Welcome to BirdNote!

Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and takes step to protect it.

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Shows With Contributions by Rebecca Heisman

A migrating bird is silhouetted against a near-full moon in the night sky.

Moon-Watching for Migrating Birds

Before the high-tech gadgets used to track bird migration today, there was moon-watching: a technique dreamed up in the 1940s by ornithologist George Lowery. Using telescopes pointed at the moon to see the silhouettes of migratory birds, Lowery helped show that birds regularly migrate…
A Red-headed Woodpecker peers out from a nest hole in a tree trunk

Catching Woodpeckers High in the Trees

When scientists need to capture birds for research, they often use a mist net, a length of fine mesh strung between two poles on the ground. But what about catching birds that stay up in the treetops? Researchers studying Red-headed Woodpeckers in Virginia used fishing rods to cast lines…
A small light brown and buff-colored bird sings while perched on a delicate branch.

Listening in on Birds

Collecting data on wild birds is crucial for their conservation. But it requires huge amounts of effort. One way to help streamline the process is with gizmos called autonomous recording units, or ARUs. For days or months, these recording devices eavesdrop on the environment around them…
Yellow-crested Cockatoo with bright white plumage, lemon-yellow crest feather on its head, and a dark eye and beak.

Komodo Dragons and Cockatoos

Due to trapping for the pet trade, the talkative and showy Yellow-crested Cockatoo is now considered critically endangered. But scientists recently discovered a stronghold for the species: Komodo Island — yes, the one with the dragons. The Komodo population of Yellow-crested Cockatoos…