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Sep 26, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | Gerrit Vyn |Todd Peterson
BirdNote®Fairy-wrens Sing Secret Passwords to Their Unborn ChicksWritten by Todd PetersonThis is BirdNote. [Song and alarm calls of Superb Fairy-wren]It turns out some birds sing to their unhatched chicks. And for a good reason, too. By singing, Superb Fairy-wrens in Australia teach their embryonic chicks a secret code.
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Sep 19, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | Gerrit Vyn |Bob Sundstrom
BirdNote® Ridgway Rails on San Francisco BayWritten by Bob SundstromThis is BirdNote. [Ridgway’s Rail loud calls, clacking notes leading to oinking call, http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/210533]In a salt marsh near San Francisco, a loud clatter erupts from the dense vegetation. These jolting notes, like a small engine cranking up, are the voice of a Ridgway’s Rail. [Ridgway’s Rail loud calls, clacking notes leading to oinking call]The secretive bird peeks out from the edge of the marsh grass.
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Sep 17, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | Gerrit Vyn |Bob Sundstrom
BirdNote®Are Bird Nests Reused? Written by Bob SundstromThis is BirdNote. Let’s talk about nests. Every spring, robins build their cup-shaped nests using grass and mud. [Robin call, brief snippet, http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/133356, 0.06-.08] Orioles weave a hanging sack. [Bullock’s Oriole call, brief snippet, http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/50152, 0.14-.16] It takes a week or two, it’s hard work, and yet once the chicks fledge, mostly the structures won’t be reused.
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Sep 15, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | Gerrit Vyn
Bird beaks, or bills, come in many shapes and sizes. And birds use them for just about everything: to collect food, preen, fight, court (as this pair of Laysan Albatrosses is doing), chop holes in trees, weave nests, and more. In order for a bird to fly, its beak must weigh as little as possible. Beaks are covered with a sheath of a tough material called keratin, which grows continuously because a beak wears down with use. BirdNote®What’s a Beak Made Of?
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Sep 11, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | Gerrit Vyn
BirdNote®The Surprising Secret of Hummingbird TonguesWritten by Conor GearinMichael Stein: This is BirdNote. [Calliope Hummingbird humming and calling, ML224276291]Hummingbirds use their long tongues to sip nectar from flowers. They’re able to roll their tongues into a tube-like shape. Since the 1800s, scientists thought those tongues worked through capillary action, like how water instantly rises into a straw in a full cup.
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Jun 24, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | SongBy Adam Sedgley |Adam Sedgley |Gerrit Vyn |Chris Peterson
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.
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May 9, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | Gerrit Vyn
BirdNote®Keeping Our Eyes on the DetailsThis is BirdNote. I’m Ariana Remmel, and this week, we’re giving you a glimpse behind the scenes. Every BirdNote episode starts with a solid grounding in research. When we play a bird sound for you, first we make sure you're hearing the right species. So we know our Western Meadowlarks… [Western Meadowlark song]…from our Eastern Meadowlarks. [Eastern Meadowlark song]But that’s just the start.
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Apr 26, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | SongBy Adam Sedgley |Adam Sedgley |Gerrit Vyn
Poet Claire Wahmanholm's work focuses on nature and the environment. As she was walking around a nature preserve north of Chicago, Claire was listening for birds but realized there was something else she was hearing: the ever-present hum of a nearby highway. “When you're trying deliberately to hear something else you really notice it,” she says. That experience inspired this poem:YOU CAN ALWAYS HEAR THE HIGHWAYbeneath the Eastern Phoebe. It hums alongside the Hermit Thrush and Indigo Bunting.
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Apr 19, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | SongBy Adam Sedgley |Adam Sedgley |Gerrit Vyn
BirdNote®The Secret to Singing Like a CardinalWritten by Conor GearinThis is BirdNote. Singers with a wide vocal range are thrilling to hear in concert. [Mariah Carey hitting the high notes in “Emotions”]Even if you don’t have any big names touring nearby, you can find birds with impressive vocal talents — like the widespread Northern Cardinal. [Northern Cardinal song]In seconds, cardinals sweep through high to low notes many times.
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Apr 12, 2024 | 
birdnote.org | SongBy Adam Sedgley |Adam Sedgley |Gerrit Vyn
John Kessler served as BirdNote’s senior producer for over 18 years. But before BirdNote existed, he was recording the sounds of Seattle for public radio station KPLU, now called KNKX. After capturing many of Seattle’s well-known spots on tape, he broadened his scope by connecting with local birders to find the best places to hear birds around town. Shortly after, BirdNote's founder, Chris Petersen, sought out John's musical ear to help create a sound-rich show highlighting the joy of birds.
