Doctoral Student Matt Jenkins Talks About His Bluebird Research in Northern Arizona Artwork

Northern Wings - A Podcast of the Northern Arizona Audubon Society

This podcast is intended to advance the mission of the Northern Arizona Audubon Society (NAAS) by engaging people in appreciating and protecting birds and the places they need, with a focus on northern Arizona. We’ll discuss the joys of birding in the region and how NAAS interacts with individuals, communities, and organizations to provide opportunities to improve field skills and knowledge about birds and nature, to strengthen the collection of science-based data about birds, and to conserve the places birds and other wildlife rely on, especially sanctuaries and important bird areas.

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Northern Wings - A Podcast of the Northern Arizona Audubon Society

Doctoral Student Matt Jenkins Talks About His Bluebird Research in Northern Arizona

August 10, 2025 • Northern Arizona Audubon Society • Season 1 • Episode 6

In this episode, you get two Matts for the price of one. Matt Anderson interviews Matt Jenkins, a third-year doctoral student at the University of Arizona, about the fascinating research he’s conducting regarding bluebirds (both Western and Mountain) using data he’s collecting in Northern Arizona and elsewhere. We talk about Matt’s fascinating journey, from his boyhood interest in birds to his scientific research exploring the evolution of behaviors over time and how they influence birds’ dispersal, range expansion, and developmental environments. We also discuss the goals of Matt’s research, his data-collection practices, and more. Here is a link to Matt Jenkin’s page on the University of Arizona’s website:

https://eeb.arizona.edu/person/matthew-jenkins

Thanks to Jay McGowan and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library for the use of the bird song clip and to Christina Vojta, NAAS steward for Kachina Wetlands, for her assistance with the bird song segment.

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The Northern Arizona Audubon Society has been the voice for birds in Northern Arizona since 1972.