x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

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.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

00:01:43

Protecting the Rimatara Lorikeet

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/15

With brilliant crimson chests, green backs and blue crests, Rimatara Lorikeets are stunning birds. The last native population of the lorikeets survives on the island of Rimatara, thanks to the foresight of the island’s last queen, Temaeva Vahine, who placed a tapu on the birds, denoting them sacred. Rimatara residents, proud of their ‘rainbow’ birds, have teamed up with the Polynesian Ornithological Society to ensure the lorikeets are here for generations to come.More info and transcript at

en

00:01:45

For White-throated Swifts, Love Is in the Air

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/14

For some birds, love is in the air. When a pair of White-throated Swifts wants to get to know each other, they meet up — on the wing — high above the ground. The birds grasp one another and, clinging together, tumble downward, for over 500 feet. Just before striking the earth, they separate, flying nonchalantly back up the canyon wall. Visit a Western canyon, and you might see a pair of swifts literally falling in love. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our

en

00:01:33

Salt Flats as Bird Habitat

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/13

In the Salt Flats of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, the Indigenous Taino people found a way to harvest salt long before Europeans arrived. But this unique ecosystem isn’t just useful for sea salt production — the salty lagoons are full of brine shrimp for shorebirds to eat. Local residents banded together to protect the salt flats as bird habitat.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

en

00:01:45

Double-jointed Hawks and Convergent Evolution

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/12

Crane Hawks of Central and South America and African Harrier-Hawks both have legs that bend forward and backward. Each bird’s wonderfully peculiar leg adaptation is completely original - it evolved all on its own - even though the end result is the same. Scientists call this convergent evolution.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

en

00:01:30

Why the Black Skimmer Skims

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/11

That’s not a distant dog barking. It’s a Black Skimmer in flight, at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. This striking, black-and-white bird with a red bill and red feet has a most unusual way of feeding. It flies low along the surface of the water with its beak open. Closely related to terns, skimmers nest on sand islands in closely packed colonies. They depend on undisturbed islands and abundant small fish in coastal lagoons for their survival.More info and transcript at

en

00:01:45

Participate in Project NestWatch

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/10

Organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Project NestWatch is made up of volunteers around the world who monitor bird nests, reporting whether the birds successfully raise their young. Joining the project involves a bit of online training, finding a nearby bird nest, and briefly checking on it every 3-4 days without disturbing the birds.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

en

00:01:36

Small Birds Mob Big Ones

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/09

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 including swallows, blackbirds, and even these American Crows, seen here mobbing a Red-tailed Hawk, know that there is strength and power in numbers. And they've learned to join forces to protect themselves.More

en

00:01:45

The Mississippi Sandhill Crane Makes a Comeback

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/08

While most Sandhill Cranes migrate, the Mississippi population lives year-round in wet pine savanna near the Gulf Coast. Their dependence on this unique habitat caused their population to plummet to just 35 when the savanna began to disappear. Through the Endangered Species Act, an almost 20,000- acre wildlife refuge was established for the cranes and the population has begun to recover.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for

en

00:01:41

Winter Birds Love Suet

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/07

Birds at a suet feeder... What a burst of vitality on a chilly morning! What's the attraction? A cake of suet, suspended from a branch in a small wire feeder. Suet is beef fat, a high-energy food critical for birds' survival in the colder months. Suet is an especially strong magnet for birds (including this Northern Flicker) that eat lots of bugs in the warmer months. You can learn about suet feeders -- and what kinds of birds they'll attract -- at Birds.Cornell.Edu.More info and transcript at

en

00:01:29

Renaming the San Pedrito

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/06

The Puerto Rican Tody is a tiny green bird found only in Puerto Rico, where the species is called San Pedrito. But the scientific name for these birds is Todus mexicanus, despite the fact that they don’t live in Mexico — due to a mistake made by European scientists in the 1800s. People in Puerto Rico are working to get the San Pedrito an appropriate scientific name.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free

en

00:01:45

Winter Birds of Southern Florida

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/05

It’s winter in North America — a good time to head for the subtropical realms of South Florida and listen to the region’s birds, such as the secretive Mangrove Cuckoo pictured here. Rarely seen, it sings sporadically in winter. When it does, you’re sure to take notice. A sweeter voice belongs to the Spot-breasted Oriole. Found in suburban neighborhoods, these birds were brought to Florida in the 1940s from Central America. And we can’t forget the sharp-edged phrases of the White-eyed Vireo or the

en

00:01:38

Birds Are Evolving Rapidly - Today

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/04

House Finches are evolving rapidly and visibly. In 1941, some captive House Finches from California escaped near NYC. They spread rapidly and are now found across most of the US. We know the finches have evolved, because those that survive differ from their parents. Size is one example. Male House Finches in recently established populations are larger than the males that escaped. Females have become smaller and survive better than larger females as nestlings. Evolutionary changes are occurring

en

00:01:28

Watch Animals Migrate with Journey North

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/03

An organization called Journey North consists of a network of community scientists who observe local animal migrations – everything from monarch butterflies to Gray Whales to birds. Observing these seasonal changes can help make you a well-rounded community scientist, attuned to life’s ebbs and flows. And the info collected by Journey North helps build a picture of how wildlife is responding to changes in habitat and the climate.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe

en

00:01:45

Voices and Vocabularies - How Birds Sing So Loudly

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/02

When a Carolina Wren like this one sings, something remarkable happens. These birds can sing so loudly that you almost have to shout to be heard over their songs!How can a bird like a Carolina Wren – at just 5½ inches long and weighing only as much as four nickels – produce so much sound? The answer lies in the songbird’s vocal anatomy. 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

en

00:01:42

Cranes’ Voices Across the Globe

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/02/01

There are fifteen species of cranes across the globe, found everywhere but Antarctica and South America. During the winter, cranes forage and rest together by the thousands. Listen in to the voices of cranes from all over the world. Nothing evokes the spirit of the wild like the voices of these majestic birds.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

en

00:01:45

Singing for Julián Chiví

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/01/31

In the 1980s, mining companies made plans for huge open-pit mines in the mountains of Puerto Rico. An organization called Casa Pueblo successfully campaigned to make open-pit mining illegal in Puerto Rico. Since then, Casa Pueblo has continued to hold cultural events in the town of Adjuntas, including a festival for Julián Chiví — a beloved songbird that lives in the region’s forests. Casa Pueblo’s radio station even has a theme song that’s a tribute to the Julián Chiví.More info and transcript at

en

00:01:38

Turkey Vultures and Gas Pipelines

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/01/30

Do vultures detect carrion by sight or by smell? The lightbulb moment came to ornithologist Kenneth Stager when a Union Oil employee told him of vultures congregating at the spots along pipelines where gas leaks were occurring. Why would they do that? Because a key ingredient in the odor of carrion is ethyl mercaptan — the same substance companies add to odorless natural gas in their pipelines, so they could smell if there was a leak. So now we know that vultures can spot carrion by either sight or

en

00:01:41

Great Blue Heron, Alone Again

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/01/29

Great Blue Herons nest in colonies, in adjoining trees or with several nests in one tree. But by autumn, the adults and gangly young have left the nests to take up solitary lives, a pattern that is the reverse of many other species. After all the "togetherness" of the nesting colonies, the Great Blue Herons spend the off-season by themselves.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

en

00:01:41

Birdhouses in Turkey

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/01/28

It’s easy to imagine that putting up a birdhouse or nestbox is a relatively recent practice. But in Turkey, it has a long history. Since at least the 13th century and continuing through the period of Ottoman rule, birdhouses were placed on all sorts of structures: mosques (like this one – the Yeni Valide Mosque in Üsküdar, Istanbul, Turkey), schools, libraries, houses, tombs, bridges, and palaces. In this culture, birdhouses were viewed as an expression of love and compassion for animals. The

en

00:01:45

If You See a Bird with Leg Bands

BirdNote Daily ·

2023/01/27

If you see a wild bird with a small metal band around its leg, that means researchers have given the bird a unique ID to keep track of it over the course of its life. You can report the sighting to the Bird Banding Laboratory, a part of the U.S. Geological Survey that studies banded birds across the continent. Analyzing where and when banded birds are seen helps biologists figure out bird lifespans, migratory routes, and how their populations are changing.More info and transcript at

en

1,683 results

Similar Podcasts

Classic Radio Science Fiction

solgoodmedia.com

Mission to Mars

Inception Point Ai

The 365 Days of Astronomy

365DaysOfAstronomy.org

Creek Devil

william Jevning

UFO Chronicles Podcast

Nik Hunter