Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
A Heron Nest Starts with Just One Stick
During winter and early spring, Great Blue Herons build their nests high in the treetops. The male delivers the supplies to the nest site stick by stick, as the female arranges things. It’s the perfe…
Published on 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Upland Sandpipers Whistling from Fences
Upland Sandpipers are an emblematic bird of grassland habitats in many regions of the Americas. These shorebirds live far from sea with the largest breeding populations in the north central U.S. But …
Published on 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Identifying a Bird in Flight
One of the most difficult skills to pick up as a birder is how to identify birds in flight. You have to sort through a series of visual clues all at once, at high speed: silhouette, wing shape, how f…
Published on 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Meadowlark and the Monster
In this story from Nimiipuu culture, Meadowlark is likened to the ‘reporter’ of Western grasslands, singing its song from the tops of fenceposts and trees. This story takes place before the time of p…
Published on 10 months ago
BirdNote Celebrates 20 years
Twenty years ago today, the first BirdNote Daily episode aired on the radio in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. Since then, through sound-rich stories, we’ve explored the lives of countless birds – an…
Published on 10 months ago
Spark Bird – Glenn Albrecht and the Gray Fantail
Glenn Albrecht grew up in western Australia, where he became enamored with birds. As he grew up, Glenn witnessed how coal mining devastated the Australian countryside — and the birds that lived there…
Published on 10 months ago
Great Egrets Are Lovely and Lethal
Standing over three-feet tall, Great Egrets have elegant white feathers and long slender necks. During the breeding season, both males and females grow long frilly feathers called aigrettes. Great Eg…
Published on 10 months ago
The Cactus Wren's Signature Voice
Most wrens in North America are small, furtive birds that stay deep in the vegetation. But the Cactus Wren is large, bold, and brassy. These wrens are well adapted to the desert and can get all the m…
Published on 10 months ago
Northern Shovelers — Dabbling Ducks with Big Bills
Male and female Northern Shovelers both have that unmistakable trowel-shaped bill, but they differ in plumage. Females and non-breeding males are a mottled beige color. But during the breeding season…
Published on 10 months ago
Rough-legged Hawk
After breeding on Arctic cliffs and tundra hillsides in summer, Rough-legged Hawks winter throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Open country is their ideal territory, where the small rodents they depen…
Published on 10 months ago