Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Snowy Owl on NPR

Photo: Dane Adams

Yesterday turned into a bit of an unexpected but exciting whirlwind when I received a phone call from Carol Klinger with National Public Radio. Turns out that the NPR folks wanted to do a spot on this winter's invasion of Snowy Owls. They turned first to regular NPR commentator Julie Zickefoose, who in turn put Carol onto me. Thanks for the tipoff, Jules!

I ran down to NPR affiliate WCBE's station near downtown Columbus, and settled in the booth with Alison Holm, whose voice I was intimately familiar with as I'm a longtime NPR listener via WCBE. At 2 pm, All Things Considered host Melissa Block patched through and off we went! This was a thrill for me, as I've listenened to Melissa for years; NPR is my standard radio fare for the work commute.

So off we went into the world of Snowy Owls and this year's invasion. Trying to encapsulate the gist of such a large subject into a few minutes of radio time is a challenge, but we did the best that we could and hopefully it came out alright. Because NPR beams out nationwide, I heard about the spot from friends all over the country, which was cool. My favorite comment came from a dear friend on the east coast, which said in part: "... and you didn't sound at all geeky!". Hmmm...

Anyway, should you wish to listen to Melissa and I discussing owls, CLICK HERE.

14 comments:

dwaynejava said...

Jim, that was a great interview with NPR. Congrats!

Unknown said...

Great interview Jim. You have a great radio voice and your words spilled out perfectly and effortlessly. Your enthusiasm and knowledge shown through without coming off geeky or eccentric. Well done! I hope to hear you on NPR and elsewhere more often now.

Jim McCormac said...

Thanks you guys - I appreciate the kind words!

Dawn Fine said...

Loved it! You did Great!

Andrew Lane Gibson said...

Loved it, Jim! Your Hedwig comment was perfect and got me laughing good; what an exceptional way to put 'two and two' together for those who never knew what exactly they looked like.

Jim McCormac said...

Thanks Dawn and Andrew! Glad I read the Harry Potter books and knew about Hedwig!

Unknown said...

Just listened to the replay. Excellent interview. This is a great year for the snowy's. There is one that is around Cape Neddick Lighthouse in Maine which is a 100 yds across the water from the park where people are so it is not annoyed by people.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

You did a great job. We have our own Snowy Owls here in SW INdiana. It has been fun to see.

Jim McCormac said...

Thanks Lisa and Myer!

pambirds said...

Thank you, thank you for posting the NPR link as I'd missed the radio broadcast. Very good interview!! Now I want to see a snowy. :-)

Jim McCormac said...

I hope you get to see one, Pam!

Pixy said...

I live in east/central Ohio & would love to know what your advice is on where I could possibly see a Snowy Owl. I'm an hour from WV/Ohio River. Many thanks & for your interview on NPR.

Jim McCormac said...

Hi Pixy, I don't know of any snowy owls in your general vicinity, but there is a very cooperative one near the town of Roundhead in Hardin County if you're willing to take a road trip. It's the most easily found and observed of the owls that I'm aware of. If you are interested send me an email and I can provide specifics: ambrosia@columbus.rr.com

Jennifer said...

I heard this the other day! Great job! :) Jennifer