Ellen Blackstone

Nov 28, 2024 | birdnote.org | Gregg Thompson |Ellen Blackstone

BirdNote®As the Crow Flies? Written by Ellen BlackstoneThis is BirdNote![Cawing of American Crows]Whoever said that the fastest way to get somewhere is “as the crow flies” must not have seen crows flying to their night roost on an autumn afternoon. These shiny black aerial acrobats free-fall, tumble and tangle, then swoop back up. Definitely not the fastest way from one place to the next, as that old saying surely meant.

Aug 25, 2024 | birdnote.org | Ellen Blackstone |Adam Sedgley

At a glance, swallows and swifts, both graceful fliers, look much alike. But swifts — like this Chimney Swift — have longer, slimmer wings and short bodies, enabling them to glide for long periods. Their glides are punctuated by rapid, stiff bursts of wing-beats. Swallows, on the other hand, flex and flap their wings. Why do swifts have such a peculiar, stiff wing stroke? Picture a bird wing, with two halves jointed in the middle. Swift wings have a short inner “half” and a long outer half.

Jul 17, 2024 | birdnote.org | Ellen Blackstone |Adam Sedgley

BirdNote®J. Drew Lanham’s Taxonomy of Bird ObsessionsWritten by J. Drew LanhamThis is BirdNote. I’m J. Drew Lanham, an ornithologist, naturalist and writer. I’m often asked:  “What’s your favorite bird?” My standard response is “The one with feathers!” Birds deserve more than the disappearing by billions and reducing them to just names on a list. But here’s the recent taxonomy of my obsessions. Selected birds of the moment annotated by why.     [White-crowned Sparrow song]White-crowned Sparrow.

Jul 3, 2024 | birdnote.org | Ellen Blackstone |Adam Sedgley

In this episode, J. Drew Lanham shares how his grandmother’s personal names for the 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. BirdNote®My Grandmother’s Ornithology, and MineWritten by J.

Jul 1, 2024 | birdnote.org | Ellen Blackstone |Adam Sedgley

BirdNote®New English Names for BirdsWritten by Conor GearinThis is BirdNote. If you’re new to birding, you might be baffled by names like Couch’s Kingbird, Wilson’s Warbler, and Townsend’s Solitaire.     [Wilson’s Warbler song]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.