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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

00:01:45

Northern Shovelers — Dabbling Ducks with Big Bills

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/17

Male and female Northern Shovelers both have that unmistakable trowel-shaped bill, but they differ in plumage. Females and non-breeding males are a mottled beige color. But during the breeding season, male shovelers sport a bright white breast, reddish-brown flanks, and an emerald green head that can rival any mallard's.This episode is dedicated to Bob Goodale whose lifelong love for birds and nature continues to inspire.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our

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00:01:40

Rough-legged Hawk

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/16

After breeding on Arctic cliffs and tundra hillsides in summer, Rough-legged Hawks winter throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Open country is their ideal territory, where the small rodents they depend on are usually so plentiful that the hawks have enough to eat. But the rodents are cyclic, with lower populations in some years, and in those winters, Rough-legs may migrate farther and be more abundant in the contiguous United States.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote

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00:01:45

Winter Birds of Southern Florida

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/15

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

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00:01:41

For White-throated Swifts, Love Is in the Air

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/14

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

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00:01:39

Why the Black Skimmer Skims

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/13

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

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00:01:45

Starlings Evolving in New Habitats

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/12

Invasive European Starlings are one of the most common birds in North American cities. Recent genetic research into European Starlings shows that populations in North America may have become better adapted to thrive in arid environments and colder temperatures compared to the milder climate of their home range in Europe. Evolution is an ongoing process, and sometimes the best examples can be found in birds that live right alongside us in cities.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more

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00:01:28

Woodpeckers Love Ants

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/11

Woodpeckers, as a group, eat far more ants than most other birds do. Many other vertebrates tend to avoid ants because of their stings or because of the noxious chemicals they contain, like formic acid. But woodpeckers just love them. A Pileated Woodpecker’s diet may include up to 50% ants!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

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00:01:45

Eastern Bluebirds Brighten Our Days

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/10

From their cheerful melodies to their vibrant color and skillful acrobatics, there’s a lot to love about Eastern Bluebirds. Look for them along country roads, city parks, and other open woodlands with plenty of grassy patches where they can hunt for snacks.Today’s show is in memory of Bud Oehler, whose trail of nest boxes helped bring Eastern Bluebirds back to Southwest Iowa.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get

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00:01:36

Ptarmigan Toes

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/09

With its rubbery-sounding rattles and clownish red eyebrows, the ptarmigan is quite the stand-out northern bird. As winter approaches, the ptarmigan’s feet grow feathers, and its claws grow longer. All that added surface area means the ptarmigan practically has its own set of snowshoes.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 makes

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00:01:43

Swan Song

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/08

The idea of the "swan song" recurs from Aesop to Ovid to Plato to Tennyson. Ovid described it, "There, she poured out her words of grief, tearfully, in faint tones, in harmony with sadness, just as the swan sings once, in dying, its own funeral song." But it's based on a sweet fallacy – that a swan sings only when it nears death. And calling the sounds that a swan makes a "song" might be a bit off, too!More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

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00:01:45

Cuba’s Giant Eagles

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/07

Thousands of years ago, giant raptors lived on what is now Cuba. Gigantohierax is an extinct genus of eagles whose fossils have been found in local cave deposits and tar seeps. With an estimated weight of nearly 30 pounds, Gigantohierax suarezi, the larger of the two named species, would’ve been the biggest raptor known from the Americas.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

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00:01:37

Bohemian Waxwings Wander South

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/06

In winter, when snow blankets the northern states, nearly all of the songbirds that graced the days of summer are gone. But there’s one special winter visitor that fills the absence: the Bohemian Waxwing. In autumn, waxwings wander south from the boreal forest into the northern states and along the Rockies. Sometimes, they venture even farther south. In fact, it’s this itinerant life that earned them the name “Bohemian.”More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our

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00:01:45

Red-headed Woodpeckers Fly on Checkerboard Wings

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/05

Red-headed Woodpeckers have mastered the art of high-contrast fashion. Both males and females have deep-crimson head feathers. Their clean white body feathers are offset by large patches of ink black feathers on their neck, wings, and tail. This is why you’ll hear some folks refer to them as "flying checkerboards."This episode is dedicated to Bob Goodale whose lifelong love for birds and nature continues to inspire.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly

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00:01:45

BirdNoir: Staging a Bird-Murder

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/04

In this episode of BirdNoir, the Private Eye sees some suspicious activity: a House Sparrow tries to steal a nestbox from Tree Swallows, but then flees the scene in terror. He stakes out the nestbox to see what the Tree Swallows are doing to keep intruders away.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 makes these shows

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00:05:06

Kenon Walker, Duckmaster

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/03

Kenon Walker got one of the most unusual job offers you can get: be the Duckmaster of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. That means he would lead the hotel’s five ducks on a daily march to the fountain in the lobby, a bizarre and beloved tradition that draws visitors from all over. But when he was first offered the job, Kenon was hesitant to take it because all the previous Duckmasters he knew of were white. Or so he thought.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our

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00:01:40

Small Birds Mob Big Ones

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/02

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

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00:01:38

Winter Birds Love Suet

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/02/01

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

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00:01:45

Alpine Swifts Fly Nonstop

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/01/31

How long can a bird fly without touching the earth? To find out, Swiss scientists attached sensors to Alpine Swifts. The sensors showed long periods when the swifts were gliding and not flapping their wings. Were the birds asleep? Scientists don’t know for sure. It could be that Alpine Swifts sleep during the summer breeding season — and don’t sleep at all during migration. But why do they stay aloft so long? Swifts can’t perch because they have very short legs. So if they can manage it, avoiding

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00:01:45

The Harpy Eagle Is a Huge, Powerful Hunter

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/01/30

Harpy Eagles spend their lives in tall, remote tropical forests in Central and South America, flying from tree to tree in search of food. The eagles are named for the Harpies of Greek mythology, women with the bodies of birds who, on Zeus’s command, snatched people from the earth. Since it takes many months for a nestling to mature, Harpy Eagles raise a youngster just once every two or three years.Listen to this episode in Spanish here.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote

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00:01:32

The Verdin’s Winter Roosts

BirdNote Daily ·

2025/01/29

For small songbirds, surviving a cold winter night can be challenging. Their bodies lose heat faster than those of larger birds. So little birds have found resourceful ways to stay warm — like huddling close together with other birds. But the Verdin, a tiny bird of the Southwest, does something few other birds do to keep warm: it builds extra nests to roost in, in the winter.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get

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1,657 results

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