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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

00:01:41

Hearing Birdsong Can Help Decrease Anxiety

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/12

Many people would tell you that hearing birdsong puts them in a good mood. Recently, scientists have tried to put numbers to this effect that many of us have noticed. One study found that people who spent a few minutes immersed in the sounds of birds had lower levels of paranoia and anxiety than those who only listened to traffic noise.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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00:01:45

What's Inside a Woodpecker's Nest Hole?

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/11

Many woodpeckers chisel out deep cavities in tree trunks in order to lay their eggs and raise their brood. The cavities hollowed out by the birds vary in size, depending on the species of woodpecker. The chamber of a tiny Downy Woodpecker descends about a foot from the opening, while the Pileated Woodpecker may chip out a chamber two feet deep. Both are beyond the reach of a pesky raccoon.Most North American woodpeckers carve a new nest cavity each spring.More info and transcript at

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00:01:49

A Renaming Committee of One

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/10

Amid discussion of renaming birds that are named after people, ornithologist J. Drew Lanham forms a “committee of one” to choose his own names for birds. In this episode, he suggests two “better, melodiously appropriate” names for two species named after John Bachman.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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00:01:42

Rock Climbing Among the Peregrines

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/09

Eagle Cliff in New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch State Park is an important nesting site for Peregrine Falcons. Each year, popular climbing routes in the area close temporarily to give nesting falcons their space. After peregrines disappeared from the northeast due to the pesticide DDT, Eagle Cliff was the first natural rock face to host a successful peregrine nest. Now, state agencies and New Hampshire Audubon work with rock climbing groups to decide when to close cliffs in the summer.More info and

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00:01:45

Polite Birds Gesture 'After You' with Their Wings

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/08

Researchers studying birds called Japanese Tits, relatives of the chickadees and titmice in North America, noticed that mates raising chicks together often fluttered their wings near the entrance of their nest box. After recording hundreds of examples of this behavior, it became clear that the wing-flutter was a signal for the other bird to enter first, much like that arm-sweeping gesture that people use to mean, “after you.”More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to

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00:01:37

Spider Silk - Duct Tape for Bird Nests

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/07

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 bodies of nestlings. And it’s resilient enough to withstand the bustle of raising those hungry

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00:01:41

Great Egret's Lacy Courtship

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/06

Male Great Egrets have special long feather plumes called aigrettes, which they use in courtship displays in the spring. These beautiful big birds were nearly hunted to extinction for these special feathers, which were used to adorn ladies’ hats. The plight of the egret spurred people to organize to protect these and other threatened birds, resulting in the creation of some of the country’s first bird protection societies.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our

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00:01:45

David Shepard and the 'Alala

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/05

Artist David Shepard designs aloha shirts with illustrations of Hawai‘i's native flora and fauna. David actually trained as a botanist, and one of his shirt designs was inspired by his experience working on the Kalaupapa peninsula with the hō‘awa plant. That species needs lots of help from conservationists in part because it was a favorite food of the ‘alala, or Hawaiian Crow, which is now extinct in the wild.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly

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00:01:32

The Marsh Wren's Many Nests

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/04

Tiny Marsh Wrens live in wetlands, usually within cattails, reeds, or bulrushes. After choosing his territory, the male weaves up to 15 dome-shaped shells, lashing together cattails, grasses, or reeds. These are called "courting" nests. Then, sitting high atop a perch in the marsh, he sings, inviting a female to select a nest in his territory. once the female has chosen one of his shells, she lines it with cattail down, feathers, leaves, or grass and lays her eggs. Sometimes a second female chooses

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00:01:50

My Grandmother’s Ornithology, and Mine

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/03

In this episode, J. Drew Lanham shares how his grandmother’s personal names for birds helped shape his own relationships with birds. Names such as “redbirds” for Northern Cardinals, “rain crows” for Yellow-billed Cuckoos, and “cat owls” for Great Horned Owls help him feel personally connected to these species. Through developing one’s own ornithology and personal names for birds, he says, anyone can strengthen their bond with birds.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote

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00:01:41

American Robins Are Exceptional Singers

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/02

As singers go, American Robins are exceptional. They’re often the first birds to sing in the morning, and the last you’ll hear in the evening. While their average song strings fewer than a dozen short phrases together and lasts only a few seconds, robins sometimes sing for minutes without a pause. But the most extraordinary measure of robin song is its variety.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free

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00:01:45

New English Names for Birds

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/07/01

If you’re new to birding, you might be baffled by names like Couch’s Kingbird, Wilson’s Warbler, and Townsend’s Solitaire. These birds were named in honor of scientists and their friends long ago. But the result is a long list of birds named after white men, many of whom took part in colonizing the Americas or enslaved people. The American Ornithological Society or AOS, which governs official bird names in English, is working to rename all birds named after people in North America.More info and

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00:01:28

Begging Sounds and Postures

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/06/30

After young birds have left the nest and can fly short distances, they still follow their parents and beg for food. They squawk and assume a begging posture, wings drooping and head hunched down. Most young birds, including this Crow, depend on their parents for days, weeks, or even months after leaving the nest.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

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00:01:37

An Enormous Eagle Evolves

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/06/29

Evolution on islands can produce unusually large species. Haast’s Eagle lived on the islands now known as New Zealand. With a wingspan of 9 feet and weighing up to 30 pounds, the eagle hunted the moa — a flightless bird that stood over ten feet tall. The eagles probably vanished not long after their moa prey went extinct, about 500 to 600 years ago. A site called the Cave of the Eagle contains Maori paintings of Haast’s Eagles, preserving the legacy of this immense raptor.More info and transcript at

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00:01:45

Nesting Again

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/06/28

Raising baby birds is a lot of work. You might think that after seeing off their fledged young ones, bird parents would call it a day. But a surprising number of species start again and raise another set of young in the same breeding season — what’s called double brooding. Some birds squeeze in even more broods each year. Mourning Doves have been seen trying to raise six clutches of eggs in one season!More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

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00:01:42

The Dickcissel

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/06/27

In grasslands of the central U.S., birds called Dickcissels sing a quirky song that “spells out” the syllables of their name. Dickcissels are approachable birds, often chirping away while a person walks nearby. But they’re also masters of concealment, hiding their nests from predators in tufts of grass and leafy wildflowers. Dickcissel populations have fallen by 30 percent since the 1960s. Yet the birds persist in searching for places to breed — nesting along roadsides, in pastures, and even in

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00:01:45

Birding 101: Where to Find Birds

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/06/26

There’s no wrong place to search for birds — looking out the window and listening for calls and songs is a great place to start. But you might be curious where else to look. In this episode, get a few quick tips on good places to find 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 tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

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00:01:42

Cormorants Dive During the Day

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/06/25

At midday, it might seem like the birds that were so active in the morning have gone silent, maybe even vanished. But cormorants rally in the afternoon, offering a second chance to see and hear them. During the breeding season, Double-crested Cormorants have two peaks of fishing activity: the first around 9 a.m., and the second around 3 p.m. Their efficient fishing lets them spend most of the day drying their feathers and croaking at their neighbors.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want

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00:01:45

Dawn in the Marsh

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/06/24

It's dawn in a western marsh in mid-summer, and man! Those birds are singin'! The males of more than a dozen species are staking out their territories and attracting mates. One of the noisiest of all is the Red-winged Blackbird. He sings not to attract just one mate, but to gather a whole harem! Drop us a line and let us know what you think of BirdNote.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

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00:01:42

Brown Pelicans - Conservation Success

BirdNote Daily ·

2024/06/23

Brown Pelicans are a regular sight today along the Gulf of Mexico and our southern coastlines. But these birds have not always been so plentiful. They were hunted for their feathers and as pests by fishermen. The Migratory Bird Act of 1918 protected their recovery. But by 1970, pesticides were killing pelicans outright and thinning their eggshells. The 1972 Endangered Species Act has helped lead to a gradual comeback.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our

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1,657 results

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