Born Again Bird Watcher

Ordinarily, one of my favorite passive activities during the day involves listening to National Public Radio programming. From Morning Edition to All Things Considered, I formerly enjoyed keeping up to date on what was happening around the world. However with the state of the economy continuing to exhibit a negative atmospheric pressure in a vacuum (i.e., it sucks), and war, pestilence, and politicians continuing to run amok the world over, I have recently frequently chosen to turn off the radio (please don’t misunderstand; I continue to be an ardent supporter of public broadcasting in its many formats; they just don’t have a very nice world to tell us about right now, that’s all) and tap into the more emotionally and psychologically edifying topics to be found in the world of podcasting. (more…)

When I made my first visit to England for the British Birdwatching Fair at Rutland Water, I was instantly captivated by the astonishing interest in natural history displayed by the English. When I inquired as to what was behind such a broad public interest in birds, butterflies, mammals, and a host of other naturalist topics, the answer came back time and again “Oh, well the RSPB is very active here.” (more…)

While I’m here in Seattle for a few days to represent Wingscapes at the Wild Birds Unlimited Vendor Mart 2009, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share a little “blog love.” (more…)

While listening to the most recent edition of one of my all-time favorite podcasts – Nature’s Voice, the monthly podcast of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) produced by Podcats – I was thrilled to learn that  it has been nominated for the Internet Programme Award in the 27th Sony Radio Academy Awards. For those who may not yet have taken the opportunity to listen to Nature’s Voice, this would be an excellent time in which to do so in order to discover the high levels of professionalism and effectiveness to which a nature-oriented podcast can rise. For those who may be thinking of beginning a podcast of their own or who may already produce one, Nature’s Voice will serve very well as a standard against which to measure. (more…)

Heard the latest about the Hawaiian Crow being reintroduced into the wild? Wondering about how the loss of traditional fruit orchards in England will affect the variety of wildlife that depend upon them? Know where to find the latest Nature’s Voice podcast? Then pay a visit to the Nature Blog Network Blog for my latest edition of “Nature News in Review.”