Tag Archives: European herps

Episode 117: In Belgium with Jeroen Speybroeck

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Hi folks!  Thanks for your patience, I’ve been called away so much this spring and summer. I first talked with Jeroen Speybroeck in Episode 27, way back in Season One. Jeroen is all the things, he’s a conservation biologist, author, field herper and life lister, and for that first conversation we talked about his fire salamander research, conservation efforts with Spadefoot Toads, herping in various places around the globe, and we also talked about the very good field guide to the herps of Britain and Europe of which he is a co-author. If you haven’t heard that episode you might want to listen to it first. This show was recorded outside at a lovely abbey near Brussels, where Matt Cage and I had lunch with Jeroen, and a few absolutely killer local brews before heading to the airport.

MERCH!!!  T-shirts and other swag are available now at the SoMuchPingle Threadless Store. More designs are in the pipeline. Thank you in advance!

I want to give a shout-out to someone who wishes to remain anonymous, who recently made a one-time donation to support the podcast. Thank you so much, anonymous person, I appreciate ya! As always, I am grateful to all the show’s patrons who help to keep the show moving forward. And if you’re out there listening and you would like to kick in a few bucks, there are several ways to do so – you can make a one-time contribution via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com). You can also provide support the show using Patreon, via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can support the show for as little as three bucks a month – less than a fancy cup of coffee!

Thank you again, Jeroen and Matt!

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, best beers for podcasting (Belgian ales, duh), tips for herping better, etc.

-Mike

 

Episode 64: A European Odyssey Examined

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Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Sixty Four!  I hope all of you remain safe and healthy out there as we roll into June. First up I want to give a shoutout to the Minnesota Herpetological Society for inviting me to speak at their first in-person meeting since pre-Covid.  I made a rocket run up to Minneapolis St. Paul on Friday and back on Saturday, and I talked about The Field Herping Guide, the Pingleton/Holbrook collaboration project, and also, this show and how it got started.  It’s a great herp society and they once again made me feel welcome, so thanks again to all the folks in the MHS.

As always, I want to thank all of the patrons of the show – we would not be kicking off a third season without you and I appreciate your support.   To others in the listening audience, if you like the show, please consider supporting it via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. You can also support the show via one-time contributions via PayPal or Venmo (please contact me via email to somuchpingle@gmail.com).

HERPETOLOGY SUMMER CAMP!  Coming up this summer! Through their Compass Summer Experience program, Montreat College is hosting their annual Herpetology Summer Camp for high school students, from June 19th thru the 24th, with an option for an additional week thru July 1st.  The camp is hosted by Professor Josh Holbrook, and students will experience amphibians and reptiles through a blend of classroom and field sessions.  For more information and to register, see the Herpetology Summer Experience page.

This week’s show is a discussion of a recent field herping trip to Greece, Hungary, and Slovenia.  I set up a microphone in our AirBNB suite at the end of the trip, in order to get everyone’s impressions of the trip.  Special thanks to John Burris, Matt Cage, Bryan Hughes, Pat Kain, Chris MacDonald, Jeff Martineau, Erik McCormick, Anniek Tump, Gerrit Verspui, and Tim Warfel.

And thanks for listening everyone! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and please take time to rate the show on your podcast platform! The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, herping tips for the Acropolis, tips for herping better, etc.

Cheers! Mike

 

Episode 27: A Conversation with Jeroen Speybroeck

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Hello everyone and welcome to Episode Twenty Seven!  And we add yet another country to the list with this episode, a lengthy conversation with Belgian researcher / author/ herper Jeroen Speybroeck, recorded on Thanksgiving.  We had a lot to talk about during this episode, including Jeroen’s fire salamander research, herping in various places around the globe, and also his very good field guide to the herps of Britain and Europe (see second photo).  Jeroen and I are both life listers, and we talk about that a bit, and for the second show in a row, Australian thorny devils (Moloch) are discussed (top photo of lucky Jeroen and a thorny devil, I’m just a bit envious).

After the interview and before this episode was released, I got a copy of the Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Britain and Europe (available on Amazon!).  Between the species descriptions, range maps, and lovely species illustrations by Ilian Velikov, the book is excellent, and Jeroen and his collaborators should be proud of the work.  I’ve been poring over my copy, stroking my goatee and making future plans…

Another thing Jeroen and I have in common is the documenting of herp adventures – his trip reports can be found here and are most certainly worth your time.  Jeroen is also on Facebook and Instagram.  I hope you enjoy our conversation!

PATREONERS!  I want to give a shout-out to our new patreon contributors since the last episode: Mike Rochford, Josef Thompson, Alex Krohn, Matt Ratcliffe, Jeroen Speybroeck, Bryan Hughes, Brandon Bourassa, Josh Holbrook, and James Mcghee. Thank you all so much for supporting the show! I really appreciate it. To others in the listening audience, if you like the show, please consider supporting it via the So Much Pingle Patreon page. And thanks in advance!

And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions, life list bragging sessions, tips for herping better, etc.

Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better!

-Mike