BirdNote Daily
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.
Episodes
A Young Bewick's Wren Learns to Sing
At this time of year, a very young male Bewick's Wren is beginning to learn how to sing. His father sings a crisp well-defined song, separated by pauses, but the young bird's song is fuzzy, unfocused, a little rambling. Each adult male Bewick's Wren has his own set of unique songs. A young wren grows up learning his father's songs. But when young bird matures and moves to its own new territory, it
Birding 101: Bird Sound Vocabulary
Bird voices can vary tremendously. Learning to describe how a bird sounds will make it easier to figure out who’s singing. This episode shares a few common terms to start birding by ear.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks.
BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift
The Baltimore Oriole
Not all blackbirds are mostly black. This Baltimore Oriole is orange! The bird's common name is a nod to Sir George Calvert, First Lord of Baltimore, whose coat-of-arms carried a gold and black design. In spring and summer, you may see these orioles in the Midwest and eastern U.S., lighting up the trees where they nest. If you're lucky enough to live near Baltimore Orioles, entice them to your fee
Hunting and Conservation Go Hand in Hand
When waterfowl are in decline, hunters are some of the first people to sound the alarm — and fund their recovery. On the Bring Birds Back podcast, Ducks Unlimited project manager Jared Henson discusses the many ways that waterfowl hunters contribute both money and data towards wetland conservation.
Learn more in season 8 of Bring Birds Back, available in your favorite podcast app!
More info and tr
David Shepard’s Aloha Shirts
After David Shephard moved to Hawai‘i to study botany, he realized that the “main character” of the islands is birds — many plants have co-evolved with birds due to their central role in Hawaiian ecosystems. He now designs Aloha Shirts that feature the native plants and wildlife of Hawai‘i, including the ‘i‘iwi, a bird that has cultural significance for Hawaiians.
More info and transcript at BirdN
Traveling with Blue-winged Teal
Noticeably smaller than Mallards, Blue-winged Teal wings have large patches of powder blue edged in emerald. Blue-winged Teal are long-distance migrants, traveling from nesting areas in Canada and the U.S. to South America for the winter. They feed in shallow water with a preference for snails and fly larvae. In fall and winter they seek out plant matter, especially seeds.
More info and transcript
Okefenokee Swamp and Prothonotary Warbler
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge was set aside to protect the fabled Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia and Florida. Tall cypress trees and Spanish moss give the swamp a prehistoric appearance. The Prothonotary Warbler is one of the most striking of the swamp’s denizens. Having wintered in the West Indies, a male might return to the Okefenokee and establish a breeding territory. Because it lives d
Delightful Duets
While many songbirds are accomplished soloists, some of the bird world’s most impressive performances are actually duets. In North America, breeding pairs of Carolina Wrens sing duets to strengthen their bond and defend territory.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks.
BirdN
Tree Swallows and Feathers
Tree Swallows glisten in the June sunlight, as they swoop and glide, their arcs interlacing in the air. When a white feather flutters down among them, one swallow snatches the feather in its bill and flies upward, as another gives chase. After a moment, the lead bird lets loose the feather, which drifts lazily, until the second bird swoops to catch it in midair. Loose feathers are important for Tr
Yellow-billed Magpie
Yellow-billed Magpies are clever, colorful birds — and they’re only found in central California. Their hefty bodies are boldly patterned in black, white, and iridescent blue. Like their crow and jay cousins, these corvids are adventurous eaters that often forage on the ground in noisy groups. In California’s oak-dominated woods and grasslands, you’ll find them feasting on acorns, insects, grains,
Buzzy, Black and Yellow ... Birds!
Golden-cheeked Warblers, Black-throated Green Warblers, Townsend’s Warblers, and Hermit Warblers share similar songs and plumage. Though they all breed in different areas of North America, they can often be found flocking together on wintering grounds in Central America. Genetic studies have confirmed what their family resemblance suggests: these four warblers are closely related and likely shared
World Rainforest Day
Tropical rainforests are stunning places. Despite covering a small part of the Earth’s surface, they support half of the world’s biodiversity. The variety of lifeforms stands out visually in stunning color, and in sound through the strange and beautiful calls of birds. Today is World Rainforest Day, which recognizes the importance of safeguarding rainforests for future generations.
More info and t
Marsh Voices at Sunrise
In marshes across the country, birds awaken on a summer morning. Tall dense grasses and reeds often make marsh birds hard to see, but their voices carry easily across the lush, green landscape. You can hear birds like the Redhead, the Sora, the American Bittern, the Ruddy Duck, this Yellow-headed Blackbird, and many more.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to o
Studying Climate Change by Watching Bird Nests
Organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and by Birds Canada, volunteers for Project NestWatch observe local nesting birds and track whether they’re successful in raising their young. Because the nest-watching volunteers monitor birds over a huge area, they cover way more ground than a small team of scientists ever could. Data from Project NestWatch helped scientists reveal that cold snaps and
The Power of Albatross Partnerships
Waved Albatrosses produce such slow-growing, needy offspring that females lay only a single egg every two years. And both parents need to share the load until youngsters can hunt on their own. Albatrosses tend to pair for life, and reunited pairs go through an elaborate, synchronized ritual of braying, wing spreading, and bill tapping to reaffirm their bonds.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.o
Migrations: Tiny Bird, Epic Journey
In the spring, Rufous Hummingbirds journey from Mexico to the northwest U.S., some as far north as Alaska! That’s almost 1,000 miles one way for a bird measuring just under four inches beak to tail, making this the longest migration of any bird relative to body length. Not long after arriving, they bulk up on nectar and bugs for the scenic return trip over the Rocky Mountains.
More info and transc
White-tailed Kite
White-tailed Kites are distinctive birds of prey. They only live in a few states in the U.S., but they’re common in grasslands throughout much of Central and South America where they hunt for rodents and small prey. Though White-tailed Kites are globally abundant, they still face threats from habitat loss across the Americas. We can support these graceful raptors by preserving the grasslands they
Building Nature Trails Accessible to Blind People
When Juan Pablo Culasso spends time outside, he often encounters people thinking he doesn’t belong out there as a blind person – despite the fact that he’s a renowned nature recordist. He helped design nature trails in Colombia with features that make them more accessible for people who are visually impaired, including guide ropes with textures that signal points of interest and QR codes that prov
American Oystercatcher
American Oystercatchers are crow-sized shorebirds that can be found foraging in intertidal zones along the U.S. Atlantic shoreline and both coasts of Central and South America. Their bodies are mostly black and white, except for bright yellow eyes and a long, orange bill. Sadly, researchers estimate that between 1970 and 2023, American Oystercatchers lost roughly half their population to habitat d
Pigeon Babies Do Exist
Rock Pigeons are one of the most common urban birds. But why do we never see baby pigeons? Some baby birds — like down-covered ducks, geese, and chickens — leave their nest shortly after hatching and do a lot of growing up while following their parents around. Others, like pigeons, depend on their parents to feed and protect them, well into their youth. They stay in the nest — under bridges and aw
The Royal Pigeons
Despite their modern reputation, pigeons were once beloved by royalty. Akbar the Great, ruler of the Mughal Empire in the 16th Century, kept over 20,000 pigeons. Owning pigeons in parts of Europe was a privilege restricted to the nobility. Pigeon ownership became a flashpoint during the French Revolution, when commoners finally gained the right to raise pigeons. Learn more in Rosemary Mosco’s book
Juan Fernandez Firecrown
The Juan Fernandez Firecrown is a critically endangered hummingbird that is only found on Robinson Crusoe Island, near Chile. Measuring more than 4 inches long from beak to tail, the firecrown is hefty for a hummingbird. To conserve energy while feeding, the birds often hang upside down on flowers rather than hovering in place! As they feed, the hummingbirds transport pollen between forest flowers
Legislating is for the Birds
In American democracy, elected officials work for the people. That means you can be a voice for birds by reaching out to your representatives at every level of government. On the Bring Birds Back podcast, Hardy Kern explains how the American Bird Conservancy is taking legislative action for birds. Listen to the full episode in season 8 of Bring Birds Back.
Support for BirdNote is provided by Sarah
Olive-sided Flycatcher
What a comfort it would be if every bird song were as easy to recognize — and remember — as that of this Olive-sided Flycatcher. Some people think it sounds like "quick-THREE-beers" or "what PEEVES you." Do you drink coffee? Then you can help Olive-sided Flycatchers, when you choose to drink shade-grown coffee. It encourages coffee growers to keep the trees that migratory songbirds need to survive
Sagebrush Sparrow
A chill wind ruffles the feathers of a male Sagebrush Sparrow (formerly known as the Sage Sparrow), as he sings atop a tall sagebrush. It is late February, a few miles from the Columbia River in Central Washington. Sagebrush Sparrows are arriving north from wintering in the Southwestern deserts. Unlike most songbirds, male and female Sagebrush Sparrows often arrive on their nesting grounds already
The Link Between Whales, Seabirds, and a Tiny Fish
In shallow waters off the coast of Massachusetts, ocean predators come from far and wide to hunt. Humpback whales join Great Shearwaters and many other seabirds in pursuing sand lance, a tiny fish that these top predators rely on for sustenance. But sand lance are vulnerable to climate change — putting the rest of the ecosystem, including seabirds, at risk.
This episode is dedicated to Bob Goodale
Spider Silk — Duct Tape for Bird Nests
The spider’s web is an intricate piece of precision engineering. Made from large proteins, it’s sticky, stretchy, and tough. So it’s no surprise that many small birds — including this Anna’s Hummingbird — make a point of collecting strands of spider silk to use in nest construction. Spider silk not only acts as a glue, holding the nest together, but it’s flexible enough to accommodate the growing
Baby Birds — Leave Them Alone
Just because a young bird appears to be alone – whether on the ground or squawking loudly from a bush or tree – doesn't necessarily mean it is sick or injured. In June, young birds, including this juvenile Northern Flicker, are leaving their nests. And most likely, a parent is near-by and will soon return. What can you do to help? Keep your cats indoors - especially during the birds' breeding seas
Cover Open Pipes To Protect Birds
Open, vertical pipes are commonly used to build fences, anchor gates, and post signs. Inquisitive birds often inspect these cavities in their search for food and nest sites. But without enough room to turn around or spread his wings in the smooth pipe, the little bird will be trapped — and eventually die. It’s why conservationists call them death pipes.
Conservation groups like the Tucson Bird All
American Kestrel
The American Kestrel is the smallest, most numerous, and most widespread North American falcon. This bird is built for speed, its long pointed wings often bent back at the tip. While hunting, kestrels hover above an open field. These days, the lack of suitable nesting cavities, which limits American Kestrel populations in some areas, has lead to public interest in installing wooden nest boxes.
Sup
From Fishing to Conservation With Alex Troutman
Wildlife biologist Alex Troutman jokes that he was always destined to be a fisherman. But Troutman family fishing trips taught Alex to appreciate birds, too. On the Bring Birds Back podcast, Alex reflects on his journey from being a critter-curious kid to becoming a professional conservationist and field guide author.
Listen to the full episode on season 8 of Bring Birds Back. Find it in your favo
Music of a City Lake
A city lake is one of the most prized places in a fast, growing environment. It’s also often difficult to distinguish all of the bird calls from each other. With a splash of a beak, a glide of a wing, and an eye of a predator — listen closely, and then again to sharpen your bird ear.
This episode is brought to you by Teton Science Schools, specializing in outdoor learning experiences and education
Rachel Carson and the Veery
Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, and her beloved friend Dorothy Freeman shared a love of nature, and especially of one bird: the Veery, a type of thrush. Plain looking as it is, the Veery has a particularly beautiful song.
Hear the extended podcast from BirdNote Presents.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+
Snake-Eagles Are Awesome
When a soaring Short-toed Snake-Eagle spots a delicious snake, it swoops down, grabs it with its talons, then tears off the snake’s head. Still on the wing, it swallows the entire snake, head first. Smaller than Bald Eagles, they live mainly in Africa and have legs and toes covered in thick scales to protect them from bites. Snake-Eagles take on some of the swiftest and deadliest snakes in the wor
Binoculars 101
A decent pair of binoculars can considerably enhance your enjoyment of birds. In this episode, birder and naturalist Dara Miles Wilson shares a crash course on how to use binoculars.
This is Black Birders Week! Learn how to participate by following the hashtag #BlackBirdersWeek on social media and checking out the full schedule here.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Su
Little Birders, Big Lessons
Brianna Amingwa, is an environmental educator, co-organizer of Black Birders Week and mom of two little bird-loving boys. For Black Birders Week, Brianna shares moments of fun and learning while birding as a family.
This is Black Birders Week! Learn how to participate by following the hashtag #BlackBirdersWeek on social media and checking out the full schedule of events here.
More info and transc
Freedom Song: Harriet Tubman’s Barred Owl Call
Harriet Tubman was a heroic abolitionist in the cause to end chattel slavery. She was also an excellent astronomer and naturalist — and an expert birder. She mastered the hoot of the Barred Owl, using it as a signal throughout the Underground Railroad to let freedom seekers know she had arrived.
This week is Black Birders Week! Learn how to participate in Black Birders Week here and by following #
How the Woodcock’s Journeys Connect Us
In this episode, Marcus Rosten shares his involvement in a study of the American Woodcock with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The study revealed the surprising journeys of one of North America’s quirkiest birds. One woodcock caught near Buffalo flew nearly 400 miles south without stopping, en route to spend the winter in North Carolina. Migrations like the woodcocks’
Banding Birds in South Baltimore
Masonville Cove in South Baltimore is a special place to study birds. Once a dumping ground for sediment dredged from the Baltimore Harbor, the Cove is now a popular urban wildlife refuge. Community educator and wildlife ecologist Sharon Dorsey is part of a research team that’s monitoring bird populations at the refuge with a scientific technique called bird banding. It’s a specialized, federally-
Finding Belonging with Buffalo’s Gulls
Birder and naturalist Marcus Rosten loves to watch the American Herring Gulls that flock to Freedom Park in Buffalo, New York. Once a final stop for freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, the park is also known for supporting birds that face an uncertain future. For Black Birders Week, Marcus reflects on what we lose when species of conservation concern — like American Herring Gulls – are ov
Urban Birding with Deja Perkins
In this episode, urban ecologist Deja Perkins talks about how many bird species live right within bustling cities. Whether you’re on your porch, at your local park, or the parking lot of your favorite store, you can find birds. Deja suggests taking five minutes to focus your attention on birds. Look up in the sky, along power lines and the tops of buildings. Close your eyes and listen — past the s
Tennessee Warbler, Nectar Thief
Tennessee Warblers love drinking nectar, but they do it without helping to pollinate flowers. By tapping a hole into the base of a flower, these warblers enjoy an easy meal while bypassing the flower’s pollen. But they give back to their ecosystems in other ways – such as eating countless insects!
Tom and Annalee Luhman celebrate BirdNote with today's show. They believe BirdNote stories are a magi
Birding for a Better World
Molly Adams co-founded the Feminist Bird Club to try to make birding safer and more inclusive. Along with co-author Sydney Golden Anderson, Molly wrote a book called Birding for a Better World that welcomes newcomers to birding and offers ways to make events more inclusive and accessible. The book debunks myths that can scare people away from birding and describes how mindful birding can help impr
Spark Bird: Rickie Lee Jones and the Mourning Dove
Grammy-winning musician Rickie Lee Jones says her earliest memories are of sounds: running water, a bouncing ball, and the soft coos of Mourning Doves. In this episode, Rickie reminisces on her experiences hearing doves throughout her life and how she learned to call back to them in kind.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for
Voices and Vocabularies – Eastern Bluebirds
A male Eastern Bluebird stands on a wooden nestbox attached to a fence post. The bluebird’s song – and his alert presence - assert his claim to this territory. In the mid-20th Century, the numbers of bluebirds in the Northeast declined to the lowest level ever, due largely to nesting competition from non-native starlings and House Sparrows. Then, conservation groups stepped up, setting out “bluebi
What’s a Beak Made Of?
Bird beaks, or bills, come in many shapes and sizes. And birds use them for just about everything: to collect food, preen, fight, court, and more. In order for a bird to fly, its beak must weigh as little as possible. Beaks are covered with a sheath of a tough material called keratin, which grows continuously because a beak wears down with use.
This episode brought to you by the Bobolink Foundatio
How an Ornithologist with a Microphone Made History
With today’s mobile apps and sound libraries, it’s never been easier to listen to birds on demand. But that wasn’t always the case – not until the 1920s when ornithologist Arthur Allen teamed up with an ambitious film production crew to record the dawn performance of a Song Sparrow. That first recording, featured in this episode, is now one of millions in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay
Reddish Egret – Lagoon Dancer
The Reddish Egret, a particularly glamorous heron, is best known for its startling antics in capturing fish. When fishing, the egret sprints across the lagoon, weaving left and right, simultaneously flicking its broad wings in and out, while stabbing into the water with its bill. Fish startled at the egret’s crazed movements become targets of that pink dagger. At times, the bird will raise its win
Hovering is Hard Work
Hummingbirds are built for hovering flight, with flexible wrists that rotate their wings in a rapid figure-eight motion that generates almost constant lift. Eurasian Skylarks, on the other hand, hover by fluttering their wings 10-12 times per second, singing all the while. Some raptors such as American Kestrels use a different strategy: by flying into the wind, they can float in place while they s
Golden-Cheeked Warbler
The Golden-cheeked Warbler is an endangered species and the only bird that nests exclusively in central Texas. Males arrive in March to stake out a territory in the juniper-oak woodlands – the older the trees, the better! By the end of July, the warblers are on their way back to mountain forests of southern Mexico and Central America. Sadly, deforestation has destroyed and fragmented much of their
Keeping Cats Indoors
Outdoor cats are one of the biggest threats to birds, killing over a billion a year in North America. And indoor-outdoor cats live much shorter lives than indoor-only cats. So keeping a cat indoors helps protect birds. And there are plenty of ways to make the “great indoors” more exciting for your cat. In this episode, BirdNote senior producer Mark Bramhill shares his experience with his cat, Pige
The Nasally Fish Crow
The harsh caws of American Crows are one of the most familiar bird calls in North America. Fish Crows sometimes join flocks of American Crows as they forage for food. The two crow species look similar, but have a distinct call that sounds a bit like an American Crow with a stuffy nose. The Fish Crow is found in much of the eastern U.S. and is spreading to new areas north and west to breed.
This ep
Singer's Brain Changes with the Seasons
In higher animals, the brain is like a Lamborghini — amazing engineering, but expensive to run. In a human, the brain uses about 10 times more energy than other organs. A bird's system is exquisitely attuned to this expense. Several species, including Black-capped Chickadees, have adapted in a clever way. You can usually hear these chickadees calling throughout fall and winter. But they aren’t sin
World of Warblers
May is the prime month across much of North America to celebrate the return of migratory birds from the tropics. Of all those coming back, it is the warblers that many birders eagerly await. And of the more than 50 species that brighten our spring, many gleam like precious stones. From the sky-blue of the Cerulean Warbler to the golden cloak of this Prothonotary Warbler, these tiny birds dazzle us
Hornbill – the Lockdown Bird
Does staying cooped up inside with your kids sometimes drive you up the wall? Take comfort in the bird that does it year after year — the hornbill. Each breeding season, a female hornbill plasters herself into her nest cavity, leaving only a thin slot for ventilation and food. She stays there for months to raise her young, while her mate brings her food.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
W
Capuchinbirds
The peace of the vast Guyanan jungle is abruptly broken with the dawn chorus of male Capuchinbirds, one of the most bizarre birds in South America. The singing male bows forward, then suddenly stretches to his full length, raising a monk-like cowl of feathers around his naked blue-gray head. The unmistakable noise attracts female Capuchinbirds, which jostle each other ruthlessly in the quest to ge
Wood Thrush Thrive In Health Forests
The fluting song of the Wood Thrush is an ethereal sound of summer in North America. During the breeding season, these robin-sized songsters serenade deciduous forests of the eastern U.S. and Canada. Each fall, they migrate to rainforests from southern Mexico to Panama where they call to each other from the underbrush. For Wood Thrushes, not just any woods will do. They depend on large blocks of i
How Noise Pollution Affects Birds
Dr. Clinton Francis is a sensory ecologist who studies how noise pollution affects birds, like this Black-headed Grosbeak. On the Bring Birds Back podcast, Clinton explains how sounds produced by human infrastructure can really disrupt bird behavior. Although birds rely on hearing to sense predators and prey, and to find mates, their sense of hearing isn’t very good, making them very sensitive to
House Wrens and Dummy Nests
There may be no busier bird during the nesting season than a male House Wren. Just a day or so after completing his spring migration from the tropics, the male House Wren claims a territory and checks out several potential nest cavities. And in each of these locations, he builds a starter nest using virtually anything twig-like to get the job done — from nails and bits of wire to paper clips and h
Birding 101: Songs and Calls
Birds make all kinds of sounds — and they can have different meanings too. In this episode of BirdNote’s Birding 101 series, learn about the many ways that birds use songs and calls.
Support comes from Wild Delight Bird Food, offering a variety of blends designed to mimic the natural resources wild birds crave. Available at Chewy.com.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? S
Spark Bird: Dara Wilson and the Blue-gray Tanager
While Dara Wilson was working at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in D.C., she introduced visitors to the Amazonia exhibit. She would describe the song of a bird she’d never had the chance to see in the wild, the Blue-gray Tanager. But when Dara moved to Panama, she heard the song that she knew by heart already. Encountering the Blue-gray Tanager in its natural habitat inspired her to keep learning
The Color of Birds' Eyes
Peer into the world of birds, and eyes of many different colors peer back. While eye color isn’t tied to one group of birds or another, a common pattern is a change in eye color as immature birds grow to adulthood. Bald Eagles, Ring-billed Gulls, and ducks such as goldeneyes and scaup have brown eyes as youngsters, and yellow eyes as adults. Red-tailed Hawks reverse this pattern, with their eyes c
Recognizing a Stranded Loon
Loons are built for life in the water – so much so that their legs don’t work well on land. During migration, loons sometimes mistake wet pavement for the reflective surface of deep water and try to land there, then become unable to take flight again. If you see a stranded loon on a road or parking lot, calling a wildlife rehabilitator can help start the process of returning that bird to safety an
BirdNoir: Nestboxes and Snake Skins
Private Eye Michael Stein investigates a possible break in when a kindly neighbor fears a snake has attacked a nestbox occupied by nesting Great Crested Flycatchers. What he finds is an ingenious way that birds sometimes use a predator’s survival instincts to their own advantage.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+
An App That Helps You Hear High-Pitched Bird Songs
For years, nature recordist Lang Elliott came up with clever ways to hear high-pitched bird songs despite his high-frequency hearing loss. Lang teamed up with a programmer to develop an app called Hear Birds Again. Currently it’s only available for iPhones, but it’s able to take high-pitch bird songs and shift them down into a lower range.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNo
Parrots Using Video Chat to Keep in Touch
Knowing how clever parrots are, researchers wanted to see how they’d respond to another parrot saying hi on a tablet or phone. After being trained how to start a call, many parrots chatted amiably on calls and stayed on for the maximum amount of time. Some birds even seemed to develop friendships, choosing to stay in touch even after the experiment ended.
This episode is brought to you by Wild Del
Milkweed: A Whole Ecosystem on a Plant
Milkweed plants are important to Monarch butterflies, which depend on milkweed to raise their caterpillars. But Monarchs aren’t the only ones who benefit from milkweed. Scientists once documented hundreds of insect species they found eating some part of the common milkweed plant – including 132 species of beetles alone. When it’s part of a diverse community of plants, milkweed helps many species f
J. Drew Lanham’s Sparrow Envy
It’s National Poetry Month in the U.S., and each year we like to celebrate by sharing our favorite contemporary writers’ work about birds. Ornithologist and poet J. Drew Lanham often writes about racial justice, and his experience as a Black man in the outdoors — both the joy of being in nature and the racism he faces in the field. Sometimes that's led him to birding spots that others might pass b
Songbirds Migrate Across the Gulf of Mexico
In spring, millions of songbirds — like the Orchard Oriole — migrate north across the Gulf of Mexico, from the Yucatan to the southeastern U.S. When birds encounter storms or headwinds, many may die. Why risk such an end, when they could migrate north along the length of Mexico? It's likely that many birds evolved to take the potentially perilous trans-Gulf route because it is direct and considera
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher nests in the open country of Texas, Oklahoma, and the south-central region. It's an elegant bird with a slender, deeply forked tail longer than its body. Agile in flight, it can spread and fold its tail, altering the surface area, like an extra pair of wings. When displaying to a female, the male dives again and again, opening and closing his tail. He may even perform
American Tree Sparrow
The American Tree Sparrow is a common winter visitor in the northern U.S. Despite their name, these sparrows stay close to the ground. When foraging, they’ll kick through leaf litter with their powerful feet, beat seedheads open with their wings or grab a bite from a backyard feeder. Sadly, American Tree Sparrow populations have steeply declined since the 1970s. You can welcome these birds to your
Pigeons Make Milk
Pigeons, one of the most ancient of domesticated animals, feed their nestlings a peculiar, milky substance, straight from the adult’s beak to the baby’s throat. It’s called pigeon milk, a fat-rich substance loaded with antioxidants and immunity factors that enhance the survival of newborns — much like mammals’ milk does.
This episode is brought to you by Wild Delight Bird Food, which aims to suppo
Planting Oaks for Birds
Oak trees are an important resource for birds finding insects to feed their young. It takes thousands of caterpillars from an oak tree to raise a single nest of baby birds. By planting an oak species native to your area, you can help ensure that birds are able to raise their young successfully.
Homegrown National Park® is a grassroots call-to-action to regenerate diversity and ecosystem function b
Traci Brimhall: Intimacy and the Everyday
April is National Poetry Month in the U.S., so we are featuring some of our favorite poets who write about our feathered friends. Traci Brimhall is an associate professor of poetry at Kansas State University. Her first published collection, from 2013, is called Rookery and features many poems about birds. But Brimhall didn't grow up birding — her interest came later in life.
More info and transcri
Finding the Links Between Plants and Birds
There are many great tools for identifying birds, some of them right on your phone. If you’re stumped on an unfamiliar plant species, iNaturalist is a great resource. When you upload a photo to iNaturalist’s website or mobile app, it uses AI to make an educated guess on the species ID. A community of online naturalists then helps confirm the ID. Finding the links between plants and birds can show
Cuckoos - Tent Caterpillar Birds
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo, one of two species of cuckoos in North America, lives in broadleaf forests throughout the East and riparian stands in the Southwest. Cuckoos were common breeding birds in the Pacific Northwest as late as the 1920s, but then they disappeared. The Black-billed Cuckoo is a more northerly species that lives in dense woodland, even conifer forests. Cuckoos perch quietly and sc
Let The Birds Do The Talking
BirdNote is an independent nonprofit organization, and this week, we’re asking you to support BirdNote with a donation at birdnote.org. But today, rather than tell you all the great things about BirdNote, we’re going to let our feathered friends do the talking. In this show, enjoy a minute of uninterrupted birdsong.
Please support BirdNote with a tax-deductible donation today — every gift helps us
Contribute a Twig
This week is fundraising week at BirdNote. Today, we’re asking you to support the show by making a gift of any amount. A donation to BirdNote is like a twig in a nest. Birds can’t lay their eggs on a twig, but when hundreds of twigs are weaved together, you have a safe and cozy place for baby birds to hatch and fledge. So think about contributing a twig to the nest that will fledge our next episod
Listener Support Keeps BirdNote On The Air
You’ve probably heard the expression “light as a feather.” But bird feathers aren’t just amazingly light — they’re also resilient. Something that BirdNote and bird feathers share in common! Bird feathers are sturdy thanks to the cumulative strength of many tiny structures called barbules. In a similar fashion, BirdNote is only possible thanks to individual donations from listeners like you. Today,
BirdNote Helps Kids Learn Their Birds
It's fundraising week at BirdNote. We hear from lots of people about how much they learn from listening to BirdNote shows. In this episode, Kim Bradmon and her son Ben share their stories.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks.
BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gif
Recommended
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The Joe Rogan Experience
Dubs Talk: A Golden State Warriors Podcast
Fashion Business Mindset
The Money Magnette
Soul Brothers
The Holistic Counselor
The Privacy Insider: Conversations on Data Privacy & AI, Compliance & GDPR
The Holistic Spiritual Counselor’s Podcast
The Psychology of Money: Why Smart People Make Dumb Financial Decisions
My MoneyLife
Dear Dr. Tracy
