The Waterthrush Podcast

The Waterthrush Podcast focuses on birds and birding, wildlife conservation, and science and skepticism.

Waterthrush Podcast #1: Illinois Elaenia

Episode 1 features content from the American Birding Association, The Nature Conservancy, and ScienceNews.

Waterthrush Podcast #2: Audubon’s Birthday

Episode 2 features the discovery of Bumblebee Gecko in New Guinea, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken festival, Star Wars vs Star Trek, Stephen Colbert’s interview with Dr. Don McLeroy, Clay-colored Sparrow window collision, my not-so-big-day, and a bit about John James Audubon.

Waterthrush Podcast #3: Question Mark?

Episode 3 includes the current “bird cast” from eBird, statements on biological diversity and a well-known fool behaving like one from The Wildlife Society, a news update on the future of cellulosic ethanol production from Nature News, and my current effort to learn more about apparent dead leaves containing punctuation marks.

Waterthrush Podcast #4: Blue Grosbeak

In addition to a little discussion about the odd habits of Blue Grosbeaks, Episode 4 contains a report from the spring meeting of the Oklahoma Ornithological Society, some information on the World Series of Birding, news from the Playa Lakes Joint Venture, and comments on the legality of hunting bigfoot in Texas.

Waterthrush Podcast #5: Cryosphere-cap Seeps

The 5th episode of the Waterthrush Podcast is short and sweet.  Topics include the return of adventure birding to Attu, climate change implications from the release of methane from Arctic permafrost, and, in his own words, a description of John James Audubon’s experiments to determine the olfactory powers of vultures.  Do vultures smell?  Tune in to find out.

Waterthrush Podcast #6: Warbling Vireo

In this week’s episode, we travel to Boomer Lake in Stillwater to hear a Warbling Vireo singing while sitting on its eggs.  Audubon and Brewster provide some historical perspective on that odd behavior.  Other topics include the conservation of ArCtic breeding birds and we’ll ask that age-old question:  Will we ever clone a mammoth?

Waterthrush Podcast #7: Don’t Change That Oil

Episode 7 includes the Alliance for Zero Extinction, the growing disconnect between Glacier Lilies and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, and we probably don’t need to change our oil as often as we think.  Those stories plus the rich, throaty warbler of Purple Martins and a Public Service Announcement warning of the danger of Gray Mouse Lemurs.

Waterthrush Podcast #8: Way to go, Carl!

Congratulations are in order for a young man who’s reached an important birding milestone.  In addition, Episode 8 stresses Hawaiian bird conservation, addresses the pseudoscience of homeopathy, and takes us us on a sobering vicarious journey to examine the thickness of Arctic sea ice this summer.

Waterthrush Podcast #9: It’s a Dry Heat

Episode 9 confirms the worldwide dearth in mermaids, highlights the risks of feng shui, and provides some potentially good news for Snow Leopards in Afghanistan. In the first interview for the podcast, I sit down with two young birders to find out what makes them tick.

Waterthrush Podcast #10: Uppies on the Move!

Sustainable woods for high-end guitars, Upland Sandpipers, Mississippi Kites, and the ethereal bellows of Bowhead Whales are all addressed in Episode 10.  Enjoy!

Waterthrush Podcast #11: 84 to nothing?

The 2012 college football season kicks off in a big way for some, but I’m distracted by fall migration – or the lack thereof.  Other distractions include naked people on a rocky beach in Canada, NASA’s “Curiosity” rover on Mars, the caged-bird trade, and a startling new estimate on what our cats are doing to our birds.

Waterthrush Podcast #12: The Red-breasted Nuthatch Invasion

Now that autumn is upon us, Episode 12 features an ongoing irruption of boreal birds into the Lower 48 States.  I also sat down for an interview with a bright young graduate student charting her own course of research on a critically endangered Asian eagle, and I illustrate what the Long Island Medium is really up to.

Waterthrush Podcast#13: Bigfoot DNA?

A press release claims that a paper still in peer review is about to be published, and that it will prove the reality of “bigfoot” as descended from the love children of human women and males from some otherwise unknown primate species about 15,000 years ago.  Reality-based stories include actual hybrids of grizzlies and polar bears, Ken Burns’ documentary The Dust Bowl, and advice on how to identify Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned  hawks.

Waterthrush Podcast#14: Vulture Soup

Spring is springing in central Oklahoma, but the real stories of interest include a newly discovered sea monster from the Triassic Period, the use of Turkey Vulture soup in traditional medicine, and the scourge of predatory cats.

Waterthrush Podcast #15:  Green Again

After a long hiatus, it’s good to take some time out to celebrate the sounds of water, and birders.  Stories include the search for Britain’s most endangered butterfly and the search for the next great generation of scientists.

Waterthrush Podcast #16: Rufous-necked Wood-Rail

Hear how the very moment of a new bird record for North America was caught on video, learn about the use of the Internet to engage in wildlife trafficking, and be inspired by author Scott Weidensaul’s plea to stop trying to attach dollar figures to birds.

Waterthrush Podcast #17: Grackle-lackin’

In this podcast, I share articles on the federal government shutdown and its effects on rural communities, the futility of Great-tailed Grackle control efforts, a step forward in the reduction of lead ammunition in California, and a new study’s conclusion that it was women painting those rhinos, mammoths, and lions on the caves in France in Spain.

Waterthrush Podcast #18: Defying Gravity

In the last episode for 2013, I celebrate the 40th birthday of the Endangered Species Act, grouse about the state of scientific literacy in the US, and address the Dallas Safari Club’s controversial Black Rhino hunt auction.

Waterthrush Podcast #19: A Field Guide to Field Guides

This episode includes celebrations of fallen heroes, migratory birds, and migratory fish.  I also share my thoughts on how to use a field guide – much more important than which one you use –  and I share a cautionary tale for summer vacationers who rely too much on their GPS.

Waterthrush Podcast #20: Little Martha
In a reflection on the demise 100 years ago today of the Passenger Pigeon, I read a New York times op-ed published today, Sep. 1 2014, by executive director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, John Fitzpatrick.

Waterthrush Podcast #21: Soy nectar?

How does sweet taste to hummingbirds?  Also, what would happen if we were in the midst of one of the greatest extinction events in the history of our planet, and no one noticed? In a related question, what if no one could ever hear any of Mozart’s music, ever again?

Waterthrush Podcast #22: Halloween Special – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

I hope you enjoy this reading of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, just in time for Halloween.

Waterthrush Podcast #23: Warbnado?

Recent research suggests that Golden-winged Warblers detected an impending tornado and skipped town to avoid it two days before it hit; I’m skeptical.  In other news, do you know who disperses ginseng seeds? You will. Finally, budget cuts mean more wild horses on the western rangelands, but that’s not a good thing.

Waterthrush Podcast #24: FOY Season

Your birding friends keep posting FOY this and FOY that.  Now you’ll know what they mean.  Also, we’re going to make science better than ever, and here’s how.