Spark Bird: Diana Sudyka's First Bird ID

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Spark Bird: Diana Sudyka’s First Bird ID 

Written by Mark Bramhill

This is BirdNote.

Diana Sudyka loved nature and the outdoors as a kid, and when she was in 2nd grade, her mom gave her a gift that would spark a lifelong passion:

Diana Sudyka: I was given a Peterson’s bird field guide. And I remember the first time I was able to identify a bird other than a robin or a House Sparrow. We were somewhere like at a state park, and I remember seeing this black bird.

[Brown-headed Cowbird ML107304]

Kind of looked like a crow, but it was too small. And I just remember focusing on its plumage and the subtle difference between its body and that glossy beautiful black and then this brown, rust-colored head. I remember noticing the shape of the bill and keeping that in my mind, and then, when I went home, going to my Peterson guide and figuring out on my own what kinda bird I was seeing. And that was a cowbird! 

[Brown-headed Cowbird ML107304]

It was this great moment.

And her love of birds has stuck with her. Sudyka spent many years volunteering with the bird lab at the Field Museum in Chicago. Now, she’s an illustrator, focused on wildlife, especially birds. She recently illustrated the children’s book, How to Find a Bird, by Jennifer Ward. So Sudyka’s work might go on to inspire more bird lovers — just like that guidebook:

Diana Sudyka: I still have my Peterson guide. It’s all dog-eared and marked up. And now my daughter looks at it.

For BirdNote, I’m Mark Bramhill.

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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Brown-headed Cowbird ML107304 recorded by Wil Hershberger
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote   February 2021         Narrator: Mark Bramhill

ID#  sparkbird-05-2021-02-17    sparkbird-05