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Welcome to Season 4
0 Playsin 11 hours
Season 4 opens with Dexter and Jason celebrating their return to the Bird Joy Podcast and reconnecting with the Bird Nerd community. They reflect on how much they missed recording together, hearing from listeners, and sharing the energy of building a birding community.
The hosts catch up on fall birding highlights, from the simple joy of being back in the field to meaningful milestones like Dexter’s book launch. Dexter shares how powerful it was to hear readers’ stories—especially those inspired to slow down, notice birds, and bird with their families.
Fall migration and “weird duck season” take center stage with standout sightings including Harlequin Ducks, scoters, loons, tundra swans, and more. Jason and Dexter also reflect on fall outings with the In Color Birding Club, emphasizing the joy and purpose found in community-led birding.
The conversation shifts to winter birding, backyard activity after snowfall, and simple tips for staying warm and patient in cold weather. They also preview the Christmas Bird Count, sharing why it remains one of their favorite community birding traditions.
The episode closes with reflections on first-time birders, hopes for Season 4, and gratitude for the Bird Nerd community, ending with excitement for the season ahead!
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Transcript
Welcome to Season Four
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to season four of the Bird Joy podcast. Your hosts Dexter Patterson and Jason Hall are back with more birds, more bird joy, and plenty of laughs along the way.
00:00:11
Speaker
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.
00:00:23
Speaker
You ready? Let's go. Okay, folks, welcome back to the Bird Joy podcast. I am Dexter Patterson. And I am Jason Hall.
Connecting with a Global Audience
00:00:33
Speaker
This podcast is for all the homies across the globe, a spot where we can celebrate birds together. Are you ready for season four of the bird joy podcast? Let's go. Let's go. row Welcome back to all the homies out there. We definitely missed you. Season four is officially here and I am beyond hyped up to be back with the homie Jason.
00:00:58
Speaker
Man, how does it feel to be back, bro, for a brand new season of the Bird Joy podcast? Dude, man, it feels amazing, man. It feels amazing. I'm so excited to be back and be talking to you.
Storytelling and Listener Engagement
00:01:11
Speaker
We were just joking before we got on and started the recording. i was like, where's Dexter today?
00:01:15
Speaker
He's somewhere in some bookshop across the Northwest. regaling people with his stories and his birds. And and I've just really enjoyed, although I missed you a lot, homie, I really enjoyed watching, you know, watching you get out and about. So I'm just excited to get back here and and and start pointing some of that bird joy, you know, back at our audience here, you know, and um what have you missed most about connecting with the bird nerds across the ah the birdie verse, I'll call it. I mean, you know, my weekends have been kind of kind of lonely not talking to you for for the last couple of months. You know, yeah obviously we text back and forth and things like that. Ain't nothing like that hour, you know, sometimes to depend on the guests joining us, just sitting there and being able to chop it up with you. But man, I've just missed the joy, you know, that energy I miss hearing and seeing those stories from the homies and all of our listeners. seeing how much you know the show just kind of encourages people to get outside and and pay attention to birds and go get themselves some joy uh it's been it's been nice man but you know it was kind of cool like recently we've been getting those messages from folks like we're on their spotify wrapped and all that like that stuff i was like this is what's up you know like we we all really tuned in you know like that feels good
00:02:36
Speaker
Yeah, especially since, um you know, that's just data up up through when we finished season three, right? I
Fall Birding and Weather Challenges
00:02:44
Speaker
know. doesn't count the last few months of the fact that we were still on people's lists. Like, that's that's really awesome. That's really special. We appreciate all y'all out there, including us.
00:02:52
Speaker
Yeah, it's you know, and obviously we take a couple of months off in between seasons, you know, month, two months sometimes or a little more, especially after the summer season. So a lot happened in the fall. I figured we could at least talk a little bit to the homies about the fall. We are a couple of weeks away from official winter, but you would not know that, bro. If you were looking out of my window right now, I got 14 inches of snow that I'm staring at right now.
00:03:19
Speaker
And technically it's still only four. fall what was your most memorable bird or moment that you had this fall um and i know you had a bunch of them yeah man i had a nice fall um lot of stuff with the bird club you know i think the the two things that come to mind the most are ah one is we got to um we got to meet up with um Some homies here in Philly, I got to do a speaking engagement at ah at a um the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. The first or the the oldest yeah the oldest bird club. I think, yeah, you you've worked with them before when you came out to speak out here. And um they had me do their keynote for their annual banquet. And although it wasn't birding per se it was just really nice to be able to...
00:04:06
Speaker
talk about the city of Philadelphia in a way that's that's special, you know, and especially with my bird folks in there. So we had a bunch of folks from not only in color birding, but other birding groups around the city come and support. And so that was probably my highlight of the fall outside of, you know, going out and birding. And I'll talk about some of what we did with the bird club too later on, because we had some highlights there too, which was really awesome.
00:04:27
Speaker
um But, you know, mostly it was just really good to be outside. I would say the weather in the fall was kind of
Balance and Wellness
00:04:33
Speaker
weird. So it didn't, really stick to what it normally does but we got a good migration and it was you know it was a really enjoyable time so yeah what was um i know you were i mean i i i texted you and be like i you know are you taking care of yourself are you getting some rest right you're out and about right and like did you have a chance to bird what was your fall stuff going on there did you get some quiet moments or was your joy coming through the birders I really appreciate those messages because it do remind me sometimes where I'd be like, Dex, are you in too much grind mode? But one thing i I started doing, I started doing Tai Chi and it's been really kind of helpful. I've been doing that now for throughout the whole fall.
00:05:14
Speaker
um So that's kind of really kind of helped me stay centered every morning. I do it, bro. It's like it's been amazing. So that's a lot. That's great. That's awesome. Yeah. Just getting my breath back and grounding every day and and really focusing on energizing my body and recharging my body. And even though I'm kind of always on the move, the things that I'm doing, like I tell this to people all the time, like.
Book Tour Adventures
00:05:40
Speaker
I'm super busy, but I'm only doing what I want to do.
00:05:43
Speaker
Like right now, like literally my entire life, like I've kind of built a life where I get to do what I want to do. And, and you know, there's that phrase, bro, where they'll say, oh, if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. sh That is old face lie. old face lie um you Yes, yes, it's a bold faced lie. You work really hard. But at the end of the day, I'm so fulfilled. I know that I'm blessed. um I'm counting those blessings and that gratitude, along with making sure that I'm going to sleep a little bit earlier, making sure that I'm getting my Tai Chi and making sure that I'm hydrating. like very, very focused on those type of things. and And it does make a difference because I'm giving my body what it needs to go out here and and do what I've been doing. In the fall, bro, like ever since the book dropped on October 7th, like I've been on the move.
00:06:39
Speaker
It's been multiple events every week, traversing the Great Lakes region. And it's been kind of I mean, I remember the the first trip that I made. I went to Elkhart, Indiana.
00:06:51
Speaker
Never been there before. I get there at the rooms packed. They selling out of books. I'm talking to strangers, bro. Like and like that. So I think that's what's been like the most kind of mind blowing thing is like, I don't know. Ninety something percent of these people.
00:07:06
Speaker
and They're showing up and they have my book and they're coming to presentations. They're coming to Q and A's. They're coming to bird walks. Like I've been kind of mixed mixing up the events. So it ain't the same thing over and over. And I'm meeting all these people. Some of them have been followers, which is kind of cool to like actually meet somebody in the wild. You know how yeah yeah there's nothing quite like that. You know, they're. homey online and you actually get to meet them in person. And it it's just kind of been humbling. It's been kind of just like pinching myself, you know, like is this like, is this happening? Like, this is crazy. Like I was in Milwaukee like two weeks ago, bro. And it's like 200 people there and it's a line out the door for people to come and get their book signed. And being able to collaborate
Inspiring New Birders
00:07:56
Speaker
with these independent bookstores has been amazing.
00:07:59
Speaker
Also super cool because they're not only supporting, but like now we're pouring back into the local economy and making connections with these independent bookstores and seeing birds of the Great Lakes in their top sellers for 2025 and all this stuff. Bro, I went to the mall.
00:08:16
Speaker
Oh, we're going to the mall now. I went to the mall and I went to Barnes and Noble and they had my book and I found it and they said, oh, it sold out. We had to buy it. and We had to reorder a couple of times. like oh wow so wow It's been, yeah, it's been humbling. So thank you to everybody out there that has been supporting, especially those of you. I don't care where you get it, but going to those independent bookstores, that really kind of is special. And I really, I really do love that. You can get that book anywhere that they sell books. So, you know, shout out to Timber Press and Hachet Book Group, because they've been, they really, they've been taking care your boy. Good. They better. They better. What was the most like surprising part about talking to people?
00:09:06
Speaker
like Because I know you had your own perceptions of the book and what the book was supposed to do for people. But like what was the thing we just like, oh, wow, really? When we were going through like i know like the strategy and like thinking about how where I wanted to put this together, like my focus was making it very easy to use. My focus was trying to get people who were new birders or interested potentially in birds or nature. And that was the primary audience. And the book is for all birders. But that was the primary audience. But meeting people, right, that said that they never really went birding before, but they got my book and it's helping them.
00:09:43
Speaker
That was like that moment of like where you have an idea or a vision and then you see people in person and they're in that target audience and they're using it as a intended. it I don't know, man. It's kind of hard to put that in words because it was just like, this was why, right? This was it. This was the stuff.
00:10:04
Speaker
and And what I love are you know the way I laid it out. i you know I tell people this. I literally wrote the book to mirror my Ureli Let's Go videos. So like the bird IDs, if people like follow me and they they aren't they're familiar with my videos and they have the book, they're going to see that correlation like right away.
00:10:23
Speaker
They're going to be oh, this is literally how he does his videos. And this is how he did the bird IDs because I'm like giving you the bird. giving me
Building Birding Community
00:10:31
Speaker
some shots of the appearance and scanning the habitat, talking about the habitat and explaining where they like to hang out. And then I'm talking about behaviors and showing you bird behaviors in the videos. And I talk about the behaviors in the book and I get all those videos with that fun fact.
00:10:47
Speaker
And I did the same thing with the book. And what I found is like those fun facts. I've told my Osprey bird story to folks all the time. That spark bird story where the Osprey turned me into that emoji with my head blowing up, bro. That's what the fun facts in the videos and the book are supposed to do is to like teach you something about a bird and you just.
00:11:09
Speaker
You can't forget it. Like you're just like, this is so cool. I'm the emoji when my head blows up. And now you're remembering this bird. Hearing people talk about those fun facts and how they're learning birds through those facts and different things. Man, that's been so cool. And a lot of these folks are first time birders, bro. Our last event in Madison, bro, we had like almost 40 people.
00:11:32
Speaker
And like, it had to be at least a third of the crowd were brand new birders or had never been birding before. And a lot of these folks were young, you know, talking to some of them. They were like, hey, I i came to your library event at the Madison Library and and you just made me want to get outside and go birding. And I got your book. That to me, I was, that's probably the moment when I saw all those young hands go up, bro. and their students. There was a kid from a high school class. I had to sign this paper for him. And like I was just like, this is it, right? Like this is literally it like reaching new people to show people that burden is for them, man. And it was that's the that's the moment. That's the moment I think for me. What about you? Like, what was that most memorable moment outside of hanging out with the homies at the Delaware Club? What was another moment for you that the hot the fall had you like, ah,
00:12:31
Speaker
I was able to go out to visit my mother actually in ah Idaho. So she she was going to get some medical stuff done. And um I was able to stop by um some different places. And I want to make sure I get the names of these folks right. But I was able to stop at the Ogden Nature Center.
00:12:49
Speaker
I just had an incredible time. I haven't had a chance to bird that much in Salt Lake City, Utah. And so just going out to visit my mother, right, like we had stuff to do and I had, you know, I had responsible son stuff I needed to do. But before I got there, when I got off the plane, I was able to stop there and just take a jaunt around.
00:13:05
Speaker
And you mentioned this when you were talking about meeting um meeting people at your book signings is like, you meet people that you've conversed with online maybe, but never met in person. So then meeting some of those folks out in the wild and then walking me around and showing me the space and talking to me about what they're trying to build for the community, especially the black and brown community in Salt Lake City, like that was really special for me. Just kind of reminded me that, you know, we all do connect in these ways that we don't necessarily always know about. And that's, that's what I think, you know, really special about this podcast too, is like, we kind of remind people of the human factor
00:13:40
Speaker
That comes into this process of bird joy, which sounds counterintuitive, right? The human factor of bird joy. But as humans, we are we are each other's biggest enablers to bird joy, and we are each other's biggest detractors from bird joy. Yes.
00:13:57
Speaker
remembering that, you know, has been
Memorable Birding Events
00:13:59
Speaker
really special. So for the fall, for me personally, that was, that was really awesome to get out and go and do that. Yeah, it was good. And listen, I want to say this because I do think as much as folks here know about your story and your grandpa telling you to pay attention, I think, I think homie would be really proud of you, man.
00:14:16
Speaker
for getting out there and making so many other people pay attention. And I think as one thing we don't talk about enough as birders is how we replace ourselves in the birding community. And I think your book is doing that. So i just, again, I know we gave you some flowers it last season, but seeing it out there, seeing your book in the wild now and being out there and Being on tour and me having ah a chance to put my hands on it and have it around my house has been really special. So just I want i wanted to put a button on that before we move off of that topic and just really make sure, you know, man, you're doing a great job. And a lot of us are very proud of you.
00:14:48
Speaker
I appreciate you, bro. it's It's weird. Like I have it like I use it on my walks now, you know, and like one of my book tour events was at Horicon Marsh.
00:14:59
Speaker
I took you took the homies there and we did we did like a a short little hike to the at the education center where I took you the first time. So we were there, bro. There were people that drove to Horicon from Duluth, Minnesota for that. What?
00:15:15
Speaker
Yes. Yes. Incredible. And I was like, that's a drive. tea Freaking cool. And what happened, bro, we had some really cool birds. We had a couple of bald eagles fly over and like we're doing their bald eagle thing that like blew the crowd's mind. But we had two northern Harriers. Just for it.
00:15:37
Speaker
Bro, it was so freaking cool. And I got to open up my book and show people what the Northern Harrier looked like. And like, like that was a moment I was like, I'm at Horakam Marsh. I'm literally showing people, showing them the the Northern Harrier, which was a lifer for a ton of people.
00:15:56
Speaker
Right. So the bird joy was on like a million that day. We had a ring neck pheasant that flew across the group and like people were kind of figuring out just seeing that. But like that event and and meeting these, this couple from Duluth and people from all over the state came to work on. I mean, it's just a magical place. Like I told you when you were there, I'm like Jason, it was like Lion King, you know, everything your eyes can see is the marsh. Yeah.
00:16:24
Speaker
You're like, Dexter, everything? Everything. it was just one of those events where my heart was, like, just soulful. It was incredible people. The folks at Horicon Marsh, the Wisconsin DNR, like, the way that they partner, bro, is, like,
00:16:41
Speaker
you can tell they care about the work. Right. And there's something about that, like the people that actually get it just really just what do you need? You know, like those kind of people, what do you need? How can we support you? and like you just know that is real, that is genuine. After seeing all those amazing birds and You know, the it was the first the first day that I had seen a tree sparrow in the fall season, which was also really cool. So they were just coming through. Yeah. Like it was so fun. And then soon as we get done, we walk in, bro. And I didn't even know that they were going to do this. They had coffee. They had hot cocoa.
00:17:20
Speaker
They had tea. They had so they had cookies and stuff for everybody. So like after we got done, we got to like warm up and and have a coffee and a cookie. And like, I got to talk with all these people. And then after that, we you know, we took selfies and signed books and stuff. But like that was like one of those events where I just was like, this is unreal.
00:17:42
Speaker
You know, like this is I got to share Horicon March with so many people I never met before. And that was exciting, bro. Like that. Yeah, I'm fired up now just thinking about
00:17:55
Speaker
That's incredible. That's incredible, man. And you know, you're talking about Hurricane March has got me thinking like I was out there in the spring, summer is time and ah it probably looks a little different in the fall and winter. And like y'all got some, I got some weird ducks out there on them ah Madison lakes. Like what's going on? the season. What's going on out there? Yeah. Once it starts getting cold, the lakes aren't frozen or nothing yet, but like it's weird duck season right now. Like, bro, we literally, we got a male Harlequin duck just hanging out at Penny Park.
00:18:26
Speaker
This park is in the middle of the city too. Like this is what's so cool about this is like Penny Park is literally in the middle of Madison. Like it's a neighborhood park, but it borders one of our lakes. You know, so this male, the male Harlequin duck, he hanging out, bro, like he paying rent, you know, like he is he's just he just chilling. He's hanging out with the common golden eyes and the buffle head homies and like literally been here for days and he's just chilling. What is going on here?
00:18:55
Speaker
You also got the sea ducks like the white wing scoters are coming. We got black scoters, looms galore like, bro, the tundra swans just yesterday started migrating in through the area about hundreds. I mean, it's like it's crazy. You're just seeing them just by, you know, they're everywhere right now. So, yeah, it is weird duck season in full effect, bro. Like that.
00:19:21
Speaker
That same day when i talked to you about that last event we did when we had all the young birders and the new birders, we were seeing
Unique Birding Experiences
00:19:28
Speaker
a bunch of loons that day and a lot of people had never seen a common loon. They were kind of freaking out about that. Huge rafts of coots and buffalo. You know, the buffalo heads are kind of feisty. They're so funny to me because they're so tiny, right? like But they're like... But they will fight you. Yeah. yeah They're just going to go at it all the time. That same day we had a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers that kind of were flying around and people got to see these these woodpeckers up close. And I posted i actually posted a photo of that event and I do my typical like a see photo. But it was with me and everybody else is looking at the Pileated Woodpeckers and I'm just like proud Papa as everybody's like staring at the Pileated Woodpecker. So yeah, it's I mean, i wouldn't I wouldn't trust someone that wasn't staring at the Pileated Woodpecker, honestly.
00:20:19
Speaker
yeah Yeah. I mean, if it's like that's that's that psychopathic behavior right there. so yeah you know I'm wondering, like is that a common thing that you guys get, Harlequins? I know their their range is not it doesn't quite reach you guys in the middle of the country, and even their
Winter Birding Tips and Plans
00:20:33
Speaker
wintering range should be on the coast. So like that's kind of wild. Is it just the lake that kind of brings them in, you think? Yeah, we don't, Madison, we don't get them, right? that that's a pretty special That's a pretty special bird right now for folks. Like, i was looking at the eBird reports that come, and that's one of the rare birds in the last one. I saw 45 reported Everybody's talking to go add that Harlequin duck to their to their Madison area list. But I have seen them in the Sheboygan area in our state on a pretty regular basis. they okay They're breeding up there now. We actually had an event up there a couple of years ago. Really?
00:21:13
Speaker
Yeah. And I, we saw a good number of them up there, which is kind of crazy because like, it's like Michigan though. Right. It feels like a seed to them and those waters are choppy. They're like hanging out right near the jetties and like, there was some crazy like fact about them. Is there the bird with the most broken bones in their body? I was just going to say, man, they love chaotic waters, don't they? Yeah, they're just like, yeah. And they're just like, whatever, man. We're going to roll. like I go out to see him on the coast of New Jersey, again, against a jetty that is just getting water smashed against it at Barnegat Lighthouse here in Jersey. And every other bird is is fighting for his life.
00:21:52
Speaker
And these homies are just coasting. You know? I mean, whatever. you know? Another broken bone today. That's fine, though. That's fine. You know, but they they're small compared to some of the other sea ducks like the skoders and the eiders that are out here on the coast. So it's that's a really cool bird. I encourage folks to go look it up. It's got it's fresh, man. It's fresh. It's got some white maps behind the bill, like this this crimson kind of paintbrush stroke on the head, you know, for the male and blues like these different hues of blues and grays. Right.
00:22:23
Speaker
female is beautiful herself right she's got this slate gray brown with these white spots on her face so like it's a beautiful duck i encourage folks to go check that out online and maybe look up and see where you can find a harlequin duck closest to you yeah they're they're pretty dope they're they're pretty dope so i know i talked about club events we're seeing loons and pileated woodpeckers what's uh what's in color birding clubs one of their biggest highlights or moments of pure bird joy this fall man I actually have have two. So the first one was for the second time, we got to meet up with our homies from ah the DC Bird Alliance. So we're lay down down there who runs that runs that shop. And we met up in Cape May.
00:23:07
Speaker
And we met up the same weekend that they were doing the Cape May Bird Festival. So, you know. We rolled in there strong. We both rolled in with full-size tour buses. We got a reserved pavilion at Cape May a State Park at the lighthouse. We had a caterer come through and provide a bunch of food. We spent a whole day there. Everybody was beat because we walked and we walked and we saw tons of species. And people were most, I think, mesmerized by just the accessibility of the the closeness to some of the birds. Because there's these kind of little ponds and you're right next to the beach and you have this marsh habitat. And because it was the bird festival, my favorite part was that there was two tour buses full of black and brown folks just rolling in Cape May. right we yeah during like we and we were like We were not ashamed of it, right nor nor should we have been. But it was it was nice to see very quickly there was a number of people that made sure...
00:24:02
Speaker
that they let us know like hey you are welcome here please come up here check out this scope like look at this look at that we were um a lot of people got their life for american bitter you know which was really awesome oh yeah yeah it was homie was flying around lot lot of lot of people got lifers we had students there um and it was just it was a great day the day started with when our club got down there we went up um we got there right at sunrise Pulled into the parking lot. No other buses there. We got off. We go to our pavilion. We set our stuff down. And people are like, where's the beach? And I'm like, just go up that little ramp right there. And they get up there. the sun's coming over the water. Three brown pelicans just banging across the water.
00:24:39
Speaker
Just smooth. You know, like that scene from Jurassic Park, the first one where he's looking at the pelicans out ah out out of the helicopter. Yeah. And then the sun's coming up and people start to hear rustling in the bushes.
00:24:51
Speaker
Every palm warbler in existence was in that shrubbery against the beach. Like so many just dripping from everything. And everybody's just like sensory overload, you know.
00:25:02
Speaker
So that's how the day started. And that day was incredible. I can't wait to figure out how we meet up with them again next year. And then the second thing was actually something we did yesterday, man. We did a hybrid birding event.
00:25:13
Speaker
where we went to a place here in Philly called the Discovery Center. And we did we did indoor birding, where we not only could look through a scope through these floor-to-ceiling windows out at a reservoir and checking out sculps, hooding mergansers, canvas back, right? A bunch of geese and gulls.
00:25:31
Speaker
But then we had a live stream of bird feeders from Panama. And people were trying to ID yeah people were trying to id the birds from Panama. So we had white-necked jacobins and uh, what was the other one called? Long build something.
00:25:46
Speaker
It's got a fun name. Anyway, it was a ton of birds there. Right. And everybody, so I emailed everybody the before i was like, download Merlin. Right. And so whether they snapped a picture of the TV and set the location or they went through the little Merlin steps to like, say it's this size and this region and this color, people were ID in the birds. And it was great because it was the live feeder cams that you get from like explore.org and Cornell. So like, That was great. That was is just kind of very, very recent. And it was very accessible. Like some people
Community Science and Future Plans
00:26:13
Speaker
could stay inside and bird in Panama, essentially. And other people could go out to the dock and look at the birds outside. So, yeah, those are our those are our two highlights from the fall among a number of other walks that we did. But, yeah, it's been a good it's been a good fall.
00:26:25
Speaker
That's super cool. The seeing birds from feeders in Panama like that is really cool. Oh, yeah, man. It was super cool. There's some. Man, sometimes other countries, when you look at their birds, they make you Especially this time of year, you're like... Yeah, because it's winter here and summer down there. And the hummingbird species that they have down there, man. And they're not boring down there. don't call them hummingbirds. You know, they got Jacobins and Woodstars and, know, all these other fun names, you know. And we're like hummingbird, you know. I was joking with everybody there. was like, in America, we do not season our bird names. We have no seasoning on our bird names. You Everywhere else, though, they, you know, they throw a little seasoning on it, you know, they make it a little fun. Boiled chicken names.
00:27:14
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. It's like, you know, come on, we can do better, y'all. We can do better. We have artists, right? That is funny. That is funny. Yeah, yeah. And so, like, we were, you know, we were talking a little bit before about what what we're doing and some of the weather that you have out there, man. And so y'all got, I encourage people, go to Dexter's Instagram.com.
00:27:35
Speaker
ah Birds are dinosaurs, folks. Yeah. and And there's just there's some fun videos on there of Dexter and a T-Rex costume shoveling snow. So I encourage you to check that out.
00:27:46
Speaker
When the weather changes like that, you know, you get a bunch of snow. It's it's a little rough, you know, for a lot of for a lot of creatures, but it does bring a lot of birds to the bird feeder. You know, you getting anything at the house there? Anything fun?
00:27:58
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, tons, tons American goldfinches right now, they're still making a lot of noise, which is really cool, right? they're still They're still pretty vocal. A lot of the other birds are kind of like, Chip, the goldfinches out here. you Like that is like making all this noise. So like I be knowing they out there like between six and 10 at a time and I got the beaters all around the house. So like, know, depending where I'm at, I'm I'm seeing goldfinches galore.
00:28:27
Speaker
Dark guy junkos. The little homies are are pretty active right now. We're still getting bald eagle flyovers. Um, once in a while here, we got the small little, it's starting to freeze over now. They, they still
Joyful Commitment and Audience Engagement
00:28:40
Speaker
patrolling in this little area. Still got a lot of geese, chickadees, cardinals. So we're still doing pretty good, man. And I'm hoping, I'm hoping. So I got all these new, uh, finch feeders. I'm hoping I get maybe a pine siskin, you know, maybe I get a red pole bro. Like I'm, I'm like, um, I'm like, who knows? Right. So every year I'm i'm hoping to add something to the, to the yard list. Cause they planted a bunch. I live in a new construction neighborhood. So like the first year or two, it was kind of like, eh, with the birds, but like they've been, they planted a ton of trees over the last year. And my yard has matured more and grew a ton of native stuff and There's seeds for them to get and keep the, I keep those sunflower chips and Niger seeds popping for them. And so, yeah, it's this year has probably been the birdiest my yard has been since we moved here almost three years ago. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. um I, we all have these wish lists for our feeders, right? I'm i'm waiting for an evening grow speak at night. I've spent a lot of money on black oil sunflower seeds. I'm just waiting. I'm here waiting. I got like three platform feeders.
00:29:52
Speaker
You know, i got tons of other birds coming there, but the two counties near me, well, three counties, Philly, Montgomery, and Chester County have all gotten at least flyovers and some have gotten some at the, at the, at the feeder. So i'm looking forward to, uh, Yeah, was ah I was talking to the homie Dudley the other day and yeah he was talking about how the winter feed finches have been just crazy. It's supposed to be a really good year for them. It's supposed to be. Yeah, i you know, we haven't got them in Madison, but our north, like Wisconsin, been getting a lot of reports of the evening gross peaks. But I did tell Dudley I'm i'm probably going to come to the ah to the bog this year. Yeah.
00:30:32
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. you gotta go up there, man. Yeah. and And most people stay in Duluth and that's where he lives. He told me he said help he'll take me to the bog and show me around. And so that's probably going to be my my winter highlight is. is not Yeah. Making that trip.
00:30:49
Speaker
Share that online. Everybody wants to see Dexter birding in the Saxon bog, right? Because all I want to hear is, who wants to help me find a great, great owl? You ready? Let's go. That's what I need. I might faint. That's what I need in my life. And then the camera just pans to the right and Dexter's passed out in the snow. yeah but i just i want say pat Passed out in snow angel formation. Yeah.
00:31:18
Speaker
So, yeah, I'm looking forward to that. I'm going to try to go up there at least for a couple of days, see the homie Dudley. Shout out to Dudley. He sent me a, he sent me, literally just sent me autograph. I got to open this bad boy up. This is the 20th anniversary. Yeah, and the re-release.
00:31:34
Speaker
You know what, we're going to do that right now. Live. Yeah, Dudley Adniss. Yeah. It's funny how that book is, is, Oh, look, they got that young autograph on there from the OG. So thank you. Thank you. Wow, that's awesome. so So we're talking about winter. You asked me about what I'm seeing, and you know I talked about how I got the feeders around the house. What um what would you say is one like winter birding mistake you see people make or...
00:32:09
Speaker
Whether it's going out to try to go birding or whether they're trying to attract birds to your yard. What's a common mistake you see people make? So I'd say if they're going out to see birds, the the main one that everybody makes is they they fail to prepare appropriately for it. Right. And so like like most of birding, even if you're going somewhere where you're pretty sure you're going to see the species you want to see.
00:32:31
Speaker
It doesn't always work out that way. Right. And so prepare yourself as if you're not going to see it right away. Get some layers, get your hand warmers, make sure your shoes are appropriated and just or plan your trip around not having to be outside too much. Maybe it's a driving route like we have at some of our marshes. Right. And you can stay in the car, but just.
00:32:51
Speaker
Take a little extra time and plan because the one thing that kills, well, the two things that kill birding for me the most are being uncomfortable, like cold or hungry, right? So bring some snacks, make sure you're warm, and then you can stay out longer and then you just focus on the birds. you're not You're not worried about anything else. The thing that I see people do with their winter feeders, though, is not clean them enough. like It's something that I tell people like, You got to go outside in the cold. You got to take them down. you got to give them a rinse or a wash or whatever. But it really does help the birds.
00:33:20
Speaker
It stops the spread of disease because you get all these birds congregating and they poop everywhere. And, you know, if you've ever seen a house finch with the salmonella eye, right, it's not it's not pretty. Clean your feeders, people, you know, and stay warm.
00:33:33
Speaker
Yeah. And I would add to you talked about the layers like that's really like, do not underestimate that. Like that's super important. But I also will tell people like, even in a cold, you're working hard if you're out there. So make sure you're staying hydrated. You can bring a thermos with hot tea or cocoa, whatever.
00:33:53
Speaker
Right. And your body will definitely thank you for that. Also, like take care of your skin. I don't think people realize like your face like that. Your cold, dry air can be really harsh. So you sure can make sure that your face is moisturized, you know, cocoa butter yourself up or something. You know, I mean, like making sure you're good. you and i You and I probably both had the experience as children of getting our faces lathered up with Vaseline or lotion or something on our way to church. So yeah we know.
00:34:24
Speaker
you know Then I would also say make sure you stick to the paths, like in the trails. Like that's super important. You don't want to go off trail hardly any time, but especially in the winter, you you know, you may not be seeing something. But also I would say let people know, let your family know, your friends know like you're playing it.
00:34:41
Speaker
yeah I go out a lot in the winter. Sometimes I go out by myself because not everybody crazy like me and want to be out hurting when it's 10 degrees. You know what I mean? But I make sure i tell my wife, you know, I make sure I tell the kids before I leave it there. You know, my wife's still sleeping or something like, hey, dad's going here. I'll be back. Making sure and that you're letting people know your plans and.
00:35:04
Speaker
I think if you can do all that, man, like your winter is farome like it's different. So many people. What I love to during winter events, especially when you're working with new birders, you can probably relate to this is like they are shocked at how many birds they actually see. Oh, yeah.
00:35:19
Speaker
Oh, yeah. They're like, what? Yeah. They're still here. They're still here. Yeah, it looks so desolate outside. And you're like, there's god it there's nothing that could be enjoying this weather. yeah And then they show up and they have, ah you know, six different species of woodpecker. And they're like, what? And active too. Active, moving, dipping, banging on stuff. You know, like it's''s it's really, really incredible out here in the wintertime. And there's less people. yeah I would say one of my little tips and tricks is playing a little, little toasty treat for yourself when you're done birding, know, get like hot chocolate from your favorite little coffee spot or get yourself a call. Like get, get something that kind of caps it off at the end that makes you get back into that, to that nice warmth and cuddly feeling, right? Because there's always someone to look forward to and it's, and it's festive. I feel, you know, it's like, you know, that's probably gained 20 pounds every winter. Cause always eating pancakes. Yeah. after my bird outings. It warms your soul, though. It warms your soul. does. get some pancakes and talk about the first American tree sparrow of the season. Yeah, man. It's like sipping on bird joy.
00:36:20
Speaker
you know it's like It's fantastic. You're talking about festive. you know And I'm thinking it today is December 7th. We're recording this right now. So beginning of December.
00:36:31
Speaker
But do do like do you do a Christmas bird count like for yourself or for the club? Just curious. No, the the the club doesn't do one. A lot of our folks participate in them, whether it's our board members or some of our members. I usually do one at the trash dump to look for gulls, but I'm not i'm not doing it this year. And occasionally I've done one in the past where surveyed near my house at Valley Forge National Historical Park for like three to three to six hours or something, but I'm beat.
00:37:01
Speaker
So I'm staying inside and you know I am exhausted. so I'll probably pick up pick up the Christmas bird counts next year, but You know, those are great opportunities for people to get out and actually find community, discover some cool birds, and you're contributing to the science. And so, you know, have you had a, do you do CBCs? Have you had a good memory doing them? And this is something that you're looking forward to this year?
00:37:21
Speaker
Yeah, we do one. We host our club one every year. So we got one coming up on December 20th. We do one in Madison and in Milwaukee, which is pretty cool. So it's something we've been doing since we started our club. It's pretty fun. I love that citizen science component and like really explaining to them like why we're out getting together. It is holiday season and it's we typically will. I'll bring a cara hot water and I'll have cocoa and cider and coffee, and we'll bring little snacks and stuff. So when we're done, we can give what you talked about that treat, right? That those sips of bird joy, helping people on their way home. And they can think they can. but I can't believe I spent three hours with Dexter crazy self out here burden on December 20th, but we got 20 something species. which is crazy, bro. One year we had 26 species. That is insane. If you think about the end of December to think about having 26 different species of birds in the middle of winter and like that's like those are the type of experiences that I look forward to. We've had at least 20 every year too. So like, it it is like eye opening to really think like, holy cow, in three hours, we got 20 plus species of birds. Um, and I'm captain of our, a certain area on the east side of Madison. And what's really cool is the area that I captain in is, is that we go through one of my favorite parks. in the spring and the fall, and we're looking at it and in winter and we're walking through the middle middle of the city. We're walking through neighborhoods on the way to the park and just seeing what we're seeing at people's feeders. Like I said, it is. It's just really cool. It's a really cool experience. So I would say look up in your area if there are anybody hosting Christmas bird counts. Those are usually hosted by some incredible people. All right. Like the people that are captaining and and hosting these events for Christmas bird counts are usually amazing people. So look it up and try it out. It's pretty fun.
00:39:18
Speaker
Yeah, man. Yeah. i look forward to doing them. I do. I do like doing that one at the trash dump. I just don't have the time this year, but that one is wild. Cause it's like 50 to a hundred thousand goals. We just sitting there watching trash trucks come from New York and dump into this Tully town landfill and goals are just having at it, man. And it's, and it's, it's wild. It's hard to like, it's hard to figure out, um,
00:39:41
Speaker
where to start with that many birds. But you do it in the winter because in the summer it's too hot to be getting getting that kind of aroma. Yeah, was to say it's probably right. have to talk to our... Very right. Yeah, we talked to our boy Amar about trash dumps with the gulls in the summertime in Texas. And I was like, that's a different life, bro. That's dedication. That is dedication.
00:40:01
Speaker
Bro, you've been working super hard behind the scenes as we getting ready for this season. We got a calendar now. All these things is like we kind of know what we doing is going to like, wow, this is kind of cool. We're kind like professional podcasters now. We got like a whole you can actually like like this is kind of cool. What are some topics or some guests that you're super excited about as we head into season four?
00:40:25
Speaker
Yeah, i mean, we have a number of them. I'm not going to reveal them all today. We have one of our one of our um favorite homies that we have yet to have on, but Christopher Joe of the Joe Farm down there in Alabama.
00:40:38
Speaker
Bro, we got to get down there. So excited to talk with Chris. We have Jody Allaire from Canada and Birds Canada, right? He's going to come through. I think he's one of the hosts of one of the other podcasts up there.
00:40:50
Speaker
Tariq Shahzad, your homie there in Chicago. Yeah, he had the biggest year down there. Our homie Trenton Schultz-Franco, who is one of the founders of um the Special Bird Service in Canada. like this state They are doing some amazing stuff up there, and I'm so excited to talk with Trenton and the homies up there. And then, you know, we got we got a few other folks here. We got our homie Sam Desjardins from the Always Be Birding podcast. OG podcast. Yeah. um She was the first ones to, i think the first one to have you and I on. Yeah. Not our bird club. So she is bringing that podcast back to life and back on air. So excited to talk to her. And then, you know, as we get into next year, we'll get some other guests, particularly Rosemary Moscoe.
00:41:34
Speaker
Oh. who, know, just released the Birders' Dictionary. It's one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. it's It's both hilarious and useful, and I can't wait to talk to her about where she finds the inspiration for this stuff and, you know, where she's going to be going with it. So, yeah. Yeah, we have a good season with some good guests. There's some other folks that I didn't mention just yet. Those those will be surprises, but, yeah, it's going to be a good season.
00:41:59
Speaker
Let's go. Like, i our like all the I'm like, dang, we taking a global international. We got so much joy, like just the mix and the variety of these folks. Like, so this this is what we do. You know, like I'm, you know, i hope people after this season, as usual, they feel inspired to get outside, to spend more time outside, to find what Bird Joy looks like for them to realize that like you belong.
00:42:27
Speaker
You belong out there. There's a place there's a place out there for you. And as usual, like we are going to center joy. um And that's that's what that's what they can count on us for. Like every time we talk to somebody, we're going to focus on the joy of those moments work. We're going to try to bring out as much joy from them as guests. And then and hopefully that just Really kind of ruminates and bring some, some motivation and some inspiration to get outside, no matter where you may be, when you're listening to this, even like me in the middle of Wisconsin with 14 inches of snow already in the beginning of December, which is kind of crazy.
00:43:05
Speaker
Yeah, man, I'm really looking forward to it. And it's it's there's always so many people. And I think we've told people this before, like you and I have a list that we keep that we we add people to it as we see things on social media. And we'll say, hey, this person may be great to have. They look awesome. They look fun. Like, look, check out what they're doing. They're not always people that we know. Right. So we have to reach out and and see if they be willing. They may not even know who we are. Right. So we have some folks coming up next season that are great.
00:43:30
Speaker
Into snakes. See? We have some folks coming up next season that are into bird taxidermy, which I didn't mention, right? It's like there is joy in nature that you can tease out from everyone. And I am just so excited to do that. And that's one of the biggest feedbacks, ah you know, a point of pride that I take in our podcast that people say is like,
00:43:52
Speaker
Yeah, I heard that person get interviewed on this other podcast. And that was cool, right? They talked about their book or this or that, but but you guys made them laugh. You guys made them bring out something a little extra, right? And be more loose, right? And like that's what we want to do because that's how all of you all are out in our community is you're We want to treat you like we're in the living room, you know, talking about birds over some hot cocoa, you know? So that's right. That's right. That is exactly what he looks to do. And I'm i'm like fired up, dude. I'm like ready to go right now. It's going to go find some person on the street and be like, come, come over my studio. Let's just go ahead and do it. Can we interview you right quick? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just going to go grab my neighbor. Yeah, man. It's going to be a good season, bro. I'm really excited for it. I missed hanging out with you, like we said. And I think there's just going to be another season of of joy for people. and And shout out to our homie Cole. Because he, man, Cole keeps us going. He's messaging us, hey, man, when y'all coming back on there? What's up? I need you. I need you for my walks, you know? So I always want to give a shout out to Cole. He's been there from day one. You know, i appreciate him
00:44:56
Speaker
Yeah. And you mentioned a point of pride. A big point of pride for me is the fact that like after the first season, folks were like, hey, you should talk to this person. You should talk to this person. Right. Yeah. And like ever since season two, that's what we've been doing. So I want people to understand, like we do read every message that you send. do look into all the people that you recommend because that we want this podcast to be for you all. um And we want to make sure that we're maximizing the joy that we can give you. So please let us and know about people out there that are doing great work.
00:45:31
Speaker
Like Jason said, we're we're interviewing people that just enjoy nature, that enjoy that work in the STEM field, that like birds that don't like birds. Hopefully they like birds. after they talk to us. You know what mean? like the point is, it's not just about the birds. It's just people getting outside. Like I tell people this all the time when I'm working with kids, I don't force birds on them. I just try to make it ah an enjoyable outdoor experience. um And I think that's what this podcast can do as well is just really focus on people that like to be outside, focus on people that are educating people about outdoors or nature or STEM, um whatever it may be. So if you know an incredible human being that we need to talk to, please shoot us a note because we want to try to jam this season up as full ah as we can. We always do. And then we always get to the end of the season like, holy cow, when's season five? Because we want to talk to this person, this person, this person.
00:46:32
Speaker
Yeah, just make sure. Send everybody your way. Send send them our way and we'll ah we'll reach out. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. All right, man. It's been good to get back with you, bro. I know. Any final words for the Bird Nerd community before we wrap up this intro to season four?
00:46:50
Speaker
We back, homies. We be back. Let's go. Let's enjoy this winter season. You ready? Let's go. Let's go. All right, brother.
00:47:02
Speaker
See you. Peace.