Bored Panda got in touch with Audubon Master Birder Alison Kondler and she was kind enough to answer some questions for us. Eagle eyed readers will have already noticed the presence of the term Audubon, so Alison helped explain what this title actually means as well as shared her journey with birding. 

“From a very young age, I was intrigued by the sounds of birds and could imitate their calls and songs once I could whistle. My consistent mimicry became so refined that I started calling in various birds and having conversations with them. My mother couldn’t help but notice this “talent” and bought me the book "Mouth Sounds” by mouth sound effects master Fred Newman.”

“This book was paramount in my continued study of sounds and how to replicate them. At the age of eighteen, I began to become a stand-up comedian, incorporating these sounds onto the stage for over 5 years. I also acted in movies, television, theater, and improv comedy, often incorporating the sounds into my auditions to “stand out”. I felt something was missing and my love for nature and all things outdoors began calling me. I returned back to my roots and became a volunteer naturalist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife,” she shared. 

“Even though I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about birds, I started leading field trips for the Denver Field Ornithologists. For years, I was extremely insecure about my non-birding skills, and misidentifying them was a common occurrence. Luckily, most of the attendees were birding experts. It wasn’t until completing the intense year-long Audubon Master Birder Program and a mentor the following year that my birding confidence excelled, leading me to give talks and guided bird hikes based on my final AMB paper on identifying birds by sound. This is where Birding By Ear was born.”

“At one point, I wanted to add video to my presentations, so I bought a Canon DSLR and went back to college for 2 years to earn a video production certification. Unexpectedly, I started A Video Design LLC in 2017 where I created promotional social media videos for “humans in business”, but I still filmed birds as a hobby. In early 2020, I turned my cameras around and became a social media educator on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, focusing on my passion for birdwatching and advocacy. Now, I have almost 400K followers across my channels and have worked with brands like Canon USA, the National Audubon Society, PBS Nature, and Birda app, creating educational promo videos for their social campaigns. What an amazing full-circle journey it has been!”

Given her expertise on the topic, we naturally wanted to learn a bit more. Unlike common housepets, most people have only a tangential knowledge of bird behavior, so we wanted to hear Alison’s thoughts on common misconceptions. “When you say 'bird behavior,' one bird that comes to mind is the Northern flicker. The behavior of this particular bird is the Audubon Society’s number one inquiry in the springtime: 'How do I stop woodpeckers from pecking holes in my house?' To answer this, let’s start with the misconceptions about these misunderstood birds and their inherent need to peck. At the beginning of spring, you may have heard fast drilling sounds that start and stop abruptly coming from various places in your home, often occurring right before sunrise in the early hours of the morning.”

“This sound is most likely being created by a male Northern flicker. Though this intense drumming sound can shock you right out of bed, I’d say 98% of the time, they are not poking holes in your house but finding objects in your home that will create the loudest sound possible, like metal gutters or plumbing vents. They do this in the wild too, on hollow tree limbs. This behavior is to attract a mate over long distances or defend his territory, not intending to damage your home and only lasts for a short period of time until he finds a mate, pairs up, and they often leave the area together,” she shared with Bored Panda. 

“If you see damage that looks like perfectly round holes on the side of your house, then this is a different story. They are trying to find a suitable place to create a cavity and raise young. When they drill through your siding, they may hit a wall backing that they cannot penetrate, so they move over and start drilling a new one. If this occurs, there are a few ways to stop them, which is best done right when the damage has started. Don’t wait. My number one suggestion is to go out and buy or build your own nest box with specs made for Northern Flickers and mount it over the patched hole. Be sure to add non-aromatic wood shavings to the bottom so they can start “excavating” the cavity. This gives them a sense of accomplishment and makes them less likely to create more holes in other parts of your home.”

“It’s the least we can do to help these beautiful birds since we take down their dead trees that they would usually nest in. If woodpeckers are creating irregular holes in your siding, you may have an insect infestation and it's best for you to seek out ways to get rid of the problem. Other suggestions to stop them from damaging your home include securing reflective streamers on the outside of your home, which will cause flickers to look elsewhere. Adding bird netting is also effective, but make sure it is not loose as it could end up trapping birds inside of it. This also applies to anywhere else you use this netting, like on your fruit trees. Mounting a plastic owl on your house is a waste of time and money. It may work at first, but it is ineffective over time and will become a part of the environment, just like a tree stump to which they become accustomed. But most importantly, it confuses passerby birders and could cause them unnecessary neck strain.”

Last, but not least, we wanted to explore her thoughts on bird memes, as opposed to the more classic “cat meme.” “Birding content on social media is gaining traction similar to cat and dog content because it provides people with moments of happiness and positivity, giving viewers a much-needed break from the overwhelming negativity that can be shown on social platforms. Birds are fascinating because they're found almost everywhere around the globe, and watching them can instantly connect us to nature and put us in a more natural state of mind, even in a big city.”

“The pandemic is what really turned this hobby into a life passion for millions of people in a short amount of time. When everyone was going outside, their eyes opened, and suddenly they noticed that birds existed, whereas before, they may have been too busy to notice. The biggest impact was the awareness that observing birds helps take our minds off extremely stressful thoughts. Birding supply stores had some of their best sales years during that time, with everyone at home, having birds right outside the window was exactly what we needed to feel semi-normal.”