We interview Marky Mutchler this week and talk about Limpkins. Marky is a PHD student at the University of Chicago, and is studying limpkins. If you’re not familiar, Limpkins are a bird that is native to South America and their range covers Florida as well. They’ve been expanding northwards lately, and there were many citing in Illinois this summer. Marky tells us about them being spotted as far north as Nova Scotia as well. Will they be able to survive winters? How are they finding food in these new locations? Marky talks us through many of the theories and evidence as well. One of the limpkins was found dead in Illinois recently, and the dead bird was brought to the Field Museum for research, so we talk to Marky, John, and Shannon to see what they’ve learned.
Check out pictures of the bird specimen on our instagram @birds_of_a_feather_podcast
Please send us your questions for us to answer as well! You can send them to podcast.birdsofafeather@gmail.com
Enjoy!