BirdNote Daily

Resident Cooper’s Hawks that nest in the urban areas of Albuquerque, New Mexico, are thriving as the populations of doves, their prey, have exploded. The easy prey gives the urban birds a competitive…

As it began to hail, Marlon Inniss saw several Canada Geese doing something odd. Rather than trying to shield their heads, the geese pointed their bills skyward, directly into the path of the hail. T…

If you’ve already done things around the home with birds in mind, consider one more action that might be less obvious. Turning the thermostat down a degree or two in the colder months and up a degree…

The Swainson's Thrush, the Hermit Thrush, and this Veery are small, brown birds, but their songs clearly distinguish them. The Swainson's Thrush announces its presence in early spring with subtle, li…

After David Shephard moved to Hawai‘i to study botany, he realized that the “main character” of the islands is birds — many plants have co-evolved with birds due to their central role in Hawaiian eco…

Many birds – like this Indigo Bunting – can be found in ecotones, the borders between two habitats. Indigo Buntings breed in the ecotone between forest and meadow. They are common at Muscatatuck Nati…

Emily Raboteau’s book, Lessons for Survival, begins with a painting of two Burrowing Owls on the security gate of a local business in West Harlem, near where she teaches. Intrigued, she found more bi…

In the spring, Rufous Hummingbirds journey from Mexico to the northwest U.S., some as far north as Alaska! That’s almost 1,000 miles one way for a bird measuring just under four inches beak to tail, …

In this episode, Lillian Holden — a Chicago-based environmental educator — introduces us to the African American Heritage Water Trail, a 7-mile stretch along the Little Calumet River and the Cal-Sag …

For her PhD, Deja Perkins is studying datasets generated by the public, also known as participatory science projects. These projects include eBird, a site where anyone can upload bird observations. A…

While Dara Wilson was working at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in D.C., she introduced visitors to the Amazonia exhibit. She would describe the song of a bird she’d never had the chance to see in th…

When Adé Ben-Salahuddin stopped to help a trapped young bird on his way home from work, he found an unexpected source of help: an older Black woman walking by who had just the skills for the problem …

This episode narrated by Marcus Rosten explores the history and the birdlife of the Niagara River Corridor. Just downstream from the falls, Long-tailed Ducks and Bonaparte’s Gulls call out near the s…

In this episode, neuroscientist Lola Neal explores how birds are used as models to understand many neural processes, as they have cognitive abilities comparable to those of the cleverest mammals. Stu…

In this episode, Nicole Jackson and Emma Brittain announce the fifth year of Black Birders Week, a week-long celebration with events and activities that highlight the achievements and contributions o…

In 2019, several co-workers at the National Audubon Society formed a team for the World Series of Birding that focused on identifying female birds. Called the Galbatrosses, they sought to highlight h…

Red-headed Woodpeckers excavate cavities in large, dead trees called snags. Yet, over much of the Red-head's range, snags are frequently cut down as unsightly, or because they make good firewood. The…

As darkness descends on a May evening, the voices of many birds go quiet. But for some birds, especially those known as nightjars, the music is just beginning! An Eastern Whip-poor-will shouts out it…

In this episode of BirdNoir, Private Eye Michael Stein gives a word of advice to Ollie, an up-and-coming gumshoe. Ollie thinks he has heard his first Gray Catbird, a species that yowls like a cat, bu…

Waterfowl like this Muscovy duckling spend up to 30 days in the egg, so they’re able to walk, swim, and feed themselves as soon as they hatch. We call these chicks precocial. By contrast, the chicks …