Grab the Kleenex: This is the final episode that TBL host Bill Thompson, III, recorded before succumbing to pancreatic cancer on March 25, 2019. Bill interviews Mark S. Garland, a naturalist who has been sharing his enthusiasm for nature for over 40 years. He is also the 2019 recipient of the Paul Bartsch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Natural History. Bird Watcher’s Digest subscribers will recognize him as the author of “Birders Question Mark,” a Q&A column that has featured in the magazine since 2015. Mark reveals what sparked his interest in nature and birds early in life, and how it evolved throughout his lifetime. He ends with advice for aspiring naturalists: Be persistent, follow your heart, and in the end, it will all work out! Posted Thu, Aug 29 2019.

If you’re a “twitcher” in the UK, Stephen Moss is a familiar household name, and a beloved birding celebrity. He was the original producer of the BAFTA award-winning TV series Springwatch, worked with the TV shows Big Cat Diary, Birds Brittania, and Birding with Bill Oddie, and has authored no less than forty books on birds and British wildlife. Stephen writes a monthly Birdwatch column for The Guardian, is president of the Somerset Wildlife Trust, is an honorary professor at Nottingham University Business School, and currently leads courses and lectures at Bath Spa University in MA Travel & Nature Writing. As a close friend of both Bill Thompson, III, and Wendy Clark, Stephen and his family have hosted them many times at their lovely home in Somerset UK. This podcast was recorded in August, 2019 as Wendy and Stephen chatted on the Moss family patio in butterfly garden. Learn more about Stephen’s expansive career, his passion for birds, conservation, and education, and take a stroll down memory lane as Stephen and Wendy share fond memories of the late Bill Thompson, III. Posted Fri, 14 Nov 2019.

In this excerpt from her recently published book, Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard-Luck Jay, Julie Zickefoose shares one of the many lessons the young, orphaned Jemima taught her: No one needs to teach a jay how to be a jay. Buy the book at Redstart Birding.com » Posted Tue, 08 Oct 2019.