love/birds: Recent Episodes
Tassy Hayden
Join us as we sing the praises of Fall Migration as well as the appearance of a new friend in our backyard.
Episode photo is of a Barred Owl.
All bird photos and sound by Bill Michalski.
Links:
Bill color-changes: https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/birds/david-sibleys-id-toolkit/david-sibley-what-the-changing-colors-of-a-songbirds-bill-mean/amp/
and
https://pages.vassar.edu/sensoryecology/bird-beak-coloration-more-than-just-a-fashion-statement/
Barred Owl urbanization: https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/science/barred-owls-move-to-burbs/
Birds Discussed: Pied-billed Grebe: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe/id
Eastern Wood Peewee: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/eastern-wood-pewee
Magnolia Warbler: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/magnolia-warbler
American Redstart: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Redstart/id
Barred Owl: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/id
Bill and Tassy have returned from their summer vacation to report on the birds they saw from the peaks around Golden and Estes Park, Colorado.
Episode photo is the Emo-J (Stellar's Jay) who performed for us in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Links:
Missouri Conservationist: https://mdc.mo.gov/conmag
New Sibley book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/215722/what-its-like-to-be-a-bird-by-david-allen-sibley/
Magpies don't like the shiny: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28797519
Hummingbird facts: https://www.kaytee.com/learn-care/wild-bird/hummingbird-facts
Birds discussed:
Stellar's Jay: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Stellers_Jay/id
Black-billed Magpie: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/black-billed-magpie
Broad-tailed Hummingbird: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Broad-tailed_Hummingbird/id
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/ruby-throated-hummingbird
Bill and Tassy recount a recent birding session at Little Creve Coeur Marsh, where they saw the requisite birds as well as an abandoned pavilion filled with...snakes.
Episode photo is a molting American Goldfinch male, taken by Bill Michalski.
Links: Bluebird boxes: https://extension2.missouri.edu/g9429 Double-crested Cormorant dries its feathers: https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/double-crested-cormorant-dries-its-feathers/
Birds discussed: Eastern Bluebird: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/eastern-bluebird American Goldfinch: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/id Great Egret: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-egret Double-crested Cormorant: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/id
Tassy and Bill record an account of their quick (due to rain) birding outing and the seemingly magic circle of conifers that yielded four new bird sightings in a matter of minutes.
Episode photo (Cedar Waxwing) and bird sounds captured by Bill Michalski
Actual Wax on the Wings: https://blog.nature.org/science/2017/02/27/waxwings-really-have-wax-wings/
Spruce Budworm: https://www.10000birds.com/spruce-budworms-and-the-warblers-that-eat-them.htm
Feminist Bird Club: https://molly-adams.com/feminist-bird-club
Species Discussed: Tennessee Warbler: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tennessee_Warbler/overview Bay-breasted Warbler: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/bay-breasted-warbler Tufted Titmouse: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/overview Cedar Waxwing: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/cedar-waxwing
Bill and Tassy come to you from beside a firepit, birds and nature all around, to discuss a whopping eight species... and tick protection.
Episode photo (Eastern Kingbird) and bird noises captured by Bill Michalski.
Our social-distancing-appropriate Air BnB: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/19979397?source_impression_id=p3_1589462383_mQl7g5fubEOPg3%2F5&guests=1&adults=1
Former St Louis Cardinals' second-base player and current third-base coach Stubby Clapp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stubby_Clapp
Eurasian Tree Sparrow print by Dan Zettwoch: http://zettwoch.storenvy.com/products/19719588-eurasian-tree-sparrow
Species discussed:
Eastern Kingbird: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Kingbird/id Blue-winged Warbler: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/blue-winged-warbler Turkey Vulture: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Turkey_Vulture/id Piliated Woodpecker: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/pileated-woodpecker Yellow-throated Vireo: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-throated_Vireo/id Indigo Bunting: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/indigo-bunting Eurasian Tree Sparrow: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Tree_Sparrow/overview Green Heron: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/green-heron
Bill and Tassy recount their latest bird sightings and then wax poetic about the benefits of birding during the Coronavirus shutdown.
Etiology of "Sitting in the Catbird Seat": https://grammarist.com/idiom/sitting-in-the-catbird-seat/
Colbert Report opening (watch to the end for a Star-Spangled Bald Eagle making a Red-tailed Hawk call): https://vimeo.com/8605534
Our friend Kevin's pictures (hawk stalking a squirrel): https://www.instagram.com/p/B_dj2cJjLRI/?igshid=11oacvk9av7de
Birds discussed:
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rose-breasted_Grosbeak/overview
Blue-headed Vireo: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/blue-headed-vireo
Red-tailed Hawk: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/overview
Baltimore Oriole: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Baltimore_Oriole/overview
Episode photo is a Baltimore Oriole, photo by Bill Michalski. All cat and bird sounds recorded by Bill Michalski.
Bill and Tassy broadcast from their backyard and are joined in the (somewhat drunken) revelry by a fiesty Northern Flicker (species featured in episode pic).
Birds discussed:
1) Barn Swallow https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/overview 2) Northern Cardinal https //www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-cardinal 3) Solitary Sandpiper https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Solitary_Sandpiper/overview 4) Prothonotary Warbler https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/prothonotary-warbler
Tassy and Bill recount their first birding venture to St Louis's Forest Park and talk about Tassy's somewhat original approach to communicating with our feathered friends.
Episode photo is a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
All bird sounds and photography recorded by Bill Michalski.
Lesley the Bird Nerd: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDjdXwT-KrFPsqOSg4KL8Nw
Birds discussed: 1) Blue Jay https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/overview 2) Ruby-crowned Kinglet https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/overview 3) Belted Kingfisher https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Belted_Kingfisher/overview 4) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue-gray_Gnatcatcher/overview
One sparrow might not make a Spring, but five sure do! Tassy and Bill recount their most recent birdwatching trip and talk about some antics of their backyard wildlife, including an update on those feuding robins from episode one.
Featured birds include: 1) White-Throated Sparrow: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-throated_Sparrow/overview 2) Fox Sparrow: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Fox_Sparrow/overview 3) Song Sparrow: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Song_Sparrow/overview 4) Chipping Sparrow: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chipping_Sparrow/overview 5) Field Sparrow: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Field_Sparrow/overview
Bill and Tassy recount the last birding outing of their vacation, an exciting trip to Tower Grove Park where they saw a few titillating new species. All bird sounds recorded by Bill Michalski.
Tassy is very excited to open a package containing her birding gear. Listen in for an introduction to field guides and binoculars as well as a review of her second birding session, assisted as always by her guide Bill. Music from "Pennies in the Water" by the Urban Blight Players.
It's time for Tassy's first birding outing. We discuss how to gear up, take a quick listen to the bird noises near our house, then talk about four of the species we saw today. Photo is of our local Great Horned Owl and an owlet about three weeks ago. All bird noises recorded by Bill, intro/outro music from "Pennies in the Water" by the Urban Blight Players
Foiled in their attempts at an exciting gear unboxing, Bill and Tassy instead focus on some birding basics, including learning about JIZZ, categories of birds, anatomy, and beak types. Theme music from "Pennies in the Water" by the Urban Blight Players.
Bill and Tassy’s vacation plans went out the window with the coronavirus epidemic, so they’re taking this opportunity to document Tassy’s process in learning a new, social-distance-appropriate activity that Bill has been practicing for a few years: birding. In our first episode, we talk shop about how she’ll get started birding while watching some fine-feathered antics in our backyard in St Louis. Featuring a guest appearance by our cat Pica; photo is of Clarence at our tray feeder, taken by Bill Michalski.