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BirdNote

337 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 485 ratings

Escape the daily grind and immerse yourself in the natural world. Rich in imagery, sound, and information, BirdNote inspires you to notice the world around you. Join us for daily two-minute stories about birds, the environment, and more.

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Episodes

Pied-billed Grebes - With Martin Muller

August 16, 2020 12:00

Birds, while guided by instinct, seem able to adapt to specific situations. Martin Muller is an expert on waterbirds called Pied-billed Grebes. One spring day, on an urban lake in Seattle, Martin observed a pair of grebes switching roles in order to protect their young and defend their territory

The Bird Is the Word

August 15, 2020 12:00

The songs on this show, in order, are: * Bird on a Wire, sung by Judy Collins * Selection from Igor Stravinsky's Firebird Suite * Selection from Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird * Selection from the Trashmen's Surfin' Bird. Thanks to Lori Tingey for her photo of a funky chicken.

Audubon's Oriole

August 14, 2020 12:00

The Audubon’s Oriole can be heard in the dense woodlands of South Texas, including the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Most of its range lies in Mexico, where it’s known as Calandria Capucha Negra, or lark with a black hood. Dense woodland habitats where the orioles breed have become more fragmented

Sapsuckers and Sap

August 13, 2020 12:00

Sapsuckers, a specialized group of woodpeckers (that includes this Red-naped Sapsucker), don’t actually suck sap. After pecking neat rows of small holes in trees to cause the sugary liquid to flow, the birds lick it up with tongues tipped with stiff hairs. So why doesn’t a sapsucker’s beak get stuck

Wild Farm Alliance

August 12, 2020 12:00

Farmers have used chemicals to fight insect pests for centuries. Chemical use took on a startling face in the 1940s with the creation of DDT, which had horrifying effects on bird populations. But today, the Wild Farm Alliance is out to prove that farmers don’t have to resort to pesticides

Male Mallards Disappear

August 11, 2020 12:00

By late summer, the male Mallard’s need for fancy feathers to attract the females has passed. These birds have molted, and their bright feathers are replaced with mottled brown ones. Subdued colors help camouflage the male ducks, protecting them from predators. Come fall, the male Mallards will molt

Night Voices of Summer

August 10, 2020 12:00

At the close of a summer day, the songbirds go silent. As if on cue, the birds of the night make their voices known. In an Eastern woodland, the eerie trills and whinnies of an Eastern Screech-Owl are among the first sounds of the night. Meanwhile, as night falls west of the Rockies, a Western

Shorebirds Watch Their Feet

August 09, 2020 12:00

Greater Yellowlegs — not surprisingly — have bright yellow legs and feet. And why? While foraging through shallow water, a yellowlegs (like this one) can keep track of its legs by the color, which contrasts with the sometimes dark and irregular bottom. A Sanderling, on the other hand, has black legs

The Crow and the Gull

August 08, 2020 12:00

Crows and gulls are opportunists - grabbing a bite wherever, whenever, however they can. Listener Nick Woodiwiss of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, wrote to BirdNote about a funny scene between an American Crow and a Glaucous-winged Gull on the beach. It seems that crows and gulls are frequent

Grassland Meander

August 07, 2020 12:00

In summer, the grasslands of southern Saskatchewan resound with bird song. This Bobolink is among the birds that combine their voices in a rich, ringing chorus. Through these grasslands flows the Frenchman River, twisting and looping — the epitome of a meandering river. The southern reaches of the

Life on the Beach with Wilson's Plovers

August 06, 2020 12:00

Along the Gulf of Mexico, you’ll find undeveloped sandy flats and shallow lagoons. This is prime habitat for Wilson’s Plovers to nest and raise their chicks. But life on the beach can be tough for birds. In many parts of its U.S. range on the Gulf and south Atlantic coasts, Wilson’s Plover habitat

Sound Escapes 2 - Inviting You to Listen

August 05, 2020 12:00

We’re proud to share a new season of our podcast, Sound Escapes. Host Gordon Hempton transports us to some of the most incredible places on Earth through his nature recordings. Sound Escapes is made possible by the generous support of Jim and Birte Falconer of Seattle.

Woodpeckers as Keystone Species

August 04, 2020 12:00

Woodpeckers - including this Northern Flicker - are master carpenters of the bird world. They're called "keystone" species for their crucial role in creating habitat suited to other woodland wildlife. Abandoned woodpecker nest-holes become nests or roosts for small owls, cavity-nesting ducks, swifts

Working Turnstones Turn Stones

August 03, 2020 12:00

True to its name, the Ruddy Turnstone can turn stones -- and lots of other things along the shore -- in search of food. The bird bends its legs to half their length, places its bill beneath the object to be turned, and with a sudden quick jerk of its head flips it over. For larger objects, a bird

Shifts in Habitat = Shifts in Species

August 02, 2020 12:00

We asked David Sibley, creator and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds, how changes in the environment are affecting birds such as this Brown Thrasher. He says, “A shift of habitat has caused a shift in the species” he's observed in the Northeastern US. For example, Wild Turkeys, Pileated

Flammulated Owl

August 01, 2020 12:00

The Flammulated Owl is a study in camouflaged grays and browns, with cinnamon-brown shoulder straps and large brown eyes. This astute aerial predator stands a little more than six and a half inches tall, from its sharp-clawed feet to its stubby, ear-like tufts. It winters in southern Mexico or

A Trip to the Field Museum

July 31, 2020 12:00

Students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago took a class trip to the city’s Field Museum for a natural history illustration class. The students had to draw three bird heads and three birds’ feet. Junior Michelle Flitman chose first the Rufous Hornbill, a bird native to the Philippines

Soaring with Redtails

July 30, 2020 12:00

A Red-tailed Hawk soars on broad, rounded wings, the epitome of effortless flight. Without flapping, it traces a leisurely, rising circle. The hawk is riding a thermal, a column of warm rising air generated near the earth's surface by heat from the sun. The Red-tail periodically circles to stay

Small Birds Mob Big Ones

July 29, 2020 12:00

When smaller birds join forces to ward off larger birds, it's called mobbing. This behavior — like calling your family for help — is used by many bird species. The best time to observe mobbing is spring and early summer, when breeding birds are trying to protect their nests and young. Birds

Indigo Bunting - Bird of the Ecotone

July 28, 2020 12:00

Many birds – like this Indigo Bunting – can be found in ecotones, the borders between two habitats. Indigo Buntings breed in the ecotone between forest and meadow. They are common at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana, where grassland and forest are interspersed to produce superb

Peregrine-Shorebird Interaction

July 27, 2020 12:00

Have you ever seen a Peregrine Falcon attack a flock of shorebirds, igniting a breathtaking aerial display? The late falcon researcher Steve Herman called this pattern of evasion "instantaneous synchronicity." The shorebird flock will often form a cone, with the sharpest point shifting continuously

Wilson's Phalarope

July 26, 2020 12:00

If any bird is an anomaly, it's the Wilson's Phalarope. In a birdbook, Wilson's Phalaropes are found among the sandpipers. But they forage while swimming. Spinning like tops, they create an upwelling, pulling food to the surface. The breeding of Wilson's Phalaropes is anomalous, too. Females are the

Wilson's Phalarope

July 26, 2020 07:00

If any bird is an anomaly, it's the Wilson's Phalarope. In a birdbook, Wilson's Phalaropes are found among the sandpipers. But they typically forage while swimming. Spinning like tops, they create an upwelling, pulling food to the surface. The breeding of Wilson's Phalaropes is anomalous, too.

Birds Have No External Ears

July 25, 2020 12:00

Unlike mammals, birds have no external ear structures. Their ear openings are hidden beneath feathers on the side of the head, just behind and slightly below the eyes. (It's easy to imagine where this House Finch's ear is, isn't it?) In mammals, the external ear structure helps funnel sound in, and

Poorwills at Night

July 24, 2020 12:00

Close kin to the Whip-poor-will, the nocturnal Common Poorwill can be heard in summer in the rocky scrublands of the West at the deep end of dusk. And the Common Poorwill's greatest claim to fame? It was the first bird confirmed to hibernate, based on evidence verified in 1946. Since then, we have

A Plover's Journey

July 23, 2020 12:00

Pacific Golden-Plovers, known as Kolea, winter in grassy, open areas of the Hawaiian islands by the tens of thousands. The birds return each fall to the same patch. Kolea spend nine months in Hawaii, but by late April, they form large flocks and head north, over the Pacific Ocean to, as the poet W.S

A Plover's Journey

July 23, 2020 07:00

Pacific Golden-Plovers, known as Kolea, winter in grassy, open areas of the Hawaiian islands by the tens of thousands. The birds return each fall to the same patch.

A Drive Along on a Bar Ditch

July 22, 2020 12:00

In the rural Southeast, roadside ditches – known as “bar ditches” – carry on for miles. The term bar ditch probably comes from their construction, when dirt was "borrowed" to build up the road. The ditches are full of water and full of life, these narrow wetlands. Herons stalk the shallow water

Birds as Pollinators

July 21, 2020 12:00

Birds are part of the complex web of Nature, and each fits into this web in its own way. Some even pollinate flowers! While feeding at a flower, this Rainbow Lorikeet gets pollen on its forehead and throat. When it visits another flower of the same species, it transfers the pollen to that flower

Tony Angell on the Raven

July 20, 2020 12:00

Tony Angell reflects: "It's a cloudless summer day as I listen to ravens behind me in the woods. There's an endless repertoire of croaks, krawks, barks, yelps, and yodels. Other ravens across the bay respond in kind, and I imagine that this is a day of poetry and perhaps a few jokes shared between

Two Phoebes Share the West

July 19, 2020 12:00

In the American West, there are two species of phoebe that share the same expansive country. But they occupy different habitats. The Say’s Phoebe prefers dry, open country ranging from tundra to desert. This Black Phoebe is a close cousin to the Say’s. But it is nearly always hunting alongside

An Evening in Sapsucker Woods - With A.A. Allen

July 18, 2020 12:00

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology maintains the largest collection of bird sounds in the world. In 1958, Arthur Allen, the lab’s founder, described An Evening in Sapsucker Woods: “There is a charming spot in the Finger Lakes country of central New York that we know as Sapsucker Woods. Friends have

A Little Bird Told Me

July 17, 2020 12:00

Ever wonder how the avian idiom, “A little bird told me,” came about? The consensus is that the saying springs from the Old Testament of the Bible -- a maxim from Ecclesiastes. By the mid-16th century, the “little bird” showed up in collections of proverbs. In 1711, the satirist Jonathan Swift wrote

Kestrels Love Nest Boxes

July 16, 2020 12:00

This American Kestrel evolved to nest in tree cavities or small caves in cliffs. We humans have made life difficult for kestrels. Development has shrunk the open spaces they need. We’ve cleared away dead trees they rely on for nests and sprayed pesticides that eliminate the insects the birds eat

Great Horned Owl Family in Summer

July 15, 2020 12:00

In late July, the Great Horned Owl chicks that we have been following are four and a half months old, and must fend for themselves much of the time. The young birds continue to learn valuable lessons by watching the adults hunt. Their first hunting forays were clumsy. But by late July, they've

Savannah Sparrow

July 14, 2020 12:00

Savannah Sparrows are abundant in open habitats throughout North America. In spring, they migrate north from the Southern US and Mexico to open agricultural fields, meadows, coastal grasslands, saltmarshes, and even tundra to breed and raise young. They nest on the ground and walk, run, or hop to

Savannah Sparrow

July 14, 2020 07:00

Savannah Sparrows are abundant in open habitats throughout North America. In spring, they migrate north from the Southern US and Mexico to open agricultural fields, meadows, coastal grasslands, saltmarshes, and even tundra to breed and raise young.

Steller's Birds

July 13, 2020 12:00

In July, 1741, Georg Wilhelm Steller set foot on land later known as Alaska, the first European to do so. Steller was a German naturalist on the St. Peter, a Russian ship exploring the Bering Sea. He was shipwrecked on Bering Island for over a year, and later wrote a book about the creatures that

Steller's Birds

July 13, 2020 07:00

In July, 1741, Georg Wilhelm Steller set foot on land later known as Alaska, the first European to do so. Steller was a German naturalist on the St. Peter, a Russian ship exploring the Bering Sea.

Gaping Blackbirds

July 12, 2020 12:00

Gordon Orians describes an unusual adaptation in blackbirds called gaping: "...the ability to forcibly open the bill against some pressure, so that a bird can push its bill into the base of a grass clump, and forcibly open it, which reveals the insects that may be down hidden in the base. ... Most

Birdwatching 104 - A Summary

July 11, 2020 12:00

How do birdwatchers identify one species from another? First, they look carefully at the bird. What's the overall color? Is its bill long or short, thin or stout? What about its markings -- a ring around its eye or stripe on its head? What's your bird doing? Bird behavior can help you sort out one

Birds That Say Their Own Names

July 10, 2020 12:00

Some birds, such as the Northern Bobwhite, take their names from their songs or vocalizations: "Bobwhite! Bobwhite!" The Killdeer is another bird named for its song: "Kill-dee, kill-dee, kill-dee." There are others. "Poorwill, poorwill, poorwill" calls this Common Poorwill. This bird is the cousin

Kentucky Warbler

July 09, 2020 12:00

Kentucky Warblers nest in forested regions in much of the East, preferring woodlands with a dense understory, often near streams or other wetlands. These birds can use our help. As their forest habitat shrinks, it’s easier for Brown-headed Cowbirds to find and parasitize the warblers’ nests. While

Kentucky Warbler

July 09, 2020 07:00

Kentucky Warblers nest in forested regions in much of the East, preferring woodlands with a dense understory, often near streams or other wetlands. These birds can use our help. As their forest habitat shrinks, it’s easier for Brown-headed Cowbirds to find and parasitize the warblers’ nests.

Grosbeaks and Monarchs

July 08, 2020 12:00

Black-headed Grosbeaks are one of very few birds that regularly eat Monarch butterflies. Most birds and other animals find the butterflies unpalatable, if not downright toxic. The caterpillars of Monarchs consume milkweeds that contain toxic substances known as cardenolides. The poison is stored in

Sounds of the Boreal Forest

July 07, 2020 12:00

The boreal forest is a vast band of spruce and poplar, extending from coast to coast across Alaska and Canada. Called North America's "songbird bread-basket," for a brief time, it teems with song. Birdsongs heard on this show include a Common Loon (like this one), Swainson's Thrush, White-throated

White-throated Swifts

July 06, 2020 12:00

A pair of White-throated Swifts twists and turns, sailing through the air. Dashing headlong across the canyon toward an unyielding wall, the birds disappear at the last second into a slender crevice. This swift is aptly named — and doubly so. The White-throated Swift is among the fastest of all

Are Birds Nests Reused?

July 05, 2020 12:00

Let’s talk about nests. Every spring, robins build their cup-shaped nests using grass and mud. Orioles weave a hanging sack. It’s hard work, and yet once the chicks fledge, the structures probably won’t be reused. But bigger birds, such as herons, hawks, and eagles, often reuse a nest for many years

National Symbol - Turkey vs. Eagle

July 04, 2020 12:00

As an old tale goes, after the eagle was chosen for national emblem, Benjamin Franklin questioned the choice. In a letter to his daughter regarding a medal created by the Society of the Cincinnati, he wrote wrily: "The Bald Eagle is too lazy to fish for himself; when the Osprey has taken a fish

The Painted Bunting

July 03, 2020 12:00

Every spring and summer, birders go in search of the superbly colorful birds that come back to the temperate US from tropical regions — including the Painted Bunting. It just doesn’t seem possible that one bird could pack so much visual impact onto a body that’s only slightly larger than a goldfinch

Books

As the Crow Flies
1 Episode