, we bring it back to
00:18:39
Speaker
joy right and so we have now four full seasons of that conversation waiting for you and and you'll see how we've grown and evolved through it that's the journey that we're excited for our new listeners to go on as well i mean i think that's the beautiful part about podcasts and about music is like If you do them right, they live in perpetuity. And my son just, like i was saying earlier, my son just discovered Metallica. I don't, it's, you watch Stranger Things and there's this scene with one of the kids playing Metallica on top of a house with like these crazy bats. And he was like, I really, I really like this song, Master of Puppets, Dad. So like, you know, we had to go do a little shopping earlier. So we were rocking some Metallica in the car. And I'm like, that's so cool. Like this song came out so long ago. Like I was super young.
00:19:19
Speaker
And he's now just enjoying it. You know, same thing with the podcast. Like we did that two and a half years ago, but somebody may really enjoy that episode about birding with family because they're a parent who's trying to figure out how to get their kids outside. So, yeah, I just encourage folks to just dive in, take your time, enjoy it, listen to multiple episodes more than once. Send us a message on social. There's something cool that you thought we talked about that maybe we can touch on again for you. So, yeah, and just welcome.
00:19:41
Speaker
Yes. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. This season's been fun, though, man. It's been fun. I can't believe that we're wrapping it up We are. We are. But, you know, it's just ah some time for us to go and rest and think about what we're going do for the next season, which we'll get to. But, you know, we kicked off this season with some really big news. And you were you were hitting the road, Jack.
Dexter's Book Promotion Journey
00:20:03
Speaker
You were out there promo in the book, Birds of Great Lakes. And every time I looked on social media, Dexter was in some other Midwest town at a coffee shop or a place. store or university or somewhere. And like, man, I know you were out there. I know I sent you a couple of texts being like, you good? You getting some sleep? You eating right? You know, because you hit it pretty hard, man. And like, what was that experience? And what, you know, what has that been like now that you've kind of been in it for a number of months? Yeah, it's still going. with I did take a little bit of a break, but I'm like on the second leg right now. San Diego was a part of that. That was cool. Realizing like, wait a minute, like my bird, my book's about birds of the Great Lakes. And there's literally it's selling out here in a, you know, at the Natural History Museum in San Diego. You know, like it was going to just like, this is crazy. Like there's a line of people. that bought this book in San Diego. You know, I'm signing these books in San Diego for all these. It's been a whirlwind, right? Meeting all these amazing birders, not only across like the Great Lakes region, but also now the country. It's been weird seeing people connect. with the book and and the vision for the book has been super humbling, but just the joy of being able to share that book with a bunch of people, man, has been really, really cool. And since October, when that when when it launched in the beginning on October to now, it's it's been kind of a whirlwind, but but in a good way. It was kind of cool. We started recording just after, like we started kind of pre-recording some stuff just after the launch of the book. So it's been ah Yeah, it's been ah it's been a fun season, man.
00:21:38
Speaker
is there any Is there any, just to pivot us for a second, is there any particular visit you did that really sticks with you out of all the places you've been further bird for the ah the book tour? Yeah, they've all been fantastic. Literally, the very first one was in Chicago at a black-owned bookstore, Call and Response Books, owned by some of the Chicago BIPOC birder homies, the homie Carlos and his wife I think that was the one thing that kind of stood out to me is this tour has taken me to Illinois little bit more.
00:22:07
Speaker
So seeing, seeing the Illinois homies, I did the gold frolic. I did, um, I was in Rockford the week before I went out to San Diego and that one was really kind of, really kind of stuck with me because the local boys and girls club kids came and that was, that's kind of been a through line with a bunch of the illinois visitors being able to work with the boys and girls club and yeah some of these land trusts down there but those kids man like i met a i met a kid named river and she came and her dad uh make sure that she gets outside she had the book and she had stories about the book kind Got to see some of these kids. they They had some stations set up before my event talk for the kids where they were actually like able to do like some common loon art, which was really cool. They had like this contraption with was like a wheel and like these strings, and the kids would pull it out and it would sound like a loon. So they were like going on loon calls and like painting loons and stuff. And then they had... a
00:23:07
Speaker
It's the Natural Land Institute out of Illinois and they have a, they do something called Pelican Fest every year. So they have literally, they have a mascot that is American white pelican and the pelicans running around and they had ah a little station set up for the kids where they got to learn how different birds feed. So like they got to see an American pelican feeding hummingbird, how a hummingbird would feed, how an American Robin would feed and all the different types of food. they eat and how they have different bills for how they eat. It was fantastic. And then they had little tools that kind of represented the way that they all eat and different things. This was one moment that got me as a little kid was learning about the American White Pelican. and She opened up the book to Pelican in my book. She opened up to the Pelican page. And she was like learning about the Pelican and she's like going through the page. And I was able to like literally get this kind of over the shoulder picture of this kid using my book as she was. It was kind of mind blowing, bro. Like that one really kind of stuck with me. That's incredible, man. That's not a moment I think you'll ever
Inspiration from Community Engagement
00:24:11
Speaker
forget. And it really is a testament to tell folks like do it.
00:24:14
Speaker
Go out there and do the thing, you know, idea for a book and he did it. And now there's people out there that are validating that. Um, and especially the kids, man, like it's never, never gets over watching children discover things, especially through something that you put so much work into that super awesome, man. Yeah, it's it's so cool. So shout out to everybody that's been supporting. When you talk about do the thing this year, we this season, we got to talk to a lot of people that are doing some things. This season was packed with a bunch of incredible
Guest Reflections: Angela Ledyard
00:24:43
Speaker
guests. Let's just take a little bit of time, kind of reflect on all of those different conversations, starting with Angela Ledyard.
00:24:51
Speaker
Yeah, Angela was just a ball of of just energy and and like joy is the word I want to use, but I feel like it's something that's got more flames than joy.
00:25:04
Speaker
Like just, she, she made me want to go stand in the anthill. And if you don't know what that means, go yeah listen to episode two. Like she made me want to get out there and like, you know, we'll talk a little later. I'm heading on some trips later this year. And like, I, I'm really keeping her in mind and how she approaches her photography.
00:25:24
Speaker
Right. And how she claims that space and photography and the things she has to deal with at times. and And she is unapologetic about claiming that space. And that's what I'm going to remember the most, right? As a black woman in outdoor spaces, she is very clear about finding her joy out there, not letting somebody else take it away. And and that was, that was really special for me. What about you? What stuck with her story? Yeah, that just just the fact that like she was just her, the energy around it her presence, her.
00:25:53
Speaker
That was one of those episodes that was super vulnerable to like, i I remember her really opening up about loss and and a lot of different things in that conversation. But she kept being able to get back to the joy. You can tell how much she loves what she does and being able to hear her stories from all the different places from all over the world.
00:26:13
Speaker
And to be able to look at her images, i will just remember her presence, honestly. yeah that That's really what stood stood out to me. Yeah. Yeah. She was super awesome.
Guest Reflections: Jody Allair
00:26:23
Speaker
And and episode two, folks, check it out. Angela Ledyard. And I'm pretty sure since we recorded that episode, she's down.
00:26:30
Speaker
taking pictures of birds. She's probably somewhere. Yeah. She's somewhere across the globe, somewhere doing something cool. And then after that, we got to talk to another Canadian homie. I love that. Like we're talking to more people in Canada, which is kind of here trying to politically put things back together. and me. Okay. This is real. Like I was just like, wow. Next up was Jody O'Leary and talk about joy. Like he was just a joy to talk to. What did you enjoy about that conversation? Yeah. You know, I had heard Jody's voice before on a number of podcasts. I've never met him, but I was so surprised to hear like how long he had been a birder. And you would have thought you would have thought he started birding yesterday. The way the energy was coming out of his voice.
00:27:15
Speaker
Being a birder and talking about that American kestrel. Right. And like it literally sounded like it happened yesterday because the way he described it and the amount of of of. the way it just changed his life, right? And so I think that's really evident in the episode, right? He still brings a whole lot of joy on a daily basis. And if I worked with him, you wouldn't be able to tell me nothing. I'd be getting ready run through a wall to save some birds for that dude, because he just, he lives it. You know I think that's really cool. And I, you know, he is part of um the Warblers podcast and, you know, up there in Canada, and they cover a number of cool topics. I certainly encourage folks to go add that to your rotation as well.
00:27:52
Speaker
you know, he really got us excited, I think, for the next time that we're going to see migration and what that looks like at some of the places he was able to spend during his formative years up there in these kind of migration funnels. So, yeah, man, it was it was it was super awesome. What about you? What stood out to you about Jody?
00:28:08
Speaker
That is his storytelling. That and the fact that he's been doing this work 20 plus years. And like you said, it felt like you wouldn't know that, you know, like you would you would talk to him like you like you. He's brand new. Every every bird's a lifer phase. No, like this dude. I left that. That's what I left with. After that conversation, I was like, he really loves birds. Like he really loves conservation. He loves the work that he does. He loves his community. Like I was just he had me fired up. He was one of the good ones, man. He's one of good ones out there. Yeah, man.
Guest Reflections: Tarek's Big Year
00:28:40
Speaker
He was super awesome. And after Jody, we bopped back down to Chicago for the homie Tarek and his Cook County big year, which I think had both of us, both of our heads exploding during that conversation. What stood out to you the most about that? Tarek was brand new, like only been birding for like three years. And year two or year one of birding, he's doing like a big year, year two. And then he did another one. So like literally two out of the three years he's been birding were big years for him. That was what was kind of cool. Right. It was just like, not only did the homie say, right, I'm here, but like, I'm here.
00:29:17
Speaker
We going to do it. We going, we going to go real big. And I really, I do. I love the the connection of him being in Chicago and this beautiful, big urban setting and his relationship with Lake Michigan and and his people. You could tell that his his close homies really kind of mattered to him.
00:29:37
Speaker
yeah But I really just, just, just talking to somebody that finds birds and and goes all in like, like Tarek did was super inspiring, man. what What did you take from his approach? Yeah, man. I, you know, as someone that also, um, champions urban birding, I thought his viewpoints on the local places, right. Cause you go so hard on a big year. It really, i think sure you have your hotspots, but it sounds like he was able to explore a lot of those local places around the city and find wonder and enchantment in those spaces. And, Doing that at the same time as doing something that requires a level of dedication as a big year. I think it takes effort to keep your brain focused on not only the big year and like trying to reach that goal, but it sounded like Tarek appreciated every single space he went to through that process. Like that's, that's what I really got is that like, even if he wasn't doing a big year, I get the feeling that he's going to be back in those spaces anyway. just yeah just me So like that part was super
Guest Reflections: Liz Lopez
00:30:31
Speaker
awesome. Yeah, that the homie, I got to see him at the Gulf Roleck and was super cool. It was cool to see him. He didn't get you a Shearwater, did he? He didn't get me a Shearwater, but it was so cool because like we're literally just looking at this herring goal, right? Uh-huh.
00:30:45
Speaker
And it has like this dark, it's like black around its eye and it looks very unique, right? For a herring goal. And I'm sitting there and we're talking, I'm talking to Tarik and he was like, that's why I love goals. He's like that bird, you see that bird? He's like, it's a herring goal, but look how thick different it looks than most herring goals that you use. Bro, it made no sense. That was one of my favorite moments, right? Like from the gold frolic was sitting I'm have to actually, I'll share the picture of the bird because like it do, it it kind of blows your mind little Like, wait, wait, wait, what am I looking at? Oh, and it's a herring goal, but wait, homie, like what is you doing here? Oh my God. is kind of dope. Yeah. I was just sitting there and there they are. Me and Tariq just nerding out over a herring goal at the goal frolic. So it was fantastic, bro. I, I found myself asking myself this a lot throughout this season is just the, you know, the not only the diversity, but the different types of people that you brought this season with the expertise and Liz Lopez, she really kind of rises to the top because Liz loves snakes, man. And, And, you know, she brought this field biology vibe into the conversation. it stood out to you from that episode? What really what what why do you want to bring Liz onto the show? You know, I thought just this this representation of what it actually looks like to do the work in field biology and not and not just go out and study something. What Liz does is actually literally trying to protect.
00:32:11
Speaker
literal literal species that are in peril at that moment, right? And if you listen to the episode, she's on job sites. She running in front of backhoes and bulldozers being like, hold up. There is a special frog or a special snake down here somewhere. I'm like that. it's not It's not the physical act of what she's doing. It's the community act of what she's doing to where she's educating people at that job site.
00:32:36
Speaker
right? She's creating relationships in order to make sure that the creatures can be cared for and and the right decisions made about what to do there. And I just thought that was all incredible. and And to hear how she went from really not being a fan of snakes to now having her own, right? And having that journey, like that part, ah I just, I just thought, and and like I didn't really know about that when I asked her to be on the episode, but I just thought, you know, how crazy is that, that You even personally in your own home got your own snake and it's a special part of your life, special part of your family. And it actually helps you connect with people out on the job site. Like I just, I thought that whole wrap up was really, really awesome. What what about you? What'd you like from Liz's perspective? It was that like how she used her curiosity and her fear. As like this scientific tool for her to learn more and be more. Yeah, that was kind of, that was super inspiring, by the way. And then just ah the fact that she is representation. i remember her even talking about in the episode about how people were telling her she should show up on social media and tell her story because there are people out there that would see themselves in her. Right. And she talked about how she identifies as a Chicana and, um,
00:33:50
Speaker
and in biology and how her dad got her into it. And oh man, like she talked about inspiring. You know, it was just, I think that was it. Like the curiosity and being willing to call your fears to grow and do something pretty special is what I got from her. Yeah. Yeah. And so we went from Liz and we went coast to coast.
Guest Reflections: Casey Gerard
00:34:11
Speaker
we headed out to the Appalachians with our homie, Casey Gerard and, uh,
00:34:16
Speaker
Casey talked about all kinds of fun things. What what resonated with you there? I think what i what I loved most about their conversation was not only are they neurodivergent, but they actually created the artwork for our show. You know, which I think is kind of cool. It's super dope. And then like literally their art to connected, you know, so many of us. I remember telling them like your art, like I learned about new black birders. I learned about new people that I didn't know existed through their art. And I just thought that. That was really, really beautiful. And to have them to be able to come on, I remember them being really nervous and thinking and that, oh, so nervous I'm not great. I'm not great with my words. I'm better with my art and all of this. And then I remember getting done with that conversation and just being super proud of them, but also grateful that they literally embraced that fear. Similar to what Liz did, this was their own version of that, doing something, words aren't great for me, but here you are showing up on a podcast, using your words to tell a super important story. So that that really stood out to me about them. What about you? yeah casey was Casey was awesome. I've been following Casey for a number of years, right? Even even as they you know put together the artwork for you and I during various Blackbirders Week celebrations. But the part that I really wanted to make sure that we got on the podcast was how they...
00:35:46
Speaker
story tell through illustration right now and i told the story about how they turn around this leaf on their instagram and it's a ah bird of some random space painted on that just it just puts you in a moment and i think to take that a step further it's not surprising then that they also spend time supporting the local community down there in asheville some of the destruction that has happened down there due to the flooding And Casey is out there using whatever they can use to help. Like that's such an example for our communities because I don't think enough people really give artists enough credit for what they do in these moments. Artists provide the things that inspire us to get to work, to come together, to be better, to build, to rebuild. And so, you know, Casey just, Casey made it very clear, ah
00:36:34
Speaker
That that is where they sit in this process. That is how they they want to use their art. And we talk about all the time how birds help people through hard times. And I think Casey is a representation of how that can work. So yeah Casey was Casey was powerful. And then we got to bring on the homie Sam o a rette that literally was the first person that had you and I on a podcast together.
Guest Reflections: Sam Orette
00:36:58
Speaker
And then Sam brought this super powerful perspective like she like she only can. Right. On burning and liberation. What stood out to you about our conversation with Sam? Well, Sam is some another person that I would run through a wall for. fact Sam, Sam. And listen, I don't know that there's anyone else in the burden community. that weaves together birding as as protest and birding as care. I honestly, and from the jump, right? The the only person I really know that does it that clearly and that concisely. So Sam coming on and and taking some time to talk to us about really how to build community with those two things in mind, how to use birding as protest, how to have birding as care. And she brought this mycelium metaphor, which which I think you and I have since been thinking about a lot, right? It's like underground
00:37:46
Speaker
sharing connections, sharing nutrients, and and really infinite, right? If you keep doing it the right way, it is infinite, right? and And I think this is another one of those episodes where you and I got off the call and we were like, all right, well, what are we doing? like, I'm like looking at my...
00:38:02
Speaker
nonprofit Like what else can we do here? What what can we do here? Because, you know, Sam really shows how you can build a supportive community through birding. You don't have to do it in a way that maybe someone else did it 30, 40, 50 years ago. And it sets a great example for the rest of our community. So what about you? What did you what did you take away from the conversation? The homie had me super inspired to be better, be more inclusive, even though that's like why I do the work that I do. Like Sam makes me want to work harder at it. So I'm moving from like...
00:38:31
Speaker
just this person that created this space for people to go birding to being more of like literally like a systems builder. Yeah. Where you're like changing the way things have been done. So like when I'm gone, that this birding club can still exist without Dexter, that you've established systems and you've changed the way that things work and you've designed something that can be bigger than one person. And like, that's what Sam really kind of got for me is like, really rethinking everything when it comes to birding culture and how we can be system builders and, but always still centering joy and community and telling our stories. I loved her talking about how, like, just show up, how you feeling in that day.
00:39:15
Speaker
And in the burning spaces, they're waiting for you in that role of storytelling and bringing people together and just creating spaces for people just to be. That's something that really stood out to me about that conversation. Yeah. And like, you know, she really, I think, got us got us in the right headspace. And so I think there's going to be a number of things that we do and communities do because of what she espoused on that podcast. um After Sam, no, we went to our homie because and.
00:39:44
Speaker
Because it blew our minds at the beginning, you know, we were coming into it, seeing his pictures of penguins and stuff, and it was wild. And so he told some incredible
Guest Reflections: Vikas's Photography
00:39:52
Speaker
stories. Like, what what stood out to you most about that episode? His just, his go-to attitude, like, you know, like, I'm going to do this, you know? Yeah.
00:40:00
Speaker
I'll make this happen. His willingness to take big risk and use his his skills that he's had. And like, I love it. Willing to put in the work and he's doing some cool stuff, man. Like the the extreme environments when like when he told me he was on a kayak and then like I'm looking at the footage and I'm like, wait, you on a kayak? In that Antarctica? In that environment? Like, you crazy, bro. You crazy. He just left me with like, no way. Those are some great conversations. When you just talk to somebody and you're like, no way, dude. Like, what? What? You know, a lot of that talking to Vikas. What stood out to you about Vikas? Like his whole creative process.
00:40:39
Speaker
Yeah, man. I mean, you you and I are both musicians. You know, I posit once you're a musician, you're always a musician. I think we both really loved how he blended in that music with the visuals, you know, doing it himself. i think that was super impressive.
00:40:52
Speaker
I think what was more impressive is like the homie will sit in the same spot for a whole day and get nothing. And just wait. isn't Because he is doggedly looking for the shot that he can. Yeah.
00:41:03
Speaker
That represents and honors that space, right? And like, you know me, I'm, listen, I'm going chasing some vagrant bird. Like, if it's not there in 45 minutes, I'm out, bro. Like, I got other stuff to do. You get me for, I'll give you an hour or two. It depends on the bird, you know? But yeah, I'm not at the all day. brother Bro, I even admit it. said, I'm stubborn, you know? well yeah it's like And you gotta be like that. I feel like if we put him and Tariq in the same room, man, like, watch out.
00:41:32
Speaker
You might rip a hole in the space-time continuum. Like, know, between two, right? But, you know, really with Vikas really is like, you know, he he creates this art and that's really what I would call it, that that really honors these spaces. And so if you go to that episode and you listen, right, there's some links in there as well that can take you to his work. And it's just, you're going to feel that. You're going to like literally that phrase, it honors the wild places that he's in. So I really look forward to what he does next. Yeah,
Guest Reflections: Trenton Schultz Franco
00:42:00
Speaker
bro. And then we just like the joy train just kept on going like to Canada, you know, we're back up in Canada with the homie Trenton Schultz Franco and, and really had a beautiful conversation about belonging in outdoor spaces. And it was really cool to talk to him because at the similar times, we're all kind of within a few like months of each other, like behind the scenes, like yeah building birding clubs, man. Like this was kind of really cool, but he, he brought a different perspective that I thought I learned so much from him. I think that's what really kind of stood out to me, but what resonated with you about our conversation with Trenton? Yeah. You know, similar, to similar to Sam, right. I was like fired up. I was like, what more I'd be doing for the community that I serve here around Philly. And, and really, you know, he, how he framed the difference between access and belonging. right It's something I had heard before, but not in the way that he explained. And so um really getting deep into how his community leads through the through these things. And it's not like ah some unspoken of
00:43:08
Speaker
board of directors somewhere far away, you know, for some nonprofit or some NGO, like it's, it's the people in that community that lead the club and, um, the way he builds the spaces, right. They are very intentional. I feel like we could have given him any topic and he would have been like, yeah, well I did this, you know, to do that. I thought the the part about, I think the part that I'm going to remember the most to be honest is when he was talking about words that are potentially being lost, which as it comes to the outdoors and saying that that word is sleeping, right? That it be like a can. We'll find it one of these days. Exactly. I think about that often, about how many words around me are sleeping in this environment that Indigenous folks um
00:43:51
Speaker
you know, had echoing through these forests for millennia before European settlers got here. Right. And it's like, so I think about that as I listen to the wind, I think about what Trenton said. And so that's another one that I think is going to sit with me this entire kind of off season about how I'm approaching what I do in my community. What about you? What what dust stood out the most to you? I think what I really respected a lot about Trenton is you can tell that He takes the work he does serious, right? Like the responsibility of it. He understands that what he's doing matters. What had been done before him matters. We got that with the land acknowledgement conversations that we had with him. yeah But like he really and and he he had this emphasis on protecting the soul of the community that I really just like, yes, give you all that. Like, More of that. Like that dude. Yeah. Yeah. My new thing is the zoomies after talking to people like hey i'm I'm running around with the bird joy zoomies after talking to that homie for real.
00:44:58
Speaker
Sure. I think we both were. And, it you know, we only had about a, I think a few minutes before we hopped on with our next guest, which was. Noth Ramen. And that was our 50th episode. and And her work is taking these special creatures that we love and blending science and art and
Guest Reflections: Divya Anatharaman
00:45:16
Speaker
fashion. And you go to her socials or her website and it's just like, yo, this person it gets it. Right. and So like what what stood out to you the most about what Divya does?
00:45:27
Speaker
I mean, her creative courage really kind of stood out to me. She she talked about being you know part of the queer community. She talked about being goth growing up. She talked about being one of the only women in taxidermy, in her industry. She talked about all of these different things. And I just remember just really being inspired by her courage and the enchantment. of the work that she does and the stories that she tells and the fact that she got to like literally work on a passenger pigeon dude like I'm I was like how are we talking to this person like how is this happening right now what about you what what did that conversation do to you I really like the making science accessible through art was really cool to me and or just even making art accessible through the taxidermy it was also cool like the story she tells about the pigeon and and the person having it up close to you mm-hmm pigeon and it changes their whole perspective, right? Like that is really powerful because the person is not going to see pigeons the same way from that point forward because Divya was able to present it in a way that added some intimacy and some appreciation and some diversity of thought really. And so, you know, aside from that, her curiosity about natural history, I think expresses itself in a way that makes it very accessible to a lot of other folks. There's not, you're not going to go to her page and find some dusty old diorama of some bird that has not been taken care of, you're going to find something that is not only preserved scientifically, but preserved in a way that, which I think I made very clear on the episode, causes some emotion.
00:47:02
Speaker
It makes you feel a certain way, which is is not something that I think of when I think of scientific collections, but Divya is able to do it. So that's going to be one of my favorite episodes for a long time. Yeah. I'll always remember the...
00:47:17
Speaker
That's not a pigeon. Right? but Yeah. No way. No way that's a pigeon. Pigeons aren't that pretty. Nah. You know. And then the week after, bro, we not only did we hit 50 episodes, but we go over 50,000 downloads. Wow.
00:47:36
Speaker
And that was
Guest Reflections: Chris Joe
00:47:38
Speaker
with... You know, being able to talk to the homie Chris Joe from the Joe farm and talk about legacy. you Talk about just an incredible human being. What stood out to you about his story?
00:47:50
Speaker
ah Honestly, man, I got off the phone with Joe. I was we were ah or got up got got off our our our recording and I was planning my trip out to San Diego to meet you out there for the bird festival. And I had remembered my pop telling me about some land that he has down in Mississippi and like trying to figure out what to do with it. And that just stuck in my brain the whole time. So this idea of generational land ownership and the way the homie Chris talked about it was just, it's again, it gets you fired up. You don't have to think about it the same way that maybe your forefathers thought about it, right? Like he's done so many incredible things. And like, you know, we talked about Swallowtail Kites and k Christian Cooper driving the driving the tractor, which was hilarious. Right?
00:48:33
Speaker
and And creating that, not only that bird space, but that community space, that sacred space on his farm, you the farm that him and his family maintain. You know, I just thought it was a great example of connecting something like black land ownership.
00:48:48
Speaker
to something like burning spectacles. That connection is really powerful to me because it it creates a space for black and brown communities to really say, this land is more than just, um not not just, but this land is more than a financial asset.
00:49:03
Speaker
you know This is a representation of my little piece of earth here. And what can I do to make sure it's creating community for the people I love? I thought that was great. What did his story and episode mean to you? I love that he's sharing his knowledge with people.
00:49:18
Speaker
Yeah. Whether it's other young black people, he talked about, hey, we got to get better about talking about our business. You know, or I've shared the story about my family losing their land in Mississippi and seeing him using his land and sharing his land with the community. And I remember him talking about Also, how he's showing up in some of these conservation spaces as a black man in these deep south areas. Right. I think his his perspective, people don't realize is is different. They have to think differently in certain places that they go and that he's showing up and he's representing himself because he knows so much and his history and his generational legacy that he has has really, he takes that seriously. And how can he continue that for the next generation and his nieces and his nephews? And I was really inspired by just everything that he's doing in regards to just making conservation and birding more welcoming, more accessible to folks was super inspiring. Yeah, man. Yeah, it's it's a place I want to visit. And it's funny as we're going through all these guests, like, you know, not only are we reflecting on the episode, but it's really cool that they represent different parts of the country like geographically, right? So like we go from Alabama and we're back up into Baltimore, right? Baltimore area with Sharon, Sharon Dorsey and doing some incredible work in the community there and and really pushing this idea of ecological identity. So what what resonated the most with you from that
Guest Reflections: Sharon Dorsey
00:50:46
Speaker
episode? was that she's proud that she only wants to like bird in Baltimore or ride around Baltimore. She's like, don't need to go to all these places. I will bird in Baltimore. Like I was like, you tell them, Sharon, you bird in Baltimore and y'all need to join her in birding in Baltimore. It was really cool because she wants people to notice nature in the city. She really is about urban ecology and connecting people via science and her storytelling and sharing nature and how she's growing and collaborating with all these amazing people. And ah she was she was fantastic. What stood out to you about our conversation with the homie Sharon? I think as as someone that also birds around Philly a good bit, like just just that dynamic of hearing her talk about some similar things in terms of going to communities that maybe haven't seen someone that looks like her come into their community and talk about a topic that they've never seen someone like her come in and talk about, a black woman. So, you know, I thought that was really special and I connected a lot with that just.
00:51:51
Speaker
you know, her recognizing that when she walks into a room or walks into a space, that that's a role that she serves. And she and she seems to take that on without question. You know, and then teaching people who are also in those communities, like how to actually observe, you know, how to pay attention to what's happening in a harbor, what's happening in the parks or the the river or the stream that's near your home. And this this ecological identity thing keeps coming back to me too, right?
00:52:16
Speaker
How they see themselves in that space. Right. Because we see ourselves as humans, you know, in the context of so many other stupid things that humans do. Right. Politics, capitalism, you know, all these things that we think defines us. And and very rarely do we get an opportunity to say, well, actually, where am I as part of the ecosystem? Like, what am I doing? and Am I just consuming? Am I contributing? Where am I in the web of energy and things? And And it's just such a better viewpoint. I think if more people took that approach, right, we would we would have maybe a more balanced society in terms of how we preserve spaces, especially in ah urban ecosystems.
00:52:52
Speaker
So, yeah, and that was that was super special. And that's that's somebody that's close enough for me to pop down and visit. So I'm um'm looking forward to that. Make something happen with the homie. Yeah, I love that. I love that about her. Really did. she I love that she wanted people to see her, right, and say, oh, maybe I should go explore this park nearby. She talked about how she was creating an event because she wanted this primarily black-only neighborhood, right, like this black neighborhood to see, hey, there's actually a black ranger there. That's leading this walk by this beautiful space that is like right by you all, which I thought was really cool. And then, man, we've got to wrap the season up. Our final guest, we just dropped with Rosemary Moscow. Man, like we got to meet Rosemary. We've been nerding out about her work prior to this season anyway, which is really cool. We met her at the biggest week in American
Guest Reflections: Rosemary Mosco
00:53:45
Speaker
Birding. What did you enjoy most about that conversation with Rosemary? Yeah. but when i listen to it and someone else mentioned on the comments too like thanks for not editing out you guys laughing and i i appreciate that as well because like i was i was crying again when i listened to it like even as much as was crying you know like and and it really just i hope people as much as we talked about how to use
00:54:09
Speaker
kind of the comedic function to help people understand science communication, right? Like we talked about it, but it was literally happening at that moment, right? Like unfolding. Yeah, it's literally like she's saying things about different bird species and other. stuff and and we're talking about it so like her humor her graciousness you know coming into the conversation and like she really helps you get to a space where you you just don't need to take burden culture very seriously and it's okay and there's other people that still find just as much joy and love in nature with with with that approach so what about you what uh stuck out from that episode Yeah, obviously really connected with her as a fellow science communicator and really admire the way that she can use her humor and as that learning tool that she really doesn't take herself super seriously. And like she'll create something. She'll be like, don't know if anybody's going to like this, but i like it. I'm nerding out laughing about it. So I'm going to put it out there. So yeah, just put it out there that she's another one of those folks that just get over the fear. There will never be this perfect moment. Are you feeling it? Do it, do it. You might make some impact and man, so many laughs. Like I can't, I was like, you know what? Somebody that hates my laugh is going to like, not like that episode.
00:55:24
Speaker
Way too many laughs from Dexter in this episode. So yeah, that's what I'll remember about that one, bro. There's like one part of the episode where I can hear myself wheezing because I'm trying to breathe. And in my head, I'm like, I'm so glad Dexter didn't cut that out. Cause like, I just, I just grew old man. Like, so I, I, I really hope we get a chance to meet up with Rosemary at some other bird festival or something. Just hang out. Cause like that is a gem of the, of the birding community. So listen,
00:55:54
Speaker
ah That was a lot of guests that we had this season from a lot of different perspectives, right?
Themes of Belonging and Community
00:56:00
Speaker
What do you think kind of connects them all ah as you kind of went through the season? Yeah, I was thinking about it as I was going through all in you know individual episode by episode and kind of reflecting before this conversation. And there were some things that kind of stood out. Obviously, we talk about belonging in nature. That that is everything. Yeah.
00:56:22
Speaker
in nature that we were able to provide the creativity and the joy that other people's creativity brings the world really kind of stood out to me storytelling obviously sharon actually talked about how she was you both were part of books whereass all these different stories and she talked about how hearing all those different stories lets people know that your story could be next. And that's something that kind of stood out as just the power of storytelling and underrepresented groups and, and, and really just using our platform in a way that we can continue to tell these stories and then community and how this community is growing and that it exists. Like it's here for you. There's so much joy waiting for you in this community. So that kind of stood out to me. Do you feel like the Bird Joy podcast has grown into something bigger than just a podcast,
Global Impact of the Podcast
00:57:14
Speaker
bro? Absolutely. Absolutely. Like when I think we have a, for lack of a better word, a vibe that we are consistently trying to put out there. And that's whether you're listening to an episode, you're coming to a book launch event in Chicago with Dexter, you're coming to an in-color birding outing or a BIPOC birding club or Wisconsin outing. You're coming to a bird festival to meet us. you know, we're on a meeting together for some collaborative of like, it's the same energy. And and I feel like that's what creates community is like people know that they're going to get the same one of us every single time, right? We're going to bring the same energy, the same joy of community and joy of burning. And so, you know, having that and then it just growing across like global, global scale, right? Like different countries are listening, which is, which is wild to me, right? Because,
00:58:00
Speaker
Because i just you just think about how many different bird species there are and and then how many different communities there are that are different. And you and are clearly aware of the communities in the United States that are underrepresented, but I'm sure there's other communities globally feeling the same way. And the fact that they can come and find the same energy from us.
00:58:17
Speaker
Like, yeah, it's okay. Let's go out and do it anyway. Right. Let's go out and find joy anyway in the community that we have. So lets go that was, that was, that's, that's, that's super dope to me, man. And I, and I think that's the thing that even when we finish out a season, I'm just after like a week, I'm like, Hey man, I'm like, I'm like messaging you like that Dave Chappelle meme. I'm like scratching my neck. Hey man, when we going to get to, when we going to start season five, man. You know, so like, that's what I that's what I feel like, man. um So so what do you think, man? Like speaking of season five, like we got so we got some some open slots. I think we have some people that we are looking to talk to.
00:58:55
Speaker
You know, what do you think? um When you reflect on this season and ahead to the next season, do you have any dream guests or new voices that you think you might want to hear? You know, I would, I love like this idea of talking to more international homies. So sure people out there, you know, some international homies doing some dope work, please let us know. I can't, I want to continue to, to elevate those new voices in birding. So, you know, some young folks that are, are bubbling up like a, like a subreddit that we should know about. Yeah. Let us know. Let us know. But really just we're just I want to continue to focus on expanding the conversation. There are so many people out there. So I i know that you won't have lot, a ah lack of lack of people to be reaching out to. We got some good ones already that we're curating. So really excited. But most importantly, I want our listeners to send us some ideas. All right. Sure.
00:59:50
Speaker
Yeah, that would be dope. That would be super dope. All right, Jay. You about to. You're getting ready for a big international trip soon. You're about to head to India. Yes. you're For the second time.
01:00:01
Speaker
Yeah. What are you most excited about going to India? First thing I'm excited about is getting there safely on my airplane. Yeah.
01:00:12
Speaker
The world is crazy today. And I can tell you, it's a little it's a little wild and it's a little reflective, right, to be going to find some bird joy. And and and honestly, the bird guides, Surya and Pala in in in particular, like creating some community with them, right? The last time I was there, we all talked about different things socially in our communities around nature and access to nature. And so was really cool to have that conversation. So I'm excited to spend 18 days with those two dudes and other people.
01:00:40
Speaker
here Philly. But yeah, you know, I'm excited for all kinds of birds. I still got to go find a pygmy cup wing because I didn't see it last year. And my homie Tanya, who was in Thailand, sent me a video she took of a pygmy cup wing like two weeks ago. so I'm super jealous. So I got to go get it together. that right And you know and just just having some time just in the forest doing you know reflection on life and nature and you know spending time with cool people. So yeah, man. Dope. Dope. Well, listen, homie, that's it.
01:01:06
Speaker
We had a full season four. ah I mean, it feels like we just started, but it it always goes too fast, I think. And I think ah both of you, when we spend this time together, wrap up seasons, we look back at all these conversations and we're really grateful. and every single guest, every single story, listener, community member, everybody just sharing their bird joy in whatever way they could makes you and I very grateful every week that we get to see how you're engaging on our socials or otherwise. And so To everybody in the world that's tuning in, thank you for being on a part of this journey with us. We really do appreciate it. Well said, man. We hope that you have an incredible spring migration ahead wherever you may be. We hope you get a bunch of lifers.
01:01:49
Speaker
Do not stop spending time outside. Make sure that you're taking those moments to appreciate the birds wherever you are. And we will see y'all in season five sometime this summer.
01:02:01
Speaker
All right. Promise you that. Oh, and just to keep the same energy, here we go. Lightning round. Dexter, what's the one bird you want to see first time in the spring this year that's really going to let you go? I'm getting it. Kirtland's warbler.
01:02:12
Speaker
Oh, lovely, lovely. What's one place that you want to go bird around your home that you have not been yet? Ooh, I need to get up to Crux Meadows. It's like a small, they say it's like a smaller version of Horicon Marsh. Okay. All right, last one. If there's any bird festival that's looking for a guest, which is one at the top of your list? Whatever one hits us up next. Let's go. right, Elvis. Until then, folks, keep chasing that bird joy and never forget that bird joy is for everyone.
01:02:43
Speaker
Peace.