BirdNote is a two-minute radio show that combines rich sounds with engaging stories, to illustrate the amazing lives of birds and give listeners a momentary respite from the news of the day.
A family of dapper Black-capped Chickadees call as they hang upside down, pecking at alder seeds. A wren skulks and buzzes through the underbrush. A petite Downy Woodpecker whinnies nearby. Mixed-species flocks may include a dozen species and more than fifty individuals. More ears and eyes
On St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea, Ivan Melovidov collects speckled murre eggs in the traditional Aleut way, by descending over the edge of a cliff. With a rope tied around his waist he runs along a cliff-face, dodging fulmars, seabirds known for projecting foul-smelling stomach oil
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 depend on are usually so plentiful that the hawks have enough to eat. But the rodents are cyclic
Some Harlequin Ducks migrate from the Pacific Coast all the way to the Teton Mountains in northwestern Wyoming to breed in the summer. White markings on both drakes and hens help them disappear amidst turbulent white water and rocks. Predators, like Peregrine Falcons, have a hard time
By the time November rolls around, the bird songs of summer can seem a distant memory. But there’s always something to listen for. Small birds like chickadees and kinglets, including the Golden-crowned Kinglet pictured here, often mix in flocks while foraging. Geese can be heard overhead
A fledgling Great Horned Owl calls to be fed. Judging from the young bird's persistence, the parents seem to be responding only with calls, not with food. These entreaties can go on for weeks. Both parents let the fledgling know that it's time for him to feed himself. They've been bringing
