Birdchick Podcast #81 Snowy Owls!

Snowy owls are in the news!  They are everywhere.  Here's a link to my Google News with "snowy owl" typed in!  Some of the most interesting stories:  over 100 snowies are reported to be in Wisconsin! And of course the obligatory "a snowy owl killed my dog." Wondering how to find a snowy owl near you?  Try typing in your state's name and the words "bird listserv" to see if there are reports in your area or check out the handy dandy map that eBird has set up based on user reports.

Check in with us on Wednesday...we're going to have a really cool bird contest courtesy of Larkwire!

Also, have you ever considered signing up for a Christmas Bird Count?  If not you should, find one near you!

Birdchick Podcast #39

Crazy rare birds showing up and making news:  a Cassin's sparrow is in Ohio and a willow ptarmigan is outside a nuclear power plant in Ontario. Lead poisoning is still killing reintroduced California Condors in the Grand Canyon.

This Friday is the first day to buy the new Duck Stamp for the year.  Purchasing stamps doesn't mean that you support hunting.  It means you are giving money and over 98% of the money from the stamp purchase goes to habitat acquisition for National Wildlife Refuges and they essentially get you access to any NWR without paying a fee.  It's not just ducks who benefit from this, several species of birds, plants and mammals benefit from this.  Just because hunters are forced to purchase one doesn't mean birders are making a good statement by not purchasing one.

It's a Dalek Squirrel Feeder.  Why can't we have one these in North America???

Some pelicans cleaned up from last year's BP Oil Spill are breeding this year.

eBird has updated their list entry system.  Are you submitting your bird observations to eBird?

Why Podcasting?

If you haven't noticed...we started a podcast.  The response has been surprisingly positive as Non Birding Bill and I navigate our way through this, but we've had some questions and I want to address those: 1.  Why all the podcasting, is that all this blog is gonna be?

No, that is not all this blog is going to be.  The Internet is constantly changing. Blogging is not the same thing it was when I started in September of 2004. When I started, there were a handful of birding blogs and now there are a TON. The way people interact with blogs has changed and I've tried to alter my content to work with that, especially as Facebook and Twitter came into prominence. My goal has always been to get people interested in birds and I will experiment with any medium I can to do that.

2.  I'm not in to podcasting, will I miss something?

Maybe.  The podcast will focus mostly on news links and interesting blog entries.  Occasionally, we'll interview people.  It's designed for people who don't read blogs and is also supplement to mine. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, chances are good you'll have an idea of what's going on in the podcast.

3.  Ugh, who has time to listen to this 3 times a week?

I based this podcast on how I use them. I tend to listen to podcasts when I'm tidying my home, cooking or driving.  These are designed to be stand alone, you can listen to one here and there or if you subscribe you can listen to all of them each week.  You can get a look at the title and get an idea if it's one you're interested in.

4.  I wish you would do "blank" differently in the podcast.

Please tell me!  I don't listen to them after we record them, so if you have suggestions/recommendations email sharon at birdchick dot com.

5. Wow, I could do a birding podcast so much better!

Please do!  I started this because I couldn't find a birding/nature podcast that came out on a regular basis that I liked, I want one to listen to so I hope others start soon. Wouldn't it be great to have so many nature casters out there that it could warrant having it's own channel?

Birdchick Podcast - Dead Deer, Bent & FLAP

This has to be a Friday podcast because it got a bit weird!  Non Birding Bill was not prepared for the talk of dead deer.  Here are links to some of the subjects: Arthur Cleveland Bent

FLAP - Slide show at the Royal Ontario Museum and lawsuit.

Valmont Owl Cam check out the live shots.  Here's a video of crows mobbing the owls.

Twin Cities Naturalist blog entry of a great horned owl visiting their deer carcass...and taking off with a leg.

Junior Duck Stamp contest.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes