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A Life in Birds, A Life in Joy with Jody Allair
0 Playsin 14 hours
Today on the Bird Joy Podcast, we welcome Jody Allair—an avid birder, naturalist, and communicator who has been living a full-on bird life for decades and still brings curiosity, joy, and humanity to everything he does. Jody began birding and banding as a teen at Long Point Bird Observatory and now serves as Director of Communications at Birds Canada, where he leads media efforts, co-edits BirdWatch Canada magazine, produces the Warblers Podcast, and helps coordinate eBird Canada.
In this episode, we explore Jody’s origin story and how early banding experiences shaped his conservation ethic. We talk about finding joy while doing serious bird work, from bald eagles to nocturnal owls, and why storytelling across radio, podcasts, TV, and print is so powerful for connecting people to birds. Jody also dives into springtime warbler madness, offers advice for turning warbler confusion into joy, and reflects on the role of community science in building belonging. Plus, stories from birding tours, a playful lightning round, and reflections on what still brings him bird joy after 20+ years.
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Transcript
Introduction 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?
Jody Allaire's Birding Journey
00:00:24
Speaker
Let's go Welcome back to the Bird Joy podcast. We are so happy to be back with you all today. And we have an incredible guest. Today's guest is someone who has been living a full on bird life for decades and somehow still makes it feel fresh, joyful and deeply human. Jody Allaire is an avid birder and naturalist who has been birding and banding since his teens. When he began volunteering at Long Point Bird Observatory in Southern Ontario.
00:00:50
Speaker
He is currently the director of communications at Birds Canada, where he leads public relations and media, co-edits Birdwatch Canada magazine, produces the Warblers podcast and helps coordinate eBird Canada. Oumie is busy. Over the years, Jody has worked on an incredible range of bird conservation and community science projects, including bald eagle monitoring, nocturnal owl surveys, youth education programs and forest birds at risk initiatives across Ontario.
00:01:18
Speaker
You might also recognize his voice as the monthly birding commonist columnist for CBC Radio's Daybreak Alberta, or from appearances on the Rick Mercer Report, Idea City, Love Nature TV's Battle of the Alphas, and the American Birding Association podcast. On top of all of that, He has been leading birding tours with Eagle Eye Tours since 2008. In short, Jody lives at the intersection of birds, communication and connection, which makes him a perfect fit for the Bird Joy podcast.
00:01:48
Speaker
Jody, welcome to the show. oh So great to be here. Thanks for having me. I'm kind of fired up, bro. Jason was reading all that. I got to catch my breath. I'm reading all the credentials. I'm like, damn, I need to step my game I mean, seriously. Season four, let's go. I'm fired up right now, Jody. Something really kind of took me back because people always ask me, when did you start birding? I get that question a lot.
00:02:17
Speaker
But I want you to take us back a look to your teens because in my teens, I was too cool for school. You know? I wasn't out here abandoning birds or nothing. Take us back to your teen years at Long Point um Observatory.
00:02:32
Speaker
what was
Volunteering at Long Point
00:02:33
Speaker
the moment when birds kind of stopped being a hobby and came like this way of life for you? Yeah, well, you know, I had pretty outdoorsy family. Like I grew up in Peterborough, Ontario, which is like south of Algonquin Park. I spent a lot of time camping and fishing with my dad and spending a lot of time outside. And it doesn't take long, right? It doesn't take long. you You spend that much time outside, you start getting curious and you start wanting to know the names of things.
00:03:00
Speaker
I was already sort of getting into nature and really like this is where I wanted to spend my time. Like this is this is it. And to be honest, how I got at Longpoint is pretty hilarious. i was So I was like a nature documentary obsessed kid, right? i I think a lot of us are. yeah And there was this one great nature documentary on um on nature of things on CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the other CBC, as we call it. And there was this documentary where they're at Long Point and um they were featuring all these researchers catching birds, banding birds and monitoring birds. And I'm like, wow, that amazing.
00:03:35
Speaker
So cool. And by total coincidence, I was on a school field trip within months of watching that episode that really left us mark. And I was on a school field trip and there was a guy at the nature center and I was like, Hey, like I saw, I just saw this documentary about this place called Long Point Bird Observatory. They were doing all this cool stuff. And the guy's like, Oh yeah, i I've actually spent time there. i I know the guy who runs the place. He's like, here's his number. I'm like, and, and back in the day you had to make phone calls for these types of things. So like I, you know, so I just, I was, I had no qualms about just cold calling sort of anyone at that, at that point in my teenage years. I just called up John McCracken. I was like, Hey, I saw you on TV. This place looks cool. You have to hook me up.
00:04:18
Speaker
And I had no business being there. i had no experience. And I sort of just talked my way in to coming for a month in August. And and there were some other young birders like it like I've never banded anything. i don't really know my birds. Well, my binoculars are the worst.
00:04:35
Speaker
I sort of talked my way out of just like just pure enthusiasm for for wanting to do it. and And I'm super lucky that John McCracken like saw something in me. And
Learning and Personal Growth Through Birding
00:04:43
Speaker
um yeah, I spent a month and honestly, Dexter, it was within days of being at Lung Point and realizing that, you know, everyone's getting up, you know, like.
00:04:55
Speaker
30 minutes before sunrise every single day to get the nets up. There's a census every single day to count all the birds around you. And like that whole structure and seeing people, having people from all around the world, you know, being there, it immediately, it was like, this is what I want to do. Like, this is it. It was, it was like sort of like found my people. And it was like, wow, I couldn't recover from it, to be honest, after a month there. And like being at the tip and like...
00:05:17
Speaker
ah Learning how to cook for myself, would ah you know, like like all that stuff and like building a bridge and like doing all these things I've just never done. And and birding every day, banding every single day. you know, I got back and I'm like, well, I'm supposed to go to school now? Like I'm supposed to go back to like, quote unquote, normal society? bored to learn physics for once. don't want to do this. I remember like even like getting up and doing like a census around my neighborhood like before the school bus came to pick me up. like I was like, right into it.
00:05:45
Speaker
you know It really set me on a path. i was really I'm so lucky not only to have like super supportive parents, but to have had that opportunity when I was a teenager. That's what I wanted to do. I wanted to do work with birds. and I just dove in head first, but I knew I needed to go to school. and I went to university and all that, but it was like a formality for me. Like academia wasn't really my thing, but it was got a degree. And then, you right away, as soon as school was done, I was running Long Point Bird Observatory. And that's- Back to the birds.
00:06:13
Speaker
Back to the birds. Hey, you know, you know what I always say, Jason, the universe makes no mistakes. It does not. And the universe was like, release the McCracken. We got to get this cat. We got to get this cat Jody in here. Yeah.
00:06:31
Speaker
That's Oh, that's great. It's so funny how those how those connections happen, right? And like in that activation energy, you had to have to say something to the person on your field trip, to call the phone number, to convince them to let you come, and then to have the energy to get up and do it. And like, it sounds like a lot of that is really kind of pivotal in your life. And like, you kind of answered one of our next questions, but I'm going to kind of flip it a little bit. It's like, what are those things in that first experience, that first month or so, what things are you still carrying with you today when you think about birds and conservation? Like, you know, like no matter what you're doing, you're always going back to that moment, that principle, that thought. i think there's a few things. I have really strong, vivid memories of that, of that month, you know? And I remember,
00:07:17
Speaker
I'd hardly seen any warblers at that point. I had no business being there. really didn't. And I remember, this must have been, in retrospect, really embarrassing, but it wasn't. For McCracken, Paul Pryor, Graham Gibson, these mentors I had that are just incredible people and still mentors. And I remember saying, hey, but you're flipping this book, and this black and white warbler is ridiculously looking. didn't even see one of these. Yeah. And they're like, probably. didn't know. didn't know.
00:07:50
Speaker
And I remember seeing one and I was like, this is the best looking thing I've ever seen in my life. And have a vivid memory of seeing my first black warbler. And I was like, oh my God. little did I know, there'd be this common reader around where I lived that I just didn't know. didn't know. Right. This is like, I think most people just didn't know the passion and dedication of the people that I met is the thing that really, really held me. You know, these people that knew so much, like it was encyclopedias.
00:08:19
Speaker
they just had this passion for what they were doing, knowing that it's making a difference for birds. And in order to achieve that, it's all about training and getting, you know, younger people out there learning this stuff and understanding this stuff. And we didn't talk about population declines. We weren't talking about like the threats birds are facing. It was more just like, again, the joy and the learning techniques and getting that, doing the work sort of upfront. And that really, that really stuck with me. And I think,
00:08:49
Speaker
As this time has gone on, it's it's really become about the people for me, you know, in terms, especially from a conservation lens. I bird every day. i bird, I'm birding every day, you know, like this birding is my life. But in order to really enact the change, we need to be engaging people.
00:09:06
Speaker
and And I feel like I didn't quite get that lesson when I was a teenager. Right. It was like, show me, point me in the direction of the birds, please. You know, that was, that was, that was as a teenager. And, but now it's really come around for it. To me, it's really about the people and getting people engaged and connected. Sure, sure, sure, sure. I think we all kind of hit that point where we're like, yeah, these, these birds are awesome. And you look around and you're like, but who can I share this with? Who's going to help me save them? Who's going to
Youth Education and Community Engagement
00:09:35
Speaker
do all this stuff? And it's such a common story I hear, right? Like I've met very few birders that are good birders, good community members that don't have some sort of connection to the people and they they kind of form their own little flock, right, of advocates. So that's incredible to hear. and and And I'm wondering, you know, you've worked on a bunch of stuff. So Bald Eagle Research, Nocturnal Owls, which, and I'm sure some some other things in there, like which project surprised you the most in terms of,
00:10:01
Speaker
bringing just unabashed joy or having something, you know, significant emotional impact? Anything you think back on where you're like, whew, that was deep? Well, I think there's a couple things. I think the youth education program um that we had started up at at Birds Canada at Long Point, where we were, you know, we got some funding. There was interest from teachers and school kids to come to the bird observatory. And, but it was, it costs money, right? And so we ended up, we ended up getting funding to be able to cover busing costs. So we were able to like pay for busing because we're not, we're not in a large urban center down at Long Point, right? Like it's, you know, Simcoe's like half an hour away. it' not even a very big city, you know, Hamilton's an hour. Yeah. And a half away. So, so we got money to pay for busing so we could bus kids in from London and from Hamilton and some of the larger urban centers to come down to Long Point and experience the amazing Long Point. Honestly, doing that, that youth program, I, I done some youth education work in school, like right after school at Kingfisher Lake outdoor ed center, Northern Ontario, north of Thunder Bay. yeah,
00:11:04
Speaker
I was always really interested in environmental education because it's just so much fun, right? It's just the best. So to be able to like really turn the bird observatory into a sort of like a de facto environmental education center and have like kids coming down and buses and showing showing kids a blue jay up close, you know, or a northern flicker so they can experience the loudness that is northern flicker up close. It is it was...
00:11:30
Speaker
So impactful. You know, we, we did one program. We, so we do Albanning every evening and I've always loved owls and Albanning has always been super fun. So we're doing saw what Albanning in the fall. And i was like, Hey, you know, with, um, with the team and my fellow educator, Liza Barney is like, Hey, let's get, let's get the art, the local grade six students all down for Albanning one night. And the amount of red tape we had to do for like a Friday night. Yeah.
00:11:56
Speaker
it was It was worth it. So we had like all the kids, the parents, some pets, and and like you name it. Like there was like, we had like 60 people down at the field station for for owl banding. And they were like, so you know, slideshow, you know, prep them. And you could see the parents. The parents were just like, okay, it's like, when are you know? Survivor's over. I gotta get home. and We did a net round.
00:12:21
Speaker
We did one net round. We didn't catch anything. It's like, oh man. Okay. So, you know, just waited a little bit, waited a bit. Next
Storytelling and Conservation
00:12:27
Speaker
net round, we caught, we caught a saw-wet owl. It was like, everyone was shocked, even though they knew they were coming for owl banding. Like everyone was shocked and they got to see this little saw-wet owl, which is, you know, if that doesn't, I don't know, if that doesn't turn you into a burger, I don't, I don't know what it could do you. Yeah. You are lost. soul is something. I tell people, I said, if you just have a stare down with an owl, you'll never be the same. But let alone hold a northern sawed owl and then release it into the wild. And you're standing there like you're like this magical person, you know, like you. You'll never be the same. I'm sorry, you'll just never be the same. It encapsulates perfectly the transformative power of birds. What birds can do for you. And so the kids were just like jaw dropped.
00:13:17
Speaker
you know and actually a photo I have this old photo of this, of like that moment someone took a photo behind me and like they could see a bit of my face, me holding you out and then all the people. And like the kids were just like gobsmacked. But the best part was like the parents were like, wait, hold on.
00:13:33
Speaker
We're actually, this is actually an owl. It's like they didn't believe that we were going to be seeing a real owl. It was hilarious. And then part of it was like the kids were like, you could see it in their faces, like sign me up for this all the time.
00:13:44
Speaker
Like I am ready. and And it was pretty obvious that like, man, one of the challenges is actually just convincing the parents to like understand that this is a thing, you know, this is a thing to to do. Right. And I remember talking to kids, some of those kids years later, you know, I'd run into the grocery store and there was like, right away. It's like, Hey man, that saw wet owl. That was really cool.
00:14:03
Speaker
Yes, it was. Yes, it was. So I'd have to say, like the youth education stuff was a big one, but i' I've gotten to work on so many other species, but I think so um species at risk was always a really interest early on. For some reason, I really gravitated towards the birds that sort of needed help the most. And so working on bald eagles, working on peregrines and the forest birds at risk was like,
00:14:25
Speaker
you know, and this is the Canadian perspective, but like in Southern Ontario, like habitat loss is really tough. Southern Ontario is a very populated part, well, the most populated part of Canada. And so those last remaining sort Carolinian forests, especially the swamp forests are super rare. So things like Louisiana water thrush, Canadian flycatcher, planetary warbler,
00:14:41
Speaker
even cerulean warbler they're only in these like remaining tiny pockets and i know they're more common you know further south and but further west with like prothonotarian wisconsin but those birds i really really enjoyed working on those birds working with landowners like trying to show folks that like this is what you have here is really really special and i know i get a lot of satisfaction although it's really there's satisfaction, but there's also a lot of stress and anxiety that comes with working on species at risk and species that are not doing well. Right. So it was a bit of a balancing act. Sure. You know, it's cool, Jason. And I know you can relate to this because you inspired us in Wisconsin to start our bus nature program. Just hearing, you know, you're in Canada and that barrier of transportation and removing that barrier of transportation, like how that can lead to so many opportunities for what I like to call the baby birders to get activated and and and maybe even their families. I love that so much. And every time I would talk to a community organizer a program manager at a community center or a school, transportation was at the top of the list usually. And it was just ah it just filled me with so much joy to be able to bus kids to Horicon Marsh here in Wisconsin, which is one of the largest fresh cattail marshes in North America. And just to be able to like watch them, the joy on them, you know, and it was just like, And just getting them there and realizing like they want to be outside. They want to go to these places. Kids are super curious. that I think that's what makes them great birders and to introduce them to birds because they are so curious just by nature. I just really love seeing that. Like I hope people that are listening that they always say, oh, I want to help. How can I help? There are ways like that. where you can step in and and support organizations. Maybe you give a scholarship to bus some kids somewhere or sponsor a field trip or whatever it may be. Those are real needs. And just to hear it coming from Canada to Philly to Wisconsin, I think is pretty cool.
00:16:46
Speaker
people often ask the question, like, what can I do to help? What can I help do to help birds? I'm not really a birder, you know, but what can I do to help birds? And honestly, one of the first things I i tell people is get to know your birds. And if you have like a family, if you have kids, like spend time outdoors and start learning some of the stuff around you. I think our disconnect, the societal disconnect between the natural world and what society is now is is huge. and And you can see it on all levels of decisions that are made politically and policy-wise, like how disconnected we are, whether it's, you know, thinking about climate change or whether it's dealing with habitat loss, you know, and if more people just had those connections, you know, and understood what those places mean and what it's like to experience birds in these great habitats.
00:17:32
Speaker
Like, I just feel like, and I don't know, it's i know it's it's idealistic and I know you guys are on, but it's sometimes a bit of a challenge, but but I feel like this is the thing. This is one of the first steps. Yeah. There's, we got to deal with cats. We got to deal with windows. We got to deal with policy. We got to deal with climate change. Like those things are all there for sure. But like, it has to start, it has to start with the love of birds or, or finding the joy in, in birds and whatever we can do ah to help start that. I just feel like it's going to have positive,
00:18:00
Speaker
ramifications, you know, with, with these kids as they get older, they're going to remember that, you know, especially if they're in a position to make some of those decisions, if they've already had those connections, then that's my hope.
00:18:11
Speaker
yeah yeah I love it. I love it. I love it. You know, my grandpa always says, pay attention. That's what my grandpa's advice was to his 11 kids when they spent time in nature. And I tell people that as I go around and I talk to different groups, I was like, they're always like, well, where do I start? And I say, just pay attention. Because when you see that black and white warbler, you're going to be like, what? This been around me the whole time? You know, like kind of freaking out. Or I say, turn on the Merlin and run around the block like a little kid holding Merlin the air. And you're going to see 10, 12 species that's been around you the whole time. The whole time.
00:18:51
Speaker
The whole time. God, I wish I had Merlin when I was a kid. Like, truly. Man, that was a lot of work.
00:19:01
Speaker
I love it. love it. I love Mariland so much. Hey, look, so I don't, like, I don't know guys have like very specific spark birds. I feel like I have the spark bird moments that have all sort of accumulated, you know, sort of over time. But there was, there was
Memorable Birding Experiences
00:19:14
Speaker
this one and were talking about like the black and world where you couldn't believe that like this didn't exist. I really had that happen where I was saying those words.
00:19:22
Speaker
as a teenager, and it was on my I was on my way to my buddy Nick's place, lives outside Peterborough. We were going to play hockey for the weekend. It was on my way to his place, and we just turned the corner. he lived in the country roads, and there we were stopped to turn the corner, and on the wire was this like orange and blue tiny raptor staring at him like, whoa, what what is this?
00:19:42
Speaker
And it's like, look at this like crazy colorful hawk. like I had no idea what it was. And we get we get to my buddy's place, and I'm like, Nick, there was this like crazy, like, crazy colorful hawk out there. Like, I have no idea what that was. And so we walk in and right on, like in his living room, his mom had a copy of the Peterson guy, right? So I'm like, oh, I wonder if it's, like, I wonder if it's in here, you know? It's ridiculous. So I'm like flipping through, you know, and then boom, I see it, American Kestrel, right? And it's like, it's common here and and all this. And I'm like, How, what the, but you know, so all the synapses were going, right? It's like, wait, hold on. You can see cool things. and You can look it up in a book. You can figure out their names. Like all of that. It's like, I'm reliving that daily basically since then.
00:20:26
Speaker
And I remember like, how do we all not know? about American, how come people aren't talking about American Kestrel all the time? Because it is a ridiculously good looking bird. I don't understand why people aren't, how did I not know about it?
00:20:40
Speaker
You know, like it was, anyway, there was that moment of like screaming for, I told everybody, like all my friends, teachers, i was like, have you seen American Kestrel? You got to look for American Kestrel. We couldn't Google things because the internet didn't exist. I don't know. I was totally, totally freaking hit. I just In my head, I just imagine you like a Jehovah's Witness going door to door and be like, have you heard about our Lord and Savior, the American Castrol? 100%. Yeah, I would accept that. Yeah. I mean, that and the Northern Sawed Out, they're two of the cutest itty bitty murderers out there. They are. They are. Ruthless, but so cute.
00:21:16
Speaker
So I remember when I was watching one documentary and they called the Northern Sawadell. How did they describe it? They said um um the size of a beer can and the personality of a bank president. Northern Sawadell.
00:21:30
Speaker
Yeah. I like to refer to them as weapons of most destruction. yes Yeah. Yeah. Badass. I love it. I love it. I love that a lot. Jody, oh this is this has been so fun already. And we're like only a third into this thing. You wear a lot of communication hats, radio, podcasts, magazines, TV. Why do you think stories matter so much when it comes to Bert?
00:21:54
Speaker
I think stories matter a great deal. I feel like I have strong feelings about this. You know, you can show people. and And I struggle with this all the time. you know, when we have State of Canada's birds reports and we've got like that insane spaghetti graph and and and all that stuff and, you know, and like showing stats, showing graphics and like trying to convince people, it's like the evidence is clear.
00:22:16
Speaker
Like, look at this. and And it's still not quite resonating. It's like, oh yeah, it's a graph. It's showing some stuff. And it's like, but you know, it's stories. It's stories that can drive that wedge.
00:22:27
Speaker
You know, it's stories that can really open up people's minds to to the information that that, you know, we need to get out there. But I grew up on stories. I grew up, my dad and my, you know, my grandfather, who i didn't know, you know, they were outdoorsy, fishing all the time. And like, I grew up like
Community Science and Birding Diversity
00:22:45
Speaker
camping with my dad and hearing all these crazy stories, like crazy stories of like my grandfather getting like chased up a tree by a moose and getting like stuck there basically overnight. And then the tree fell over. What? Wait, what? Yeah. Yeah. I grew up with these crazy, crazy stories. I'm like, is this real? Is this real? I think all of them had an element of truth, but like I grew up sort of hearing those stories all the time. And so storytelling really became part of my personality, I guess. you know And I love...
00:23:14
Speaker
And this is the great thing of spending time at a bird observatory, or spending time at bird observatories, you got people from all over the world, and let me tell you, they've got the best bird stories, like absolute best bird stories. And I just love that, like sitting around, hearing these great adventure stories of like people and the and the things they would do to see birds, you know, it's like, oh man, this is this is real. this is what This is what life's all about.
00:23:37
Speaker
And so I think I've carried that through with communication and I'm not really doing field work anymore, unfortunately, but it's, it's really become about the people and the thing I'm super motivated and the thing I like, I love about working for birds Canada. And the thing I love about being a tour guide as well is I love dealing with people, working with people, telling stories, you know, getting people on board with with some of these issues that that birds are facing. And storytelling is just one of the best ways to do it. Like it's really, really is. I feel like we need more storytelling out there.
00:24:13
Speaker
It's huge for me and communication really become my thing now. And and I'm here for it. Like I'm here for it. I, I'm constantly trying to figure out like what are great stories to tell? Um, so our podcast, we get to, we get to do that and, you know, shout out to the podcast team, uh, Andrea, Kate, Chris, Andrea is just, you know, I think just a phenomenal host and so great at like getting these, telling these stories, getting these stories out there. Storytelling is powerful. and As you guys know, because you guys are fantastic at doing this. It's one of the things I love know about your podcast and the amazing work that you're doing. Storytelling is huge. It is. It is. And I'm i'm wondering, like, just the the different kind of media you have there. And you were you were talking about when you meet up with people and the kind of stories they have. Do you find that curiosity differs as people interact with you from a you know perspective of like hearing you on the radio versus hearing your podcast versus being on a tour? Like, do people come at it from different angles? depending on the media that they've interacted with you on or or is it all kind of the same? I don't know if it's too i don't know if it's too different. I feel like it's a lot of the same, but we're I think the goal is trying to reach people and in in different outputs, like different communication outputs. And some people are listening to podcast a lot of people listening to podcasts. to podcasts. It's like a golden globe for podcasts now. i thought That was crazy. Yeah. didn't know that. Yeah, it's, ah you know, so podcasting has been a great way. And for someone who loves listening to stories and telling stories, podcasting is like a perfect intersection of my interest. And but some people like reading, as do I, and you know, love reading essays or love reading articles. So I feel like we're trying to do similar things, just using different ways to try to reach as many people as as possible.
00:25:56
Speaker
it's a great way to build relationships really quickly with folks like on, like on, and on tours, you know, and people, you know, have listened to the podcast or have, you know, listened to a CBC radio segment or something like that. We're all, it's like, they already sort of know me.
00:26:12
Speaker
And so, you know, like, Hey, you heard the end of word, like we're jumping right into it. You know, it's like, we've known each other for a long time and we can go out and look at birds and, and have the real, have the hard conversation sometimes too about like, you know, what we need to do as a society. So, You were just kind of talking about podcasting and you co-produced and produced the Warblers podcast. This may sound like a silly question, but what is it about Warblers? We already heard about the black and white Warbler that makes people completely lose their minds every spring. um They are, I don't know, I feel like they're the quintessential, like, Pokemon, you know, the wood warblers, aren't they? yeah Small, colorful, mysterious, hard to catch, you know hard to see. I think there's, warblers aren't easy, right? Like, they're ridiculous, but you have to sort of work for them, right? And then in in spring migration, they're singing.
00:27:02
Speaker
They're in their most incredible plumage, although, you know, don't get me started on how awesome I think some some fall plumaged warblers are. I think it's the it's the combination of, like, spring awakening of, like, ah, winter is finally put to bed, and we're getting this reward in this, you know, the anticipation of seeing all these, like, some of the most beautiful birds in the entire world are coming through. And so I feel like there's a bit of that. It's like this, whew.
00:27:28
Speaker
dust off the winter
Advice for New Birders
00:27:29
Speaker
and like get into some blackburnian warblers and black and white warblers and all this stuff. But yeah, I don't know. They, and I also feel like because they don't just like sit out in the open and it takes a bit of effort, it's, it's a bit of work and there's a lot of reward. Like it's, they're very scavenger hunty, aren't they?
00:27:46
Speaker
Like you have to sort of work for them. Yeah. And that, but when you get that look, you know, and you might not get a great look at every species every spring. um But when you get that look, it's like, yes you know, it was very satisfying, you know, so I feel like yeah's it's just those combination of features for me.
00:28:00
Speaker
Yeah, that the the colors, but also the songs to just when you you mentioned like this transitioning into spring and you're hearing them, even though you might not see them all the time, you're still hearing them ah and stretch your necks as you're as you're trying to find them.
00:28:16
Speaker
But they are they're super fun. And I think it's the variety of them. always tell people our birding community should look like the birds that we all love. And I think about we got this color bird, that color bird, little birds, big birds. Some can fly, some can't fly. Some are skinny, some are fat. It doesn't matter, right? Like we're all kind of in this thing together. I think when warblers remind me of that. i love that When I look at warblers and all the different warblers and spring migration really kind of reminds me of like, this is why we do the work that we do is to try to build a birding community that looks like this. this of all this beauty that's kind of out there and and they can be hard. And I always tell people, give yourself some grace, right? one Learn one at a time, one song at a time. Like, don't don't stress yourself out so much.
00:29:02
Speaker
If somebody Jody, if somebody is intimidated by warblers, what's the best advice you would give them from turning that confusion into some bird joy? Yeah. ah The first thing I would say is take the pressure off yourself, like truly and and fully embrace that you're going to make mistakes on the journey. and And some things take time. I remember being like the teenager that was just, I was skipping school on spring migration days. Like I walked out of a class because of a kettle of broad wing hawks outside the window, you know, in high school. And
00:29:36
Speaker
I remember being so impatient because I wanted to see Northern Perula. I wanted to see Orange Cranc Warbler. I wanted see Hooded Warbler. I was just really, really obsessed as a teenager. And I just couldn't control my enthusiasm for it. I would say people, it takes a bit of time. And you'll make mistakes along way, and you'll misidentify things along the way. And guess what? You're going to keep misidentifying things through the whole journey, and that's totally fine. That is totally, there's no standard. I like to say, being a birder,
00:30:04
Speaker
isn't like a level of achievement. You know, you haven't like crossed into it's like, congratulations, you can identify, you know, 89% of all the birds, you're officially a birder. Like, I just think that's ridiculous. It's all but if you enjoy looking at birds, you're birder.
00:30:18
Speaker
yeah Done. Right. It's not a level of achievement. You're going to make mistakes along the way. And and you will get to see all of these things. like You will get to see all of these things in in time. and And I think if I was to tell, you know, have a chat with my teenage self now, I'd be like, slow down a bit. and just enjoy. You don't have to see everything immediately. you know Enjoy them as they as they come. Yeah, like learning songs takes some time. I think Merlin has been huge at at really helping crack down like the sort of the song barrier. and just It's a little bit just putting some work in, you know like having a field guide, flipping through it, or scrolling through it. and using Merlin and getting out on, on good days and, and finding your people. You know, I think that's, that's the other part of it. I think I was a young birder at a time when there were not many young birders. There really were not, especially in Canada. Like there was, there was a few of us, we all knew each other and now it's so different. Now the birding community is so, so different and in much more diverse in every way, every way, shape or form. And
00:31:21
Speaker
I'm so here for it. it's it's really It's really fantastic. And ah I don't know. Yeah. But again, the world is exciting, right? like Yeah. yeah always I love your perspective. I love your perspective on warblers and people. that is That's wonderful. Yeah. I love i always tell people, like once you become, like if you're starting to worry about checking off the bird on a list and like growing, like you really start to lose your joy at that point. Right. Like if you're worried about, oh, like I just have to see this and you don't see it, you're going you're setting yourself up for disappointment when that that that whole journey of it. Right. The journey of birding is joyful. You know, like it doesn't matter how many times you see a black and white warbler. I guarantee you get excited and and you're just like it.
00:32:07
Speaker
transports you back to that first time. like I tell people all the time when I see a photograph of a bird that a photo I've taken, I literally like it's like I'm there again and I start feeling and again it again. It's like being there again. And it's just really kind of cool. So i would just tell people like enjoy bird every bird, enjoy every bird that you may see. And if you don't
Ongoing Passion for Birding
00:32:29
Speaker
see it yesterday, Jason, for example,
00:32:32
Speaker
we had ah We had an event in Milwaukee. We had our first ever photo gallery exhibit for our birdie. saw that on Facebook, yeah. And it was super cool, but guess what bird was reported at a local park? We talked about it in our intro episode, Jason, and you want to have one come to your yard. i Even Grosby? Yeah, there's one hanging out in Milwaukee, right? And Rita saw it. And son is yeah myself and one of our our club members at Rune, we went to the park to try to see it I sat there for over an hour and I didn't see the bird. ah I saw, I have never seen so many Northern Cardinals in my life.
00:33:12
Speaker
and know and I saw Dark-Eyed Junko, Oregon subspecies. Oh, nice. I love that. Right. So like I was seeing all the little red breasted nut hatches and my wife was with me. So she was seeing she had never she's like this like a Bambi movie. She was freaked out. And it was like she's right.
00:33:31
Speaker
It was so cool, though, bro. Like I didn't see the gross beat, but I literally left there my heart full. You know what I mean? And that's always try to stress to people is like, I got this model, Jody, of like, see you next time, homie. Like, if I don't see you, that's part of like being a birder, like looking forward to that next, you know, that next experience. It makes you want to get outside again, too. Not everything has to be a nemesis bird, right? Not everything has to be, you know, it's like, you'll, you know, you'll have a chance, but I say evening growth speaks like, like I've seen lots of evening growth speaks and I cannot get enough of evening growth speaks and we're having, we're having a bit of a year for them, especially in the East. Um,
00:34:10
Speaker
But like, yeah, like if there was an evening gross week outside right now, I'd have to have a serious conversation with myself about whether I'm running outside like to like try to get a photo of it or not. This is the thing that I've never lost. And, and, you know, I don't, I feel like, I don't feel like I'm the best birder out there. I feel like I'm not the best communicator out there. i think the one, if I have a strength, it's like sort of unbridled enthusiasm, like all the time. I'm always enthusiastic about stuff. I know we were on a tour. Yeah. I was just in Costa Rica on ah on a birding tour and there was a black hawk eagle flying around like right over like the parking lot. like i gotta to go that I'm looking at it and I'm sorry and like, this is like one of my favorite tropical raptors. It's just incredible looking. I'm really excited. That's nice looking And their wings, when they like that how like bulgy the secondaries are on their wings. Oh, man. cool That's cool.
00:34:58
Speaker
Love Blackhawk Eagle. Throwing it down. It's the best looking tropical raptor. Just saying. say okay say All right. Gauntlet is down. Yeah. And and ah so I'm really excited because this is like, love this bird and like any chance to see it. And i so I got everyone really riled up and excited. And they're like, and one person in the group is like oh is this like, is this your first one? It's like, no. I'm like, is like seeing old friends that you haven't seen in a long time. you know and And equally as excited that none of them had seen one before.
00:35:33
Speaker
I'm like, I'm
Bird Joy and Conservation
00:35:34
Speaker
really excited that you're seeing this bird because this is special. Like, look at it. Look at those secondaries. It's a thing you don't think you'd ever say in public. I just love those moments. But like, yeah. Yeah. So anyway, Dexter, yeah totally, I totally am on the same page with that. It's, uh, and there's so many different ways to bird, but I think the key is like, just bring, bring the love of birds and bring the enthusiasm, you know, like that's that's the way to live. yeah bird joy That's right. That's right. Always comes back to that. And it's funny because like that's the that's the well by which the energy comes through. And and it goes to places we were talking about them that you helped coordinate Ebert Canada. Right. And you extensively tried to get a lot of people into community science. And, you know, when you mentioned the black hockey, go on straight to Ebert on my keyboard here. I'm like, you look at this. And I'm, you know, and I'm just inundated with pictures of people that have gone and experienced that. Right. And, you know, it's interesting to think about.
00:36:27
Speaker
I would guess for 99.9% of them, it's that same endorphin rush that we all get when we get to see birds that either for the first time or birds that we haven't seen in a long time or birds that we just love to see in general. Why why is that?
00:36:40
Speaker
you know we We don't talk about. bird joy as much as a conservation tool, right? And and like talk to me about how like how is it flipping that joy into work, right? Because you mentioned your first month at the Long Point Bird Observatory, right? It was like you learned how to do the work first, and then you were able to then flip that. You know you turned on the you turned on the ah power button, and you're feeding all that work with your joy and your enthusiasm. like Talk to me about how that works with you in the community and the and the work that you do with eBird. I think the
00:37:12
Speaker
you know, bird joyy the love of birds is sort of with me sort of all the time. but And it is the big motivating factor for me and, and all the work and all the work I do. Some of the disconnect I think people have with like birding, especially when you talk about like listing and doing big ears and stuff like that, like sort of the more extreme element is, is that people may not see that it's like, we really enjoy sort of seeing birds all the time, whether they're common birds or so are something unusual. And like, I get like, I've obsessed over my yard and like seeing what comes in the yard. And I've got also the really interesting junco subspecies here about like just Cassie goes in the yard and all this kind of fun stuff. But like my favorite bird in the yard is this female hairy woodpecker seldom get the male throughout the winter, but there's a female hairy woodpecker and she's here only for like maybe 10, 15 minutes a day. And it's like, i really get excited every time she shows up. It's just like big and wonderful and just like owns the yard completely. Like completely. dominates Of course. I just get like excited every time, like every time like I get to see that bird and the, this, I know I have this connection with birds. And the thing that really motivates me to do the work is that I want, I want others to feel this way. And there are some really big conservation issues that, that we're facing, you know, and,
00:38:32
Speaker
Like, you know, good example, a state of Canada's birds like just came out like last October, so right before the state of U.S. s birds. yeah mirrors They mirror each other a fair bit, you know, with grassland bird decline, aerial insectivore decline, Arctic migrant shorebird decline. All these things, all these birds that are in really, really, really big trouble. you know, and birds near me, like just a colored long spur, you know, declined by 98% across their range in Canada. Like there's some dark, we're at a crossroads in a, in a lot of ways. Like there's some work to be done.
00:39:04
Speaker
And to me, there's sort of two ways to sort of go about this, like understand the scope with which bird populations are in such a big trouble and how society is not rallying enough to help protect habitat and birds. Um,
00:39:18
Speaker
And I feel like that's a slippery slope into eco-anxiety and feeling like I'm not enough or we're not enough. Words maybe are they not enough to like change people's minds. And that's a dark place. like Admittedly, like that's kind of a dark that's a dark place. sure I want to choose. I choose.
00:39:39
Speaker
remembering the joy of birds and understanding how transformative experiencing birds and experiencing nature can be. And I think the pandemic was a great test case in this, wasn't it? As dark and terrible as the pandemic was, still is in some cases, right? But that was a great test case of like when people are down,
00:39:55
Speaker
they found nature and they found birds and they found wellness within within that. And to me, there's a lot of hope there. And I cling to the hope that birds can convince people to make better decisions, convince people to to engage. And so there's a lot of work to be done. And I've been over 22 years now at Birds Canada and I love my job and I love the people I work with. Everyone there is really dedicated and really wants to make a difference for birds and just being surrounded by that is really invigorating. Like I really feed off of that and the amazing work my colleagues are doing. And, but honestly, it's remembering, it's remembering birds and like my love of birds and being in birding every day gets me through those, those moments of like, man, we have so much to do. Like, I want, I want more. And from a cu communications perspective of like, I want more TV coverage. I want more, not even for me, but for birds, for birds and people, right? It's, it's not about me. It's really, it's about the birds. And, but yeah, anyway, that's what, that's what fuels it.
00:40:58
Speaker
That's what fuels it for me every day. All right. All right. yeah Last question before we before we get into a little bit of lightning round, but um I know you lead a lot of and i you lead need lead a lot of bird tours. Can you describe a moment where someone saw a bird and you just watched that click happen for them? Like something that either they had been dying to see or like something where you cracked open that that well of joy for them? That is absolutely the best part of leading a bird tour, leading bird tours. And so, so I lead tours
Quick-Fire Birding Questions
00:41:25
Speaker
with Eagle Eye Tours and i do mostly in Canada trips, some international trips, not not as much as I used to, but I also here in, in Drumheller, um, we've got like a community bird group now hey and and it's fantastic. And there's all these people like birding. So it's like these free workshops and I got some extra bins and people are going out birding for the very first time. And honestly, that is, I signed me up for that.
00:41:47
Speaker
Every day. Every day. Like, yeah, birding on a birding tour and people are birders and it's great. And it's like, you know, showing someone like, yeah, like Blackhawk Eagle or, you know, getting to see something like that. Like, that's really great. But man, like you guys know first time birders and we go out birding.
00:42:04
Speaker
We had like a spotted toey sitting on top of a willow, like right beside the parking lot. and it was singing behind me the whole time. And I know he always sits in this one. The beauty of like doing a bird walk in your patch. Right. No. I know he always sits there, right? So I already had the scope set on him, and I knew he was going to be there. So I'm talking about birds and things to look for, and I'm like, okay, you guys ready to go birding? Let's do this with a spotted toey. And then everyone would like spotted toey, and they could sort of see this bird and then look through the scope, and it was like, oh you could just see every single one, look through the scope, and it was like, it was, I should have filmed it. It was hilarious because they all made like a shocking face, you know? And they're like, oh my God, the stripes. Yeah. The eye color. What are you doing with that eye? And I'm like, welcome to Birdie. is the tip ofy this is the tip of the ice. Right?
00:42:51
Speaker
Snowflake turns to Blizzard really quickly when it comes to Birdie, right? Sure it does. Once you get that intimacy, you know, that that something like a scope or binoculars it affords you, like it it's nothing like it. Nothing like it. Into the lightning round. All right. So these are going to be. ah oh Yeah, this is my favorite part.
00:43:08
Speaker
Let's go. Let's it out, Jody. You know? Yeah. So Jody, we're going to ask you five questions or so, and we just want your immediate answer. Okay. All right. The pressure is on.
00:43:20
Speaker
Favorite bird to talk about at a party. Favorite bird to talk about at a party. um Golden Eagle. Golden Eagle. You may kind of hinted at this earlier, but I don't know. Birds you never get tired of seeing.
00:43:38
Speaker
The hairy woodpecker that visits the yard. yeah yeah Love that bird. yeah I have to say, as you get further west, hairy woodpeckers get massive. Because they're not that big out here with me. like I went out to Saxon Bogg and I was like, what is that? Is that a pillion? That thing is ridiculous. right I would lose a fight with this hairy woodpecker. No question to that.
00:44:00
Speaker
Best bird sound. God. Tough. Screaming Pia. Oh, okay. Screaming Pia, then South America. Okay. And I got to hear one for the first time. You hear it all the time. I'm sure Dexter will do his magic and insert one in here. We're going fine. We're going fine. We're on for show. That thing's intense. Binoculars or naked eye?
00:44:25
Speaker
um Depends on the context. You know, I, when I take my dog Max out for regular walks, I'm birding. I don't have ah my binoculars cause he will destroy them when he jumps on me. And you know, so I'll, I'll naked eye bird and just listen and enjoy and, and have that experience. um But it all depends on context because you know, if you want to get the really good looks, like having a pair of binoculars is really, really essential.
00:44:50
Speaker
Just because you don't have binoculars doesn't mean you can't tune in to the birds. Like it's not
Conclusion and Celebration of Birding Community
00:44:56
Speaker
birding. There's not a device requirement or gear requirement. Heaven forbid, there's not a gear requirement for birding. Like you don't need to wear that vest. Sure. ah Sure. You don't need to be you know, and and you don't need the binoculars. Like you don't have to have binoculars to go birding like 100%. All right. Early morning birding or evening golden hour birding.
00:45:16
Speaker
I think early morning. I think it's early morning. Me too. I think it's just a lot more song activity. and you know But evening can be cool. like evening on the Evening on a marsh, evening out in a wetland is pretty nice. yeah pretty nice. I say early bird gets the worm. I say early birder gets the bird. 100%. Feeling the morning. All right. To wrap things up, Jody, after 20 years of birding and conservation, after 20 plus years of birding and conservation work, what still brings you the most joy?
00:45:50
Speaker
Honestly, it's meeting, it's meeting folks that are, engaged in birds or maybe just starting their birding journey or like or like you two you know that are have it have the enthusiasm and are spreading the word of birds and and how important to be honestly this is the stuff like i'm here for all of this it's meeting it's meeting the people you know it's really it's the people it's meeting the people you know and seeing so many younger birders like man i remember the time being a birder like the stereotype birder was like your retired english teacher right yeah you know, and those days are gone. Those days, I'm saying it right here. Those days are done and gone. Birding is far more diverse now. And it's, God, it's ah in so many ways, it's the golden age of birding. And it's, it's the best. We're here for it, Jody. This has been fantastic. Your joy comes through We appreciate you. We appreciate the work, your joy, all the things you're doing to help people connect with birds in so many different ways.
00:46:51
Speaker
Thank you. Yes. Thank you, sir. My pleasure, guys. Keep up the great work. Such a huge fan of your podcast. And yeah, thanks. Thanks for having me Awesome. Awesome. Thank you, sir. Thanks to everybody for listening. We are so happy we're able to come here and have this conversation with you. Remember, Bird Joy is for everyone.
00:47:09
Speaker
sir. Peace.