Best Courtney Ellis Podcasts (2025)

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96: Refugia Faith with Deb Rienstra 40:30

12d ago40:30

40:30

Deb Rienstra is a professor of English at Calvin University. Her beautiful book, Refugia Faith, takes us deep into both an aching planet and the goodness of God. Friends, I couldn’t put this one down. From despair to preparation, alienation to kinship, and indifference to attention, Deb’s masterful weaving of theology, literature, ecology, and a lo…

1
09-22: This Month in Birding - May 2025 59:03

1d ago59:03

59:03

The end of May means, for many of us, the end of spring. But before this magical month is over we bring a great panel of birdy friends together to talk about some of the interesting bird news that has come across our vitual desks. Welcome Stephanie Beilke, Tim Healy, and Brodie Cass Talbott to talk birding without tech, warbler foraging strategies …

1
09-21: The Biggest Week in American Birding Podcast Quiz Show! 1:01:10

8d ago1:01:10

1:01:10

The 2025 Biggest Week in American Birding is in the books and the American Birding Podcast was there to host a fun little game with a few friends. Test your luck with our birdy quiz featuring a quartet of Biggest Week birders and guides along with special guests Wendell Troutner and Tyler Ficker! We've got modified anagrams, Star Wars crossovers, a…

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09-20: Random Birds, May 2025, with Ted Floyd 1:00:47

15d ago1:00:47

1:00:47

Nate is in Ohio for the Biggest Week, but hew had time to grab Birding editor Ted Floyd for another Random Birds before he headed off. Ted and Nate trust the random number generator to turn up some exciting birds for discussion including jaegers, pelicans, and shorebirds. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your…

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09-19: The Birding Dictionary with Rosemary Mosco 39:24

22d ago39:24

39:24

When a person gets into birding they are not only confronted with a wide variety of wonderful and weird organisms but an equally wide variety of wonderful and weird terminology and jargon. It’s enough to confuse even the most enthusiastic novice, but hankfully, bird cartoonist Rosemary Mosco of Bird and Moon is on the case with a new book called Th…

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95: Unpacking Church Camp 39:10

26d ago39:10

39:10

One of our greatest tools in understanding ourselves and the world is the concept of both/and. When we can hold two ideas or feelings in tension, we discover whole worlds of understanding and goodness. Author, speaker, and Episcopal-priest-in-training Cara Meredith has been fascinated with this concept for years. After dabbling in some essays about…

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09-18: This Month in Birding - April 2025 53:07

29d ago53:07

53:07

It’s time for another This Month in Birding, this time for April, despite the fact that this episode technically comes out in May. That's bonus for May rather than a loss for April. Which is all the more appropriate because this is the time of year that we’ve all been waiting for. This tim around, we welcome Gabriel Foley, Frank Izaguirre, and Purb…

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09-17: Wild NYC with Ryan Mandelbaum 33:52

1M ago33:52

33:52

Regular listeners to this podcast certainly know science writer Ryan Mandelbaum from their regular appearances on This Month in Birding. Those listeners who enjoy Ryan's wit and passion for wildlife will no doubt be exited to learn that Ryan has a new book, Wild NYC, a guidebook to nature observation in the United State’s largest city. While birds …

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94: The Whole Easter Story (Jo Swinney) 37:06

1M ago37:06

37:06

Jo Swinney is the Director of Communication for A Rocha International, a global Christian nature conservation charity. She’s also the author of several books, including The Whole Easter Story: Why the Cross is Good News for All Creation. On this Easter Monday she joined me to talk about the power of hope in helping us steward our planet well. “Love…

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09-16: Birds, Wildfires, and Smoke with Olivia Sanderfoot 37:01

1M ago37:01

37:01

A warmer and drier world means, unfortunately, a world in which wildfire becomes a greater risk. We know, all too well, the risk these fires pose to wild places, but there is surprisingly little we know about the risk to wildlife. That is the work of Dr. Olivia Sanderfoot, a researcher at UCLA looking at the impacts of wildfire smoke on wild birds …

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09-15: Looking Up with Courtney Ellis 35:29

2M ago35:29

35:29

A deeply felt love of birds is something that can wind its way into all aspects of our lives. It is a journey that writer and pastor Courtney Ellis weaves into her most recent book, Looking Up: A Birder’s Guide to Hope Through Grief, published last year and now available in audiobook. She is also the host of The Thing with Feathers podcast, availab…

1
93: Looking Up's Audiobook Launch! 38:00

2M ago38:00

38:00

Dan Van Voorhis is a professional podcaster with a PhD in Church History. His podcast, The Christian History Almanac offers daily 5-minute episodes all about the work of God in the world over the centuries. It’s one of my favorites. Dan is also a friend, congregant, and the best interviewer I know. He graciously agreed to come on The Thing with Fea…

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09-14: Weird Winged Warblers with Nick Block & Matt Hale 48:22

2M ago48:22

48:22

Migrating warblers are heading back to our backyards and patches, and included among that wonderful diversity come the weirdo “winged” warblers, Golden and Blue, whose intermixed genetics have long been fascinating and confusing. We welcome Nick Block, professor of biology at Stonehill College in Massachusetts, as well as Matt Hale, professor of bi…

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09-13: This Month in Birding - March 2025 1:05:37

2M ago1:05:37

1:05:37

March 2025 brings another This Month in Birding featuring a panel of birding friends here to talk about the month's new bird news and get ready for spring. This time around we welcome Jennie Duberstein, Bird Joy Pod's Jason Hall, and Nicole Jackson to talk plastics in seabirds, new eyes on old maps, and the best bird to party with. Links to article…

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92: The Breeding Birds of Minnesota 47:42

2M ago47:42

47:42

Lee Pfannmuller and Jerry Niemi know a thing or two about birds. With over one hundred years(!) of birding experience between them, they have spent their lives doing fieldwork related to conservation and ecology throughout the state of Minnesota and beyond. Today we celebrate the publication of their new, beautiful book The Breeding Birds of Minnes…

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Monali Patel - From Passion to Profession 43:23

2M ago43:23

43:23

In this episode of the Cricket Library Podcast, we are joined by former Canadian cricketer Monali Patel, whose remarkable journey in cricket has taken her across continents. Monali shares how she discovered the sport as a teenager, her experiences representing Canada on the international stage, and what it was like to travel to Australia to play wi…

1
09-12: The 2025 State of the Birds 45:13

2M ago45:13

45:13

The State of the Birds is a report put out by a veritable who's who of bird-related non-profit organizations, with the goal of sharing the current state, both positive and negative, of bird populations and bird conservation intiatives in the United States. The 2025 report builds on on the last incationation of the SOTB, but unfortunately finds many…

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09-11: Random Birds XIV with Ted Floyd 1:01:58

3M ago1:01:58

1:01:58

Birding editor Ted Floyd is back for another edition of Random Birds. Ted and Nate talk about avocets, sparrows, and more with the help of a random number generator and a big list of birds. Plus, some talk about the brand-new National Geographic guides written by Ted Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podc…

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91: Creation and Conservation with Peter Harris 48:45

3M ago48:45

48:45

Peter Harris co-founded A Rocha, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to conservation back in 1983. Together he and his wife Miranda built an organization that helped churches and Christians across the world work together to care for creation. Their vision was to build a global family of conservation organizations working together to live out God’s call…

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09-10: The Power of Bird Data with Jer Thorp 39:15

3M ago39:15

39:15

Birders know about Big Data. We’re all familiar with eBird and the Avian Knowledge Network, but the Christmas Bird Count or the Breeding Bird Survey are giant pools of data that inform everything from conservation decisions to where to spend time tomorrow morning. But how can we use that data to encourage new birders or convince policy-makers to ca…

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09-09: This Month in Birding - February 2025 1:02:48

3M ago1:02:48

1:02:48

February brings an all-star lineup to This Month in Birding, with long-time friends Jody Allair, Nick Lund, and Jordan Rutter joining us to talk about all manner of birdy topics. The panel discuss the latest birding news including bird communication, low-impact journals, snakeskin in bird nests, and our favorite signs of spring, even if the season …

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90: Seeing God after Losing Faith (Liz Charlotte Grant) 46:21

3M ago46:21

46:21

Liz Charlotte Grant’s new book, Knock at the Sky: Seeking God in Genesis after Losing Faith in the Bible is a wild and wondrous read. And rightly so—anyone who’s spent any time in Genesis knows that it’s a delightfully odd and messy book. Join us on this episode about hope, backyard chickens, and the surprising ways God sometimes shows up even when…

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09-08: Urban Owls and More with Christian Cooper 49:12

3M ago49:12

49:12

The broader birding community was first introduced to Christian Cooper though the documentary The Central Park Effect, where he featured as one of eclectic crew of Central Park birders. Since then, his memoir, Better Living Through Birding and his Emmy-winning NatGeo program Extraordinary Birder, have seen his star only rise. His most recent projec…

1
09-07: 2024 ABA Rare Bird Draft with Amy Davis & Tim Healy 1:00:40

4M ago1:00:40

1:00:40

It's time to talk 2024 ABA Area Rarities! This episode is our annual attempt to look back on all the exciting rare bird observations and trends of the previous year. It ended up being a very good year for rarities and North American Birds editor Amy Davis and educator and writer at The Nemesis Bird Tim Healy are here to share their favorites. Subsc…

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Malcolm Conn - Behind The Headlines 54:56

4M ago54:56

54:56

In the latest edition of the Cricket Library Podcast, award-winning cricket writer Malcolm Conn joins us for an engaging conversation about his many decades of covering cricket. Mal shares the origins of his passion for cricket growing up in the country, getting his first gig as a journalist, travelling the world covering the cricket, and taking us…

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89: Hope in Chronic Illness (Duane Bidwell) 44:02

4M ago44:02

44:02

Duane Bidwell is the author, most recently, of the new book After the Worst Day Ever: What Sick Kids Know About Sustaining Hope in Chronic Illness, with Beacon Press. He’s a professor, a chaplain, and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He also loves a raven, but we’ll get to that. Today’s episode is all about hope. Where we migh…

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09-06: Habitats for Birders with Iain Campbell and Phil Chaon 51:54

4M ago51:54

51:54

We love a good field guide around these parts. The more unique, the better. Phil Chaon and Iain Campbell have certainly done that with their new book, Habitats of North America; A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists. It's a spin-off of sorts, from their 2021 book Habitats of the World and is a deep and detailed look at some of the …

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09-05: This Month in Birding - January 2025 59:35

4M ago59:35

59:35

Welcome to the new year! For this month's This Month in Birding, we welcome an all star panel of naturalists and writers to talk about the month's bird news. Rebecca Heisman, Dexter Patterson, and Sarah Swanson join host Nate Swick to talk about loons, mosquito killing birds, cold weather birding tips, and much more! Links to items discussed in thi…

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88: Winter Birding with Janet Hill 49:45

4M ago49:45

49:45

Janet Hill first appeared on The Thing With Feathers back in 2023. I’d followed her wonderful photography for years and grown to appreciate her invitational style, and our conversation cheered and heartened me. I couldn’t think of a better person to come on the show to talk all things winter birding than Janet. From Saskatoon to Newfoundland, from …

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09-04: From Dinos to Birds with Christopher DiPiazza 53:45

4M ago53:45

53:45

For many of us, an interest in birds and nature started with an interest in dinosaurs. Which is approriate since that's the path modern birds took when they became birds. We still don't know a lot about how dinosaurs looked and lived, but it stands to reason that if one were looking to recreate things that came before and are no longer with us that…

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09-03: Take It or Leave It - Mentorship, Rarity Reports, and Cameras for Beginners 54:29

4M ago54:29

54:29

It's cold outside and that calls for some hot birding takes. We've collected some for another edition of Take It or Leave It, the discussion panel for the most opinionated birders. This time we welcome Chris Sloan and Martha Harbison to talk about mentorship in the internet age, whether birders underappreciate Canada, and what would it take to get …

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87: Simon Stuart on Conservation and Hope 54:56

5M ago54:56

54:56

Simon Stuart is the senior advisor to conservation at A Rocha. Until April of 2023, he served as Executive Director of A Rocha International. Simon has been instrumental in the species conservation movement around the world, including winning a Blue Planet Prize for his work with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Thre…

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09-02: Rehabilitation For the Birds with Tim Jasinski 46:01

5M ago46:01

46:01

Modern optics give birders the opportunities to feel as though they are up close and personal with the bird we watch, but nothing we experience through binoculars compares to the experience with birds that wildlife rehabbers get to enjoy. Rehabilitators not only get to know birds on the individual level, but they get broader insight into the impact…

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09-01: 2025 Bird of the Year Artist Sam Zimmerman 38:59

5M ago38:59

38:59

2025 is the year of the Common Loon here at the American Birding Association! Our 2025 Bird of the Year artist, Sam Zimmerman, gets to appreciate these birds frequently from his home in northern Minnesota. He is an artist, author and educator whose work explores the landscapes and creatures of the western Great Lakes, with an eye towards capturing …

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86: Roger Hutchison on New Year's Resolutions... for Birds 50:02

5M ago50:02

50:02

Roger Hutchison is an author, illustrator, and Christian educator in the Episcopal Church. He’s a two-time guest on our podcast, and we couldn’t think of a better fit for our end-of-year episode. Together we talk resolutions, words of the year, and what resolutions birds would make, if they made them. Plus, we take a look at his just-about-to-be-re…

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08-51: This Month in Birding - December 2024 1:01:15

5M ago1:01:15

1:01:15

Thanks for another great year here at the American Birding Podcast. To close out 2024 we host another This Month in Birding panel featuring Jennie Duberstein, Mikko Jimenez, and Brodie Cass Talbott who join Nate to talk about bird brains, CBC memories, and old albatrosses. Plus, we make our predictions for what to look forward to in the bird world …

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85: A Closer Look with Susanne Swing Thompson 44:01

6M ago44:01

44:01

Susanne Swing Thompson is the author of A Closer Look: The Neighborhood and the creative mind behind Wren Photos. Susanne is a big believer in the power and whimsy that can happen when we look more closely at our own backyards, streets, and local parks. While birding can take us far afield - and this is fun! - when we tune into the birds, wildlife,…

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08-50: It's Bird-Friendly Chocolate Season with Bryony Angell 38:35

6M ago38:35

38:35

Roughly a quarter of chocolate sales in the US and the UK occur around the holidays at the end of the year. And if you are listening to this podcast, you are statistically almost certain to be participating. What does that have to do with birds? Well, like coffee before it, chocolate now comes in a bird friendly version. It's the subject of a recen…

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08-49: Birding Book Club - Best of 2024 1:00:10

6M ago1:00:10

1:00:10

It's the Birding Book Club's biggest meeting of the year!. We're back again to do our annual Best Bird Books of the Year episode for 2024. There’s no better time to give the gift of bird books to the birder in your life. And why not something for yourself while you’re at it? Nate Swick is joined by 10,000 Birds book reviewer Donna Schulman and Bird…

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James Knight - The Gift of Stories 1:07:34

6M ago1:07:34

1:07:34

This week, we’re thrilled to bring you the inspiring story of James Knight—a master storyteller, literacy advocate, cricket tragic and bestselling author. In this heartfelt conversation, James reflects on his journey from bush cricket fields to discovering the rich tapestry of cultures through cricket. He opens up about his battles with depression …

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84: Ornithography with Jessica Roux 42:49

6M ago42:49

42:49

Nashville-based author and illustrator Jessica Roux takes her inspiration from the natural world, folklore, and world religions. In her beautiful book, Ornithography: An Illustrated Guide to Bird Lore, Jessica takes us on a journey into the mythology of different species of birds. Each avian description is partnered with a beautiful hand-drawn illu…

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08-48: City Pigeons and Urban Evolution with Elizabeth Carlen 30:58

6M ago30:58

30:58

The humble Rock Pigeon can provide some interesting insights into how natural selection is impacted by the urban environment. That is the work of Elizabeth Carlen, a former PhD candidate at Fordham University in New York City and the lead author of a recent article in Evolutionary Applications that looks at genetic connectivity of Rock Pigeons popu…

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Between The Lions w/ Lutsy 31:18

6M ago31:18

31:18

Lutsy joins us on this weeks podcast just after announcing her retirement from the game. Jump in and hear what wise words she has for us! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Brisbane Football Club

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08-47: Random Birds XIII with Ted Floyd 1:04:42

6M ago1:04:42

1:04:42

Birding editor Ted Floyd is back for another episode of Random Birds. Ted and Nate talk turkey, and lots of other birds, with the help of a random number generator and a big list of birds. Also, Slender-billed Curlew has been declared extinct. What does it tell us about bird conservation? Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wher…

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83: British Birding with Mark Winter 45:29

6M ago45:29

45:29

Mark Winter is a birding guide at Even Sparrows. He’s also a lay theologian from the U.K. who comes to us with stories of St. Cuthbert, discovering awe, and his take on why Jesus never mentions eagles in the Bible. Join us for a visit to this pastoral and wind-swept land as we talk about Mark’s book, Look at the Birds of the Air, encounters with bi…

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08-46: In Defense of Birds with Rich Fischer 36:31

7M ago36:31

36:31

On Veteran’s Day, here in the United States, we commemorate military veterans of the US Armed Forces, and this Veteran’s Day we at the American Birding Podcast commemorate the work done by the Department of Defense to protect and conserve out national natural heritage. People might not realize that the US Department of Defense is one of the largest…

1
Between The Lions w/ Ruby Svarc 35:50

7M ago35:50

35:50

Ruby Svarc joins us on this weeks poddy! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Brisbane Football Club

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08-45: Hybrid Chickadee Challenges with Amber Rice and Scott Taylor 44:04

7M ago44:04

44:04

The friendly and familiar chickadees are endearing yard birds in nearly all parts of the ABA Area, but there is more than meets the eye for these feeder friends, especially in places where two species interact. Chickadees and chickadee hybrids are allowing researchers to ask some fascinating questions about hybrid fitness, evolution, and climate ch…

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Between the Lions w/ Ryan Davis 31:52

7M ago31:52

31:52

Finals Footy is HERE! 🥳 Sit back and enjoy another fun filled episode as the Between the Lions girls chat with AFLW midfield coach Ryan Davis 🎙️ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.By Brisbane Football Club

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82: A Bird Diva? 49:44

7M ago49:44

49:44

Though birding seems like a whimsical hobby, birders can be surprisingly competitive. Bridget Butler seeks to bring mindfulness, peace, and gentle attention into the world of birds and birding. Her slow birding guiding practice, Bird Diva, brings people out into nature for focused time communing with the birds and one another. “I just wanted to sto…

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Courtney Ellis Podcasts

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