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Welcome Back!
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We're back! In the Season 3 premiere of Bird Joy, your favorite birding buddies reunite to catch up, share what’s new, and get pumped for the peak of spring migration. From exciting bird sightings to major personal milestones—including Dexter’s new book and In Color Birding Club’s website launch—this episode sets the tone for an inspiring and vibrant new season.
In This Episode:
- A warm welcome back to the Bird Joy community
- Early spring sightings and birding energy
- Community-driven birding updates and new collaborations
- Behind-the-scenes of Dexter’s book journey
- Launch of a new inclusive birding platform
- What’s ahead this season—special guests, stories, and inspiration
Subscribe, share, and follow us on socials to stay in the loop this season. Got a cool spring birding moment? Tag us—we’d love to see it!
Let’s go! Season 3 is officially in flight.
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Transcript
Welcome Back: Celebrating Bird Joy
00:00:00
Speaker
You're tuned in to season three of the Bird Joy podcast hosted by Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall. This podcast is for all the homies across the globe, a place to celebrate birds, community, and joy together.
00:00:15
Speaker
We're back with more stories from the birding world, more voices doing dope work in STEM, and more reasons to get outside and enjoy the birds. Are you ready for some bird joy? Let's go.
00:00:27
Speaker
Bro. We're back. Let's go. We've awakened.
00:00:35
Speaker
Let's go. I know we made it. Hibernation is over. It is over. I know the homies missed us. You know what I mean? I know. I missed them too. I missed the homies, man. It's not like it's been anything going on since December or anything you know in the world. so you know yeah Maybe we just got to get back here, get back into the joy, get that back into people's hearts, that bird joy, especially in time for spring, get people outside and finding that space to breathe and reflect and and smile. And, you know, it's been hard to come by these days, you know, politically, personally, professionally for a lot of people. And so um we hope we can come back with another season to get the people going. Yeah. Hopefully season one, season two motivated them to continue searching for their bird joy. You what I mean? And I love that you mentioned what's been going on in a world lately. That was one of the things we we talked about it. Like, man, we haven't been on since all this is happening. And we know that people are probably struggling and everything. So I really, I do. I hope and I pray that the homies have still been going
Birding Stories and Listener Engagement
00:01:44
Speaker
out.
00:01:44
Speaker
getting that respite from all the craziness and and spending time with the birds, man, and getting their bird joy. Cause I, you and i we talk often and that's what's getting me through this stuff, bro. yeah Honestly, I don't, I don't, there's nothing else quite like it um to just kind of be like,
00:02:00
Speaker
ua Yeah, man. Yeah, I'm telling you. I was telling you before we started recording, I went out with the homies this morning at this spot in Philly called Glen Ford on the Delaware and, um you know, just watching Osprey Mamas on the Nests.
00:02:15
Speaker
Oh, snap. fighting with crows, a couple of small pine warblers, a nesting Cooper's hawk, you know, and it was still like 55 degrees and chilly and windy, know, everybody we still bundled up. You could tell, you could like feel it, you know, like we were ready, you know, every little sound and noise. What's that?
00:02:33
Speaker
What's that? Yeah. And it's those new ones, right? Like you're like, Oh, haven't heard that in a little while. Yeah. I haven't heard that in a little while. We're, we're, we're getting close homies. We're getting close. Almost just hang in there folks.
00:02:47
Speaker
Yeah. the Hang in there. That, that peak migration going to come before you know it. Oh man. This is, and this is kind of how we planned it out. When I think about it, bro. here we are today is sunday april 13th this is about exactly a year since we launched season one i know so it is kind of cool to ah look back on that journey and like here we are here we are starting a third season together and the community that we've built the messages we get from the homies man it's it's that never gets old does it like that just don no it doesn't look dude
00:03:23
Speaker
You sent me the little drawing the other day, man. they I i just like got all emotional from the little kid. It's just some of those messages. People don't realize that those little i thank yous and like those little bird joy moments that they share with us gives us so much joy, gives us so much life to continue to want to record these episodes, to continue to spread this bird joy across the world. so Please, please continue to share that with us. Like we said in the end of season two, we would love to hear some of your Bird Joy stories, too.
00:03:57
Speaker
So I hope that people kind of take us up on that offer. I think what I'm going to do, maybe I'll set up a set us up a little Google Voice account and people can call our little Google Voice and leave us a voicemail.
00:04:09
Speaker
Yeah. And then we can start incorporating some of that stuff into these episodes. So the homies going to be a part of this journey with us. Yeah. And and um for for folks that don't know, and you wouldn't because you're not on the text text chain with me and Dexter, but there's a ah young lady that teaches here in the Olney section of Philadelphia, and she listened to our diversity and birding episode from season one. Her name's Sarah. And um she sent us a nice message. She was so inspired. She got her pre-K and kindergarten kids out looking at birds, vibing. And she sent us a nice long message explaining the excitement and joy that they had in their hearts. And the only section of Philadelphia is black and brown neighborhoods. That's like, that's like deep Philly, lovely, lovely folks. And Dex, she was on my walk this morning. That is so cool, man. Yeah. I told her, thank you. Cause that when people send us that information, like, you know, we're not, we're not on here trying necessarily to blow up our own heads. Like it really is like, our are we like to know that what we're doing is making a tangible difference with people and giving them some energy to go out and make differences in their own community or just to go find bird joy that day just to help the brain.
00:05:17
Speaker
So yeah, she was, she was on the walk and and brought up, brought a friend and like we were vibing and chilling. Like it was, it was great, man. So like more of that, please people more of that, please, uh, to share your, share, share your bird joy, whether it's inspired by us or not, don't really matter. Just call us up. I don't care you're just recording on your phone, hiding in a bush somewhere in the park, looking at a swing since the rush, you know, bring it. Ooh. Yeah, it's there's nothing like it, man. There's nothing like reconnecting, obviously, with you in person, like doing our our thing here with the podcast. But the Burden community and the listeners, this weekend, I made a trip to Iowa, which is really cool.
Explorations and Personal Encounters
00:05:55
Speaker
It's this tiny little town. And well I believe one of the fun facts about the this itty bitty town in um in the middle of Iowa is they're the only town that has no elementary school, middle school or high school, but they have a D2 university.
00:06:08
Speaker
It is so crazy. So yeah, Upper Iowa University, and they have a fantastic conservation management program. So they reached out to me and um asked me to come and speak to their students and the public.
00:06:22
Speaker
So I gave them a little bird joy seminar, bro. We went hiking at a local ah state park there for almost three hours. I went, I went salamander hunting, bro.
00:06:33
Speaker
Like I i held my first, I held my first salamander bro gonna have to send you the picture i got a picture shout out to paul dude he got me like the moment where i held the first one and i'm like freaking out um next thing you know up um i'm turning over rocks and i'm looking for i end up finding like six salamanders bro like and it was like what's what was funny is because when i got there i was like hey do you ever watch that show of the americas He's like, yeah, i was like, well, this last episode, they had this feature on this on the salamander called the wandering salamander.
00:07:07
Speaker
And it's on the West Coast. And this little bitty salamander, bro, crawls up the freaking redwood trees all the way to the top and jumps off. Oh, nope. Bro, i this little thing is using this little tail like a rudder and it's just flying through the air like this. And then all sudden gets all the way down to the ground and just lands and then does it again, crawling up these redwoods looking for a mate. And like, dude, that segment blew my mind. So I was like, man.
00:07:35
Speaker
When I got there and we were out in in in the woods, I was like, do y'all got salamanders here? Because I was like, I want to see a salamander. He was like, are you serious? It's literally one of the things that he studies.
00:07:48
Speaker
What? Yeah. So he was like, oh, you're going to get a salamander. And he took me and he had a couple of his students working and they were already out in the field.
00:07:59
Speaker
There was this like natural spring that just runs all year round. And it's like 50 degrees all year round, through the winter and everything. And it's really cool because there's these rocks and you just see this running water. It's super shallow.
00:08:11
Speaker
You just flip up the rocks and there it is. Little homies is just you know chilling in there, bro. What up, dude? The little salamanders. I always tell people, like I love birds, but I also got like this affinity for little baby goats.
00:08:25
Speaker
And I don't know why. i think it was like, you know, those videos with a little baby goats be hopping around, bro, like obstacle courses and they'd like little sweaters and stuff. I was like, oh, my God, I need to meet one of these little things. And sure enough, guess what else he has? 80 goats.
00:08:43
Speaker
He has a farm. And he's like, oh, we got babies. They're two weeks old. you want to go meet some? I'm like, bro, stop playing. What you mean do I want? What you mean do I want to meet some? So he takes me to his home.
00:08:56
Speaker
Bro, the generosity, the just the warmth, the hospitality. And then all sudden he walks over with his two-week-old baby goat named Bertha.
00:09:08
Speaker
What a name. And Bertha... Because she's the biggest one, so they call her Big Bertha. But she was so adorable. Bro, Jason, called this little goat.
00:09:19
Speaker
I almost started a crying. I was like, look at her. And then she laid her head on me and just closed her eyes. And I was like, bro. I was done. i was done. i was like, oh, I can't stop thinking about birth. Like I can't, like, I just can't stop thinking about her. So yeah, this weekend was special. Like I came home, we talk about our cup being full.
00:09:39
Speaker
yeah I got so much bird joy, so much community. That's the one thing I i so i just really appreciate about birding is the amount of amazing people it's brought into my life.
00:09:51
Speaker
yeah ah I will be forever grateful to our Feather friends for
Community Events and Collaborations
00:09:55
Speaker
that. Yeah, we don't talk about it enough in terms of the the migration pushes too. It's like you get to see people you haven't maybe seen since the fall, you know, because maybe they're coming out in the winter time or, you know, people got holidays and other stuff and busy and and things going on. And so you get to...
00:10:11
Speaker
not only reconnect with the birds, but you get to see the homies in more numbers, which is which is so good for the for the soul. I you know i wonder um ah wonder like how how everybody else feels about this, right? If there's like some way we can track like the the ah the different types of birders, the ones that go inside in the wintertime and don't come out versus the ones, you know, I got some, you know, like, you know, the homies that look at goals, right? We'd be out there. Dexter is now in the club.
00:10:38
Speaker
Oh, you got me, you me. It's a part of me now, you know? Yeah. Yeah. So like, you know, there's a, you know, what last season we had Christian on and he was like, Christian, Christian Cooper. And he was like, listen, don't talk to me until it's spring migration. He was like, I'm not going out until it's that, which is, which is fascinating. Right. You know, for one of the most popular birders on the planet, you know, he kind of knows where his pocket is. So. You know, it's just a sign to everyone like, hey, you know, whatever your season is, just like the birds, just get out there, sing, make it happen, find that joy. So what's spring always brings, I think, festivals and new connections, new people. We both run bird clubs, probably trying to plan some new events. You got anything new going on? Any new updates? Any new bird sightings? Anything like that? Bro, I mean, this spring going to be pretty crazy for both of us.
00:11:29
Speaker
you know When I think about what's coming up for us in May, we're we're actually going to be, both of us are going to be presenting at the biggest week in birding. Which is crazy. That's kind of epic when you think about that. So to to be able to do that, I've never been there. So i be I'm beyond excited about that. We're also going to meet with some kids at a STEM at a stem charter school, and we're going to talk about you know our professions in STEM and different things. So you're kind of meeting our our community where they are and yeah and using. I think we've built something pretty special, and and that's what's creating these opportunities for us. So I'm beyond excited about that. What about you? you What you feeling about? Have you ever been the biggest week?
00:12:12
Speaker
I have not, man. And the only thing I've seen is um I've seen like wild videos of that boardwalk at McGee Marsh being crowded with people. And I have some friends that have gone out. The way I've had it described to me is sensory overload, you know, and you really got to pace yourself, you know, because somebody was like, listen, man, you're on this boardwalk. And depending on the morning, like there could be 25 different species of warbler along, you know, 200 yards of boardwalk. And they're like, And some of them are singing. Some of them are right at eye level. Some of them are so close. You can't even use your telephoto lens, like prime lens. That's crazy.
00:12:46
Speaker
And I'm just like, I don't, I'd have to just sit down and breathe for a minute because, um you know, but I'm looking forward actually out there to meeting a bunch of people, people that have said they're going out and and that we haven't met before and and just really trying to extend our message into the community. Right. So I think you and I are both, you know, we're doing some different events and I think leading some walks and And bringing our own vibe to that to that part of the country, that that that that part of the process. so Which is crazy because arguably that's the biggest, most notable bird festival kind of in the history of North American birding, honestly. There's some other big ones, but but that one is kind of the one that people think of and find when they Google bird festival. Pretty exciting, man. Pretty exciting. end before you go out there, you are going to what, Indiana? Indiana.
00:13:32
Speaker
I go, yeah I'm going to Indiana Dooms after that. After that. Okay. I'll be at Biggest Week for a few days and then I'm headed to Indiana Dooms Burden Festival for a couple of days to to give ah give another keynote there. And then. and that's another first.
00:13:48
Speaker
yeah yeah And then I'm coming to you, my guy. That's right. Philly, Philly. I'm coming to Philly. The week of Black Brothers week. So I'm super excited. I'll be giving a keynote at the Academy of Sciences there. That's right. Our homies over at the Academy of Natural Sciences. So I know you'll be coming through to hang with the homies here. So y'all are...
00:14:10
Speaker
Have to check out what we're doing here in Philly if you're listening. We'll make sure you can go see Dexter at the Academy. Those are the homies over there. Thanks to you for making that connection, you know what mean? Well, listen.
00:14:21
Speaker
letting the homie know, hey, you might want to talk to Dex. He might come out here. They came to me. They were like, listen. Okay, okay. then And, and they you know, and honestly, they came to me for multiple things, but there's only so much time with what we both do and our on our on our home turf. And I just made sure they got in touch with you. and And I think ah people are going to be really excited to have you out here, man. It's going to be so cool. But now I'm going to have to step my game up and figure out how to get out to Madison. We'll make it happen, man.
00:14:48
Speaker
Yeah, man. hey yeah this is not This is what we're going to do. you know I'll make that happen for sure. so It's going to happen. We're going to make that happen. We're going to make that happen. We have all those things happening and then Blackbirders Week finishing out at the end of the month, which is going to be lovely.
00:15:04
Speaker
you know I'm really looking forward to it. And to kick off May, bro, I'm actually going to Chicago the first weekend in in May. And I'm collaborating with the homies of the the Chicago BIPOC birders. Let's go, Dex. Let's go. Man, you're going to be tired. You get them airline miles up. like you go may May is to be a pretty epic and pretty amazing month.
00:15:30
Speaker
But, bruh, like, i can't I can't think of a better way. Spend some time with the homies down there. The homie Eric, who I met at the Gold Frolic. One of the leaders of the Chicago BIPOC birders. Oh, that's dope.
00:15:42
Speaker
Man, the homie Tariq. The homie has the record for the biggest year in Chicago. So I'm super excited to see the homies, man, like, Talk about this amazing people and like what they're doing with their club down there. What I love about them, bro, is they always eating.
00:16:02
Speaker
Like, I mean, like, I'll be like, not only are y'all seeing all these amazing birds and like they're doing some fantastic events, but they always eating some good food. See, those are my kind of people right there. Yeah, they get it, bro. They get it. They're breaking bread. They're making memories. Like, oh, man, I can't wait for the homies. They're going actually be coming up to Lake Forest. Also, the homies from Dripping Culture, a black-owned coffee shop in Waukegan. tell me about them. Yeah. Yeah. They're so all this stuff in the show notes to like, to make sure people heading into spring have links to all these groups that we're talking about these festivals, like things. Cause like this episode be out really soon and people still have an opportunity maybe go participate wherever they are. So we'll, we'll make sure we like all of this, man. This is so dope. You know, that's a lot about collaborations, partnerships, community building. Like, it's so lovely. Is there anything on the bird front that you're looking forward to this spring? Any particular little
Spring Migration and Birding Techniques
00:16:57
Speaker
homie that's been giving you trouble the last couple of springs that you need to get on a place you ain't been in a minute? Yeah. know?
00:17:03
Speaker
It's funny because yesterday when i when i when I did the the Bird Joy seminar, and during the Q&A portion, somebody asked me what my nemesis bird was.
00:17:14
Speaker
And I was like, I don't know if I can call it a nemesis because I don't know if I've been looking hard enough or or trying hard enough to go see it, but the Kirtland's warbler. I think this year I'm going to be more proactive. We do have an area in the central part of our state in the Driftless region that has these young jack pine trees and that's where they net that they need for nesting. think I'm going to make some trips and try to go get that little homie. So I'm going to stop just saying, oh, I don't know. I'm going to make that happen. You're going to have to make that happen. That is top of the list for me this spring.
00:17:52
Speaker
Awesome. Yeah. We might, you know, we might actually see one at biggest week. I think they have one, think last year, maybe the year before that kind of drove drove, drove everybody crazy. So we'll see. Um, for me, uh, Kirtland's Warbur would be an amazing one for sure. Um, But I'm actually really excited this spring. So I've been, last year I signed up to be part of this Pennsylvania Bird Atlas that they run every 20 years or it runs for It runs for five years. And last spring and summer, I really wasn't able to hit it the way I wanted to for the four by four mile block that I that i have assigned to me, which is around my around my house. And um I'm actually just looking forward to like dogging this thing this year, man. I'm looking forward to like logging every year
00:18:35
Speaker
bird and bird behavior that I can log for this block. Cause it's like, it's like my home block, right? Like I want to get his t-shirt that says I run this block, you know, with like a picture of Pennsylvania bird. Yeah.
00:18:49
Speaker
yeah But like, ah you know, normally in the spring, it's like as many warblers and vagrants and all this other stuff and all that will come. You know, I'll see all that on our Discord chat. I'm really like, there's a couple state game lands near me and I was exploring um yesterday.
00:19:05
Speaker
Just like have my waders on. I was walking in the creek, you know, you know, it's just a state game land. So you don't have to stay on the trail or anything. I was just like exploring these these like kind of pine groves and looking for water thrush and and just like and i and it's funny because I've lived here for seven or eight years now and I have not explored that game lands the way I need to.
00:19:27
Speaker
And just so far in the early part of spring, you know I'm like, man, I'm a clown. I should have been out here so much sooner. Like this place is amazing. you know, I had, I had, cause like the whole goal is to log kind of breeding behaviors, right. For these birds in your block. And that's, you know, Pennsylvania can compare it, you know, every, every 20 year stretch. And, you know, I had some hooting, some duetting barred owls.
00:19:51
Speaker
you know, which kind of counts as like courtship behavior, right? So I can log and say, all right, well, in my block, you know, I have breeding barred owls, which is really cool. I'm going to go out tonight and try to see if I can listen to screech owls, log them too, because they're in the breeding mode now. So that's really what I'm looking for, kind of staying closer to home this spring, outside of travel and stuff, and just really like dig into the habitat around me. Dude,
00:20:13
Speaker
That is so cool that you say that because I've been doing that in my neighborhood. So we have a little neighborhood Facebook group and I told you we got the Osprey that be coming and hunting the lake and all that. yeah But I've been kind of really kind of going around and and documenting all these amazing birds that I've been seeing on our little lake and taking pictures and posting them there. I've been making ah little videos for the neighborhood who wants to help me find this. And it's very neighborhood specific and people are kind of freaking out because they didn't know it.
00:20:46
Speaker
They didn't know. So then I also posted who would be interested in doing some bird walks in the neighborhood with me. And it was just like overwhelming. Let's go pour out of like, let's go. Let's go. um I love hearing you say that because I'm literally doing the same thing and trying to connect with my neighbors and, um and just, you know, I was like, Hey, I got binoculars. I got a scope, whatever we need um so we can go out and have some fun. So I'm really looking forward to that. I've been meeting in new neighbors in a group that I didn't know. And it's it's pretty cool. It just, makes makes the the home area just feel a lot better. So I'm super excited about that.
00:21:24
Speaker
And those behaviors that you're talking about, what's better than spring migration to like start studying new behaviors and stuff, you know? I can show you this. I mean, maybe the people can see it if we share this video, but this is me trying to make sense of all the different bird songs for the warblers.
00:21:42
Speaker
So i got I got different categories, right? Because like I know a lot of them, but I've never really sat down and like classified them like I would if I was like studying cell signaling pathways in grad school, which was a crazy class. So I got them all down. They're all like different categories, like trill, trill and buzzy.
00:21:59
Speaker
Buzzy, trill with the whistle, a true warbler. two syllable single note trying to really know yeah you let that scientist come out in you yeah got my scientists i got my music background i'm like is this is the crescendo is this staccato note like is this like i'm really trying to because i've always like listened to them in my ear like every spring and i just kind of re-acclimate myself right because i you know for some reason every year i forget what a damn oven bird sounds like for some stupid reason you know some of them are really cool and i didn't realize like how the um
00:22:30
Speaker
like the squeaky ones where's the squeaky jones here so like you know like the black and white warbler is like the bike wheel right like the squeaky squeaky then the american red star the kate may warbler they both have some other squeaky stuff going on in there too black pole warbler also squeaky right so it's kind of putting them in those categories um which is good you know heading to biggest week to get my ears right but um It's one of those things that if you have time to study, the birds don't sing like this in the fall, which is why spring is so great. So like, yeah if you have the time, don't don't try to do every bird. But if you want to choose like, like I was listening to sparrows the other day and I was like, yo, some of these sparrows sound like they low-key trying to be bobolinks.
00:23:14
Speaker
Right. And I can't even remember which species it was, but it had this weird sequence. And I was like, this sounds like a little bobbling light, you know, and like, that's how I'm going to remember it. So when I sit down to study those, that's how I'm going to think about it. Cause that's what it kicked off in my brain. And so like, that's what I like about spring is like, it's this beautiful kind of training ground every year. And you can, you know, you decide one year I'm going to do Orioles. I'm to do sparrows. I'm going to vireos, right. Which are wild, you know, or, or you want to be a glutton for punishment and try to do all 35 warblers on the East coast, you know? So.
00:23:45
Speaker
Give it a shot. You know what i mean? I always tell people one bird, one call at a time. Yeah. but Take that pressure off yourself. It's cool. right It's OK. I love that. I love that so much.
00:23:57
Speaker
You know, i was like thinking about Biggest League. Like what makes that area so popular for the Warblers? I can't wait to get that answer. you know Yeah, I mean, I think it's got a lot to do with that migration pathway. but i And also, I think they've done a great job of keeping habitat on that lakefront.
00:24:14
Speaker
So the birds come up that, I guess, it's the central flyway or some somewhere, you know I guess, up up the Mississippi, essentially. right And um from what I've heard, the birds get out over the water and realize how much water is there. And they're like, whoop, I need to plan this a little better. And they kind of turn back. And then they hunker down there. They stop.
00:24:33
Speaker
They grow up, they get more energy, right? They're smart. And um and then so if you catch them there on the right day, like, you know, shout out to the people at McGee Marsh and everybody out in those counties that that make sure they're preserving that habitat because um that's gone. Can you imagine those birds coming on their migration, trying to touch down, something to eat and and not being able to and then trying to head out over that over that migration to get to those forests up north in Canada with no food? It's terrible. Yeah, that would be rough. I also think it's kind of a ah prime example of like the birds don't care that people are around.
00:25:07
Speaker
No, that's what I heard. I was watching, them who's the homies in Wisconsin with you? um bat Badgerland? Badgerland Birding? Yeah, Badgerland Birding.
InColor Birding Club: New Beginnings
00:25:15
Speaker
Right. They got a couple of YouTube videos of the biggest week. And um and they they actually did a really good job kind of laying out what it's like. and And yeah, these birds are right off the boardwalk sometimes just looking at you in the face, you know? Yeah.
00:25:30
Speaker
You know, there are people watching. There are people watching. i know i want I wonder how they label us. You know what I mean? know. It's that Wisco birder out here. I can hear them. I can hear the Wisco birder down the boardwalk.
00:25:44
Speaker
That's so funny. There are people watching like crazy. It's beautiful. It's beautiful, man. It's beautiful. yeah man he got so Speaking of beautiful, Jay, shout out to that new InColor Birding Club website y'all just watched, man.
00:25:58
Speaker
yeah Talk to the people about that. like I know that was like that was a work in progress and and a lot of planning and thought went into that. Talk to the people about you know what what what that was all about.
00:26:10
Speaker
Yeah. So, um, a few years ago we got invited or nominated to join an organization called 1% for the planet. Right. Which is a kind of collective of, uh, corporations, companies, nonprofits that kind of, you know, can offer their services in kind. And, um,
00:26:28
Speaker
So we signed up. We were invited by, i think, some homies at one of the arboretums here in Philly. We signed up and after about a year, we got a note from a branding agency called Truth and Consequences here in Philly. Really cool, kind of like, I don't know, it's almost like ah like a big partnership or co-op structure. And a lot of young folks, diverse, you know, they do stuff for the Eagles. They do stuff for all, you know, the the Philadelphia Eagles, not the not the actual bird, although I'm sure they could. And they reached out and said, hey, you know, we wonder if you want any help, you know, working on your branding. So last year, everybody saw beginning of last year, I think we launched our new logos and colors. And, you know, if you look at our in color birding title, all of the kind of pieces of the letters look like bird beaks or bird parts and bodies. And nobody really knows that. It's kind of like an Easter egg.
00:27:17
Speaker
And so after they did that, which was amazing, right, helped us kind of rebrand a little bit. make some gear um to get to the people. They came back last year and were like, hey, do you you guys want to help with your website? We got some new ideas to help you with your website. And they're doing all this in kind, right? Like we don't have to come out of pocket for this. And that's the beauty of 1% for the planet. um They connect groups like this. And man, they sat with us for two months. We had some meetings, you know, here and there, um kind of late in the day kind of stuff. And um just these brilliant folks. And like me and ah one of my board members, Nicole, she was kind of with me most of the time. And we're just telling them, like, it's got to be bold. Like, you know, we want when people go there, we want them to feel an infusion of color, of joy, of power.
00:27:59
Speaker
And man, did they nail it, you know? So if you go to the website, you know, you're just going to see color immediately, right? It's beautiful. It is so beautiful. Yeah. And it's got all of our events on there. You're able to sign up for memberships, which, you know, it's not really a membership that you like need to have in order to come to any of our events or anything. We sell some of our gear there. We have, you know, information about our bus sponsorships.
00:28:24
Speaker
um And that's where we'll post anything else that we're doing in terms of collaborations and trips and otherwise. And it's, it's very It's a very simple site to navigate, you know, so I encourage people to go check it out, right? And if you have questions about it, or you want me to put you in touch with Truth truth truth and Consequences, i'm I'm happy to do that too. But it's is it's kind of a labor of love, both on our part as the Bird Club and also for TNC,
Dexter's Field Guide Adventure
00:28:46
Speaker
right? they really They really tried to capture what we were giving them, and if we wanted to change something, they were really great about it. so You know, having a good website is really important, I think, when it comes to trying to outreach to the community. When I say good, I mean like accessible, you know, like people can get navigate to where they get to need to. It's not too wordy.
00:29:04
Speaker
There's lots of pictures and colors and that it emotes some sort of feeling. Right. And we want community and joy. So I think it does that, man. I really do. And I appreciate you giving it the shout out. encourage people to go check it out, you know.
00:29:16
Speaker
It fits in color birdie to a tee. Yeah, I love to that you were able to collaborate with a local company to like that is that made it even more special made it even more special. So I'm happy for y'all man. I'm looking at that and and I know how much that meant to you and you know, like working through some things and then it was there and I was like, Whoa,
00:29:41
Speaker
Look at this. yeah This is special. Shout out to the Philly homies. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, man. You know, it's important, right? That one thing we told them was, you know, we don't want to we don't want to skimp on quality, right? We want to make sure that our community has the highest quality website for this particular, you know, bird club. And they made sure that we did. Damn it.
00:30:04
Speaker
Like they they really did. So I really, really, really, really appreciate them. But, you know, the website. Talking a proud popper. Yeah, you know, a website is one thing, you know, website is one thing and it's awesome. And I certainly could have done any of this by myself. But let's talk about authorship. Somebody wrote a book, right? Somebody wrote a book. That book is trending on Amazon.
00:30:27
Speaker
ah Why don't you tell the people, Dexter, about what you've been doing in your free time? Yeah, man. i Over the last couple of years, I've been writing a field guide. And a lot of people didn't know. um You know me. I'm one of those people that, like, I don't like to broadcast what I'm doing. I just like to do.
00:30:44
Speaker
Cause I feel like once you start broadcasting stuff out, I'm doing this, I'm doing that. You invite a lot of negative energy into your space. And and I just, I've had enough of that in my life. So I just kinda had a and and it's beautiful cause I had a publisher reach out, Timber Press and they they had a vision. They had a vision they said, Dexter, we would love if you would author, you know, the next, the next book and the next book in our series. And it's called the best little book of birds and that's their series. And they have one for basically all these different regions in the country. And they said, the great lakes is the biggest region in the country. Um, and this would be the biggest book that we've ever done. And they were like, we think you're the person to do it.
00:31:28
Speaker
Wow. I've kind of been looking at, you know, I can't find anybody else. So if if it's out there and it does exist, please let me know. But I believe I'm the first black man to write a field guide. So I want to I like I can't say it's 1000% sure, but I haven't found one yet. If somebody has one written by a black man, please let me know so I can correct myself. I'm definitely. Definitely the only black man in the Midwest Great Lakes region that has written yeah a field guide. And it could be the the only black man in the country to write an actual field guide. But it's it's the best birds of the Great Lakes version. And it's kind of been a labor of love. I started in 2023. I have over 100 common birds that you can kind of find in the region, including some of those special ones that come through during this time of year. During this spring migration. And really, I took the approach of how I take the approach with my You Ready, Let's Go videos, where I teach them about the bird, I give them fun facts, I talk about the habitats, all the same thing. And nafs the that's the unique twist that I put on it in regards to this field guide. I'm centering bird joy and those type of things.
00:32:38
Speaker
And I'm pretty excited about it. It also features my photography. So like when I'm talking about the birds, Nice. um Like 96% of the photos are mine. There are a in there that we had to source out because I didn't like what I had. Like 96% of the images are images I've taken over the years throughout my birding career. And bro, it's top new release in ornithology. It's number one in the category of birds. It's number one in bird watching. Number one in tour guide. That's awesome, man.
00:33:11
Speaker
It's insane. So I mean, like I've worked hard on it. I didn't expect to the support and the love and the publisher reached out and they were like, Dexter, i don't know what you're doing, but keep doing
00:33:26
Speaker
I said, that's the homies, man. so So shout out to every single one of you that has supported, that has pre-ordered. the The outpouring of support has truly been humbling. And the book is going to be in retailers all over. Some of the most the biggest book retailers you can think about. um And we'll start shipping in October.
00:33:46
Speaker
Nice, man. Nice. what what What would you say is um when you when you think about the book and you know what was the... yeah I'm going to switch it up a little bit. What was the most joyful part of the process?
00:33:59
Speaker
And then what was the most challenging part of the process that maybe you weren't aware of kind of as a first-time field guide author? you know i just i didn't really I didn't want it to be like everything else out there. So that was kind of a challenge of like, I like to write, you know and but I've never written in this formal context of a whole book. Bro, this book is 360 pages.
00:34:22
Speaker
Whoa. Yeah. So this is like, you know what mean? Like, so it's not a pocket field guy. No, no. So i you know, got bird families of the Great Lakes region, um bird watching in the Great Lakes region, embracing bird watching, essential tools chapter, exploring bird habitats. A call for bird joy is in the book.
00:34:44
Speaker
recommendations for further resources and different things. So it's it's a little different in that regard. I think one of the coolest parts of the whole process is the editor that I had for the book came to my Woodcock walk two years ago and I had no clue who she was. Oh, wow.
00:35:01
Speaker
She was sneaking. No, it was wild. She's the editor for all their books. just happened to move to Wisconsin. And I just happened to What do you tell me all the time? what do you tell The universe makes mistakes.
00:35:16
Speaker
the universe makes no mistakes Shout out to Laura, man. And she's the editor. She's been the editor for all their different books. ah so and And it's just it's just really cool. Like that was one of the funnest facts to learn about it. Working with a team.
00:35:33
Speaker
Shout out the Timber Press. They work with the Hatchet Book Group who have helped publish a lot of our homies books like. Murray's book and yep you know a lot of the homies so like they get this stuff so I really i knew I was in good hands and they really they really really helped me bring my vision to life for this book and I'm so excited for it bro it is yeah it's it's humbling it's inspiring. And know I always just tell people, if you have a goal, a vision, a dream, just try, you know what mean? And, and, and, and put it out there. And yeah, two years later, here it is. Fantastic, man.
00:36:11
Speaker
You know, it happened, it happened so much. I remember you telling me you were working on it a while back and I, you know, I didn't realize it was 360 pages. Like that wild. Cause you think to yourself, like, I don't, you know, those of us that live on the East coast, I think are biased. We don't realize how big the great lakes region is.
00:36:27
Speaker
Cause we're like, Oh, you know, Philly, New York, DC, you know, we got this, you know, but that place is massive and it's, yeah and it's just got so much different habitat along the whole way of, of all those great lakes. Right. And all those birds coming up, it's just such an interesting space. So I'm looking forward to getting it and reading it, but I need to actually get out there so I can use it.
00:36:46
Speaker
But I'm going to add it to my shelf of black and brown book authors behind me because those are all my favorite books that I've read from some of the homies that we've had on the show. And um I'm so proud that you're going to be up there with them, dude. Like that's really cool, man. And I hope this is not the last Spill Guide that you write.
00:37:04
Speaker
No, but i it did inspire me, man. um' I'm working on another one now. Like I said, I'm not going to tell people what this one is on. I've already started number two. and I know what it's on's on. It's on salamanders. We got the Whisk or Herper here now.
00:37:19
Speaker
It's on salamanders. No, no, no. It's on goats. It's on baby goats and herpes. One of the hardest parts of the book, though, bro, was like, I could not pick what bird. Like, it was so hard I was like, well, if I had this one and this one and this one, I was like, there's over 100 different birds, right? Over 50 bird families.
00:37:40
Speaker
And I was just like, oh, I'm leaving this one out. And um it was so hard. But then I was just like... It's just a peek, a peek into these windows of wonder, like we said. And you know i um i will encourage people when they get it to understand this is not a comprehensive every bird. It's more of like, this is like what you could experience. And you'll experience probably something even way more than that when you get out there. So that was that was pretty hard to do, but I'm super excited how it turned out. And I i cannot wait to to share that with the homies.
00:38:12
Speaker
That is super dope, man. That is fantastic. And, you know, we talked about things that are exciting us. And like, I think we've, think people should, should realize that the spring is going to be wild, right?
Spring Birding and Future Plans
00:38:22
Speaker
So Dex and I will be out doing stuff in different parts of the country. Birds are coming through, connections are being made, new websites, new books, all of this in service of trying to get, trying to get us outdoors, right? And keep creating joy. And and I certainly encourage all of you to do that. Has there, Has anything happened yet this spring for you?
00:38:41
Speaker
Have you gotten any any weird birds so far that you're just like, oof, all right, let's go? Bro, when I was in Iowa, we were leaving we were leaving their their local state park. It was called Echo Valley State Park. And it's kind of surrounded by farms and stuff, bro. And we were driving by, and this one farmer had emus. Yeah.
00:39:01
Speaker
happy I jumped out the bus, bro. I was like, is that an emu? Bro, it was so funny. Like, know, like I've never seen an emu in like, all I just see like the Liberty, Liberty like the emu, like,
00:39:18
Speaker
and i could think of is like, he's one of the emus that ran away to go live his best life. You know what I'm saying? But like, and then it's like, this is an emu, like it's like a domesticated bird, but bro, I have never been so excited to see a bird.
00:39:35
Speaker
Bro, they're dangerous. They had emus, like an emu. And then I was like, dude, are they mean? You know, it was like, like emu, ostrich. They all can get you. lost it, bro. They had two of them just running around. i just, I couldn't, I couldn't contain myself. Don't they looked silly when they run around? Oh, bro. It was like, this is like,
00:40:03
Speaker
This bird is so cool. And I was like, man, I already want to have little goats. I want to have my chickens and stuff. And now I want a damn emu. So, yeah.
00:40:16
Speaker
Fantastic. yeah Listen, we all can dream, right? Whatever we can get to, hopefully, you know, universe willing our years of retirement, you know, to have... but Emus, baby goats, salamanders.
00:40:29
Speaker
Can you imagine that? You know what mean? No, I can't imagine that. That would be absolutely hilarious. there's ah um If people Google ah emu and golf ball, there's a hilarious video out there about emu bouncing a golf ball and chasing it around. They're actually the closest thing that reminds me of that bird from that Disney movie, Up, Kevin, the The snipe, quote unquote, right? Just kind of silly, you know?
00:40:52
Speaker
But that's that's so dope. There's an emu here. i used to see it all the time driving home from work. And then I got a news alert one day that the homie got out and was running ah running around the county.
00:41:02
Speaker
They couldn't. They couldn't catch it. And I like, how did it get out? And honestly, I realized that it just got out because it wanted to. Because like there was no like big fence holding in. It was just like a four-foot fence. And it could have got out any point he wanted to. But that day, he was like, it was i listen, this golf course next door, i'm about to go explore it that. So it was like a whole thing. They had like county police out trying to catch this emu. And I was like, see?
00:41:25
Speaker
Then it got me wondering like, see, why are we allowing emus in the middle of Pennsylvania? See, that's that's where, ah apparently it's like a $50 permit. You can have yourself an emu. So yeah, that's pretty dope, man. That is pretty dope. I haven't had an emu this spring. Like I said, I had those calling barred owls, which I really enjoyed.
00:41:43
Speaker
But the thing that actually is sticking with me right now is on the last week or so, we've had so many Ruby Crown Kinglets. And normally just hear doing their little, their little chi shit you know, like a little angry you little angry man in a bush sound, right?
00:41:56
Speaker
But this last week they've been singing. And if you've never heard the actual song of a Ruby Crown Kinglet, it is gorgeous. It almost sounds like a to me, it sounds like ah a warbler trying to imitate a winter wren. And it's just, it's really light and twinkly and it's a couple of little buzzy trilly things in there. So that has been really special because i don't have too much bird song out here yet on the East coast, still pretty cold, it's still pretty wet. So, but them, them homies are like, listen, I'm here.
00:42:23
Speaker
look good. I'm going to sing. yeah know So I've really been enjoying that and it's kind of getting my ears ready for listening for some of the warblers and stuff like that, man. So. Yeah, this should be a, you know, i feel like we're on a ah good pathway here for season three. We'll certainly have some content that I think includes some of these different things that we're doing and and we're going to have some amazing guests this season. Yeah. You know, and we, and we, ah we think it's going to be another, another fire one. And I, you know, I really do want to encourage people at least on the socials for now, like share, share your stories. We would love to share them. Right. And they, You know, it's funny. The first season, we it was just you and me. And then we were like, we got to get some guests.
00:43:04
Speaker
And, you know, you kind of look around and you're like, all right, we're going this guest, this guest. And you start to realize, like, we don't have enough episodes to get all our guests. No, dude. We literally just, yeah, we barely have touched, like, barely scratching the surface of the greatness that's out there, man. And I feel like every week.
00:43:23
Speaker
or at least a couple times a month, I'm coming across somebody that's doing something amazing out there in the community. And it's not just bird folks, right? There's people out there doing things with plants and trees. There's people out there doing things with foraging. There's people out there doing things with salamanders and herps, like,
00:43:41
Speaker
you know it's just Accessibility. and Yeah. There's people that are coming at it from so many different angles. and like Obviously, you and I love birds, right? But I think what we love more is people in our communities finding their own gateways on ramps to nature.
00:43:59
Speaker
Right. um In whatever way it comes to them. So we look forward to celebrating that with some of our guests this season. You may get a couple folks that aren't necessarily birders, but I promise you they're going to be people that that fit the bill in terms of bringing joy to whatever it is in the outdoor that they're doing. So we look forward to sharing that with people.
00:44:15
Speaker
and broadening our horizons, right? Because I know if it was up to me, I'd stay in the bird pocket sometimes. So I got to go out and learn about trees. And maybe I will love trees even more just because maybe I've never had anybody talk to me about them the way that I talk about birds other people. And that is really exciting. The joy, right?
00:44:33
Speaker
Getting into the joy of like all these black and brown folks doing amazing work just in a world of STEM. You know, and I think that's what people can expect from us this season is we are going to open it up a little bit. We do want you to understand that, um like I always tell people, birding isn't just about the birds.
00:44:51
Speaker
There's so many other things when we're out there that we're learning. When you start thinking about habitats and I was like, well, heck, I need to start learning about native plants. I need to start learning about trees. I need to to start learning about horticulture and all, you know, herps Momology.
00:45:06
Speaker
I even learned that word last season. You know what I mean? You got it, too.
00:45:14
Speaker
So I think people I think I'm pretty fired up about that, actually. And when I look at the the list of guests that we have lined up now, whoa. Yeah. I'm looking at it. And and we teased one of the episodes. You know, we we already interviewed J. Drew Lanham. So, I mean, if that's even if that's giving you a glimpse into how how awesome season three is going to be.
00:45:38
Speaker
Watch out. Yeah, yeah, man. Yeah, it's going to be a great season. I'm looking forward to these new perspectives and new conversations and hearing from more of our more of our listeners out there, our bird homies. You know, the cool part, too, is, you know, maybe we can introduce some of those guests to some bird joy if they maybe haven't had it yet, you know, and and kind of make that connection. Right.
00:46:00
Speaker
Because these are going to be people from all across the country. This is not just people in Philly or Madison. You know, these are going to be people on either coast, people from different backgrounds. And I honestly think in in today's world, um obviously we could stay centered on birds all the time. right And the majority of our stuff probably will be. Right. But occasionally making that connection outside of that is
Black Birders Week and Inclusivity
00:46:22
Speaker
good for the soul. And it's really good for our community. Right. Because, you know, We're facing some things in our community and and our ability to save our outdoor spaces right now. We're facing some things that aren't just about the birds. They're about full habitat structure and loss and hey man where that funding is going and who's making those decisions. And and that can't just be bird folk.
00:46:47
Speaker
So um if we can make those connections with other communities to collaborate with, to advocate for our spaces, like that's going to be... That's going to be so lovely. and i And I really am looking forward to that kind of opportunity after hearing from some of these people, maybe some call to actions for us and and what we're doing in our own neighborhoods. Yeah, I remember, bro, when when Black Birders Week kicked off and and how I felt when I saw so many black and brown people burning like it. It changed me, man. Like it was just like, holy cow, I'm not alone.
00:47:19
Speaker
um And I think about that, that tagline, we out here. Hopefully when we're interviewing different people in various STEM fields, maybe they get that feeling of I'm not alone. I'm seen like, there's more of me out there.
00:47:33
Speaker
This is for me. Like black folks, we not a monolith. We do everything. We do everything great. Right. So like, that's what I'm excited about is I think we're going to expose people to black and brown greatness across the board in the STEM field. And, and I'm freaking fired up about that, man.
00:47:49
Speaker
I'm really fired up about that. That should be really great. And just to shout out again, uh, Blackbirders week is May 25th to May 31st this year, uh, put on by the amazing people at black AF and STEM. Um, so you can check that out anytime you need to get that information, black AF in STEM.com check that out. But like,
00:48:08
Speaker
that is going to be the culmination of May. Right. and And it's going to be wild because, because I think like, like we said, stuff has happened since December and at least in the United States, right. Where, where our, our communities are, I think trying to adjust and figure out a path forward to continue, you know, pushing for, for what we feel is valuable. And I think black birders week will be a really great collaborative event.
00:48:33
Speaker
if not that therapeutic space to share with one another and kind of come together. And that that's what you were talking about with the first one, Dexter, was like, it was just wild to see so many people that look like us out there and then to hear from them and to have been collaborating with a lot of them for the last three or four years, right, is going to be great to kind of come back together and listen. And, you know, as usual,
00:48:57
Speaker
I know that group is going to bring some new voices, some people we've never heard from before. And and I'm super excited about that as well. So, yeah, it's going to be a great spring. I'm so excited to be back for another season, man, because like the winter sometimes, you know, we are but Yeah, I love gulls, but there's only so many gulls to get me through the winter. And I don't have as many here as y'all got in the Great
Closing Thoughts: Engaging with Bird Joy
00:49:19
Speaker
Lakes out there. So, you know, come like late February, I'm like, listen, just give me some bird with some color in it. I'm singing like, you don't even have to have any color. Can you just have it singing, please? Matter of fact, yesterday, man, I had a ah winter wren, probably one of the later ones.
00:49:34
Speaker
And I don't always get to hear them singing in the forest, but man, this homie... Just yeah I was down there listening to um the Ruby Crown Kinglets and this homie, I guess he was jealous, but he just ripped it.
00:49:46
Speaker
Just echoed to like this like creek bed. And I was like, oh, bro, we had one yesterday, too, on our walk at that state park. And it's funny because the homie that brought me down, Paul, he was like, right up here is my my one of my favorite birds, the winter rain. He's like, we should hear him singing soon. Sure enough, we get up there. Homie is just going at it.
00:50:06
Speaker
Dude, when you think about just a beautiful song, it's hard to find one better in than Winter Wren. I tell people all the time. It's just beautiful. If you had to have people at Disney design bird song, that's what they would probably put out is a Winter Wren song.
00:50:20
Speaker
They're what? They're this big. They're like two ounces. All the wrens are like little mighty mouse little little birds. They all are loud, um at least as far as I've seen. right I've never met a quiet wren.
00:50:36
Speaker
No, some are aggressive. Like the March Wren homie is just angry. You know what I'm saying? I love it. I can't wait for them to come back. They like, like to me, they're the most Philly Wren because, you know, Carolina Wrens are cool.
00:50:51
Speaker
House Wrens are only here for a little bit of time during the summer, but March Wrens will just fight you. um At least that's what it looks like. And so they want all the smoke. They want all the smoke, like literally want all the smoke.
00:51:04
Speaker
I love them. I love them. i can't wait to have so many of them out there screaming and yelling and fighting with the Eastern Kingbirds in the spatter dock at John Hines Wildlife Refuge. It's going be great, man. is all It's going to be great, man. It feels so good to be back. Like, honestly, bro, like we are back season three.
00:51:23
Speaker
And don't you know, i't I don't know what else we need to say but to let people know. Let's go. Let's go, man. Season three is a upon us. so we'll probably we'll probably be kicking off right in the beginning of May and take people through all this spring migration. And yeah yeah and just, um you know, since it's the beginning of season three, it's a good opportunity to subscribe, share, you know, get get connected. Make sure you're following.
00:51:49
Speaker
Share with a friend, right, if you feel like they would enjoy these kind of conversations. Go back if they haven't heard. You know, other episodes there. There's a lot there. There's most of the stuff that and we we kind of planned our our podcast like this.
00:52:04
Speaker
The stuff that we're sharing is not dated. You know, like the information is is relevant. It does. It's not necessarily time bound. So um if you're new to us, if you just found us, go back to season one, go back to season two. Share those episodes with people. Bring people in because there's a lot, a lot there for everybody out there.
00:52:24
Speaker
Yeah, man. Yeah, man. So, you know, definitely engage on the socials too. You know, tag us in your spring birding moments. I would love. Yeah, so we can share them with the homies. So we can share them. like Like I said, if you're out, sit in the bush, listen to a winter wren, and you can turn your camera on.
00:52:41
Speaker
and make a little video, like just tag us in it. Cause like people need to know, and you never know who that is going to inspire, who that is going to help in that moment to be like, you know what? I'm having a crap day, but I just saw Dexter and Jason shared this homies video and they,
00:52:56
Speaker
That homie looks like they live like near me. So if they're outside finding birds, maybe I'll go for a walk today. You know, like and and that's really what what we're trying to do for one another. You know, we're not trying to share stuff to get National Geographic's attention necessarily, you know, but we're trying to share stuff for y'all, you know. So please share it, send it over. And we would love to get it out there and in and create more and more community this season. That's really the goal. one hundred percent 100% well bro I want to thank everybody for joining us today on the first episode of season 3 of the bird joy podcast we hope you enjoyed exploring the world of birding with us shout out to my BIPOC flock we got a lot going on this spring check it us out at BIPOCbirdingclub.org
00:53:40
Speaker
And also for the homies in Philly, as Dexter mentioned earlier, we got a new website, incolorbirding.org. Got some events coming up here in May and April, right? We're actually doing a birds and goat walk, Dexter, which I'm sorry. Yeah. So we bird for two hours and then we walk about 20 goats through this historic farm in North Philly. It's pretty dope.
00:54:02
Speaker
I'm blocking you later. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. Step the game up out there Wisconsin. Yeah. And then for um for, you know, around Earth Day and some other stuff, we're doing some things and and doing a little sit here in Philly with our collaborative groups, Philly Queer Birders, Feminist Bird Club, Philly, Pennsylvania Adaptive Sports Team, who has a bird group, and Disability Pride PA. We're going to... sit outside, see some birds, vibe, eat some food.
00:54:30
Speaker
You know, it's going beautiful looking at the skyline. So check it out, incolorbirding.org, folks. The people that are collaborating are winning. I want to make sure people remember that.
00:54:40
Speaker
And also remember to share, subscribe, and shout out this podcast to all your fellow birders and help us spread a little bird joy. Let's go.