Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud's guest appearances

Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud

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Bird Podcast with Shoba Narayan

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Photographing birds across continents. In this episode, we interview His Excellency Jacques Pitteloud who happens to be the Swiss Ambassador to the United States.  Based in Washington, Ambassador Pitteloud is also a birdwatcher and bird photographer.  In 2021, Ambassador Pitteloud’s photograph of a rare painted bunting that appeared in Maryland landed in the Washington Post prompting lots of excitement in the birding world. Later, the Washingtonian ran an article about him, titled, “The Guy Who Got That Photo of a Rare Painted Bunting? He’s the Swiss Ambassador!” He posts his birding photos on his Facebook page. On that page, he posts nothing personal or political. Here he talks about how he developed this passion for birds and some of his favourite regions and birds.   Episode highlights 12:45: his views on the “big year of birding.” 13:45: his view on the different species of bird watchers. 15:00: he talks about two anecdotes in Africa– Kenya.  About finding the blue-headed beeeater and the Mackinder’s Eagle Owl. 18:00 mountain passes where you can see raptor migrations. He talks about Chicago’s Magic Hedge in the middle of the city where migratory birds especially warblers (thousands of them) congregate in early May before crossing the Great Lakes.   19:30 about the Connecticut warbler and warbler identification. 21:15 the apps that he uses to identify birds. 22:00 Is there a link between birding and diplomacy? “Birding is the new golfing.” 24:15: what photographic equipment does he use.  He uses Canon. 600mm F4 lens.  Camera is D90.  With 500mm lenses he shoots handheld. With the 600mm he uses a tripod. 26:00 his favourite birds.  Raptors.  How they move differently.   27:15 about his Indian Facebook friends.  

Photographing birds across continents. In this episode, we interview His Excellency Jacques Pitteloud who happens to be the <a href="https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/usa/en/home/representations/embassy-washington/welcome.html" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Swiss Ambassador to the United States</a>.  Based in Washington, Ambassador Pitteloud is also a birdwatcher and bird photographer.  In 2021, Ambassador Pitteloud’s photograph of a rare painted bunting that appeared in Maryland landed in the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/01/03/painted-bunting-great-falls-bird-watchers/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> prompting lots of excitement in the birding world. Later, the Washingtonian ran an article about him, titled, <a href="https://www.washingtonian.com/2021/01/04/painted-bunting-swiss-ambassador-birder-jacques-pitteloud/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">“The Guy Who Got That Photo of a Rare Painted Bunting? He’s the Swiss Ambassador!”</a> He posts his birding photos on his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jacques.pitteloud.7" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page. On that page, he posts nothing personal or political. Here he talks about how he developed this passion for birds and some of his favourite regions and birds.   Episode highlights 12:45: his views on the “big year of birding.” 13:45: his view on the different species of bird watchers. 15:00: he talks about two anecdotes in Africa– Kenya.  About finding the blue-headed beeeater and the Mackinder’s Eagle Owl. 18:00 mountain passes where you can see raptor migrations. He talks about Chicago’s Magic Hedge in the middle of the city where migratory birds especially warblers (thousands of them) congregate in early May before crossing the Great Lakes.   19:30 about the Connecticut warbler and warbler identification. 21:15 the apps that he uses to identify birds. 22:00 Is there a link between birding and diplomacy? “Birding is the new golfing.” 24:15: what photographic equipment does he use.  He uses Canon. 600mm F4 lens.  Camera is D90.  With 500mm lenses he shoots handheld. With the 600mm he uses a tripod. 26:00 his favourite birds.  Raptors.  How they move differently.   27:15 about his Indian Facebook friends.

Episode 62: Bird diplomacy with Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud

When Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud moved to Washington DC, his residence was perfect. Too perfect. The Swiss ambassador’s residence sits on six acres on a hill with an awesome view of the Washington Monument. “I was amazed by the beauty of the whole setting…It looked like a golf course and I don't like golf courses… they are ecological disasters,” Ambassador Pitteloud reflected. Together with his gardening team, the Ambassador has transformed the residence into a native oasis. On this episode of How To!, we’re taking a field trip to the Swiss Ambassador’s residence. Ambassador Pitteloud reveals how he brought back his beloved birds and even gave diplomatic immunity to local colonies of bees. We talked last week with Doug Tallamy, who gave some wonderfully concrete advice on how you can revitalize your local ecosystem with just your yard. Ambassador Pitteloud is a living testament that you can have a meaningful impact with just your yard and he’s impoloring others to follow suit. “Environmental protection has become ideological and politicized. This is not a political question… It's 5 minutes before midnight.” Resources: Homegrown National ParkNature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your YardAudubon Native Plants DatabaseNational Wildlife Federation Native Plant FinderSEEK by iNaturalistIf you liked this episode, check out part one: “How To Save the Planet, Starting With Your Yard.”Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at slate.com/howtoplus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When <a href="https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/usa/en/home/representations/embassy-washington/welcome.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud</a> moved to Washington DC, his residence was perfect. Too perfect. The Swiss ambassador’s residence sits on six acres on a hill with an awesome view of the Washington Monument. “I was amazed by the beauty of the whole setting…It looked like a golf course and I don't like golf courses… they are ecological disasters,” Ambassador Pitteloud reflected. Together with his gardening team, the Ambassador has <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/why-switzerland-growing-native-plant-oasis-heart-washington" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">transformed the residence into a native oasis</a>. On this episode of How To!, we’re taking a field trip to the Swiss Ambassador’s residence. Ambassador Pitteloud reveals how he brought back his beloved birds and even gave diplomatic immunity to local colonies of bees. We talked <a href="https://slate.com/podcasts/how-to/2022/08/how-to-save-the-planet-with-native-plants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">last week with Doug Tallamy</a>, who gave some wonderfully concrete advice on how you can revitalize your local ecosystem with just your yard. Ambassador Pitteloud is a living testament that you can have a meaningful impact with just your yard and he’s impoloring others to follow suit. “Environmental protection has become ideological and politicized. This is not a political question… It's 5 minutes before midnight.” Resources: <a href="https://homegrownnationalpark.org/tallamys-hub-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Homegrown National Park</a><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781604699005" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard</a><a href="https://www.audubon.org/native-plants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Audubon Native Plants Database</a><a href="https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder</a><a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SEEK by iNaturalist</a>If you liked this episode, check out part one: “<a href="https://slate.com/podcasts/how-to/2022/08/how-to-save-the-planet-with-native-plants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How To Save the Planet, Starting With Your Yard.</a>”Do you have a problem that needs solving? Send us a note at <a href="mailto:howto@slate.com">howto@slate.com</a> or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show.Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now at <a href="http://www.slate.com/howtoplus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">slate.com/howtoplus</a>. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>