The Badgerland Birding Podcast

I talk with Gary and Noah Steinberg about breaking the Florida Big Year record, Florida birding, and more!Bios provided by Noah Steinberg: Gary Steinberg is a long-time Buddhist meditation practitioner and teacher, as well as an avid birder. He teaches silent meditation, dialogue practices, and other forms of Buddhist study. Gary began birding in the mid-90s and moved to Florida in 2022. In 2023, Gary and his son Noah undertook a Florida big year together. Gary and Noah ended 2023 first and second in the state for the year, setting a new Florida Big Year record. That record fell the following year. In 2025 they did it all again, pushing the record to 421. Noah Steinberg is a tour leader with American Birding Guides, a co-founder and administrator of the Florida Birding Discord, the creator of rare bird alert group chats for Orange and Osceola Counties, and an eBird reviewer for Orange County, Florida and the High Seas (Northwest Atlantic Ocean). Having taken on the role of ‘Big Year Manager’, Noah joined his dad in making a run at the Florida record while maintaining detailed spreadsheets to plan and document the year in whole. Just shy of his dad, Noah observed 417 species in 2025. However, Gary and Noah understand this wasn’t an individual achievement, but a communal one. Birders across the state contributed by finding birds, showing up at chases, sending tips, and offering friendship. Without the community of Florida birders, it wouldn't have been possible.

I talk with Brian Wrightsman, content creator for "Feathersnap" which makes smart bird feeders. Here all about how they went about designing one, what to look for in a good smart bird feeder, and more!

I talk with Phil Mitchell, founder of the app "Larkwire", a fun tool to learn bird sounds. We go through the app, test it out, and show how you can use it to be a better birder! Download the app here, there is a free version and options to pay for more (We do earn a commission from qualifying purchases): https://insertaffiliate.link/950kUSEZzocpd8CaOliJsm5j4Q63/BADGERLAND

Jeremiah Oden joins the podcast to discuss his love of digi-scoping, doing a global owl big year, and how he got started birding.

Hannah Toutonghi discusses her work with one of the most fascinating owls in the country; the Northern Hawk Owl. She also delves into her birding origin story.

I talk with Selina (@selinasatlas) about her Big Year in Berlin, Germany, the German birding scene, and more!Follow Selina on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@selinasatlasInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/selinasatlas/

Sally Wildrick of Best Life Birding talks about her birding journey from past, to present, to future

I talk with Garrett Rhyne from the American Bird Conservancy about innovations in bird tracking using Motus technology, Swainson's Warblers, and more! Check out the Motus website here: https://motus.org/

We talk about our annual "First of the Year Birding Challenge", as well as an all black Great Egret in Louisiana that has been the topic of debate.

We talk with Nigel and Kayleigh from the Backyard Aviary Adventures about birding in the UK, their channel, differences between the US and the UK, and more! Check out their channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@UCttsXR6K5jNFphVesZge2Wg

David Brown of Lyco Birds joins the show to discuss birding in Delaware, hawk watching, and more!

We talk about what we've been up to recently with 1 hour birding challenges, philosophical and ethical ideas about birding, who we've had on the podcast and more. Thanks for sticking with us for 100 episodes!

We talk with Everett Wery of The Birding Voayge YouTube channel about his channel and his new game called "The Birding Game". Check it out at thebirdinggame.com!

I talk with musician and artist Tommy Siegel about his "Extremely Accurate Birds" artwork, his band Jukebox the Ghost, his songs incorporating bird vocalizations, and more!Links to Tommy's work (Note: While many of Tommy’s comics are family-friendly, some do contain adult themes): https://tommysiegel.net/

Birder, author, and podcaster Sparky Stensaas discusses his recent birding adventures and what's on tap for the Sax-Zim Bog this winter.

I talk with Harish Thangaraj, who was part of the team that re-discovered the Jerdon’s Courser, one of the rarest birds in the world. The Jerdon's Courser is a mysterious species that was once thought to be extinct, but was then rediscovered in 1986 in India. After that, it vanished again for nearly 20 years. That is, until a team of researchers — including Harish Thangaraj — found it once more, and in a completely new area. Today, Harish joins me to share the incredible story of how they made that discovery, what it was like in the field, and what it means for the future of this critically endangered bird.Learn more at Harish's blog here: https://harryfication.wordpress.com/2025/09/04/dream-come-true-jerdons-courser-discovered-outside-lankamalla-after-125-years-on-the-first-day-of-our-trip/

I talk with Jed Aplaca and Pete Deichmann from Houston Audubon about their efforts to buy a new section of land to preserve in Bolivar Flats as well as the Red-vented Bulbul population in Houston, and more! Help preserve the flats here: https://houstonaudubon.org/conservation/protectbolivar.htmlLearn more about the flats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CO0cTfePPMhttps://youtu.be/zTJPxSK8MIY

I catch up with Will Huggins to here about his most recent trip to Panama to find tropical bird species including the elusive Harpy Eagle.

We talk with Ken Behrens of the Naturally Adventurous podcast about our top birding destinations in the United States, how to dip your toes into international travel, and what it's like living in Madagascar! Learn more about Ken and the podcast here: https://www.ken-behrens.com/naturally-adventurous-podcast

On his album titled "Lifer", musician Aaron Grych incorporates bird songs that you may be familiar with, and encourages people to listen more closely to the world around them. Listen to the album here: https://quokkaband.bandcamp.com/album/lifer