Naturalists | 08.21.24
Will Valentine
Nocs Naturalist
Introduce yourself.
My name is Will. I am a life-long nature lover and limitlessly curious. I currently live in the state of Maine, but have also spent quite a lot of time in Washington state and the state of Tennessee. Traveling has brought me much joy. I enjoy learning about new cultures and getting to know the history of the land, even in unassuming locations. Other hobbies include drawing, writing, play music, and watching scary movies. I work for the City of Portland, Maine, as a Zoning Specialist. I love my job and am dedicated to making the city a better place for people and animals alike.
We’re curious, how did you get into birding? When did the podcast come about?
As mentioned, I am a life-long nature lover. Unfortunately, that love of nature did not always extend to birds. Throughout my childhood and early twenties I thought birds were lame. Well, besides penguins and owls of course. While I was always on the lookout for little terrestrial critters or daydreaming at aquariums, birds had no place in my heart. They just seemed so… pedestrian.
Flash forward to 2018. I was living in Seattle at the time, a dense city of 750,000 people. An urban oasis in Seattle is Greenlake Park, a huge lake in the heart of the city. I often visited Greenlake to walk or lay in the grass. One summer evening I was walking Greenlake when I noticed something peculiar- a crow with red on its wings. Baffled and amazed, I was convinced I discovered some kind of genetic anomaly. I bet I’d even get famous for discovering it! So I told everyone I interacted with about the crow with red wings. About a week later I ran into someone who I now know is a birder, who told me I in fact saw a red-winged blackbird. Not only that, but they were one of the most common birds in the United States. I went back to Greenlake and sure enough effortlessly found dozens of red winged blackbirds. They were not crows at all. This revelation quite literally shattered something inside me. It shattered my understanding of the world around me. How could this amazing little creature be right in front of my face my whole life and I never noticed? From there I took a deep dive into the world of birds and discovered bird is a verb, picking up the hobby and becoming a self taught birder fueled by wonder of the natural world.
Flash forward to 2022. I am fully committed to birds and have created an awesome, inclusive online community on Instagram through sharing bird photos. Inevitably, birds come up in almost every single conversation I have. I just love sharing my passion for our feathered friends. While on a date with my now fiance and chatting her ear off about birds, she compliments my voice and says something along the lines of “you should do a podcast about birds, you know so much!” I laughed it off because I have been self conscious about my voice and hearing recording of my voice for forever, but something about the recommendation stuck.
One of my favorite things about talking about birds is convincing people to care about them. I want people to understand why conservation matters, and the value birds bring to this world. Additionally, I felt like I was robbed of many years of birding simply because I did not know such a hobby existed. Imagine the lifers I missed out on! If I can, I want to bless people with the knowledge of birding so they may extrapolate as much joy out of it as I do. So, after considering those things, and the mission of the “Will’s Birdbrain” Instagram, I decided to take the plunge and try to teach myself yet another hobby completely foreign to me - podcasting!
Do you have any advice for those who are looking to get started in birding and more specially, podcasting?
My mission with the Will’s Birdbrain Podcast is to spread love and appreciation for common birds. My advice for newcomers to the hobby of birding is “start with what you know.” When I began birding I had no support and had to rely on the internet and a $3 bird guide from Goodwill. The amount of information I was swimming in from day one was overwhelming and I thought about giving up on the birding thing many times because of it. That in addition to cold receptions at local bird walks and gatekeeping in online communities made me feel alone and dejected. Not to mention I was not seeing anyone that looked remotely like me in the field or online- young, brown, and broke. One of the major factors that kept me going was the little wins. The first bird I ever identified using my trustee bird book was the spotted towhee, but what I didn’t realize at the time was I knew many species! Pigeons, crows, mallards, Canada geese, these are all birds I knew and I wager most other people know too. If you can identify those birds you are already birding and off to a great start. So don’t give up, start with what you know and build off it! As I say on the podcast, if you can see or hear a bird, congratulations, you are birding.
If you’re looking to start podcasting the most important piece of advice I can give you is just start it. If you are passionate about something and want to talk about it, dive right in. I had zero experience with sound editing or production before I started podcasting. I thought it must be too complicated for someone as non-tech-savvy as me. Turns out it wasn’t! It just took a lot of patience and hard work. Some of the season one episodes took nearly 18 hours each to produce. Now I can finish an episode in less than 10 hours. It’ll get easier, trust me. The hardest part is just taking the plunge and staying consistent.
How are you spending your time outside of work lately? What are some thoughts and ideas that have been occupying your mind?
I recently finished my Master’s degree program which was definitely dominating my time outside of work. It is a huge relief to be done with school and be able to spend more time focused on the podcast and having fun. One of my favorite things to do is play the board game Wingspan. It is a super chill experience where players are tasked with building the most efficient, prosperous bird sanctuary. I recently attended a Wingspan tournament in Portland and made a bunch of new friends. We play together in person and online. It’s nice when hobbies intersect, like board games and birds! Of course I am also giddy about spring migration (already gotten four warbler lifers this year!) and have been squeezing in as much time outdoors as possible.
As for thoughts and ideas, I am always trying to diversify my presence online. Because my Insta community has been supporting me for years online I always try and think of new, entertaining ways to create educational video content. I am thinking maybe I’ll try more scripted stuff this summer. Who knows? Usually the amount of work that I put into my videos doesn’t necessarily translate into success, so it can be a bummer when I am super stoked about something and nobody sees it, but for the most part I have fun with it. If I can teach one person one fact with my videos that is a win in my eyes.
What are your go-to materials and how do you think about them?
My gray softshell Patagonia bomber jacket and teal penguin baseball hat is my Will’s Birdbrain “uniform!” I always feel like myself wearing them, they’re comfortable in most weather. I also love photography so my digital camera is a must as well. I am forever a birder before a photographer. I am out there for the birds, however, it is electrifying to get the perfect shot of a little flighty bird. I use a Nikon D7200, bought used in 2020, still works like a charm. While I tend to not carry it in the field as much anymore due to my fairly substantial knowledge of local birds, I do also love my Peterson bird book - Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. I got it as a gift when I lived in Seattle, thankfully most of the birds I see on the east coast can be found in it as well! I highly recommend using a physical book to any new birder out there. Being able to flip through the pages and get to know species in your area is hugely beneficial for your learning, especially given the fact many guides group birds by family. Plus, the art is usually beautiful. Not sure about spending money on a bird book yet? Check one out from your local library! I’m sure they’d love to have you visit. You can also likely find bird books at thrift stores like Goodwill for quite cheap.
We’re stoked that Nocs are in your toolkit. In what situations do you find yourself grabbing your Nocs? How are they helping your craft?
My favorite thing about my Nocs is their versatility. This Zoom Tube is particularly useful because it easily fits in my jacket pockets! I keep my Zoom Tube in my car, so if I ever end up spontaneously in nature it’s always within arm reach. I also like the compact design of the Nocs binoculars. Carrying a camera, books, phone, and binoculars can be cumbersome. Nocs sleek design takes some of that weight off for more comfortable adventuring.
Nocs are helping my craft by encouraging me to continue sharing my love of birding with everyone. Being able to comfortably carry Nocs binoculars and the Zoom Tube around keeps them handy, which has led to more than a couple of instances where I am able to share this gear with strangers and friends alike. Birding is a hobby most enjoyed when shared, Nocs products are a great way to create connections with people to share the hobby with.
From the looks of it, you are constantly on an adventure or in nature. Can you tell us the most sublime moment you’ve experienced in the great outdoors?
I am constantly on an adventure! Just like I preach on the WBB Podcast, every time I’m outside I am appreciating the nature around me, even in cities! For example, I work in Portland, the largest city in Maine. I’ve started a list of birds I’ve seen on my short walk from the parking area to my office, it’s already up to about 20 birds!
Picking a most sublime moment outdoors is like asking a bird lover what their favorite bird is- impossible question! I’ll give you a good one though. About 6 months after I moved to Maine, a Steller’s sea eagle was reported on the east coast. These birds are native to Japan and Russia, seeing one in the United States was like a one in a billion chance, so hearing about one in Massachusetts about four hours away seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity to see one. Unfortunately, one thing led to another and I missed my opportunity to see the bird in MA. The trail went cold for a little bit, then surprise, right at the end of 2021 the sea eagle was reported in Georgetown, Maine! I wouldn't miss it this time. On New Years day I made my way to the last known location of the gigantic bird and found the entourage immediately- nearly a hundred birders all gathered on a sleepy chunk of shore in Maine in the heart of winter. I kid you not, it looked and felt like a festival, I kept looking around for popcorn machines and face painting booths. It was a dark, rainy, drab day, but the energy was electric. Barely taking five steps towards the crowd I was greeted by a kind stranger who insisted I use her scope to check out the sea eagle, which was resting on an island off the coast. I was in awe seeing such a majestic creature simply chillin’ in the wild. I stuck around for a while, making friends and taking photos. At one point the sea eagle was hanging out with a couple of bald eagles, which was cool to see. My favorite thing about this moment was the fact everyone was so happy to be sharing this magical moment with each other. I chatted with people who drove for nearly three days straight in the hopes of seeing this bird, or people that took time off work just to fly to Maine to maybe see the bird. It was a beautiful moment and made me proud to be a part of the birding community. There was no nastiness, no gatekeeping or bullying. Just happy birders.
If you could describe yourself as any creature or animal, what would it be?
100% without a doubt a common housecat, felis cactus. Believe it or not I am a pretty shy, introverted person. I get quite overwhelmed in certain social situations and like to retreat into my comfort zones. That being said, when I am having fun or around people I love and/or trust I open up and can be really high energy and goofy. I like exploring, but keep close watch over my stomping grounds or territory. I can be a picky eater at times, and like to be comfy at home. Plus come on, my favorite hobby is birdwatching!
I had my cat Miri for eight years. We were each other's best friends. I saw a lot of myself in her, we had a very special connection. She was fiercely loyal and would literally protect me if strangers (to her) were ever in the house. Whenever I came home late or was gone all day I’d get a scolding from her, followed up by copious amounts of cuddles and nuzzles. I felt very loved with Miri and try and treat my loved ones with a similar kind of love.
Anything on your calendar that you’re looking forward to? We’d love to stay in touch! Where can we find you these upcoming months?
Season three of the Will’s Birdbrain Podcast is debuting in May, that will be exciting! I’ve got a new formula brewing this season, so if you’ve been following for the past two years get ready for something new! You can tune in wherever you get podcasts like Spotify and Apple. I’ll also remain active on Instagram, so be sure to say “hi” should you check out my profile there @willsbirdbrain. I recently graduated with my Master’s degree so I’ve got a considerably higher amount of free time now. I think something I’ll do with that freetime this summer is coordinate birdwalks for all levels of birders in the community. I have led a couple of walks in the past, it is great fun. I’ve also been working on coordinating educational birding lectures in the southern Maine region, so keep an ear out on the socials should you be interested in introducing a buddy to birding in a fun way! As always, keep an eye out for me in the field, I’m always around!
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