When North Dakota State University ecologist Anuj Ghimire came to mind as a potential guest on Ten Birding Questions, it wasn’t just because he tweeted what I consider the greatest bird meme of all time, although that certainly did factor in.
No, I wanted to sit down with Anuj because, after years of following his birding exploits, I knew I could count on him for a fun, informative conversation about his two birding strongholds—his homeland of Nepal and his adopted home of North Dakota, USA, two places I have not only never birded but also have never set foot in. My mission was simple—ask ten questions and let Anuj’s words paint pictures of these mysterious lands.
And what pictures he painted! Anuj and I spent almost two hours over two sessions talking birds, and it easily could have been much longer. I’m endlessly thankful for how generous he was with his time, especially after discovering his audio had blinked out halfway through our initial recording session, necessitating a second virtual meetup. Thanks to some handy editing, I’ve packaged our two talks into one hourlong episode where we discuss—
Getting sparked by a resident owl.
The breathtaking diversity of Nepal and North Dakota’s avifauna.
The summer ducks of North Dakota.
The challenges and rewards of high-altitude birding.
Advancing bird research in Nepal.
Aside from learning so much about the avian life in the two places Anuj calls home, I got a real kick out of discussing three birds about which I knew little to nothing. Since Ten Birding Questions is an audio-only production, I invite you to feast your eyes on the…
Himalayan Monal, national bird of Nepal.
Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker, Anuj’s most recent life bird in Nepal.
Baird’s Sparrow, our nomineee for a replacement state bird in ND.
I came away from our talk unsurprised to have added Nepal as a birding bucket list destination and somewhat surprised to have added North Dakota. Don’t get me wrong—I think it would be wonderful to bird every state, but ND has shot way up my list of dream ABA area destinations.
Notes
In the weeks since recording our episode, I’m happy to announce that Anuj has since reached 500 birds in the US, not by virtue of the last six ABA-area warblers he needs to check off, but courtesy of the Monk Parakeets he saw at a electrical substation in Dupage County, Illinois.
A couple of weeks before our first talk, Anuj’s homeland reached a milestone of its own when Nepal’s first record of a Short-tailed Shearwater was recorded at the Koshi Barrage reservoir on May 2. The shearwater was Nepal’s 900th bird, astonishing for a country roughly the size of Iowa and 67 times smaller than the Unites States.
Nepal: 56,827 mi2 (147,181 km2). Total birds: 900
Iowa: 55,854 mi2 (145,746 km2) Total birds: 433
United States: 3,796,741 mi2 (9,833,520 km2) Total birds: 1160
Corrections
The Western Meadowlark is the official bird of six states, not five, as I misremember on the show.
Anuj’s latest life bird in Nepal is the Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker, not the Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker, which resides not in Nepal but southeast Asia. Add bird names that are too similar to the list of names that need to be changed.
Affirmations
The Western Meadowlark should be the official bird of one state, not six.
Both species of flowerpecker are beautiful, and I hope to talk with Anuj again once he gets his lifer Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker, only a matter of time as he strives to see the birds of the world.
Finally, sneaky Anuj neglected to tell me he has a Substack of his own. Follow his birding adventures at Anuj Ghimire (The Bird Guy) and subscribe!
Featured Photo—Anuj Ghimire + Belted Kingfisher
Among the responsibilities that come with being The Bird Guy, aside from having to identify blurry cell phone pictures sent by friends and family, is receiving notifications about birds in distress. In March of 2023, Anuj received a call from a friend about a bird caught in the snow on a county road in Fargo. Anuj hopped into his Honda, risking life and limb and getting caught in a blizzard, and came to the rescue of this stranded male Belted Kingfisher. With the bird secured, the next question was what to do with him? Anuj took the beleaguered bird back to his lab and had the poor fellow examined by a friend and his animal rehabilitator wife. The bird was exhausted but appeared physically fine otherwise. The next day, Anuj took the bird to class for his students to learn from and no doubt marvel at. Later, confident he was healthy, Anuj released the Kingfisher in a local park, where he flew to safety. Here’s hoping Anuj’s heroics will lead to a long life with many offspring to show for it.
10/10 Recommends
I’ve received some wonderful compliments about the show’s original theme music. All credit goes to Venezuelan composer and Latin Grammy nominee Alejandro Zavala, who took the precious few notes I gave him about what I was looking for and created some truly beautiful themes. Adding Alejandro’s music is one of the joys of editing this podcast, and you love it too, you can find more of his work on Apple Music and Spotify.
“The Littlest Bird,” The Be Good Tanyas
Speaking of music, I just now heard this song coming from my wife’s laptop and was instantly smitten. Enjoy this sweet song from their Blue Horse album.
That’s all for this month. I hope you enjoyed this edition of Ten Birding Questions as much as I enjoyed rapping about birds with Anuj. Have you ever birded in Nepal and/or North Dakota? Have you ever seen a Himalayan Monal, Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker, or Baird’s Sparrow? Do you have a hero birder you’d like me to consider as a future guest? Tell me in the comments!👇
Until next week, thanks for reading, thanks for listening, and don’t forget to bird your ass off!
nwb
Enjoy this podcast/post? Birding with BillBow’s monthly podcast content will always be free, but you can help support my writerly, podcasterly, and birderly dreams in the form of a paid subscription (save $10/year by choosing the yearly plan!). As always, 5% of earnings donated to the American Birding Association.
Or buy me a beer. It’s so hot. I’m parched.
Paid or not, thank you for listening! I’m so glad you’re here!
This post was human generated.
Share this post