Think of a podcast as an online radio show. Each show consists of individual episodes that you can listen to in several ways - on your PC, using your MP3 player, or with a web browser. Learn more >>

We offer two formats for our podcast: one in mp3 format, which is audio only, and one in m4a format, which includes audio plus images. Learn more >>

Not at all. Our podcasts are produced as mp3 files, the most universal format for listening on various devices. You can download individual podcasts and listen to them using almost any application. Learn more >>

This Birding Life

Hosted by Bill Thompson, III

This Birding Life is a podcast from the folks at Bird Watcher's Digest. And like the magazine's content, the topics covered by This Birding Life range far and wide — from the backyard to the tropics, from bird feeding to bird chasing, from authors reading from their books to birders talking about their "spark" bird. This Birding Life is guaranteed to make you think, laugh, and want to spend more time out there with the birds. It's all about this wonderful hobby we share: watching and enjoying wild birds. Welcome to This Birding Life!

Featured Episodes

Episode #25: An Englishman in Florida

Posted on February 16, 2010

Episode Duration: 22 minutes, 16 seconds

In episode 25 of This Birding Life, English birder Bo Beolens recounts his first birding trip to Florida. Bo Beolens is better known as the Fatbirder which is also the name of his popular website Fatbirder.com. This episode is based on his article for Bird Watcher's Digest, "An Englishman in Florida." Along the way Bo suffers the pain of international air travel, frets about amusement parks, feels the thrill of seeing life birds, and the joy of making new friends.

A reading from the new issue of BWD. Check out the issue preview >>

Download MP3 (Audio Only)

Download M4A (Audio & Images)

Episode #24: Birding in Panama

Posted on December 9, 2009

Episode Duration: 29 minutes, 59 seconds

Host Bill Thompson, III, travels to Panama on a birding "fam" trip. During the eight-day trip he and his group of birding journalists and travel professionals tallied more than 250 bird species and learned a great deal about this narrow isthmus of land connecting Central and South America. The itinerary followed a new birding circuit created by Panama La Verde, which aims to direct ecotourists to birding spots and eco-lodges in wonderful, but little-known regions of Panama. Bill and his traveling companions share some of their experiences and impressions, plus favorite bird sightings, from their journey on the Panama La Verde birding circuit.

More about birding Panama >>

Download MP3 (Audio Only)

Download M4A (Audio & Images)

Episode #23: The Big Sit!

Posted on November 12, 2009

Episode Duration: 20 minutes, 28 seconds

Host Bill Thompson, III, interviews participants in the 2008 Big Sit! held in the birding tower on his farm, Indigo Hill, in southeastern Ohio. The Sit! is a worldwide annual event held on the second Sunday in October. Although the birding during this time of year may not be as thrilling as, say, in May or September, Big Sitters agree that the camaraderie of spending time with friends makes this event a highlight of the birding year.

More about the Big Sit!

Download MP3 (Audio Only)

Download M4A (Audio & Images)

Episode #22: Snippets From a Life Gone to the Birds

Posted on October 21, 2009

Episode Duration: 55 minutes, 25 seconds

Humorist and storyteller Al Batt may be the funniest birder in the world. Episode #22 of This Birding Life captures Al Batt in live performance at the 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium in Lakeside, Ohio. Entitled Snippets From a Life Gone to the Birds, Al recounts his experiences with all aspects of the natural world, starting with his life on the family farm in rural Hartland, Minnesota.

Download MP3 (Audio Only)

Download M4A (Audio & Images)

More Episodes