BirdNote

Mar 20 2025 55 ep. 6k

BirdNote Podcast artwork

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.

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Spring Bursts Forth

People often say that spring “bursts” forth. But this seasonal change isn’t like flipping a switch. It’s more like a series of waves breaking slowly. Robins and bluebirds return north in March. During April, more songbirds migrate north from the tropics, adding to spring’s growing chorus. As late as

Beautiful and Beneficial Gardening for Birds

Buying enough birdseed to keep all your backyard birds satisfied can run up a big bill. Homegrown National Park co-founder Douglas Tallamy says growing native plants in your garden can provide a balanced diet for birds. While there’s a misconception that native plants lead to a messy garden, Tallamy

Hembras encabezan las parvadas de urracas copetonas

Presente en gran partede Centroamérica, las parvadas de la urraca copetona son grupos familiares liderados por una hembra dominante. Incluyen a su pareja y varias crías femeninas que llevan alimento a la hembra principal y a sus crías. Es un ejemplo de crianza cooperativa, cuando aves que no son los

Black Swifts Reach for the Moon

Tracking devices revealed that Black Swifts spent over 99% of their time in the air during the winter, almost never touching the ground for months. What’s more, the swifts flew to incredible heights, reaching the highest altitudes on nights when the moon was full – sometimes over 13,000 feet! It’s

Field Sparrow Nests Climb Higher and Higher

Field Sparrows make use of all the warm months of the year by building multiple nests each breeding season. Females will build their first, cup-shaped nest near the ground in dense grasses. As shrubs and trees grow their leaves throughout the summer, they will pick new spots higher off the ground

Drumming with Woodpeckers

Like a jazz player beating out a drum roll, a woodpecker uses its bill to rap out a brisk series of notes. Early spring resounds with the percussive hammering of woodpeckers. Their rhythmic drumming says to other woodpeckers, "This is my territory!" We also hear them knocking on wood when they carve

How Do Birds Brake from Flight?

Birds are often admired for their ability to fly. But braking just in time to avoid a crash landing is amazing by itself. How does a robin go from full-out flight to a dead stop at a tree? If we could watch in slow motion, we’d see it raising the angle of its wings higher and higher from the

Squirrel or Bird?

Identifying birds by ear means getting familiar with each species’ unique voice. And that means learning the other voices in the ecosystem, too. Squirrels and chipmunks make calls that can sound a bit like bird calls at times. With practice, each species’ voice becomes more distinct and familiar.

Spark Bird: The First Robin of Spring

Rasheena Fountain studied environmental science and worked at her local Audubon Society. Now she writes about nature and diversity in the outdoors. And what got her interested in the first place? It all started in kindergarten, with a teacher named Miss Beak and the first robin of spring.

Counting Ducks with Alison Vilag

Alison Vilag has worked for half a decade as a fall and spring waterbird counter at remote migration hotspots around Lake Superior. For weeks, every day from sunrise to nearly sunset, Alison is outside in frigid and volatile weather, identifying species from afar and tallying them with a clicker