Looking at Birds: A Birding Podcast

Today my guest is a familiar one, Jeff Babson, you might remember him from a number of previous episodes, namely 7, 16, 22, 23 and 42, all of which I encourage you to check out, if you haven’t already listened to them. Jeff is an all-around naturalist who currently works for the Pima County Department of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, as the county’s Wildlife Viewing Program Specialist. He also runs his own eco-tour and environmental education company, called Sky Island Tours. You will often find Jeff leading walks that focus on birds, insects and plants. Next week, he’ll also be leading a trip at the upcoming Southeast Arizona Birding Festival to Cienega Creek.
This is the last episode in the series about backyard birds and native plants. This one will be a little different, as Jeff's background is not in horticulture, although he is quite familiar with these plants where they naturally occur in the southwest.
For more on the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival, please check out their website:
https://tucsonaudubon.org/festival/
For some pictures of the Northern Mockingbird, please checkout the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcast
Chapters

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:15 - Jeff’s Recent Southwest Wings Trip
• 04:04 - Bird of the Episode: Northern Mockingbird
• 18:24 - Native Plant: Desert Hackberry
• 25:21 - Native Plant: Desert Mistletoe
• 32:41- Jeff’s Southeast Arizona Birding Festival Experience
• 41:26 - Upcoming Events that Jeff is Involved With
• 43:26 - Outro

Thank you for listening!

My guest is Frank Mead, an Arizona native who’s spent the last 10 years in the horticulture industry. Some of his experiences include working in the Conservation Core, a branch of Americore, where he helped to build trails in national parks and cooperated with fire crews during fire season. While he doesn’t have a formal background in birding, his older sister is an avid birder and has taken him along for many birding outings.
Conveniently, right before the backyard bird segment began, a nearby Northern Cardinal began calling!
I apologize for all the cicadas in the background, as their sounds come and go throughout the episode.
Chapters

• 0:00 - Intro
• 00:59 - Some of the Birds that Visit Green Things
• 01:36 - Frank’s Background with Birds
• 05:07 - Bird of the Episode: Northern Cardinal
• 8:53 - Native Plant: Desert Ironwood / Olneya Tesota
• 16:11 - Canyon Hackberry / Cletus Reticulate
• 22:22 - Yellow Bells / Tacoma Sans
• 29:33 - About Green Things
• 31:28- About Poinsettias
• 33:08 - Frank’s Role at Green Things
• 34:25 - Upcoming Classes @ Green Things
• 35:43 - Outro

For more about Green Things, please check out:

• Their website: https://greenthingsaz.com/
• Their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenThingsAZ
• Their Instagram: @greenthingsnursery

For pictures of the Northern Cardinal and some of the native plants discussed, please check out the podcast's Instagram: @lookingatbirdspodcast
Thank you for listening!

This is part 1 of a 3-part series covering avian mating behaviors, nesting behaviors and finally their eggs. Today my guest is Jeff Babson, you might remember him from a number of other episodes, namely 7, 16, 22 and 23, all of which I encourage you to check out, if you haven’t already listened to them.
Jeff is an all-around naturalist who currently works for the Pima County Department of Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation, as the county’s Wildlife Viewing Program Specialist. He also runs his own eco-tour and environmental education company, called Sky Island Tours. You will often find Jeff leading walks that focus on birds, insects and plants. You can join Jeff on a Bird Walk at El Rio on the 1st Tuesday of every month.
Pima County Environmental Education and Interpretive Programs
https://webcms.pima.gov/cms/one.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=32567
Southwest Wings
https://www.swwings.org/
Time Stamps
00:00 - Intro
01:14 - Recent Birding at El Rio
02:38 - Spring-time Avian Visitors
04:04 - Curve-billed Thrasher in the Background
04:21 - Jeff's Time in the Bahamas
06:26 - How James Bond got his Name
07:19 - Clapper Rails, Key West Quail Doves and White-crowned Pigeons
10:53 - Tips for Visiting the Bahamas for Birding
12:32 - Book: A Guide to The Birds of the North Andros Island
15:04 - Bird of the Episode: Great Lizard Cuckoo
25:55 - Focus of the Episode: Avian Mating Behaviors
26:07 - Hummingbirds and Promiscuity
29:07 - Hermit Hummingbirds are a Little Different
31:37 - House Finches and Monogamy
33:33 - Tree Swallows and Extra Pair Copulations
34:36 - Cooper's hawks and Long-term Pair Bonds
38:41 - Harris's Hawks and Cooperative Breeding
41:08 - Summary
41:46 - Upcoming Birds Walks with Jeff and Southwest Wings
43:03 - Outro
Please check out the podcast's Instagram @lookingatbirdspodcast

For this episode, I have 8 guests! I tried something a little different and brought my setup to the Nature Expo at the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival. I asked each guest to share a memorable birding experience and how they got into birding.

This episode is a collection of advice for new birders, shared by my guests, from the first 8 episodes along with a few tidbits from myself.