National Parks Traveler Episode 96: 121 Years Of Counting Birds For The Holidays

By Kurt Repanshek - December 13th, 2020

This week’s show is going to the birds. Counting, birds, that is, what with the 121st Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count officially kicking off Monday and running through January 5.

We sat down with Geoff LeBaron, who long has overseen the annual count for the National Audubon Society, to discuss the program. Did you know, for instance, that the predecessor of this annual celebration of birds was actually a hunting competition to see how many birds could be killed?

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
1:22 Sieur de Monts - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
1:55 WildTribute.com promotion
2:20 Western National Parks Association promotion
2:44 Washington’s National Park Fund promotion
3:23 Discussing the 121st Audubon Christmas Bird Count with Director Geoff LeBaron
21:48 Whispering Winds - Grant Geissman - Sounds of the Caribbean
22:06 National Parks Traveler promotion
22:19 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promotion
22:50 Friends of Acadia promotion
23:17 North Cascades Institute promotion
23:35 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
24:00 Our discussion with Geoff LeBaron about the Christmas Bird Count continues
42:53 Blue Mist - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Shenandoah
43:53 Episode Closing
44:19 Orange Tree Productions promotion
44:55 Splitbeard Productions
45:07 National Parks Traveler footer

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Submitted by Jim Medlock on December 20, 2020 - 5:40pm.

It was the 1976 bird count and we hiked TRR with a Colorado State University professor who was studying Ptarmagin. it was hard to stand in the wind but we did see Ptarmigan but got no picture. So 2 weeks later we drove to Guenella Pass where we saw Ptarmigans just outside the car.

Submitted by Greg Lessard on April 21, 2021 - 8:00pm.

Dear Kurt,

I am a fan of your podcasts. You do a great job covering the national parks and the issues concerning them. However, I am disappointed that you would post an image of a snowy owl that clearly has been baited. Baiting owls for photography is an abhorrent practice. It is obviously bad for the mice. It is also bad for the owls. They can become habituated and potentially sickened if the mouse happens to be diseased. There are thousands of snowy owl images available. I strongly encourage you to select another image and replace the one that is currently marring your website and standing in stark contrast to what you proclaim to support.
Sincerely,

Greg Lessard

[email protected]

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 22, 2021 - 10:48am.

Thanks for bringing that to our attention, Greg. Being a writer, not a wildlife photographer, I wasn't even aware of the practice. We'll work on getting another shot.

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