Laura Erickson's For the Birds

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"For the Birds" began airing on KUMD in Duluth, MN, in May, 1986, and is the longest continually-running radio program about birds in the U.S. Hundreds more episodes are available for free at http://www.lauraerickson.com/radio/.

Laura Erickson


    • Jun 3, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 5m AVG DURATION
    • 845 EPISODES

    4.9 from 90 ratings Listeners of Laura Erickson's For the Birds that love the show mention: birding, birds, laura, books, thoughtful, etc, learned, thank, life, love, bird behavior.


    Ivy Insights

    The Laura Erickson's For the Birds podcast is an absolute gem for bird enthusiasts and nature lovers alike. Hosted by the knowledgeable and compassionate Laura Erickson, this podcast provides a perfect balance of education, personal anecdotes, and thought-provoking discussions in less than 10 minutes per episode. With each episode, listeners are treated to a wealth of information about birds, their behavior, and the environment they inhabit.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is Laura Erickson's ability to seamlessly incorporate her personal observations with macro knowledge and issues related to birds. Her anecdotes are not only heartwarming but also shed light on the intricacies of bird life. Additionally, Laura's ability to provide valuable insights into our impact on birds and advocate for a compassionate life beyond just bird-watching sets this podcast apart. The episodes strike the perfect balance between being educational, reflective, and entertaining.

    With regards to drawbacks, there are very few to be found in The Laura Erickson's For the Birds podcast. Some listeners may find that the relatively short duration of each episode leaves them wanting more. However, it is worth noting that this brevity is what makes this podcast so accessible and easy to consume without overwhelming listeners with information.

    In conclusion, The Laura Erickson's For the Birds podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in birds or nature conservation. Laura Erickson's expertise shines through in every episode as she imparts her vast knowledge while sharing personal stories that resonate with listeners. This podcast showcases both thoughtful reflection and lightheartedness in its approach to exploring bird behavior and addressing important environmental issues. Whether you're a seasoned birder or new to the world of birds, this podcast will undoubtedly leave you feeling inspired and more connected with the natural world around you.



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    Latest episodes from Laura Erickson's For the Birds

    Out of the ashes...

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2025 5:11


    Laura thinks the sudden surge in Red-headed Woodpeckers in her neck of the woods may be due to emerald ash borer and the sudden surge in dead ash trees.

    Hey! My eyes are up here!

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2025 6:28


    In many ways birds are superior to us humans, and also luckier. This is exactly the kind of program that has inspired some people to call Laura the "Dr. Ruth of Ornithology." The accompanying blog post has a lot of worthwhile photos listeners might want to see.

    Magnificent Frigatebird

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 8:16


    This bird of machismo and contradiction keeps scientists guessing.

    Magnificent Frigatebird!

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2025 5:53


    Laura doesn't like the idea of bucket lists, but she does have a wish list.

    Wealth

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2025 6:26


    Laura feels wealthy in ways Elon Musk or Donald Trump never will.

    The Dry Tortugas!

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025 6:59


    Laura's trip to Florida's Dry Tortugas was a wonderful success.

    The Pelicans of Chamber's Grove

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 5:25


    Laura and her birding buddy Bernie went to Chamber's Grove last Wednesday to see the annual visit by hundreds of American White Pelicans.

    Earth Day 2025

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 6:43


    Laura reflects on this year's Earth Day compared to the first Earth Day in 1970.

    Through a Glass, Darkly

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 5:35


    Laura talks about taking photos through window glass.

    Guyana!

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2025 5:56


    Laura is headed to South America next month, and is studying up.

    The Dry Tortugas!

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2025 6:51


    Laura leaves next Friday for a birding tour of Florida's Dry Tortugas.

    Birding with a Camera

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2025 5:28


    Laura was ready with her camera to capture an exciting interaction between a Common Merganser and a northern pike.

    Emerging from a Numerical Haze

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 7:33


    Laura claims she's done thinking about the number of birds on her many bird lists.

    Woodcocks!

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2025 5:45


    Woodcocks are back in the Northland, much to Laura's delight.

    Updates from Earth Angel and Jim Baker

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2025 7:11


    The longstanding sponsors of "For the Birds" have updates: Billionaire Earth Angel is embarking on a new project to prove people were banding birds 45,000 years ago, and Jim Baker just added a new, secret ingredient to his already perfect Baker's Blue Jay Blend.

    Cuban Woodpeckers

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2025 5:38


    Of the seven species of woodpeckers on Cuba's official checklist, one is almost definitely extinct and one has appeared in the country only as an extremely rare vagrant. Laura saw all five of the others on her February visit to Cuba.

    The Tiniest Bird in the Universe

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2025 4:57


    Seeing Bee Hummingbirds in Cuba last month filled Laura with joy.

    What to do if you find a dead bird in your yard

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2025 3:11


    During this bird flu outbreak experts are cautioning people to leave bird carcasses where they are, even though functionally illiterate eagles, dogs, and other creatures have been infected by these carcasses. Laura made a decision about how she will handle this situation if a carcass turns up in her yard.

    Bird feeding recommendations during the bird flu outbreak

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2025 5:41


    Every spring it's important to make sure our feeders are safe for birds. During this bird flu outbreak, this is more important than ever.

    Bird Flu Update

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2025 6:03


    Famous migration patterns of swallows and cranes is scary this year, as wild and domesticated birds are still dying of highly pathogenic avian influenza and humans are getting infected, but we're losing the very forces that usually manage these crises.

    The Most Adorable Bird in the Universe

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2025 6:11


    Laura is bewitched by Cuban Todies.

    A Personal Ray of Hope

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2025 6:23


    Laura's hearing loss has grown worse since the pandemic, but suddenly things are looking up!!

    My 2025 Chickadee Pilgrimage

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2025 6:24


    The morning after she got home from Cuba, Laura and her husband set out for East Lansing, Michigan, so she could see a chickadee in the same area where she saw her first exactly 50 years ago. The blogpost corresponding to this segment is much longer, with lots of photos.

    Cuba!!!

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2025 7:00


    Laura had a splendid trip to Cuba.

    Explosions R Us

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2025 7:51


    Elon Musk is hoping to set up a launching and landing area for his SpaceX Starships in a very vulnerable, important area.

    Superb Owl Sunday 2025

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2025 5:44


    Laura and Russ had a "Three Owl Morning" on Superb Owl Sunday.

    The Best Pine Siskin EVER!

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2025 8:06


    Laura tells the true story of a baby Pine Siskin.

    Pine Siskins!

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2025 4:00


    Laura's feeders are buzzing with the "Miss Congenialities" of the finch family.

    Bird Flu Update

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2025 6:16


    STOP feeding ducks! Feeding other birds may be fine, depending on where you live.

    Another Owl Adventure

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2025 5:58


    Knowing when and when not to intervene when an owl seems distressed is not straightforward.

    The Completely Made-Up Story of Frederick the Nighthawk and Sneakers the Blue Jay

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2025 5:52


    For a while in the 90s, Laura had two licensed education birds, a nighthawk and a Blue Jay, both lovable but entirely different. They inspired this story, written in 2020.

    Staying Healthy While Birding in Other Countries

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2025 4:44


    Laura's stayed healthy while birding in Central and South America, Europe, and Africa thanks to the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health.

    BB Update

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2025 5:44


    BB the banded Pileated Woodpecker still visits Laura's yard now and then.

    A Great American President

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2025 8:34


    Jimmy Carter did not fail us. We failed him. (I used Lang Elliott's recording of a Brown Thrasher, the state bird of Georgia, for this program.)

    Owl Irruption

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2025 6:28


    Northern owls are staging an irruption this year, many of them physically stressed. Birders can't help but want to see them. If birders stick together and stay on the road, most owls can handle birders and photographers.

    Year of the Chickadee, Part 3

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 8, 2025 4:39


    Laura has lots of plans to celebrate her "Year of the Chickadee."

    Year of the Chickadee, Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2025 7:23


    It took Laura 67 days from receiving her first pair of binoculars to her going out to find her first bird. How did she spend that time?

    Year of the Chickadee, Part 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2025 5:32


    Fifty years ago, Laura was abysmally ignorant about birds. And then--a miracle!

    Empathy: An Innate Quality

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2024 6:39


    Humans aren't the only creatures who have a need to nurture and help others. (This program's transcript is the second half of the linked blogpost.)

    Learning Empathy from the Best

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2024 5:25


    More evidence that Laura's fifth grade teacher was the very best.

    Premature obituaries

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 18, 2024 4:44


    Reports of BB's demise were premature. When that happens to human beings, it can sometimes change history.

    Exit, pursued by a Cooper's Hawk

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2024 4:45


    The banded Pileated Woodpecker who has been visiting Laura's yard for the past four years disappeared after a Cooper's Hawk was hunting in the vicinity. Laura expected the worst. But spoiler alert: he turned up again on Friday the thirteenth. While he was here, Laura recorded a video of him, which is the drumming sound at the beginning and ending of this program.

    No Way to Stop It

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2024 5:40


    Laura remembers her fifth grade teacher, who taught her, via Rodgers and Hammerstein's original stage musical *The Sound of Music*, that real heroes stand up against cruel regimes even when there is no way to stop it.

    Frigid Temperatures

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2024 6:21


    How do birds fare during frigid weather?

    Albatrosses

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2024 5:29


    General facts about albatrosses and good news about a very special one.

    Thanksgiving 2024

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2024 4:57


    Laura remembers three Thanksgivings of the past, and how a Pileated Woodpecker keeps those memories alive.

    In Retrospect: The BP oil spill. Part 5b--Complicity

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2024 9:23


    Every environmental organization down in the Gulf during the BP oil disaster had to abide by a 5-year moratorium on ALL of their eye-witness information except as BP allowed. National Audubon did way more than honor BP's rules--they publicly parroted all of BP's false claims minimizing how bad the disaster was.

    In Retrospect: The BP oil spill. Part 5--Staying alive to fight another day

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2024 5:52


    At the time of the BP oil spill, Laura thought some important organizations were complying with BP more than they should have. Now, as she explains, she realizes that most of them weren't cowardly.

    In Retrospect: The BP oil spill, Part 4

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2024 5:02


    Who can we trust after a major disaster?

    In retrospect: The BP Oil Spill, Part 3

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024 6:00


    Laura visited one of the four rehab centers allowed to treat birds oiled in the Deepwater Horizon spill.

    In retrospect: The BP Oil Spill, Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2024 6:55


    Laura talks about the extremely low-tech and ineffective way BP tried to protect beaches and islands after the spill, and the even worse way they approached cleanup. There are many photos and a video on the accompanying blog post at (https://lauraerickson.substack.com/p/getting-away-with-murder-part-2)

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