Shows / BirdNote
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.
Episodes
BirdNoteThe Western Sandpiper’s Winter Migration
Along the coast of Sinaloa in México, there are species of shorebirds with one of the longest migrations in the Western Hemisphere. One such species is the…
BirdNoteBird Feeders and Whaling Ships
In the opening lines of Moby Dick, the narrator, Ishmael, confesses to "a damp, drizzly November in my soul." One sure way to brighten November's damp and…
BirdNoteJohn Mittermeier and the Lost Birds
What happens when a bird disappears—and how do you find it again? Dr. Deja Perkins sits down with John Mittermeier to explore American Bird Conservancy’s…
BirdNoteEl adorablemente extraño chorlo de Magallanes
El chorlo de Magallanes ( Pluvianellus socialis), también conocido como chorlito ceniciento, tiene fama de ser un poco raro. Estas aves playeras tienen un…
BirdNoteCalling Ducks Like A Champ
Every November, duck callers flock to Stuttgart, Arkansas to compete in the annual World Championship Duck Calling Contest. Hunters traditionally use calls to…
BirdNoteChorus Line in the Sky
A flock of small shorebirds, like Western Sandpipers, twists and turns, glittering in the sky. When threatened by a falcon, these birds take to the air, flying…
BirdNoteThe Vampire Finch
Vampire Ground-Finches menace their victims in broad daylight, stabbing holes in their flesh, then devouring the blood. During the dry season, when their usual…
BirdNoteWho’s That Spooky Bird?
Do you like to guess the bird calls before we identify them? Then here’s a short quiz of spooky, scary, and creepy bird sounds! This Halloween edition features…
BirdNoteHovering with Horned Larks
Horned Larks rival meadowlarks as the most colorful birds of North American grasslands. They live in prairies, fields, and tundra, but agriculture and…
BirdNoteAudubon's Expedia for Birds
Dr. Deja Perkins talks with Audubon’s Aurelio Ramos and Catalina Casas about Audubon Americas’ long-running effort to build bird-based tourism across Latin…
BirdNoteSunset Camp Raven
Writer and naturalist J. Drew Lanham tells the story of watching – and being watched by – a Common Raven.
BirdNoteThe Whip-poor-will’s Whiskers
Near their frog-like mouths, Eastern Whip-poor-wills sport long, thin feathers that look a little like cat whiskers. Called rictal bristles, scientists are…
BirdNoteGreat Horned Owls in the Neighborhood
Not all owls live in the deep woods. Many Great Horned Owls make their homes in urban areas. Though mostly nocturnal, Great Horned Owls are also active early…
BirdNoteSeabirds Drink Salt Water
Seabirds have no problem drinking sea water. The salt they take in is absorbed and moves through their blood stream into a pair of salt glands above their…
BirdNoteSongbirds Teach Each Other Tricks
In the UK for years, milk came in bottles with foil caps. Great Tits, a common songbird, learned how to peck through the foil. The skill spread. But how?…
BirdNoteThe Sound of a Thousand Geese Taking Off at Once
During migration, Snow Geese gather in the tens of thousands. They coordinate their movements, flying in a big, compact flock, which makes it harder for a…
BirdNoteScott’s Wild Bird Preserve
When we first interviewed Isaiah Scott a few years ago, he was a sophomore in college with big dreams about conservation. Now, as a Cornell graduate, he’s back…
BirdNoteEl colibrí picoespada
Para ganarle a la competencia a la hora de beber néctar, los colibríes picoespada ( Ensifera ensifera) tienen una adaptación muy particular: su pico es más…
BirdNoteClean Nestboxes in October
It’s a wistful moment when your backyard birds — like these Black-capped Chickadees — depart their nestboxes. By October, it’s time for one last duty as…
BirdNotePrairie Warblers — An Early Successional Species
Despite their name, Prairie Warblers nest in tree farms of recently planted pines, in fields overgrown with scattered shrubs, and in clearings under power…
BirdNoteHow Evolution Reshaped the Woodcock
Evolution works with what's at hand. So if you start with a normal bird skull – bill pointing forward, eyes oriented front or sideways, ears behind eyes – and…
BirdNoteSpark Bird: Chidi Paige and the Yellow Warbler
When Chidi Paige moved from Nigeria to the U.S., she began running a youth STEM program and had to teach lessons on bird identification. She was in for a…
BirdNoteFour North American Gnatcatchers
Gnatcatchers are tiny, black and gray songbirds native to the Americas. Though they don’t typically catch gnats on the wing, gnatcatchers are often found…
BirdNoteSeason 9 of Bring Birds Back is Coming!
This season, Dr. Deja Perkins talks with innovators, researchers, and conservation leaders about small ideas that sparked big breakthroughs for birds and the…
BirdNoteEl chipe grande, un pájaro parlanchín
En verano, el espeso entramado de vegetación a orillas de los arroyos en muchos cañones resuena con un sonido peculiar: el del chipe grande ( Icteria virens)…
BirdNoteThe Link Between Birds and Alligators
The crocodilians — crocodiles and their relatives, like the American Alligator — are the closest living relatives of birds. About 250 million years ago, the…
BirdNoteSooty Tern
Sooty Terns have long been called "wide-awakes" because of their calls. But it may describe their sleeping habits, too. When young terns leave their breeding…
BirdNotePurple Martins Head South to the Amazon
The Purple Martin is the largest swallow that nests in the U.S. and Canada. During fall, Purple Martins from western North America migrate to a distinct…
BirdNoteWorld Migratory Bird Day
Saturday October 10, 2026, is World Migratory Bird Day, a celebration of one of our planet’s most marvelous natural phenomena. It occurs twice a year, on the…
BirdNoteHere Come the Merlins
Smaller than a pigeon — but fierce enough to knock one from the air — are the powerful, compact falcons known as Merlins. Climate change is pushing ranges of…
BirdNoteMigration Takes Guts — Until It Doesn’t
This Bar-tailed Godwit makes one of the longest migrations of any animal — a 7,200-mile non-stop flight each autumn from western Alaska to New Zealand. In his…
BirdNoteObservación estática de aves
Salir a observar aves a toda velocidad puede significar detectar muchas especies, pero hay una alegría tranquila en la observación estática. Elige un lugar…
BirdNoteMigrations: A Whimbrel’s Wayward Journey
Biologists with Manomet tagged a Whimbrel named Lindsay with a GPS tracker. She has spent the summer breeding in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the…
BirdNoteOctober Migrants - Look Who's Back!
In the October sunlight, a Lincoln's Sparrow – like this one – sings energetically from a hedgerow. Soon a Fox Sparrow chimes in. Both nested in Alaska last…
BirdNoteFlyin' in the Rain
Most birds are mostly waterproof. Their feathers, aided by oil from preen glands, keep them pretty watertight. So why do birds avoid flying during rainstorms?…
BirdNoteWhere Swallows Go in Winter
Through all of spring and summer, swallows dart and sail overhead, their airborne grace a wonder to behold. But by October, the skies seem empty. Most swallows…
BirdNoteQuestions That Get Kids Curious About Nature
Brianna Amingwa is a birder, environmental educator, and mom of two bird-loving boys. In this episode, Brianna shares one of her favorite, tried-and-true…
BirdNoteThe Eurasian Tree Sparrow
In Lafayette Park in St. Louis, Missouri, a dozen or so Eurasian Tree Sparrows from Germany were released. But unlike other introduced species such as the…
BirdNoteAves reproductoras llegan en bandadas a las Grandes Llanuras del Norte
Las aves migratorias conectan las Grandes Llanuras del Norte con muchas partes del hemisferio occidental. El gorrión alas blancas ( Calamospiza melanocorys)…
BirdNoteWhich Bird Has the Most Feathers?
In general, the bigger the bird, the higher the number of feathers. Someone counted the feathers on a Tundra Swan and came up with 25,216. At least 80% were on…
BirdNoteGreat Horned Owl Family in Autumn
Compared to many birds, Great Horned Owls remain with their parents a long time. They hatched in early March, from eggs laid in late January. By April, both…
BirdNotePrions Filter-Feed Like Whales
Birds called prions have an especially creative approach to getting their food. They pass seawater through their mouths and filter it to catch tiny animals…
BirdNoteSong of the Mountains: The Brown-backed Solitaire
Brown-backed Solitaires are ordinary-looking: medium-sized, gray-brown birds. But they have one of the most melodic, complex songs in the world, ringing out…
BirdNoteHelp Birds Survive Heat Waves
It's easy to feel helpless during a heat wave, as if there's nowhere to hide from the sun. Birds feel much the same. Extreme heat poses a risk to young birds…
BirdNoteThe Secret Lives of Goldfinches
American Goldfinches are one of our most familiar birds, but they lead lives that are anything but ordinary. These birds will sometimes raise two broods a…
BirdNoteLas pirangas capucha roja, destellos de color brillante
La piranga capucha roja ( Piranga ludoviciana), también conocida como tangara carirroja, salta de árbol en árbol en busca de insectos. Los encuentra revisando…
BirdNoteMigrations: Molt Migration
At the end of summer, the once-bright feathers of a male American Goldfinch look ragged. Growing new flight feathers in a process called molting makes him more…
BirdNoteRidgway's Rails on San Francisco Bay
Once abundant around San Francisco Bay, the Ridgway’s Rail — formerly known as the California Clapper Rail — is now endangered. In the 19th Century…
BirdNoteFairy-Wrens Sing Secret Passwords to Unborn Chicks
Superb Fairy-wrens teach their embryonic chicks a secret code. This "incubation call" contains a special note that will later serve as a password. When the…
BirdNoteYour Support Makes All The Difference
Today is the last day of our on-air pledge drive. BirdNote is an independent nonprofit that relies on financial support from listeners like you. Recurring…
BirdNoteMaking BirdNote
BirdNote Daily is a two-minute show that takes a lot more than two minutes to create. Each episode weaves together an informative script, lively narration…
BirdNoteWe Are Stronger Together
Birds do lots of things together, including hunting, nesting and raising young. This week, we’re asking BirdNote listeners to come together and support the…
BirdNoteA Steady And Reliable Resource
Whether you’re planting natives or filling your feeders every day, your backyard birds know they can rely on you for a meal. And we’re relying on recurring…
BirdNoteJoin Our Flock
Songbirds in winter flocks benefit from having other birds nearby. They can recognize warning signals from other species and follow them to sources of food. We…
BirdNoteAre Birds Nests Reused?
Let’s talk about nests. Every spring, robins build their cup-shaped nests using grass and mud. Orioles weave a hanging sack. It’s hard work, and yet once the…
BirdNotePlayful Keas
Keas are large alpine parrots from New Zealand. Intelligent and social, they have olive-green plumage, a red rump, and a long, curved beak. Keas produce a…
BirdNoteLetter to an Olive-sided Flycatcher
In this episode, ornithologist J. Drew Lanham reads a letter he has written to an Olive-sided Flycatcher, a beloved bird that he pleads with to visit the dead…
BirdNoteArctic Dispatch: Sandpipers Sing at Teshekpuk Lake
In the summer of 2026, conservation photographer Gerrit Vyn visited a remote wilderness called the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. He spent much of June…
BirdNoteWilson’s Warbler near Summer’s End
By early August, the rich yellow of the feathers of the Wilson's Warbler seems to flash in every forest thicket. Despite predators and weather, many pairs of…
BirdNoteReinita Caridorada
La reinita caridorada ( Setophaga chrysoparia), también conocida como chipe cachetes amarillos, es una especie en peligro de extinción y el único pájaro que…