Al Batt of rural Hartland, Minnesota is a writer, speaker, storyteller, humorist and birder. Al, who was born and raised on a farm near Hartland, lives in the Batt Cave with his wife Gail (a.k.a. “The Queen B”) and their dog, Towhee, a Belgian Airhead. Al writes four weekly humor and nature columns for many newspapers and does a radio show about nature three times per week on a number of stations. He writes a number of popular cartoon strips that are syndicated nationally. He has written for a number of magazines and books, including the Chicken Soup For the Soul series. He is a contributing author to the book, Minnesota Bird Watching.

Al appears each week on “Memories and Musings by Al Batt” on KSMQ-TV. He has written for the movies. He speaks at various festivals, conferences and conventions all over the United States. He has been named Birder of the Year by WildBird Magazine. He has received the Ed Franey Conservation Media Award from the Izaak Walton League. He is a former President of the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union. Al leads tours to Alaska, disappears into the woods whenever he is able, usually on the pretext that he is “taking the dog for a walk,” and speaks to anyone who will listen. His mother thinks he is special.