On the Air with Jesse Huth of Squawk Talk

If there is anyone who lives and breathes the avian world, it is Wimberley’s Jesse Huth. Pronounced “hooth,” Jesse is the host of Squawk Talk that airs each Sunday from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on KWVH.

Remarkably, he has birded all the counties in Texas and is working to duplicate that effort in New Mexico. As you can imagine, he spends a lot of time on the road, in between leading tours in the Rio Grande Valley as well as other parts of Texas, Minnesota, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, New Mexico and Hawaii. He is especially busy during the spring migration from March until June.

He is also a guide for the Partnership for International Birding that takes him to Brazil, Peru, India, and Ecuador.

His interest took wing, so to speak, as a youngster of seven when he spent time with a neighbor who was interested in birds. As a student homeschooled by his mother, he was given free rein to pursue his interest and found that his interest never waned. He joined the Wimberley Birding Society, entered birding competitions and went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Poultry Science and Behavior from Texas A & M. He considered opening a layer farm, but felt it was not the best fit for him, so he took up consulting. He conducts bird surveys as part of wildlife management plans that are required for property tax exemptions, and consults with poultry farmers and backyard poulterers. For the past eight years he has been a professional guide.

During his 30-minute program he discusses current topics in the birding world, birdwatching trips, birding etiquette and answers questions from chicken raisers and wranglers. He is also open to answering questions directed to his website, huthavian.com.

“I love that there are birds everywhere you go,” he said in a recent interview. “My favorite is the Golden Cheeked Warbler, an endangered species that only nests in old growth ashe junipers.” The small evergreen tree grows primarily on soil over layers of limestone. Most of them grow in the Texas Hill Country.

“I have seen every bird there is to see in Texas and I enjoy reliving the thrill that other people experience when they see their “firsts.”