The Feathered Desert Podcast By cover art

The Feathered Desert Podcast

By: Kiersten Gibizov and Cheryl McAllister
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  • Summary

  • Backyard bird feeding is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding hobbies on earth. Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they talk all about bird feeding in the desert Southwest area of the United States. They talk birds, seed, feeders, and dealing with those pesky unwanted visitors!
    Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
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Episodes
  • More Bird Podcasts

    More Bird Podcasts
    Feb 12 2024

    Summary: This is The Feathered Desert’s final episode and Kiersten and Cheryl are talking about their recommendations for future listening.

    For our hearing-impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

    Show Notes:

    List of podcasts discussed:

    BirdNote Daliy

    Threatened

    The Science of Birds

    Songbirding

    The American Birding Podcast

    The Warblers

    Bring Back Birds

    Ten Things I Like About…

    All of these can be found on all major podcast outlets

    Further recommendations involving more animals than birds:

    Just the Zoo of Us, by Ellen and Christian Weatherford

    Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant

    Transcript

    Kiersten: Intro: Welcome to the Feathered Desert. This is our final episode, so it’s a bittersweet moment for us both. We’re sad to go, but we’re so happy that we were able to create this podcast that brought enjoyment and education to our listeners. We won’t leave you high and dry with nothing to listen to, though. In this episode we’ll recommend a few other podcasts that we enjoy listening to and we hope you’ll enjoy, as well.

    Cheryl: We’re going to start off with one of our favorites, both Kiersten and I listen to this one and we think you’ll love it too. BirdNote Daily is a three-minute podcast that posts daily episodes. This podcast is all about what’s happening in the bird world. New discoveries, how birds impact our mental health, female bird song, great bird dads. These are only some of the great topics you can hear on this show. It’s actually inspired several of our own episodes.

    Kiersten: BirdNote also produces another podcast called Threatened. This series has longer episodes and talk about threatened species of birds and everything related to that species. They talk about the research being done to help their survival. They discuss why they are threatened in the first place. It’s a fascinating podcast that shows how birds and people are linked.

    Cheryl: Another of my favorites is The Science of Birds. This one is hosted by a gentleman that loves his birds. He writes episodes about birds of all kinds and reveals the fascinating things that make them special.

    Kiersten: I just discovered this next a few weeks ago and I absolutely love it! Songbirding takes you on birding outings with the host. He records himself hiking and birding by ear in various natural spaces. I know it sounds boring and weird but he points out the bird’s song when he hears them and tells you what species they are. It’s actually really cool and very relaxing.

    Cheryl: The American Birding Podcast keeps you informed on everything that is happening in the birding world. This one focuses a bit more on the art of birding but it does have some pretty interesting interviews with prominent bird personalities and authors and scientists.

    Kiersten: The Warblers is a podcast by Birds Canada, a non-profit organization that works to protect birds and their habitat in Canada. They do talk about birds that are not often found in the Southwest but it’s all fascinating information about birds. It’s a great podcast to help you expand your knowledge of bird species.

    Cheryl: Bring Back Birds is another podcast from BirdNote that talks about the declining bird populations, but doesn’t leave you crying. It highlights programs of conservation that make the future of birds look hopeful.

    Kiersten: I can’t end this episode without a shameless plug for my new podcast called Ten Things I Like About… For those of you that can’t get enough of me, check out this podcast. It’s a ten-minute, ten-episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood creature in nature. This one doesn’t focus specifically on birds but there are bird series included. And Cheryl joins me for some episodes and will probably join me for more in the future!

    Well, that’s all for The Feathered Desert, listeners. We are signing off for the last time. We hope you’ve enjoyed our show as much as we enjoyed making it.
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    12 mins
  • Arizona’s Feathered Winter Visitors: Finches

    Arizona’s Feathered Winter Visitors: Finches
    Feb 5 2024
    Summary: Finches visit Arizona in the winter. Join Cheryl and Kiersten to find out which finches may visit us in winter. For our hearing-impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean. Show Notes: “Arizona’s Winter Finches,” by Charles Babbitt The Cactus Wren-Dition Winter 2023 Transcript Cheryl-Intro Some finch species are highly prone to irruptions-which are occasions when large numbers of birds take flight and regularly move hundreds of miles beyond their normal winter ranges in response to food scarcity especially cone and seed crop failures. Kiersten and I did a podcast last year about irruption in the bird world so check out that podcast to get more information. In the winter of 2022-2023 was such a situation when Evening Grosbeaks, Cassin’s Finches, Red Crossbills, Pine Siskins, and Lawernce Goldfinches were reported in large, unprecedented numbers at many locations around the state of Arizona. These are the nomadic winter finches of Arizona. Kiersten-Red Crossbills The Red Crossbills are the oddest of the group. When you get a close look at their bill you will see what looks like a deformed beak with the lower mandible crossing under the upper mandible. This allows the crossbill o pry open tightly closed cones to extract the seeds, an evolutionary adaption that gives them access to a unique food source. Red Crossbills are resident breeders in much of Arizona’s upper elevation forests. In flight years, however, irruptions can bring roving flocks from out of the state swelling numbers in mountainous areas and sometimes bringing these boreal invaders into the lowlands such as the Phoenix Valley. Cheryl-Pine Siskins Pine Siskins are one of the smaller winter finches often confused with the House finch. These little birds are year-round residents in Arizona’s high country they are famous for their periodic irruptions. Movements are irregular and sporadic with birds being quite common some years and entirely absent other years. Pine Siskins have sharp narrow bills they use to extract seeds from the cones of a variety of conifers. In winter, flocks are often seen at feeders, with the Lesser Goldfinch and the House finch, or in weedy fields. These birds are quite personable and a person can get quite close to them before they will take flight. Pine Siskins are recognized by their steaky breasts and the bright yellow markings on their wings. In flight they show a distinctive yellow wing stripe. Kiersten-Evening Grosbeaks Of the winter finches, Evening Grosbeaks are the most striking. These stocky birds have evolved massive cream-colored beaks which are unmistakable and which are used like nutcrackers to feed on a variety of large seeds, catkins and even small fruit pits. In northern Arizona these birds might be seen feeding in winter on Russian olive fruits and juniper berries. Male Evening Grosbeaks are yellow and black with a distinct yellow forehead and eye brow and large white patches. Females are mostly gray with a yellowish-green collar and black and white wing markings. In Arizona Evening Grosbeaks breed very locally in the high country. In the winter they form large noisy flocks. Like the other winter finches Evening Grosbeaks have irruptive years, and when they do these birds delight bird watchers and the bird feeding hobbyists by crowded around seed feeders to eat sunflower seeds. Cheryl-Cassin’s Finch Cassin’s Finches are restricted to northern Arizona mostly the regions of the Kaibab Plateau and higher elevations of the Hopi and Navajo tribal lands. In the summer you are most likely to see them in pine and mixed conifer forests on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Males are easily recognized by their bright raspberry red caps and rosy tinged faces and breasts. Females are plainer with streaked breasts. Cassin’s finches are migratory and irruptive with great variability in distribution and abundance. In some winters they can be quite common and be found in the low foothills of the phoenix Valley. When they are around, they visit finch feeders, often mixing with Pine Siskins, and other local finches. As spring warms the foothills you can spot these hardy finches gathered in trees where they sing incessantly. Kiersten-Lawrence’s Goldfinches Some years Arizona is visited by winter finches not by the north but from the west. These are Lawrence’s goldfinches, colorful birds whose breeding range is mostly the coastal ranges and foothills of the Sierra Nevada of California. There these birds occupy a variety of habitats including dry foothills, open woodlands and adjacent grasslands. In sporadic and unpredictable flight years some depart their breeding range, heading eastward in the southern part of ...
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    11 mins
  • What’s in a Name

    What’s in a Name
    Jan 29 2024
    Summary: Bird names are changing in 2024. Join Kiersten and Cheryl as they talk about a controversial decision made about bird names. For our hearing-impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean. Show Notes: “American Ornithological Society Will Change the English Names of Bird Species Named After People,” AOS Leadrership, https://americanornithology.org “These American birds and dozens more will be renamed, to remove human monikers,” by Nell Greenfield-Boyce. NPR Morning Edition, November 1, 2023. https://www.npr.org Transcript Kiersten: Intro: Quoting the bard, William Shakespeare “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I hope all you birders out there believe this quote to be true, because some changes are a’comin where common bird names are concerned. The American Ornithological Society has decided to change the English names of bird species named after people. Cheryl: In November of 2023 the AOS announced that birds named after people would be renamed. Birds such as Anna’s Hummingbird, Bullock’s Oriole, Abert’s Towhee, Gambel’s Quail and Bewick’s Wren will all be renamed. Scientists will form a multi-disciplinary committee that will seek public input when they begin renaming the birds. They will focus on birds that are in the AOS’s jurisdiction which is the United States and Canada. Beginning in 2024, they will start with 70 to 80 species. Kiersten: Why are they doing this? Quoting Dr. Collen Handel, president of the American Ornithological Society and a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, “There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today. We need a much more inclusive and engaging scientific process that focusses attention on the unique features and beauty of the birds themselves.” For example, in 2020 McGown’s Longspur, a small prairie songbird from the Great Plains, was renamed to the thick-billed Longspur. This name focuses on the characteristics of the bird instead of using the birds to honor a human being. I like this thought process. This is what the scientists are going to do with all those names. Cheryl: By doing this, the AOS is admitting that the previous process for naming birds comtained some bias. There are three guidelines they will be using for the renaming process and for future newly discovered bird species. The AOS commits to changing all English-language names of birds within its geographic jurisdiction that are named directly after people, along with other names deemed offensive and exclusionary, focusing first on those species that occur primarily within the U.S. or Canada.Kiersten: The second guideline: The AOS commits to establishing a new committee to oversee the assignment of all English common names for species within the AOS’s jurisdiction: this committee will broaden participation by including a diverse representation of individuals with expertise in the social sciences, communications, ornithology, and taxonomy.Within the scientific community, AOS will include a broader representation of scientists this go around, instead of just a bunch of old white guys. Cheryl: The third guideline: The AOS commits to actively involving the public in the process of selecting new English bird names.So, instead of just involving scientists on the naming process, the AOS will reach out to the communities where these birds are found as ask for comments and suggestions. Kiersten: Quoting Dr. Judith Scarl, AOS Executive Director and CEO, “As scientists, we work to eliminate bias in science. But there has been historic bias in how birds are named, and who might have a bird named in their honor. Exclusionary naming conventions developed in the 1800s, clouded by racism and misogyny, don’t work for us today, and the time has come for us to transform this process and redirect the focus to the birds, where it belongs.” Cheryl: We know that there will be a lot of push back from birders who have been birding for many years, but this is a necessary step to opening up birding to everyone. Because birding is for everyone. Ken Kaufman, author of many widely used bird ID guides, weighed in on this decision in a recent NPR article. He’s been using these names for the last 60 years and was initially upset by the decision because he knows some of the people these birds are named after, but he’s come around to the idea. He was quoted as saying, “It’s an exciting opportunity to give these birds names that celebrate them, rather than some person in the past.” Kiersten: I think Ken’s quote about sums it up. Remember that the only thing changing here is the name of the bird, they are still as beautiful and as fun to watch regardless of what call them.
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    8 mins
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