Life List: A Birding Podcast

The biggest surprise of all might be that George is learning to love summertime at home. We are chatting about birds and critters in our patches and recent travels, plus about books, media, and pizza. 

By the way, you can learn more about Frontiers in Ornithology at https://frontiersinornithology.com/.

Come for the sightings that surprised us lately...stay for a slice of August birding joy!

Get more Life list by subscribing to our new...

This episode is a blast—and full of stuff you'll want to remember! George and Alvaro interview the legendary birder of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and beyond: Jen Brumfield. They dive into all it takes to be a rarity-finding machine, and then put their advice through a detailed walkthrough of jaeger identification. We always say it...this hour passed by too quickly. 

Come for the gales and gulls… stay for the unabashed joy of birdin...

This is what we do, folks! George and Alvaro are sharing the stories from the field and their yards, discussing scientific and hobbyist news in the birding world, and sharing travel tales. And karaoke dos and don'ts. And a skunk saga that seems to have included. Hang out with us for a spell!

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at li...

We're all here—Mollee, George, and Alvaro—to catch up on birding and nature stories from home and Alvaro's adventures spanning oceans...and two Great White Norths! Yup, with our usual dose of wildlife weirdness, too. 

Highlights include:

• An incredible polar bear sighting alongside Ivory Gulls and (cue Alvaro's scream) Ross's Gulls
• Birding in Svalbard, Norway, and Finland
• Pelagic reports from the Farallon Islands
• ...

You like splits and lumps? Thinking about the intricacies of global taxonomy? Oh boy, are you in for a treat! 

George and Alvaro sat down with Marshall Iliff and Frank Rheindt, two members of the AviList Core Team, to take a deep dive into what’s just been released: AviList, the Global Avian Checklist! 

Learn how the process got started, what’s happened in the years it’s been in the making, and how decisions were made bird-by-bird. P...

This episode, we're catching up with Tim Appleton: co-founder of Global Birdfair and lifelong conservationist...and who possibly has the UK's best yard list.

Highlights of our chat include:

• How one idea became the world’s largest nature tourism and bird conservation gathering—and what makes it unique
• 125 species and counting from Tim's Rutland cottage overlooking a reservoir he helped design
•  How Tim helped reintrodu...

We caught up with our friend Surya Ramachandran: Indian naturalist, author, big-cat tracker, and awesome guy.

Highlights of our chat include:

• Home patch leopards: Surya’s Nilgiri backyard hosts a multigenerational family of both black and rosetted leopards that he's watched closely for years
• Snow-leopard obsession: why eight straight winters in Ladakh still haven’t dulled the thrill of the ghost of the Himalayas
• King-cobra lor...

Our travels have recently taken us across Costa Rica, Cuba, Argentina, Chile, and Tanzania — so it's high time for a catch-up! In this episode, George, Alvaro, and Mollee swap stories from the field, from color-changing marlins to Galápagos rail rediscoveries to grizzly bear rewilding efforts.

We also talk about how birds pick up dozens of local names (hello, timberdoodle!) and how birding stays with you even during major life ...

Our travels have recently spanned Costa Rica, Cuba, Argentina, Chile, and Tanzania, so it's high time for a catch-up! We swap favorite moments from the field, talk birds with many names (hello, timberdoodles), and updates from our homes, too. 

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com.

Thanks to Kowa Optic...

George and Alvaro have an evening chat about the evolution of field guides with notable quirks in a few editions, Alvaro discusses how he used location-based evidence to theorize about gull hybridization, and more. 

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com.

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Wan...

George and Alvaro took some time during their Subantarctic Islands cruise to chat with Mike Bell, ornithologist for the Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust. Make sure to check out their website for more information on all the conservation work they're doing!

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com.

We're catching up on our tales around the world and wondering...how close does birding get to a major sporting event? Join us in our usual banter. 

• The book that Alvaro thinks of is called Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl
• Have you seen a Nocturnal Curassow?

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your...

Welcome to our first episode covering our recent Subantarctic Islands cruise out of New Zealand. We're diving into the islands we visited, including Albatross Island and Pyramid Rock, and all about our travels on this world-class adventure. 

• Check out the whole trip report here. 

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifeli...

Hey there, we're back! Listen to us catching up on our recent travels throughout Asia in India, Thailand, and Japan. Are you tempted to join us in India next year? 

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com.

Thanks to Kowa Optics for sponsoring our podcast! Want to know more about us? Check out George&apos...

It's our final episode...but only for this season, don't worry 😉

We're chatting about birding festivals near and far, the multinational process of declaring a species extinct, and (literal) nightmares about birding tours.

Don't miss out on: 

• Alvaro's upcoming tours
• Hillstar's newest tours and pelagics 
• Tours and articles on Nighthawk 
• All the great content on the Ladera Sur website

Jocotoco Conservation works in the field throughout Ecuador and the Galapagos to conserve birds, wildlife, and habitats. Today, George is digging into their efforts and goals.

Learn more about Jocotoco Conservation here. 

Topics in this episode include:

• Discovery of the Jocotoco Antpitta: Jocotoco Conservation's origin story
• Saving Spectacled Bears: Jocotoco's efforts to protect spectacled bear habita...

Welcome to our 100th episode! We're celebrating by chatting about some listener favorites - and ours! - as well as all that's changed in the birding world since we started Life List. 

Thanks for being a part of our podcast family!

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas at lifelistpodcast.com.

Thanks to Kowa Opti...

This week, we're not just talking about Amar's highly anticipated book, The Gull Guide—we're chatting about the discoveries and controversies that led to what we currently know about gulls, the unknowns that still exist, and how to fall in love with these mysteries birds along the way. 

Get more Life list by subscribing to our newsletter and joining our Patreon for bonus content. Talk to us and share your topic ideas ...