May 2008 BirdNote Episodes:

Ruddy Duck

When the male and female Ruddy Ducks meet on their breeding grounds, the male gets right to strutting his stuff. When a female appears, the male raises his long tail and his head, until the feathers on it look like horns. He inflates his neck and, faster and faster, strikes his chest with his bill. These blows force air through the feathers, causing the water to bubble. The male ends his display by jerking his head and tail forward and emitting a low belching sound. Learn more about the Ruddy Duck on BirdWeb.
To see a short video of the duck’s display, click here.

Interview with Burt Guttman

Do you know someone who’s ready to start birdwatching, but is uncertain how to go about it? Burt Guttman, Professor Emeritus of The Evergreen State College, has written a book that can help. In Finding Your Wings, A Workbook for Beginning Bird Watchers, Burt explains: Find a good place. Get a pair of binoculars. Buy a field guide and other books, and start to read. Begin a notebook. Best of all, go out and enjoy yourself!
Learn more in Finding Your Wings.

Bobolink Migration

When Bobolinks return to North America from the tropics each spring, they have completed one of the longest migrations of any songbird in the Americas: roughly 6,000 miles—all the way from northern Argentina to the northern states and Canada. You can learn more about the Bobolink’s migration in Miyoko Chu’s book, Songbird Journeys.
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Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest 2008

This time of year, Washington’s arid sage land is replete with songs of this Vesper Sparrow and many other birds. A field trip to hear them is just one of many activities of the sixth annual Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest, the third weekend of May, Thursday the 15th through Sunday the 18th. Most festival activities are free or inexpensive. But the field trips are popular and many require pre-registration, so sign up soon at LeavenworthSpringBirdFest.com!

Whistle from the Sky

In its flight display, the male Long-billed Curlew flies up with rapidly beating wings and glides down, then up again and down, stitching a series of arcs across the sky and calling all the time. Their loud flight calls warn of the presence of potential predators. Long-billed Curlews are the largest of North American shorebirds.
Take a class or field trip from Seattle Audubon—start here. Find your local Audubon and learn what they have to offer. Click here.

House Sparrow Pool Party

Pudgy, social, chatty, and ubiquitous, the House Sparrow has adapted to living in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Like most birds, these sparrows enjoy a daily bath. By setting out a birdbath, you can watch them chatter and splash and shake like a dog, sending droplets flying. Birds like very shallow water; an inch or two is plenty. Be sure the bath has a flat rim or rocks for the birds to perch on, to shake and dry. And make sure the area is safe from cats. Do you have a question or an idea for BirdNote? Drop us a line at info@birdnote.org.

Barn Swallow Splendor

This lovely creature is a Barn Swallow—notice the rich colors! Click on Enlarge, and you can see its rapier-like wings, and the long outer tail-feathers. A genuine master of the air, the swallow swoops low along the ground at high speed, changing direction in the blink of an eye. This prodigy has flown all the way from South America, to offer—without fee—its services as a prolific collector of flying insects, which it vacuums from the air. The Barn Swallow is a common summer visitor. Learn more.

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