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PODCAST

BirdNote

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.

All Episodes

00:01:45

Song Sparrows Across the Continent

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

Song Sparrows can be heard singing almost everywhere in the United States. People have recorded their song along rivers and lakes, in cities and towns, and in fields and forests.

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00:01:42

Birds on the March with Army Ants

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

As thousands of army ants march through a rainforest in Panama looking for food, countless insects try to escape. Antbirds follow the ants, waiting for flying insects to leave their hiding spots so they can swoop down and catch them. About 300 species of animals, including 29 bird species, depend on army ants for their survival. It’s thought to be the largest association of animals tied to a single species in the world.

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00:01:45

Spark Bird: Kira Jane Buxton's Crow Rescue

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

Kira Jane Buxton wrote two novels about a foul-mouthed pet crow navigating the extinction of humanity. But her love for crows began just a few years before writing the books. She found an injured crow surrounded by 60 others calling out in alarm. Though Kira was nervous, she took the crow to a wildlife rehabilitator. Sadly, the crow didn’t survive. But since then, Kira has bonded with her local crows and visits them regularly.

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00:01:45

Songs in Slow Motion

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

By slowing down the songs of the Crested Oropendola and the Tui, all the notes and harmonies stand out. While these details normally rush past the human ear faster than our brains can process, birds are alert to the subtleties of other birds’ songs.

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00:01:45

Filming Rare Storks in Their Nests

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

Photographer Gerrit Vyn traveled to northeastern India to document the daily life of the Greater Adjutant stork. These endangered birds nest high in trees on privately owned land in the state of Assam, where they’re known as Hargila. Conservation biologist Purnima Devi Barman helped Gerrit get a stork's-eye view by building a bamboo tower near the canopy of a Hargila nesting tree. Learn more in the documentary Hargila from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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00:01:45

Saving the Hargila

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

Conservation biologist Purnima Devi Barman returned to Assam, India, where she grew up, to work with a highly endangered bird, the Greater Adjutant stork. The species nests in populated areas of Assam, where it’s known as Hargila. Because they’re scavengers, some see Hargila as unclean and remove trees where they nest. Purnima has found creative ways to connect Hargila to people’s daily lives and culture in Assam. Learn more in a new documentary from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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00:01:45

From Simple to Complex Bird Sounds

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

Explore how bird songs increase in complexity from the guttural hiss of a Turkey Vulture, to the short songs of Henslow’s Sparrows, and to the elaborate song repertoire of the Brown Thrasher.

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00:01:42

Birds, Berries, and Germination

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

Some plants have evolved fruits with edible flesh that attract birds. When birds swallow the fruit, they also ingest the seeds. They transport the seeds to new spots for the plants to take root. Birds’ digestive systems grind away the hard outer coating of the seed, making it more likely to germinate. Seeds in a bird’s droppings are pre-packaged in nutrient-rich fertilizer.

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00:01:42

Birds, Berries, and Germination

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

Some plants have evolved fruits with edible flesh that attract birds. When birds swallow the fruit, they also ingest the seeds. They transport the seeds to new spots for the plants to take root. Birds’ digestive systems grind away the hard outer coating of the seed, making it more likely to germinate. Seeds in a bird’s droppings are pre-packaged in nutrient-rich fertilizer.

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00:01:45

City Hawks Versus Country Hawks

BirdNote ·

2021/12/21

Resident Cooper’s Hawks that nest in the urban areas of Albuquerque, New Mexico, are thriving as the populations of doves, their prey, have exploded. The easy prey gives the urban birds a competitive advantage over hawks in more natural habitats, where prey is less concentrated. The soaring numbers of urban Cooper's Hawks could help preserve the genetic diversity of the species far into the future.

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00:01:43

Brown Pelicans - Conservation Success

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

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.

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00:01:45

Bird Seed

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

When buying seed for your feeders, it’s tempting to get the biggest, cheapest bag. But not all bird seed is the same. Figure out the nutritional value of the seeds and whether your local birds can actually eat them. Black-oil sunflower seeds provide good protein and fat. Other good seeds include white millet and nyjer thistle. Avoid red milo, a livestock grain. And clean your feeding station regularly to prevent the spread of disease.

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00:01:37

Graylag Goose

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

The goose of today’s farmyards was domesticated about 3,000 years ago from the Graylag Goose, the wild species found today throughout much of Europe and Asia. To ancient Egyptians, the goose symbolized the sun god Ra. Greeks linked the goose with Aphrodite, the goddess of love. And geese are prominently featured in the Shijing, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry.

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00:01:37

How Birds Survived the Asteroid

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

The asteroid that struck the Yucatán 66 million years ago wreaked worldwide ecological damage, spelling the end for most dinosaurs and destroying the world’s forests. Yet a few bird-like dinosaur groups made it through. Scientists believe that these groups were all ground-dwellers. Though some species could fly, a life on the ground would have been a key advantage in a world without forests. All modern birds evolved from these ancient creatures.

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00:01:45

Spark Bird: Drew Lanham Takes Flight

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

Acclaimed ornithologist and writer J. Drew Lanham’s obsession with birds began when he was a kid, when he wished to take flight alongside them. He tried out cardboard wings and an umbrella, trying to defeat gravity. He kept refining his designs and finding better jump-off spots. He eventually gave up on trying to fly, but he never stopped loving birds.

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00:01:35

Bluebirds Close to Home

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

Bluebirds can bring flashes of azure color and mellow songs to where you live. The best way to bring them close to home is with nest boxes. You’ll need an untreated wood box with a one-and-a-half inch hole five feet above the ground. Finding the right place for the nest box is important, too. Shrubs that bear small fruits can entice bluebirds.

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00:01:43

Razorbills Swim in Synchrony

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

Razorbills, a cousin to the puffin, nest in colonies on cliffs. Before they lay eggs, Razorbills take part in two unique social behaviors. In one, the Razorbills swim round and round in a tight mass, then dive as one. Next, they surface with heads aligned and bills held open. In another behavior, dozens of birds swim in a line, then zig-zag in a synchronized pattern across the ocean’s surface.

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00:04:45

The Wonderchicken!

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

In 2018, paleontologist Daniel Field took a closer look at specimens from an amateur fossil collector. His team used micro-CT scanning, kind of like a high-energy CAT scan, to visualize the encased fossils. They were amazed to find a tiny bird skull: the earliest known fossil record of a modern bird. The skull looks chicken-like in the front and duck-like in the back. The bird may have looked and behaved like a modern shorebird.

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00:01:39

Why Penguin Feathers Don't Freeze

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

Gentoo Penguins live in the frigid waters of the Atlantic. Only recently have scientists begun to unravel why penguin feathers don’t freeze. An electron microscope revealed tiny pores on the feathers that trap air, making the surface water repellent. This feature, plus a special coating oil from the preen gland, prevents water build-up and delays freezing. Engineers could attempt to apply these principles to prevent icing on plane wings.

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00:01:45

BirdNoir - The Mystery of the Blue Bird

BirdNote ·

2021/11/25

In this episode of BirdNoir, Michael Stein — Private Eye — gets a call from a friend, Danny, who wants to know why the bluest bird he’s ever seen has vanished. But there are many birds that are blue besides the true bluebirds (which belong to the thrush family). To solve the mystery, the detective needs to know the right questions to ask Danny, finding the relevant information to identify the bird and figure out what happened.

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91 results