Kid friendly episode! Dr. John and nature/children's book author Adrienne Palma discuss her book Oakley The Osprey which is packed full of fun Osprey facts and amazing illustrations. Also, the book is set in the Outer Banks where Adrienne lives and Dr. John grew up as a kid- allowing them both to nostalgically talk about the beautiful OBX, how its featured in the books, and the wildlife (avian and otherwise!) found there. They also discuss the importance of teaching kids about nature and the great vehicle books are to educate the next generation on the animals we love.
Baby Bo makes an appearance on this episode!
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Check out all Adrienne's books at https://www.adriennepalma.com/
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Shout out also to illustrator of Oakley the Osprey Amber Rae Malott! Check her out at https://amberraewatercolor.com/pages/about

HONK! In this listener suggested episode, Dr. John covers his first species of the family Anseriformes (Ducks, Geese, Swans) by talking about the Arctic specialist the Barnacle Goose. This bird is super interesting- everything from its breeding strategy to avoid predators from the really interesting origin of its common name. Can you believe people used to think the Barnacle Goose was a crustacean and not a bird?! Learn how to identify this bird from its plumage and vocalizations. Also learn all about what it likes to eat and how it makes babies. Dr. John also explored the population status of the Barnacle Goose over time. Finally, we end the episode with good ole' evolutionary history and duck-dive into the origins of geese way back in the Cretaceous alongside dinosaurs.
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Intro music by Ricky Pistone and outro by the Sidewalk Slammers. Check them out wherever you get your music
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All Bird sounds are from Xeno-Canto.org

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Intro call by David Darrel-Lambert

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Yapping calls by Lars Edenius

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Type A Call by Petter Westberg

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Type B call by Patrik Aberg

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Cacophony of Barnacle Geese by Hans Norelius

Listeners give this episode 5/5 Starlings! Love them or hate them, European Starlings are here to stay in their introduced range across every continent except Antarctica. Even though they eat crops, crash planes, and evict native birds from their nests these birds have some beautiful singing abilities, display an amazing flying pattern called murmurtions, and may be as smart as crows and ravens! Learn all about the European Starling with Dr. John.
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Thanks to Volume Book store in Buckhannon, West Virginia for producing this episode!
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Special thanks also to the book "Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of of a Most Hated Bird by Mike Stark for great background research https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/bison-books/9781496242020/starlings/
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Intro music by Ricky Pistone and Outro Music by the Sidewalk Slammers
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All bird songs are from xeno-canto.org

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Opening call by Olivier Swift

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Starling song by Uku Paal

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Starling mimicking birds call by Paul Marvin

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Starling imitating siren call by Lee Alder

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Starling whistle song by Timo Schnabel

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Starling chatter by Barnard Collet

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Staring Chatter 2 by David Bissett