Pluff Mud Perspectives: We Are Listening to "Talkin' Birds!"

Regular readers:  Do you remember this former banner for the blog?  It is a hint ..... Read on!  

 Sunday morning and it is too hot to bird -- so what do you do?  You can get your birding-fix by  listening to "Talkin' Birds."  And, no, I do not mean go outside to listen to morning birdsong.  Remember, it is hot!  You will not hear too much birdsong in August anyway since the breeding season is essentially over.  No, I am referring to the radio show, "Ray Brown's Talkin' Birds."   The show is broadcast live every Sunday morning at 9:30 am originating from South Shore, Massachussetts.  Ray Brown hosts the show and brings in a number of birding experts in an interactive format to cover such topics as different bird species and their behavior, attracting and feeding backyard birds, birding destinations & events, birders, bird photography .... pretty much everything bird-related.  The show is quite informative and fun as they always feature a "Mystery Bird" contest at the end of the broadcast.

Unfortunately, if you are out birding on Sunday mornings, as many of us are, you are likely to miss the broadcast, especially down here in the Lowcountry of SC.  Sadly, the show is not carried by any of our local stations.  They do broadcast it live on the internet thankfully which is how I heard show no. 587 this morning in the sweet coolness of my living room.  More good news:  you can listen to archived broadcasts from their website or even download podcasts to listen to when and where you would like.  In fact, I have to thank birding buddy David McLean for reminding me of the existence of this radio show.  This summer, David and I took a birding road trip and while driving, we listened to a couple of podcasts that he had downloaded onto his phone.  Each time, I knew the answer to the Mystery Bird contest and thought, "Darn, I should listen to this show live sometime and participate in the contest."

So, on this too-hot-to-bird morning (low temperature this morning was in the low 80s),  I listened to the live show!  It was a great show with an interesting piece on research on birds that sleep on the wing.  They also talked about the "Little Egret," a species (similar to our Snowy Egret) that is commonly seen in Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australia.  These days, they are rare visitors to our North Atlantic coast in North America.  In fact, one has been visiting the Maine coast regularly every summer for the last few years.  I actually have seen one ... but not on this side of the ocean.  I was in France 6 years ago when I saw it.

Little Egret, Parc-du-Marquenterre, Baie de Somme, France -- July 2010

 And as for the Mystery Bird contest, I did attempt an answer on the show.  Did I win?  Well, you are going to have to listen to  show #587 to find out!  Enjoy!

So, my birding friends, next time you cannot get out to bird on a Sunday morning, you can get that birding fix by listening to Ray Brown's Talkin' Birds!   Or, download a few podcasts and listen to them in the car with your fellow birders on road trips, like David & I did.  It's fun and informative!  Thank you Ray Brown for Talkin' Birds!