Field Notes

Gyrfalcons - the largest falcons in the world - are amazingly powerful hunters. Body design and muscle allow these athletic birds to soar, stall and stoop with speeds up to 130 mph. They dine mostly on birds but will grab mammals for a meal - squirrels, lemmings, even a rabbit. On a lucky day,... read more »

Environmental Education ProgrammingBirdNote Next Generation awards grants to environmental education programs to incorporate BirdNote media into their curricula. BirdNote also contracts with media producers to create new media about, by, and for young listeners.The 2019 environmental education... read more »

The Whiskered Treeswift is the smallest of four species of treeswifts. Treeswifts are closely related to swifts, but unlike the latter, treeswifts are able to perch. And that perching makes for the ultimate camouflage of a treeswift's nest. Photographer Con Foley spotted these birds in the Panti... read more »

The Osprey is the only North American raptor to eat fish almost exclusively, and it's well adapted to do so. To help grip its slippery prey, the talons of the Osprey have barbed pads and a reversible outer toe with two (extremely sharp) talons in front and two in back — unusual among birds of... read more »