BDN bird columnist to host ‘Bob Duchesne’s Wild Maine’ radio show

When the BDN went looking for a freelance birding columnist more than a year ago, the selection process was a simple one.

Bob Duchesne

We talked about possible prospects and unanimously decided that we ought to approach Bob Duchesne, hoping he’d tell us that he was willing to share his knowledge and passion with our readers. Luckily, Duchesne said “Yes,” and he has been entertaining our readers ever since.

On Monday, I was happy to receive official word of a development Bob had let leak several weeks ago: The longtime birder, former legislator, and hall of fame radio disc jockey is heading back to his roots, and will begin hosting his own weekly radio show.

The show, which will be called “Bob Duchesne’s Wild Maine,” will air Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 92.9, “The Ticket,” according to a station press release.

“There’s so much to see and do in the state of Maine and Bob knows just how to bring it to the airwaves in an interesting and informative way,” Townsquare Media general manager Tom Preble said in the news release. “Anyone who loves to get out and enjoy Maine will love this show.”

In my college years I enjoyed listening to Bob as he played tunes on the region’s top country music radio station. During a 17-year-run, his morning show was a perennial chart-topper in the eastern and central Maine market. According to the release, Bob was named the Country Music Association’s broadcast personality of the year in 1994, and he was inducted into the Country DJ Hall of Fame on March 2, 2004.

And on the bird front, he’s also top-notch: He serves as a Maine Audubon trustee and vice president of its Penobscot Valley chapter, and he developed the Maine Birding Trail and has written a guidebook of the same name.

On a more personal note, Bob’s an editor’s dream: He never misses deadline (and typically has four or five columns done in advance at any one time). His copy is clean. Like, “no errors, ever” clean. And he teaches me something new every time he writes.

Good luck to Bob in this fantastic new endeavor.

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.