Nate and Evan sit down with Sparky Stensaas, founder and director of Friends of Sax Zim Bog, to talk about the upcoming Tiny Bird Art Auction. The auction starts Thursday, January 25th and ends Sunday, January 28th. The auction can be found at https://saxzim.org/events/2023-tiny-bird-art/ Thank you for supporting the Friends of Sax Zim Bog…

Today Evan and Nate sit down a go birding with Andrew Farnsworth. Andrew Farnsworth is currently a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Avian Population Studies at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Andrew began birding at age 5 and quickly developed his long-standing fascinations with bird migration. His current research efforts advance the us…

This week with sit down with Colin Dobson to discuss birds, birdings and his new book Field Guide to Hotspots and Birds in Illinois An avid Illinois birder, Colin has seen over 385 species of birds over the past decade in IL. He has earned 6 Illinois Big Years. Colin recently authored a book about hotspots and birds in Illinois, Field Guide to Hots…

Nate & Evan are glad to be back in the studio! In this episode they preview what is to come in 2024. Every episode they will be discussing possible names for birds. They share their travels for 2023 and plans for 2024. Join in as they prepare for the best year in birding podcast to come.By Evan Smith & Nate Beccue

Today, Evan and Nate go birding with Tyler Funk & Bob Dolgan. Birding patches, or hot spots, often have a specific area that has a name. Montrose has the Magic Hedge. Champaign/Urbana has the Magic Bridge. Out here in rural Illinois we have the Magic Stump. What is the magic stump? Is it actually magical? Do bird magically appear? Well, kind of....…

Migration, Migration, Migration! Today Evan and Nate sit down with the Winter Finch Forecaster Tyler Hoar to discuss what birds might be visiting us this winter from the North. First, Evan discusses the results of the recent Illinois Big Sit competition. Who knew that a birding competition could be filled with so much friendly competition, rivalry,…

Nate and Evan sit down with Annette Prince this week to discuss the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors (CBCM) and also the newly passed Bird Safe Buildings Act. Annette Prince has been involved with CBCM since 2003 and the director since 2005. She guides us through the history and mission of this great group. What does a normal morning look like walki…

Today Nate and Evan sit down with Aerin Tedesco to talk everything BIG (in Evan's Monster Truck announcer voice). It's the beginning of migration, so we discuss early migrants at the top of the show. What are we seeing currently. First we discuss Aerin's county big year. Recently Aerin smashed the Champaign County big year record. Not only smashed …

Nate and Evan head back to the studio for the beginning of season 2 with a spring recap. Life has been busy for them lately, but they are happy to talk birds. Over the winter Nate played a very elaborate and lengthy prank on Evan. He goes over the harrowing details of this plot. Evan talks about his trip to Florida and all the amazing birds he saw.…

Today, Evan & Nate go birding with Erik Bruhnke Like most birders, Evan and Nate often times discuss what it would be like to not have professional jobs and be able to spend all of our time birding. We wanted to sit down with someone that has taken their passion for birding and made it his career. We first crossed path with Erik at the Sax Zim Bog …

Today Nate and Evan go birding with Isoo O'Brien. We finally get a chance to sit down with Isoo O'Brien, an Evanston, Illinois native who recently set the Cook County Big Year record. If that wasn't impressive enough, Isoo is a high school senior. 2020 was not a normal year. Most people will probably never forget it. It was especially memorable for…

Today Evan & Nate go birding with Nikki Wayment from HawkWatch International. We begin by discussing birds we have both seen this week including the snow bunting Nate saw and the long eared owl that Evan saw. What is HawkWatch international? The mission of HawkWatch International is to conserve our environment through education, long-term monitorin…

Today Nate & Evan go birding with David Yeany, Avian Ecologist for the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC). David has been studying winter movements of Evening Grosbeaks in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) for the past few years. We discuss the 5 major questions in his study. why do evening …

Today, Evan and Nate are joined by Dr. Given Harper from Illinois Wesleyan University to discuss his current research on Red-tailed Hawks (RTHA). We first caught wind of Given when Piatt County residents began calling us telling us that a person is trapping Red-tailed Hawks in our area. We immediately knew we had to find out who this was. After a s…

Today, Nate and Evan have the honor of sitting down with former Piatt County resident and long time friend, Dr. Vince Slabe. While they have many great memories from high school and college, during their adult lives they have all had found birds to be a common area of interest. Dr. Slabe has done extensive research studying lead toxicity in raptors…

This week, Evan and Nate sit down and recap their 4 day birding trip to Sax Zim Bog in Minnesota. Evan & Nate met fellow birders and bird club members Aerin Tedesco and Scott Judd for the adventure of a lifetime. What lifers did they see? What were some of the birding highs...and lows of the trip. One of the lows was the temperature, which was -33 …

Today, Nate and Evan sit down with Sparky Stensaas, founder and director of Friends of Sax Zim Bog. Located outside of Duluth Minnesota, Sax Zim Bog is a dream destination for winter birders from all over the world. It just so happens that Evan & Nate are heading there next week to chase some lifers. They begin by talking about birds they are curre…

Nate and Evan are joined by Zak Sutton again trying to stump the dynamic duo. Play along and see if you can ID the bird Zak is describing by the field marks. Happy Listening and Happy BirdingBy Evan Smith & Nate Beccue

Nate and Evan are joined again today by the founder of Finch Research Network, Matthew Young. Thanks to Matt's contractual agreement with the finches, we had a spectacular year in the lower 48 states viewing all sorts of finches. Today Matt begins by giving us an update on the winter finches. Did anything happen that wasn't expected? Did anything n…

Zak joins Evan and Nate to see if he can stump the dynamic duo in their quest to identify birds. Will Evan & Nate go 0-2? Will you, the listener, be able to figure out what bird Zak is watching? Play along in the birding exercise. Happy listening and happy birding.By Evan Smith & Nate Beccue

We know what you are thinking. What is a bird hunting group doing on a podcast about BIRDS?!? Well, Nate and Evan sit down with Jared Wiklund, public relations specialist with Pheasants Forever to answer that question. What is Pheasants forever? Some people may have the idea that it is just a bunch of rednecks with guns out shooting birds to the br…

This week, Evan and Nate get a call from our birder in the field, Zak Sutton. In this short 5 minute exercise in birding, Zak describes the habitat, characteristics, general impression, size and shape of the bird. He takes questions about the bird and Nate and Evan try to figure out what bird Zak is looking at. Can Evan or Nate figure out the ident…

Nate and Evan sit down and chat with Chicago native Nathan Goldberg and discuss his recent record breaking 2020 Illinois Big Year. Also, Evan serenades Nathan with a bird love song that he wrote. First, Nate gives us a rundown on the recent Piatt County Christmas Bird Count, tally, and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow that was seen, including ID tips. Nat…

It's that time of year when rarities start showing up to odd areas and people lose their minds. It's during these times that birders and photographers make poor choices that often have negative consequences. The negative consequences affect the bird, the birders around them, and the birding community. So today Nate and Evan sit down with Greg Neise…

Today, Nate and Evan reach out to Davin Lopez and Anne Lacy to talk Whoopers (Whooping Cranes). They probably don't use that term in the field, but Evan thought it was seemed appropriate so he went with it. Both Davin and Anne are involved with the reintroduction of Whooping Cranes (WHCR) into the wild. In 1941 there were only 21 WHCR left in the e…

Nate and Evan were both really excited for this interview. This week, they sit down via zoom to chat with Denver Holt, founder of the Owl Research Institute. This week Evan spotted a Rough-Legged Hawk in Piatt County and Denver gives some fabulous tips for ID'ing these birds. As year round residents in Montana, Denver sees these birds often. Denver…

Today, Nate and Evan sit down with Sara Johnson, Vice President of the Champaign County Audubon Society (CCAS) and Janet Jokela, acting regional Dean of the Illinois School of Medicine, volunteer, and current board member of the CCAS. This episode is dedicated to the Christmas Bird Count (CBC). We sit down, via zoom, and discuss CCAS. How did Sara …

Today's guest may be one of the last people to ever hear the call of an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in the wild. We sit down with Dr. Bernard Master for our holiday special. Nate and Evan start by discussing birds they are seeing. On a recent trip, Evan encountered some swans a swimming. ID tips for the Tundra, Trumpeter and Mute swan we covered. Addit…

Today, Evan and Nate sit down with Matt Young, President and Founder of the Finch Research Network (FiRN), to talk finches. They begin by discussing birds they are currently seeing. This week Evan went twitching to find a Gyrfalcon and stumbled across a Great Black Backed Gull in Central Illinois. Nate went looking for the Ivory Billed Woodpecker a…

Today, Nate and Evan have the privilege of sitting down with Tyler Hoar. Tyler is a freelance biologist and ecologist who recently took the reins of the Winter Finch Forecast. What an incredible first year to do the finch forecast! Tyler discusses his methodology for developing the forecast. We begin by talking about the the overall factors contrib…

Today, Nate & Evan sit down with Bryan Reiley, and avian ecologist from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bryan sits down to discuss his research that involves CRP and CREP land in Illinois. His fascinating research involves counting the species at the sites, then using the samples to estimate population density within a given area. G…

This week Nate & Evan sit down to chat with local birder Aerin Tedesco. Aerin originally hails from the Great Lakes region (Buffalo area/Chicago), but recently moved to Central Illinois. What an amazing week for birds in Illinois! Aerin reached her 300th bird on her Illinois list this year. We discussed chasing Magnificent Frigate birds, Little Gul…

Nate and Evan go twitching to find a Sabine's Gull at Clinton Lake SRA in Clinton, Illinois. Along with fellow birders Colin Dobson (who has been on the show before), Andy and Aerin they locate the Sabine's Gull and other species. During the episode, Nate and Evan discuss the birds they found and some ID tips. Keep in mind that neither of them are …

It's time to clean out the inventory for the first annual STICKER GIVEAWAY!!! Have you always wanted your very own Allerton Park Bird Cub sticker FOR FREE? Listen to this episode to figure out how to be in the exclusive ABC sticker club. What is the Pull of Zugunruhe? Is it a strange disease? Could it be a monster that lives under your bed? Is it t…

Evan and Nate head to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus to interview young birder Colin Dobson. Colin is a sophmore at the UofI, avid birder, author, and meteorologist for the birding community. He is wise beyond his 19 years and an amazing advocate for the birding community. We begin by discussing the Kinglet slam, which is the Ruby C…

What is a Flopperty Dingle Hopper you ask? The more formal name would be a SPUH. What is a SPUH you ask? You are going to have to listen to the show to find out. Evan also surprises Nate with a quiz about birding lingo. Everything from a CMF, to the Patagonia Picnic Table Effect. They also spend time discussing some of the birds of the week and inf…

Do you remember when everyone on Facebook and Instagram were taking pictures in a field of sunflowers? We do and we wanted to know more! So Nate and Evan tracked down Dr. Ken Dallmeir with Prairie Melody Seeds to talk about his organic sunflower fields. Prairie Melody is located in Cerro Gordo, Illinois and offers organic bird seed and gluten free …

Nate and Evan travel to Friends Creek Conservation Area to go birding during the fall migration. Nestled between Cisco and Argenta, this gem of a park offers uncrowded trails, open meadows and a terrific campground. Plus, there was some great birding. During the 1.5 mile hike Evan and Nate tallied over 30 species of birds, including the Blackpoll W…

Nate and Evan head over to Decatur, Illinois to sit down and speak with Dr. Travis Wilcoxen from Millikin University. Travis discusses the bird feeder research he has been involved in over the years. This research includes some of the positives and negatives of using bird feeders. Travis also discusses some of current Nuthatch research that is bein…

Another week of birding with Evan and Nate leads to another round of misadventures. This week's adventure leads Evan and Nate to the Mac McGee waterfowl area on Lake Shelbyville...TWICE! During those times Evan forgets all of his recording equipment, a romantic tryst forms in the woods, and there was an Indiana Jones like encounter with a huge snak…

This week Nate and Evan catch up on the last two weeks of birding. Life has been pretty hectic and crazy for the both of them at the end of summer but are glad to be back behind the microphone. Evan discusses his recent failed birding trip to the Emiquon Nature Refuge. It was a bust to say the least. They also discuss fish crow ID tips. Nate talks …

Nate & Evan podcast live from the Diversified Farm at Allerton Park today. As a common nesting spot for Barn Swallow, Evan provides ID tips for the Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Northern Rough Winged Swallow, and Bank Swallow. All of these swallows can be found at the same time on a power line. Nate provides helpful hints on how to rem…

Nate & Evan travel to Scovill Zoo in Decatur, Illinois to talk with Amanda Huy and her role at Scovill Zoo. We discuss Caspian Terns, Yellow-Legs, and Lesser Sandpipers. We talk about the AZA's role in playing matchmaking of animals, some of the challenges in taking care of birds in enclosures, and for the first 15 minutes were harassed by a Howler…

This week Nate & Evan sit down with Allerton Park Natural Areas Manager Alex Lourash. We spending time discussing birds, what the role of Natural Area Manager does, managing the creek cams for Allerton Park Bird Club, and most importantly the possibility of marriage in Alex's future. This episode was recorded live from Allerton Park, so sit back, r…

Nate & Evan are joined today by Dr. Ken Otter from the University of Northern British Columbia. Dr. Otter is a professor of biology whose recent article on the changing vocalizations of the White-throated Sparrow has taken the birding world by storm. Additionally we discuss some of his other research regarding mountain chickadees along the urban/ru…

Nate & Evan head over to the Illinois Raptor Center outside of Decatur, Illinois to talk birding with Jacques Nuzzo. During this episode they discuss Jacques trip to Sanibel Island, Florida, current ongoings at the Illinois Raptor Center, Screech Owls, Barn Owls, a couple really great dad joke zingers from Evan, and Ospreys.…

Evan & Nate are joined by Greg Neise in outside of the Sunken Gardens in Allerton Park. Greg Neise is Web Master for the ABA, helps manage social media, sits in on the ABA Podcast on occasion, and of course, is a fanatical birder. In today's episode we touch on how Covid-19 has impacted birding in Chicago, Greg's new Backyard Birding essay, a BIG D…

Nate & Evan travel to White Oak Park in Bloomington, Illinois to track down the Black Bellied Whistling duck, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Least Bittern. They also discuss the recent release of the Duck Stamp, Great Egret, Belted Kingfisher and Northern Rough-winged Swallow. During recording they have a 3 year old special guest drop by to discuss c…

Nate & Evan discuss the Common Nighthawk, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Oven Bird, Great Horned Owl, and Wood Thrush. Additionally they talk about what got them interested in birding as well as their "spark" bird. This episode was recorded live in the evening from the North End of Allerton Park.By Evan Smith & Nate Beccue

Nate and Evan hike into the Upper Sangamon River Land & Water Reserve to discuss the birds that can currently be found in this habitat. The birds discussed include the Prairie Warbler, Bell's Vireo, Blue Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole and Willow Flycatcher.By Evan Smith & Nate Beccue