Looking at Birds: A Birding Podcast

E54 - Arjan Dwarshuis + Great Bittern & The (Big) Year That Flew By

• Chris • Season 1 • Episode 54

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My guest is Arjan Dwarshuis, an avid birder, professional guide, writer and conservationist. A name you are probably most familiar with for the Guinness World Record he set in 2016, by observing 6852 bird species across 41 countries in a single year. Not too long ago, his book about this big year, The (Big) Year That Flew By, was translated from Dutch into English, and made available to a broader audience. He also hosts his own podcast focused on birdwatching – De Vogelspotcast. Today he’s here all the way from the Netherlands, for the Southeast Arizona Birding Festival.

For more on Arjan:
Check out his website: https://arjandwarshuis.com/
Check out his Instagram: @arjandwarshuis
Check out his podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/de-vogelspotcast/id1557876333

Credit for Great Bittern Call:
Ulf Elman, XC798475. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/798475.
Credit for American Bittern Call:
Harry Lehto, XC233158. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/233158.

Chapters

  • 00:00 - Intro
  • 00:34 - Arjan’s Recent Birding @ Pena Blanca Lake & Canyon
  • 03:43 - How Arjan got into Birding
  • 11:36 - Sharing birding with Young People
  • 14:10 - Arjan and Rarities
  • 16:28 - Birding since the Big Year
  • 19:14 - What Arjan goes birding with
  • 21:36 - Memorable Encounter with a Bird
  • 23:40 - Bird of the Episode: Great Bittern
  • 31:22 - Arjan’s Recently-translated Book about his Big Year
  • 35:38- Arjan’s Upcoming Children’s Book
  • 40:45 - What Arjan is up to This Fall
  • 44:04 - Outro

For pictures of some of the birds discussed on the podcast, check out @lookingatbirdspodcast on Instagram.

Thank you for listening!