Episodes
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In response to a rude email from a listener, Book Character Bill Holm sits out his annual trip to Magee Marsh with Feather Brained author Bob Tarte. In between discussing the birds that Bob isnât seeing on the famous Magee Marsh boardwalk during a lackluster migration impeded by cold weather, he and Bill lament the lack of support from What Were You Thinking? listeners. The upshot? You folks had better straighten up if you want Bob and Bill to continue producing the only supposedly humorous birding podcast in the entire known universe. And thatâs a singularity.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Special Magee Marsh 2017 Listener Depreciation Day Podcast with Bob Tarte -
How much wood would a Woodcock chuck if a Woodcock could chuck wood? Feather Brained author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm may not answer the perennial question, but they see a Woodcock doing the Pee-Wee Herman dance and nearly get run over by a pair of yoga pants while birding at Island Lake State Recreation Area in Brighton, Michigan. All of your favorite birding features are on tap, including "Just the Birds, Maâam," "Photographerâs Corner," and âThe Fermentation Nook."
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - âTequilaâ Birding at Island Lake State Recreation Area with Bob Tarte -
Episodes manquant?
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The Giant Silkworm Moths may be masters as public speaking, but Bob Tarte shows heâs no sowâs-ear slouch, either, as he and Book Character Bill Holm extol the virtues and shortcoming of Bobâs latest book, Feather Brained. This is part two of a patience-straining nearly-one-hour talk about birds, birding, and flimflamming the general public on a sunny June afternoon at the Degraaf Nature Center in Holland, Michigan. For pityâs sake, listen to part one first!
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Giant Silkworm Moths vs. the Feather Brains, Part Two with Bob Tarte -
Two doors leading into the Degraaf Nature Center in Holland, Michigan, were each marked with a sign. Visitors had their choice of seeing 'Giant Silkworm Moths' or hearing a 'Feather Brained Talk' by author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm. Bob and Bill were fortunate enough to catch the overflow crowd from the silkworm moths. This laugh-filled riot of a talk on Bobâs book, Feather Brained, is divided into two parts to keep your sides from splitting and tears from clouding your vision.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Giant Silkworm Moths vs. the Feather Brains, Part One with Bob Tarte -
Surrounded by vocal House Wrens, Baltimore Orioles, Brown Thrashers, Yellow Warblers, and disgruntled park visitors, Feather Brained author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm try their birding luck at Michiganâs Tawas Point State Park on Lake Huron. Bob recounts an important communication from a listener while Bill hosts an installment of the popular Motel Corner feature. Bob also offers hints on how to tell a Spotted Sandpiper from an Emu or other similar-looking birds. Itâs a laugh-filled show that either ends too soon or drags on and on, depending on your tolerance for pain.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Pointless Nayanquing Point and Tawas Point Birding, Part Two with Bob Tarte -
After years of wasting your time with birding podcasts that go nowhere, Feather Brained author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm achieve a rare success. At Nayanquing Point Wildlife Area on Saginaw Bay, they score a close encounter with the rare-in-Michigan Yellow-headed Blackbird, and you get to hear it, too! They also see the secretive American Bittern and Least Bittern plus numerous Marsh Wrens. Added to that are your favorite âWhat Were You Thinking?â features: Photography Corner, Photographerâs Corner, Doesnât That Rock?, and Whatâs New with Bill? Miss it or be square!
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Pointless Nayanquing Point and Tawas Point Birding, Part One with Bob Tarte -
Itâs a total turnaround as Bob and Book Character Bill Holm enjoy a wind-free, warbler-filled new morning of birding at Magee Marsh. If thatâs not enough excitement, listen closely to a slice of audio verite for a chance encounter with the esteemed author of The Warbler Guide, who had no idea he was being recorded â because Bob and Bill had no idea who he was. Pay close attention as Mr. Tom Stephenson validates an ID by Bob that another birder had just disputed. It doesnât get any better than this! But please listen to the podcast anyway.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Special Delayed Feather Brained Magee Marsh Show from 2016 Part Two with Bob Tarte -
Sure, itâs almost a year late. But the jokes are as timeless as the birding observations when Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm dragged themselves to Magee Marsh in northern Ohio for the annual May warbler migration. High winds nearly ruin the birding, but Bob and Billâs high spirits blow away potential misfortune in this unique, radio-simulcast episode thatâs just begging for a Part Two. Plus you get the skinny on Bobâs new book about birding, Feather Brained.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Special Delayed Feather Brained Magee Marsh Show from 2016 with Bob Tarte -
Shamelessly promoting his new book about birding, Feather Brained, Bob Tarte shares birding tips with reluctant birder Bill Holm at Muskegon Wastewater System in a bold January 2017 winter expedition. The pair actually spot some nice birds this time, including a rare Glaucous Gull, whose habits require some delicacy to describe. Tune in for a shocking Enslaved by Ducks movie teaser, too.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Special Feather Brained Muskegon Wastewater Something-Something Show with Bob Tarte -
Do they or do they not stumble upon a breeding warbler thatâs rare in Michigan? Feather Brained author Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm follow careful online instructions and still manage to get discombobulated as they search the vast, foreboding, and slightly muddy Allegan State Game Area (or at least a very small part of it) for this small, elusive bird. Please donât reveal the special surprise ending to any of your friends!
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - The Quest for the Worm-eating Warbler with Bob Tarte -
In Part Two of a Two Part Show, appropriately enough, Bob Tarte and Bill Holm share tips on writing a memoir for publication with the Mid Michigan Word Gatherers Writing Group. Although the tips are for memoir writing in general, pet book author Bob bases the tips on techniques he used writing his published memoirs Enslaved By Ducks, Fowl Weather, Kitty Cornered, and his newest book, Feather Brained.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Tips for Writing Your Pet Memoir, Part 2 with Bob Tarte -
In this Golden Archive Show from August 2014, available to the public for the first time, Bob and Book Character Bill Holm brave the gathering storm clouds in Tawas City, Michigan, to search for shorebirds â or any birds, for that matter. Bob is posting this Golden Archival Birding Show not only because it is pure gold, but also for the opportunistic reason that his new book about birding, âFeather Brained,â comes out in April 2016.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Long Legs, Long Beaks with Bob Tarte -
Wall Street Journal Best-selling author Bob Tarte shares tips on writing a memoir for publication, aided and abetted by Bill Holm, who also shares tips on becoming a character in someone elseâs memoir. The two will also discuss humor writing in dull, unfunny terms in part one of this presentation for the Mid Michigan Word Gatherers Writing Group. Although the tips are for memoir writing in general, pet book author Bob swears by them when he isn't swearing at Book Character Bill, and they are derived from his publishing success with Enslaved By Ducks, Fowl Weather, and Kitty Cornered.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Tips for Writing Your Pet Memoir, Part 1 with Bob Tarte -
How bad is part two of Worldâs Worst Birding Show? So bad that Bob Tarte and Bill Holm burn up the first 15 minutes apologizing for how bad the show is. Things get brighter in the second half, recorded live from the Estuary Trail at Magee Marsh, Ohio. A Gray Catbird, a Yellow Warbler, and other birds add their voices as Bob and Bill somehow manage to run into three birders even grumpier than they are. It's all a bolt of blazing sunshine compared to the first half of the show - another nugget of comedy birding gold from the author of the forthcoming book FEATHER BRAINED.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Worldâs Worst Birding Show, Part 2 with Bob Tarte -
You may never read this description of the Worldâs Worst Birding Show, Part 1, because this podcast might never make it online due to the need for certain minimum quality standards. Itâs the usual content-free rambling from Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm about their annual birding trip to Ohio for the warbler migration plus breaking news about Bobâs forthcoming book Feather Brained. Tough to sit through. But comedy gold for start to finish as Bob and Bill analyze mysterious doings at Magee Marsh.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Worldâs Worst Birding Show, Part 1 with Bob Tarte -
In the long awaited sequel to Part 1, your hosts Bob and Book Character Bill Holm find more birds in the parking lot of Tawas State Park in northern Michigan than most people find in a zoo that has an aviary containing more birds than the Tawas State Park parking lot! On their return to Nayaquing Point, Bill outbirds Bob yet again. But Bob turns the spotlight back onto himself with his impression of Irish actor/singer Richard Harrisâ performance on the Jimmy Webb Sessions recordings, while Bill shares his unique method of locating birds. itâs birding humor at its most featherbrained!
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Lake Huron Birding Bliss with Bob & Bill - Part 2 with Bob Tarte -
Bob interviews animal communicator Kate Sitka, who lives in Tofino, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Kate talks about discovering and developing her abilities to make a psychic link with both wild and domesticated animals - though another form of animal communication is simply becoming more sensitive to your petâs needs. She describes a chickenâs psychedelic view of the world, what itâs like to be a whale, and how her cat loves to tattle on her dog. She also has suggestions for improving Bobâs relationship with his pet ducks and geese.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - The Tofino Psychic with Bob Tarte -
In the first Pet Life Radio show ever to be recorded live from a platform, Bob Tarte and Book Character Bill Holm embark upon another epic birding quest. They begin the adventure on an observation platform near the Ferguson Bayou Trail at Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge near Flint, Michigan. As a Common Tern flies overhead, Bill shows uncommon erudition in a discourse about the Shakespearean sonnet poetic form. Then, atop an observation platform at Nayanquing Point State Wildlife Area, Bill calls first dibs on the species theyâd journeyed to Nayanquing to see, the Yellow-headed Blackbird. A spirited discussion of birding by ear leads to Billâs desire for spirits of another kind as part one of a two-part extravaganza grinds to a halt.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Lake Huron Birding Bliss with Bob & Bill - Part 1 with Bob Tarte -
Author Cayr Ariel Wulff (Born Without a Tail, Circling the Waggins, and more) likes to talk about her rambunctious dogs. But she surprises Bob by talking about her partner Dalene's rambunctious hermit crabs, whose proper care demands a carefully controlled environment. Learn about proper housing and whether Leroy the crab will eat honey on a cracker. Thrill to tales of crab escape artists and the crab who had two shells.
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Crabville with Bob Tarte -
In part two of the birding show that took a full year to produce, Book Character Bill Holm blows the lid off the fraud that he considers âbirding by earâ to be and Bob defends the practice as they recap the 19 warbler species seen the previous day at Magee Marsh in Ohio. Then they set out with open ears if not open minds for day two, though they were spoiled by so many birds on day one, they donât bird nearly as hard. Bill wows the boardwalk crowd with his Swainsonâs Thrush expertise while Bob wonders if he brought enough one-dollar bills, since a very cooperative Prothonotary Warbler was obviously angling for a tip. What a migration! What a show!
Questions or Comments? Email Bob at: [email protected]
More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - The Full-Year-in-the-Making Birding Show, Part Two with Bob Tarte - Montre plus
