The latest episode of the American Birding Podcast is ready to go, and this time it’s all about our 2017 Bird of the Year, Ruddy Turnstone.
I share a conversation I had with scientist, author, and 2017 BOY artist Sophie Webb, whose image of Ruddy Turnstones will be featured on the cover of the February 2017 issue of Birding magazine. We discuss turnstones, art, and what she looks for in her role as a Young Birder of the Year judge.
We also want to hear your Ruddy Turnstone stories! One of the wonderful things about this bird is that you can find them just about anywhere in the world. We’d love to collect some stories to share in a future episode of the American Birding Podcast, so please share them here, or in our various social media channels.
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Thanks for listening!
The American Birding Podcast brings together staff and friends of the American Birding Association as we talk about birds, birding, travel and conservation in North America and beyond.
Join host Nate Swick every other Thursday for news and happenings, recent rarities, guests from around the birding world, and features of interest to every birder.
Another great podcast! I’ve really started to look forward to these every week. Keep up the good work :D
Ruddy Turnstone story:
Back in September 2001, just a few days into a 2-week birding field trip encompassing VA, MD, DE & NJ, I paid a visit to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel visitor center. Upon returning to my car I spied, among the expected gulls scavenging in the parking lot, a Ruddy Turnstone which seemed to have developed a taste for french fries, calmly picking up those spilled or intentionally dropped onto the pavement. I had to smile, but I also hoped it would return to the relative safety of the bridge’s rocky abutments…and a healthier diet.
That’s great, John. Thanks for sharing. This is very similar to my experiences with these birds. They’re certainly fearless.
I’ve been enjoying these podcasts. I’m going to share my Ruddy Turnstone story, but Sophie Webb told her own story and it was virtually identical to mine! I grew up on the Texas coast, so I saw Ruddy Turnstones frequently. I gained a new appreciation for them when I spent three summers (1990 through 1992) doing bird surveys around the Prudhoe Bay oilfield on Alaska’s North Slope. The turnstones were only found along a very narrow band of wet saline tundra near the beach, but they were hard to miss because they were so noisy and aggressive. Just like Ms.… Read more »
I’m liking these podcasts but have one suggestion. Please look into adjusting your loudness levels during mastering. The bumpers can be quite harsh when on headphones and I sometimes have to adjust the volume from segment to segment.
Thanks for the heads up, Erik. We will make an effort to look at that in the next one.
They’re Vampires! On Kure, in the extreme Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, I observed them landing on Hawaiian Monk Seals and pecking open old wounds, from shark bites, and drinking the blood, thereby keeping the wound from healing completely.
I enjoyed this very much so. keep them coming, When i camp on the Delaware I love observing the birds. Kayaking App