In Episode 1, we talk with Mike Jacobs, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and avid birder, whose column "Always in Season" has delighted readers and bird lovers in the Great Plains for over 40 years.

We met up with Mike at Kelly's Slough National Wildlife Refuge, which shares ground, water, and air space with the Grand Forks Air Force Base and supports migratory waterfowl and shore birds in North Dakota.

Listen to the episode to hear Mike compose a "prairie symphony" with birdsong. Listen to what happens when our conversation is interrupted by a mating pair of bald eagles. And share the episode with all your friends who will be inspired by Mike's infectious passion for the birds and landscapes of the northern Great Plains.

This podcast is supported by a generous grant from the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust. For more info or to contact us, check us out on the Common Ground: A Prairie Podcast YouTube channel and on our website at walshcounty1938.com

The podcast cover art depicts a western meadowlark on a mural in Hoople, North Dakota, painted by the talented Melodie Alt of Barefaced Studio in Grafton, ND.

This episode was produced by Crista Fiala. Theme music provided by Matthew Connolly.

#birds #NorthDakota #GreatPlains #conservation #MikeJacobs #nationalwildliferefuge #migratorybirds #waterfowl