In this episode I’m joined by Sarah, a master of avian sciences (birds) and a naturalist. Sarah is an avid birder and shares her tips and tricks as well as some of her favorite birding adventures.
Naturalist: an expert in or student of natural history.
Oxford Languages
You can listen to the episode on Anchor, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Radio Public, or Spotify. The transcript for this episode is available as a pdf here:
Cool places and birds mentioned in this episode:
Safari in Tanzania (Sunbirds)
Grand Canyon (California Condor)
A type of Violetear hummingbird, Violetear hummingbirds can be found in Costa Rica but this specific one might not be. 
Resplendent Quetzal
Costa Rica – Monte Verde Rainforest Preserve Oil bird, Resplendant Quetzal, hummingbirds
Oil birds cave 
Oil birds taken on Sarah’s phone through binoculars
Trinadad Ara Right Nature Center- oil bird
Dream Trip
marine iguana doing its thing
Galapagos Island Marine Iguana
Tools of the Trade
Binoculars cheat sheet: magnification by lens size in millimetres. 8-10 for the first number by 3 times that first number. Usually price range is $100-$150 (unless you find them on sale) And best to buy in person.
Birding books can be arranged by color or taxonomic claffication.
taxonomy: orderly classification of plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships
Merriam Webster
Sarah’s favorite birding books are The Sibley Guides which are illustrated rather than photographs. You can check out a couple of the Sibley general guides here. Please note that there are many Sibley guides for specific classifications of birds as well as based on location. I picked two books but there are also guides and for the most part, they are North America specific. The link will let you support local bookstores.
Birding Resources
National Audubon Society this is a group in North America that looks to protect and educate about birds and their locations. You can easily search for one near you if you’re in North America, or for where you’re traveling to find out more about the birds in the area and maybe join a birding group for your visit. They also work in partnership with International organizations. So it’s a good place to start for all your birding dreams. Or if you have a love of birds or conservation.
Birding Pal– This is essential birding with a local expert. In some cases it’s done via volunteer work, so proceed with caution. As of 2017 there were concerns raised about lack of security/vetting process. I do not know if this has been updated or if more security/vetting processes have been put in place. But this is essentially like Meetup, so treat it with similar precautions. It does seem to be available, to an extent, internationally.
Want to do the quiz Sarah did? You can here
Do you have a favorite bird? Tell me about it and any favorite birding experience on twitter @wanderlustpod
Below is an embedded podcast feed. The most recent episode will be at the top. To listen to the episode mentioned in this post you are looking for episode 4: A Bird’s Eye View. Otherwise you can listen at any of the above mentioned and linked places.
