In this episode of The Spark Bird Podcast, our hosts Jenn Lodi-Smith and Janet McNally welcome Nina Hale, a Minneapolis-based artist and activist who transforms birdsong into hand-beaded bracelets.

Nina shares her art and passion for birding, as well as her experience living in Minneapolis during the recent federal immigration surge, which has brought thousands of ICE agents into the city. As communities mobilized in response, Nina became actively involved by joining neighborhood patrols, supporting local networks, and using her art not only to remember the birds that have been lost but to stand with those fighting for justice now.

(Pictured above: The Ivory-billed Woodpecker Birdsong Bracelet Nina shared during the episode.)

Links & Resources from This Episode

🧵Discover Nina's handcrafted designs and the birds behind the beads at the Birdsong Bracelets website.

📸 See her latest designs on Instagram @birdsongbracelets.

📱Follow Nina's personal Instagram account @helenahandbskt for more birding content and community updates.

📝The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota is a nonprofit organization that provides free immigration legal representation in Minnesota and North Dakota.

💜Stand With Minnesota offers a vetted directory of organizations supporting the people and communities directly impacted. If you're unable to donate, consider sharing these efforts, talking with your community, and staying informed.

In this episode of The Spark Bird Podcast, our hosts Jenn Lodi-Smith and Janet McNally talk with Mel Julien, the Community Engagement Director for the NYC Plover Project.

Mel shares how the Piping Plover became her spark bird after rediscovering the beach near her childhood home during the pandemic. What began as a curiosity about shorebird nesting signs soon led her to volunteer with the NYC Plover Project and eventually join the team working to protect these endangered birds on New York City's beaches.

Links & Resources from This Episode

📸 Follow Mel's birding and conservation journey on Instagram at @meldjewels and connect with her professional work on LinkedIn.

🏖️ Learn more about the NYC Plover Project, whose mission is to protect endangered Piping Plovers and other beach-nesting birds on New York City's beaches through education, community, and volunteer engagement.

📱 Stay up to date with the NYC Plover Project's work and shorebird updates by following them on social media–Instagram (@nycploverproject), Facebook, X, and Threads.

Show Notes by Kayla Gajewski

In this episode of The Spark Bird Podcast, our hosts Jenn Lodi-Smith and Janet McNally welcome Angela Schumpert, also known as The Berd Nird! What began as casual backyard birding turned into a moment that sent her reaching for her first field guide.

Drawing on her background in the Air Force and law enforcement investigation, Angela shares how attention to detail, patience and observation naturally translate from her career into the art and joy of building The Flock.

Links & Resources from This Episode

🦜 Join Angela's online birding community, The Flock, for meetups, contests, and birding trips!

🌿 Learn more about Angela and explore her resources at her website, The Berd Nird.

📸 Follow Angela's birding adventures and humor on Instagram @the_berd_nird.

🎥 Watch more of her content on TikTok at @berdnird4

▶️ Subscribe to her YouTube channel, @theberdnird.

👍 Connect with Angela on Facebook.

Show Notes by Kayla Gajewski

In this episode of The Spark Bird Podcast, our hosts Jenn Lodi-Smith and Janet McNally welcome Jamie Cunningham, Education Director at Black Swamp Bird Observatory and birding and photography guide with Saberwing Nature Tours.

Jamie shares how an unexpected Eastern Bluebird at a backyard nest box, followed by a life-changing visit to Magee Marsh during spring migration, sparked a deeper fascination with birds that shaped both her personal and professional life.

Links & Resources from This Episode

🌎 Learn more about Jamie's birding and photography travel experiences through Saberwing Nature Tours, where she leads birding and photography tours around the world!

🐦 Explore the work of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory the organization behind The Biggest Week in American Birding, the Ohio Young Birders Club, and year-round education and field programs. Stay connected through their Facebook page Black Swamp Bird Observatory for events and community updates, and follow @bsbobird on Instagram.

🎉 Find festival details, schedules, and registration information for The Biggest Week in American Birding wesbite, and follow them on Instagram @biggestweek and Facebook.

🌱 Discover programs and opportunities for young birders through the Ohio Young Birders Club, including field trips, events, and community resources. Follow the Ohio Young Birders community on Instagram @bsbobird for updates and opportunities.

Show Notes by Kayla Gajewski

In this second special Birds on the Niagara International Birding Festival feature, our hosts Jenn Lodi-Smith and Janet McNally welcome Corina Newsome, a conservation scientist at the National Wildlife Federation and the festival's keynote speaker.

Corina's work is rooted in advancing urban biodiversity conservation with environmental justice. She challenges the idea that conservation only happens in remote places, reminding us that cities are unique landscapes full of wildlife and wonder waiting to be explored and protected.

Links & Resources from This Episode

🐦 Follow Corina on Instagram and explore urban wildlife, birding, and environmental justice through Corina's lens.

💼 Connect with Corina on LinkedIn to learn more about her professional work in conservation science or to ask any questions you may have!

🎤 Attend her keynote address "Loving by Nature" at Birds on the Niagara International Birding Festival! To register and find full details, visit the Birds on the Niagara website events page.

🪶 Register at their website and come birding at the 2026 Birds on the Niagara Festival happening February 12th–16th.

Show Notes by Kayla Gajewski

In this special Birds on the Niagara International Birding Festival feature, our hosts Jenn Lodi-Smith and Janet McNally welcome Marcus Rosten, a birder and conservationist whose journey into birding began with one unforgettable encounter.

This episode celebrates birds as a gateway to conservation, community, and understanding our place within a larger global ecosystem. Highlighting why events like the Birds on the Niagara International Birding Festival matter now more than ever.

In this photo, Marcus is holding the American Woodcock from his Spark Bird story he shared with us!

Links & Resources from This Episode

🐦 Want to visit Buffalo and experience the Birds on the Niagara International Birding Festival? Learn more about the festival, events, birding along the Niagara region and come bird with us February 12th-16th!

🌿 To learn more about the Western New York Wildway, explore the conservation work Marcus discusses and how land protection keeps habitats connected, visit the Western New York Land Conservancy website.

Show Notes by Kayla Gajewski

In this episode of The Spark Bird Podcast, hosts Jenn Lodi-Smith and Janet McNally sit down with environmental educator Eva Matthews Lark to talk about how winter warblers became her spark birds during a difficult period in her life. Now memorialized in her bird-inspired tattoo, those birds helped her find comfort and a deeper connection to birding.

Eva also discusses their work in environmental education, the importance of meeting people where they are through technology, and how inclusive, intentional birding spaces enable people to show up as their authentic selves, finding belonging both in nature and in community.

Links & Resources from This Episode

🐦 Check out Eva's quarterly mini-episode "Tail Feathers" on the Voices of Open Space podcast for more birding stories and tips from the field.

🌿 If you want to visit Hog Island Audubon Camp, she'll be leading the Let's Go Birding Together session!

🏞️ Birding in Boulder County? They have insider knowledge from working with Boulder County Parks & Open Space and are welcome to give tips for the best local birding adventures.

📸 Follow her adventures and connect on Instagram at @flyingmullet.

In this episode of the Spark Bird Podcast, hosts Jenn Lodi-Smith and Janet McNally talk with author and naturalist Leigh Ann Henion about what it means to really pay attention to the world around us, especially after dark.

Leigh Ann shares her early love of birds, names the Great Blue Heron as her spark bird, and reflects on how certain species have shaped her curiosity and connection to nature. They discuss her book Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark, where she challenges the idea that darkness is something to fear or avoid, and instead, invites readers to take another look as a living habitat full of possibility.

Resources & Links from This Episode

🌿 Visit Leigh Ann Henion's website to learn more about her writing and work.

📘 Connect with Leigh Ann on Facebook.

📸 Follow Leigh Ann on Instagram @leighannhenion.

📚 Learn more about Leigh Ann's books here, including Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark, and Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer's Search for Wonder in the Natural World

🌙 Explore Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark and order the book here.

💡 Learn more about the Lights Out Program, an initiative to reduce light pollution and protect birds.

Show Notes by Kayla Gajewski