Life List: A Birding Podcast

Life List: A Birding Podcast

Birdy. Proudly nerdy. Detailed. Not-so-subtly obsessive. Delve into all things birding and birding culture with George Armistead, Alvaro Jaramillo, and Mollee Brown. Join us for light-hearted conversations on birds, conservation, travel, and more.

Episodes

July 1, 2025 57 mins

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
  • ...
Mark as Played

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...

Mark as Played

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...
Mark as Played

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...
Mark as Played

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 ...

Mark as Played

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...

Mark as Played

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...

Mark as Played

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.

Mark as Played

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. 

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

Mark as Played

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. 

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...

Mark as Played

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...

Mark as Played

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: 

Mark as Played

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...
Mark as Played

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...

Mark as Played
October 21, 2024 67 mins

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 ...

Mark as Played
October 15, 2024 60 mins

Alright, we're back! George and Alvaro talk about unusual sightings and behaviors they've seen so far this fall along with takeaways from afar from the AOS conference.


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....

Mark as Played

We're continuing conversations with our listeners on the air as we share updates from our home fronts. We have lots of links to share this week!

Mark as Played

George is just back from the Pantanal, and today, we're chatting about that. But first...

Mark as Played
September 16, 2024 68 mins

We're back with a listener question episode! 

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 G...

Mark as Played

This week, we're joined by Lillian Stokes and Matt Young to share in the laughs, research, and stories behind their jam-packed new book, The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada. Learn more and preorder it here before the book is published on September 17!

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...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

    24/7 News: The Latest

    The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.