The Feathered Desert Podcast Kiersten Gibizov and Cheryl McAllister

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 enjoye

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 ar

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 proces

Summary: Now that you know what MOTUS is and what it does, let’s talk about how is helps Arizona birds. Join Cheryl and Kiersten to find out how MOTUS is helping some Arizona birds.
 
For our hearing-impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
 
Show Notes:
“Desert Deliverance”, by Margo Rosenbaum, Audubon Magazine Fall 2023, pg 18-19
“Home Away From Home”, by Daniel Grossman, Audubon Magazine Fall 2022, pg 30-35
“The Mysterious Decline of the American Kestrel,” by Jillian Mock, Audubon Magazine Spring 2023, pg 20-27
“Keeping Up with the Grosbeaks,” by Zoe Grueskin, Audubon Magazine Winter 2023, pg 15
Transcript
 
Cheryl-Intro:
            Recently, we posted a podcast about MOTUS.  What it is-radio tracking system-more towers being placed in Arizona, one possibly at the Gilbert Riparian Water Ranch.  I wanted to revisit this because I found actual research studies using MOTUS that has an impact on Arizona birds.  It is exciting to see the impacts of this new technology and how it is advancing research in bird studies.
Keirsten: Purple Martins
            If you have lived on the east coast or in the mid-west of U.S. you have seen Purple Martins, and the colonial-style bird houses that they like to nest in.  A little back story about this bird, Purple Martins are insectivorous (insect eaters) which has made them vulnerable to the pesticides we use on our yards.  So, their numbers were really in decline here in the U.S. until citizen science got involved.  People who enjoyed seeing the birds and understood their importance to local insect control started placing the correct nest boxes these birds like.  These citizen scientists monitored the boxes, eliminated pesticide use on their properties, kept cats indoors etc.
 Over time the populations of Purple Martins bounced back in the Untied States.  So why are we talking about them…because their numbers are still in decline, and scientists don’t really know why.  Purple Martins have been studied extensively In North America; scientific knowledge tapers off when they fly south.  Just where do they go, Wat routes they take, and what critical habitat lies Along the way remain largely a mystery.  The marathon journeys these birds undertake every year compounds the risk to their survival.
Arizona has its own sub-species of Purple Martins that prefer to nest in Saguaro cacti in the southern part of our state.  Arizona’s Purple Martins spend the winter where?  They take a similar marathon journey as those who summer east of the Mississippi River.
Cheryl: Get to the point-Brazil.
            Just off a slice of land sitting mid-stream in Brazil’s Rio Negro, is an island locally known as Ilha do Comaru, every year this island is submerged in March and only the tree tops poke above the surface.  There in those treetops are Purple Martins.  Now, Motus helped to locate this tiny island of 12 acres (slightly larger than Yankee Stadium).  How you ask?  Back in the U.S., scientists with the help of volunteers tagged nesting Purple Martins (adults and fledglings) with radio tags that will ping a receiver, that by chance was placed near this island. 
Scientists looked at the MOTUS network tracking and thought huh?  Where is that?  It turns out that MOTUS revealed to scientists a space that is host to a concentration of roughly 250,000 birds between February and April, it’s one of the largest Purple Martin roost ever discovered.  Its significance isn’t just its size, however, but also the pivotal role the roost may play in the bird’s long-distance migration.  Comaru could be the staging ground, or launch pad, for many of the 9.3 million Purple Martins that funnel through from South to North America. 
Scientists are tagging Purple Martins on this tiny island, so they can trace birds coming and going to see where these birds’ journey to breed.  Some head to Arizona,

Summary: What is MOTUS? It’s the next step in bird migration science. Join Cheryl and Kiersten to find out how this is putting the Phoenix Valley on the map!
 
For our hearing-impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
 
Show Notes:
MOTUS: https://motus.org
“What is MOTUS?” by Rebecca Stephenson. Desert Rivers Audubon Magazine, Winter 2023.
As of the recording of this podcast, we have not been able to find a link with volunteer information for MOTUS but the article on this site tells you how to reach out if you’re interested: https://sonoranjv.org/building-capacity-motus/
 
Transcript
 
Cheryl:  Intro
It has been a constant challenge for scientists to study migrating birds.  They do not stay in one place for long.  Where these birds go, stop over, and end up on their journeys? What scientists would love to have available to them s a way to fly along with these birds so they have a complete picture of how these birds live.  This complete picture is what an amazing wildlife tracking system called Motus does.
 
Kiersten: What exactly is Motus?
Well, it was started by the non-profit Birds Canada in 2014.  Motus is Latin for movement and the system seeks to track the precise travels of birds and other winged creatures, like bats, bees, and monarch butterflies through digital radio telemetry.  This is how it works; birds and other winged animals are carefully fitted with a small, lightweight transmitter, called a nanotag.  These nanotags are attached using minimalistic harnessing or glue.  Then the animals are released.  There is no need to recapture them to obtain the data collected, instead the transmitter on the bird sends back a unique ping out into the atmosphere on a shared radio frequency.  The pings transmit in a 12-mile radius around the bird as it goes about its life.  The motus tower stations tuned to this frequency then picks up the pings and relays the data to the database headquarters in Canada, where it is processed, analyzed, and shared with researchers.
Cheryl:
When tracking wildlife with automated radio telemetry over vast distances, the challenge of deploying enough receivers to detect the tracking information grows exponentially. To be able to share this information between researchers MOTUS remedies that so basically everyone is sharing the same data.  This greatly expands the potential to track birds with high temporal and geographic precision over great distances which put Motus so far ahead of the more commonly used tracking methods. These methods Kiersten and I have talked about in one of our migration podcasts.  There’s the GPS or geolocator tracking device, this device stores data over time or as you may have seen on TV a person following an animal with a handheld receiver.  In order for stored data to be useful it has to be recovered.  This involves recapturing the animal/bird and removing it.  A lot of variables at play, and long hours for the researchers. 
Like anything in life things don’t always go as planned even with Motus.  There are the transmitters, the large ones are solar-powered, this eliminates the need to change batteries, but the smaller ones, these fit on small songbirds, hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies must rely on battery power.  Once the battery goes dead the transmitting of data stops, there’s also nature getting in the way like a bird dies, or the transmitter falls off.
Kiersten: Then there are the tower stations.
The tower stations for Motus are just small antennae connected to a receiver and power supply.  Each station detects pings from any transmitter within a nine-mile radius of it, in optimal conditions.  As impressive as that may be, it is still limiting as far as being a wide-ranging migration tool.  To effectively track wildlife in real time requires a lot of stations.  The stations have to be installed, then diligently maintained, which can be a difficult job considering that they are o

Summary: How often do you look for female birds? Join Kiersten and Cheryl as they talk about Female Bird Day and why it’s important.
 
 For our hearing-impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.
 
Show Notes:
Kenn Kaufman Article: https://www.audubon.org/news.i-became-better-birder-when-i-stopped-focusing-males
Female Bird Day Blog: https://femalebirdday.wordpress.com
 
Transcript
 
Kiersten: Intro: This episode is about Female Bird Day. In 2024 Female Bird Day will be May 25-27. We going to talk about why this is a day. Why do we need a Female Bird Day.
 
Cheryl: In 2018, Kenn Kaufman wrote an article for Audubon Magazine titled, “I Became a Better Birder When I Stopped Focusing on the Males.” For those of you who don’t know who Kenn Kaufman is, he is the author of some of the most well-known Bird ID guides used in North America. Quoting from his article, Kenn says “…an unconscious bias against female birds is widespread in birding.” He is correct! If you look at the names of birds that describe what sexually dimorphic birds look like, they always describe the male’s coloration not the female. For example, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird describes the red-colored gular feathers that the male possesses. The Cinnamon Teal, a species of duck, describes the male’s coloration during breeding season. Red-winged Blackbirds describes the wing bars seen on adult males during breeding season.
            Furthermore, the names of birds used to honor well-known ornithologists is always named after a man. Audubon’s Warbler, Harris’s Hawk, Abert’s Towhee, Allen’s Hummingbird. They are all named after men. You can count on one hand how many of the 10,000 identified bird species in the world are named after women. Lucy’s Warbler is just one example and this bird was named after the daughter of a well-known male ornithologist.
           
Kiersten: It doesn’t stop with just the names of birds. We all but ignore the fact that females also sing. For many years, most of the history of ornithology actually, male bird songs have been the only ones studied and recorded, even after we discovered that females sing. The first few scientists that discovered this wrote it off as just an anomaly and didn’t put it in any reports. In 2014, a study focusing on avian song worldwide revealed that female bird song is both common and critical in evolution. 2014! We’ve been studying birds since the written word was developed.
            A study published in 2019 recorded two female Cerulean Warblers singing a different song than the males.  Of course, this is also one of those birds that is named for the male’s blue color. The scientists that heard the females sing were surprised to say the least. But they documented their findings which is one step toward us truly understanding the purpose of bird song. Since we have based all our hypotheses and theories on only half the population, could we have misinterpreted why birds sing?
 
Cheryl: Female Bird Day is a challenge started by five amazing women interested in birds. Three work for various levels of Audubon: Brooke Bateman, Stephanie Beilke, and Martha Harbison. Joanna Wu is another ornithologist with UCLA and Purbita Saha is the editor of Popular Science. During the Covid lockdown days, these women issued a challenge to birders all over North America to focus on female birds. This challenge continues this year. In 2024, May 25 through May 27 is Female Bird Day. So, all you birders out there mark your calendars and focus on female bird identification and bird song on these days. To report your findings, you can go to femalebirdday.wordpress.com and fill out the google forms that will be delivered directly to The Galbatross Project.
 
Kiersten: And keep it up all year long. Don’t just focus on the female birds on those days only. Do it all year long. In his Audubon article Kenn Kaufman stat