Podcasts about Ornithology

Photographer Gerrit Vyn traveled to northeastern India to document the daily life of the Greater Adjutant stork. These endangered birds nest high in trees on privately owned land in the state of Assam, where they're known as Hargila. Conservation biologist Purnima Devi Barman helped Gerrit get a stork's-eye view by building a bamboo tower near the canopy of a Hargila nesting tree. Learn more in the documentary Hargila from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Supporting birds on your property goes well beyond putting up bird feeders, although they can be helpful and enjoyable. In this episode on supporting birds in your yard and garden, Matt Tarr, Emma Erler and Nate Bernitz talk about why birds need our help, how to assess your property and the needs of birds, and how to meet the needs of wild birds through landscaping choices and other strategies. ·         Featured Question: Which landscape plants are best for hummingbirds?·         Featured Plant: Common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)·         Closing Tip: Purchasing Bare Root Trees Promotions ·         Listener Survey·         NH Farm, Forest and Garden Expo·         Webinar: Hydroponics at Home·         Webinar: Extending the Gardening Season Resources ·         All About Nest Boxes·         Winter Bird Feeding·         UNH Extension's Wildlife Program Website·         Cornell Lab of Ornithology·         How to make your yard more bird friendly (Audubon) Subscribe to the monthly Granite State Gardening newsletter. Email us questions, suggestions and feedback at gsg.pod@unh.edu Transcript by Otter.ai 

Dr. Sushma Reddy, Bell Museum's Breckenridge Chair of Ornithology, discusses what it is like managing the Bell Museum's 46,000+ bird specimens, new advances in science that has allowed the relationships between bird species to be better understood, and why the dinosaurs are not actually extinct.

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:08).Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments ImagesExtra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 12-10-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of December 13, 2021.  This revised episode from December 2015 is part of a series this year of winter-related episodes. SOUNDS – 7 secThis week, the sound of Mallard ducks on a December day in Blacksburg, Va., is the call to explore the annual Christmas Bird Count, organized by the National Audubon Society.Since 1900, the Society has helped organize volunteers to hold local daylong bird counts between December 14 and January 5.  On any single day within that period, volunteer counters follow specific routes within a 15-mile diameter circle, counting every bird they see or hear.  The count provides a snapshot both of the species encountered and of the numbers of individuals within each species.  According to the Society, this effort is the “longest running community science bird project” in the United States, and it actually takes place now in over 20 countries in the Western Hemisphere.  The results of such a long-term inventory help show the status of bird populations and the impacts of changes in habitat, climate, and other environmental conditions. Of course, birds living around water and wetlands are part of the annual count; in fact, the Audubon Society's founding in the late 1800s was due largely to concerns over commercial use of plumes from egrets and other wading birds.  [Additional note, not in audio: This refers to the founding in 1896 of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the first state-level affiliate of the National Audubon Society, founded in 1905.  For more information on this history, see the Extra Information section below.] So what kinds of water-related birds might Virginia Christmas bird counters find?  Have a listen for about 20 seconds to this sample of four possible species.SOUNDS - 23 secThe Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Ring-billed Gull, and Greater Yellowlegs are among the many water-related birds that inhabit parts of Virginia during winter, including shorebirds, ducks, herons, and lots of others.  Keeping track of these and other feathered Virginia winter residents is a holiday tradition for many Commonwealth citizens with patience, binoculars, and attentive eyes and ears.Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use the eagle, kingfisher, gull, and yellowlegs sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs. Here's hoping that Virginia's Christmas bird counters find good variety and high numbers this year.  We close with a U.S. Fish and Wildfire Service recording of another Virginia water-related winter resident, the Common Loon, a species that some diligent coastalVirginia counter might spot or hear on a winter day or night. SOUNDS - ~6 sec SHIP'S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I'm Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 294, 12-14-15. The Mallard sounds were recorded by Virginia Water Radio at the Virginia Tech Duck Pond in Blacksburg on December 10, 2015. The sounds of the Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Ring-billed Gull, and Greater Yellowlegs were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern RegionCD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott, whose work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/. The Common Loon sounds were taken from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Digital Library, http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/; the specific URL for the loons recording was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/audio/id/57/rec/1, as of 12-13-21. Click here if you'd like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES Mallards (several males, plus one female on right) on Virginia Tech Duck Pond, Blacksburg, December 10, 2015.Great Blue Heron in a stormwater pond near the Virginia Tech Inn and Alumni Center in Blacksburg, December 16, 2021.Canada Geese beside a stormwater pond near the Virginia Tech Inn and Alumni Center in Blacksburg, December 11, 2021. EXTRA INFORMATION On Bird Counts Another nationwide count is the Great Backyard Bird Count, held each February and organized by Audubon, the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, and Birds Canada.  This count calls on volunteers to watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over four days (February 18-21 in 2022), and record the species and numbers of all the birds seen or heard.  Its results also contribute to large-scale and long-term understanding of bird species distribution and health.  For more information, visit http://gbbc.birdcount.org/.On Audubon Society History and Waterbirds “Outrage over the slaughter of millions of waterbirds, particularly egrets and other waders, for the millinery trade led to the foundation, by Harriet Hemenway and Mina Hall, of the Massachusetts Audubon Society in 1896.  By 1898, state-level Audubon Societies had been established in Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire, Illinois, Maine, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Minnesota, Texas, and California. ...In 1901, state-level Audubon groups joined together in a loose national organization....  In 1905, the National Audubon Society was founded, with the protection of gulls, terns, egrets, herons, and other waterbirds high on its conservation priority list.” – National Audubon Society, “History of Audubon and Science-based Bird Conservation, online at http://www.audubon.org/content/history-audubon-and-waterbird-conservation.On Loon Calls in Winter“Generally loons are silent on the wintering grounds, but occasionally on a quiet winter night one will hear their primeval, tremulous yodel.” – Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay (Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md., 2006), p. 285.“All calls can be heard in migration and winter, but compared to the breeding season, they are uncommon.” – Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and American Ornithologists' Union, “Birds of North America Online/Common Loon/Sounds,” online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/comloo/cur/sounds (subscription required for access to this Web site). SOURCES Used in Audio Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Birds of the World,” online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home (subscription required for this site). Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md., 2006. National Audubon Society, online at http://www.audubon.org/. National Audubon Society, “Christmas Bird Count,” online at http://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count. Kathy Reshetiloff, “Listen for the haunting call of loons on Bay's frigid winter waters,” Bay Journal, 12/8/14, updated 3/31/20. Chandler S. Robbins et al. A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America, St. Martin's Press, New York, 2001. Stan Tekiela, Birds of Virginia Field Guide, Adventure Publications, Inc., Cambridge, Minn., 2002. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries):Fish and Wildlife Information Service, online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/.The Bald Eagle entry is online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040093&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18974.The Belted Kingfisher entry is online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040220&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18974.The Ring-billed Gull entry is online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040170&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18974.The Greater Yellowlegs entry is online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040130&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18974.The Common Loon entry is online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040001&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18974. For More Information about Birds in Virginia or Elsewhere Chesapeake Bay Program, “Birds,” online athttps://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/birds/all. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Merlin Photo ID.”  The application for mobile devices allows users to submit a bird photograph to get identification of the bird.  Information is available online at http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society, “eBird,” online at https://ebird.org/home.  Here you can find locations of species observations made by contributors, and you can sign up to contribute your own observations. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, “Animal Diversity Web,” online at https://animaldiversity.org. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “List of Native and Naturalized Fauna in Virginia, August 2020,” online (as a PDF) at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/virginia-native-naturalized-species.pdf. Virginia Society of Ornithology, online at http://www.virginiabirds.org/.  The Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds in the Commonwealth. Xeno-canto Foundation, online at http://www.xeno-canto.org/.  This site provides bird songs from around the world. RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Birds” and “Weather/Climate/Natural Disasters” subject categories. Following are links to several other winter-related episodes, including episodes on some birds that reside in Virginia typically only in winter (listed separately).  Please note that some of these episodes are being redone in late 2021 and early 2022; in those cases, the respective links below will have information on the updated episodes. Frost – Episode 597, 10-4-21.Freezing and ice – Episode 606, 12-6-21 (especially for grades K-3).Ice on ponds and lakes – Episode 404, 1-22-18 (especially for grades 4-8).Ice on rivers – Episode 406, 2-5-18 (especially for middle school grades).Polar Plunge®for Special Olympics – Episode 356, 2-20-17.Snow physics and chemistry – Episode 407, 2-12-18 (especially for high school grades).Snow, sleet, and freezing rain – Episode 461, 2-25-19.Snow terms – Episode 300, 1-25-16.Surviving freezing – Episode 556, 12-21-20.Winter precipitation and water supplies – Episode 567, 3-8-21.Winter weather preparedness – Episode 605, 11-29-21.Water thermodynamics – Episode 195, 1-6-14. Bird-related Episodes for Winter American Avocet – Episode 543, 9-21-20.Brant (goose) – Episode 502, 12-9-19.Canvasback (duck) – Episode 604, 11-22-21.&l

In Part Two of the two-part Parent Birders series, we speak with Jen then Bryony about their pre- and post- parenthood birdwatching. We learn about birding in the moment and creating experiences where all members of the family can make connections with birds and the landscape. Both Jen and Bryony call out the work that agencies and institutions must do to make all aspects of birding--from board service to navigating a trail with a stroller--accessible. +++ Season 2 of Your Bird Story is made possible with a Puffin Foundation grant! +++ Production Bird vocalizations in this episode were downloaded from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Creator and Host: Georgia Silvera Seamans Nature Note Writer: Loyan Beausoleil Producer and Editor: Pod to the People +++ Support the production of this podcast with a gift of any amount. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/yourbirdstory/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yourbirdstory/support

Near the city of Crato in northeastern Brazil lives a critically endangered little bird — the Araripe Manakin. It's a little larger than a sparrow, it's beautiful, and it lives on the slopes of a very small area in the Araripe Plateau. And because the Araripe Manakin wasn't discovered until the late 1990s, it's relatively unstudied. Gerrit Vyn of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is on a mission to capture a “clean” recording of the Araripe Manakin — one without human-generated noise in the background. Will he succeed? Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Gerrit Vyn is a sound recordist for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He recently traveled to northeastern Brazil's Araripe Plateau in search of the Araripe Manakin, a beautiful white bird with dark wing-tips and tail-feathers — and a deep red hood. The Araripe Manakin is critically endangered, in part because of its limited range. But, as Gerrit observes, human activity also threatens the bird's survival. Learn more at BirdNote.org.

Hello everyone, and welcome back for another episode of the Outdoor Adventure Series Podcast. The Outdoor Adventure Series celebrates individuals & families, businesses, and organizations that seek out and promote the exploration of the great outdoors. Our guest today is Bridget Butler.Bridget is the Bird Diva and the owner of Bird Diva Consulting.Bridget is a naturalist that helps people connect with the place that they live through building a relationship with birds and the land - nature connection/immersion, “Sit Spot", and “Slow Birding”.In her own life and with her clients, Bridget believes that we need the space & time to sit in nature alone, slow down, and be present in the moment with birds. She loves to facilitate those "wow" moments, listening to people's stories about their experiences with birds and teasing out a bit more, guiding them to their own identification or realization about what was happening in that moment. Bridget feels that there's a lot to discuss around the bird community shifting and advocating for more safe, inclusive, and accessible opportunities to go Birding.The Bird Diva in The NewsTo learn more about Bridget and her work, visit her website at www.birddiva.comYou can also follow Bridget on these social sites:FacebookInstagramLinkedInTwitter InSight2GoReflecting on a personal connection with nature. What do we value? How do we stay connected and set intentions for our practice of connecting? I have a great quote for this that I'd be happy to share.Book, Apps, and Product RecommendationsThe Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America: Second Edition (Sibley Guides)David Allen SibleySibley Birds West: Field Guide to Birds of Western North AmericaDavid Allen Sibley Vortex Optics Raptor Porro Prism BinocularsThe Cornell Lab of Ornithology & Merlin Bird ID App The Outdoor Adventures Series is a podcast production of Fox Coaching, Inc.

Wow! Episode 177 - what a milestone! We kick off the celebration with some big birds - crows, to be precise. Ornithologist Dr. Brian O'Shea drops by to fill us in on those ubiquitous, clever creatures. Then - sure we've done 177 episodes together, and that's a special thing, but how well do we really know each other? We play “Two Truths and a Lie” to find out! Guest Dr. Brian O'Shea Collections Manager for Ornithology & Bird Curator North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences https://naturalsciences.org/ House Band Ellis Montes https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCztQkedkbWFNOMhu_VZeOcg @Ellis.Montes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:33).Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments ImagesExtra Information Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 11-19-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 22, 2021.  This revised episode from January 2014 is part of a series this year of winter-related episodes. SOUND – ~5 sec That's the landing sound of a large, distinctive duck that can be found in winter on Virginia's coastal waters.  Have a listen for about 10 seconds to some more of this species' sounds, and see if you know this bird.  And here's a hint: the bird's name, and the male's beautiful color, may remind you of a painting.SOUND – ~12 secIf you guessed a Canvasback, you're right!  Canvasbacks breed on water bodies in the prairies of Canada and the northern United States, but they winter in large sections of the U.S. and Mexico, with one concentration in the Chesapeake Bay area.  According to the Chesapeake Bay Program, at one time almost half of North America's Canvasbacks wintered around the Chesapeake, but that number has decreased to about 20 percent because of reductions in Bay submerged aquatic vegetation, or Bay grasses, a valuable winter food for this species.  Canvasbacks are diving ducks, meaning they typically go completely underwater to obtain food and avoid predators.  In winter, Canvasbacks feed largely on plant roots and buds, while in summer they'll add to their plant diet a variety of aquatic insects and other animals.  Predators on adult and young Canvasbacks include mink, coyotes, foxes, owls and other birds, some reptiles and fish, and human hunters, while Canvasback eggs are eaten by various mammals and birds. The Canvasback is considered one of the most distinctive North American ducks.  The following quote from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's “Birds of the World” Web site describes how the bird stands out.  Quote: “This exclusively North American species is considered the ‘aristocrat of ducks.'  The male's striking appearance—rich chestnut-red head and neck, black chest, white back, and long, sloping, blackish bill—along with its large size distinguish it in the field.”  Unquote. Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use the Canvasback sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs.  We close with about 50 seconds of music appropriate for the Canvasback's Chesapeake Bay connection.  Here's “Chesapeake Bay Ballad,” by Torrin Hallett, a graduate student at the Yale School of Music. MUSIC - ~51 sec – instrumental SHIP'S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I'm Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 197, 1-20-14, and the sounds segment of Episode 50, 1-24-11. Emily Whitesell helped write this original script for this episode during a Virginia Tech English Department internship in Spring 2011 with the Virginia Water Resources Research Center. The Canvasback sounds were from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott.  Lang Elliot's work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/. “Chesapeake Bay Ballad” is copyright 2020 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission.  Torrin is a 2018 graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio; a 2020 graduate in Horn Performance from Manhattan School of Music in New York; and a 2021 graduate of the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver.  He is currently a graduate student at the Yale School of Music.  More information about Torrin is available online at https://www.facebook.com/torrin.hallett.  Thanks very much to Torrin for composing the piece especially for Virginia Water Radio.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 565, 2-22-21. Following are other music pieces composed by Torrin Hallett for Virginia Water Radio, with episodes featuring the music.“A Little Fright Music” – used most recently in Episode 601, 10-31-21, on connections among Halloween, water, and the human body.“Beetle Ballet” – used in Episode 525, 5-18-20, on aquatic beetles.“Corona Cue” – used in Episode 517, 3-23-20, on the coronavirus pandemic. “Flow Stopper” – used in Episode 599, 10-18-21, on “Imagine a Day Without Water.”“Geese Piece” – used most recently in Episode 440, 10-1-18, on E-bird. “Ice Dance” – used in Episode 556, 12-21-20, on how organisms survive freezing temperatures.“Lizard Lied” – used in Episode 514, 3-2-20, on lizards. “New Year's Water” – used in Episode 349, 1-2-17, on the New Year. “Rain Refrain” – used most recently in Episode 559, 1-11-21, on record rainfall in 2020.“Runoff” – used in Episode 585, 7-12-21 – on middle schoolers calling out stormwater-related water words.“Spider Strike” – used in Episode 523, 5-4-20, on fishing spiders.“Tropical Tantrum” – used most recently in Episode 580, 6-7-21, on the 2021 Atlantic tropical storm season preview.“Tundra Swan Song – used in Episode 554, 12-7-20, on Tundra Swans.“Turkey Tune” – used in Episode 343, 11-21-16, on the Wild Turkey.  Click here if you'd like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com. IMAGESMale Canvasback (location and date not identified).  Photo by Lee Karney, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov; specific URL for this photo was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/1645/rec/2), as of 11/22/21.Female Canvasback in Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge in Alaska in May 2005.  Photo by Donna A. Dewhurst, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov; specific URL for this photo was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/14/rec/9), as of 11/22/21.EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT CANVASBACK DUCKS The scientific name of the Canvasback is Aythya valisineria. Here are some points about Canvasbacks, excerpted from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “Fish and Wildlife Information Service/Canvasback,” online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040064&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18949.Physical Description “The adult male has a head that is rusty red, shading to almost black near the bill.  The breast is grayish-black and the sides and back are light gray to white.  The wings and speculum are gray, and the eye is red.  The bill is long and sloping, black, with decidedly long sloping profile that clearly distinguishes it from the redhead. …The adult female head is light brown.  The sides and breast are olive-brown to gray-brown, and the underparts are light gray. The back is gray, finely barred with darker gray, and the wings are grayish brown.  …They have short wings, and a rapid wingbeat.  This species has difficulty leaving the water.  It is one of the fastest flying ducks.  …It is one of the largest ducks.”Breeding “The breeding season is from May to June… This species breeds in Alaska, western Canada, northwest United States, western North America from the prairie provinces of Canada, south into the central and western states and occasionally as far east as Hudson Bay with a few as far north as Alaska.  Spring and early summer they are found in marshes with shallow waters [and in] flooded farmland.  In mid-summer they frequent large marshes and lakes, sloughs, and swampy areas.” Migration and Winter Habitat and Behavior “During migration, they fly in large ‘V' shaped flocks at high altitudes. … They are also associated with larger bodies of water.  …Late migration is in the fall, and early migration in the spring.  This species migrates cross country from the northwestern United States to the Atlantic Coast, principally the Chesapeake Bay.  The migration corridors shift annually, and they have a strong tendency to return to the same breeding ground.  … The heaviest flight is from the Canada pothole country to the Chesapeake Bay. … They arrive at Chesapeake Bay later than most other ducks.  The Chesapeake Bay fall migration is from October 15 to December 15, with a peak from November 15 to December 15.  The spring migration is from February 20 to May 1, with the peak from March 1 to March 30.  They occupy specific and traditional rivers, lakes, and marshes on migratory areas.  … This species winters to Mexico [and to the] Atlantic and Gulf Coast.  ...Virginia is one of best areas for canvasbacks.  …  They are found in lakes, salt bays and estuaries, brackish and alkaline waters near the coast, estuaries and shallow bays, [and] rarely on the open sea. … The optimum in Chesapeake Bay areas is in fresh and brackish estuarine bays with extensive beds of submerged plants or abundant invertebrates, primarily in brackish rather than salt or freshwater areas. … There has been a 53% decline in wintering populations in the United States.  There has also been a decrease in the Atlantic flyway.”  [Population decreases have been caused by several factors, including drainage of breeding marshland, food supplies being depleted by carp and swan, pollution of wintering areas, disappearance of submerged aquatic vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay, droughts on breeding grounds, oil spills, and illegal hunting and trapping.] Diet “This species dives and obtains food from the bottoms of ponds, lakes, large rivers, open marshes, and muddy bottoms.  Plants are uprooted and the roots are eaten.  This species dives to 20-30 feet. … Important foods include…aquatic plants…, molluscs, insects, caddisfly and midge larvae, dragonflies, [and] small fish.  Chesapeake Bay foods include wild celery, widgeon grass, eelgrass, pondweed, clams and mud crabs.  Juvenile foods include caddisfly larvae, midge larvae, and mayfly nymphs.” SOURCES Used for Audio Mike Burke, “The big, beautiful canvasback: What's not to love?”  Bay Journal, November 2021, available online at https://www.bayjournal.com/eedition/page-43/page_136f4325-b978-5e55-bcec-907f0a04b1fc.html. Chesapeake Bay Program, “Birds,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/birds/all; the Canvasback entry is online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/canvasback. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/.  The Canvasback entry is online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canvasback/. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Birds of the World” online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home(subscription may be required).  The Canvasback entry is online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/canvas/cur/introduction. Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay-3rdEdition, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md., 2006. Chandler S. Robbins et al., A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America, St. Martin's Press, New York, N.Y., 2001. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/; the Canvasback entry is online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040064&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18949. For More Information about Birds in Virginia and Elsewhere Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Merlin Photo ID.”  The application for mobile devices allows users to submit a bird photograph to get identification of the bird. Information is available online at http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society, “eBird,” online at https://ebird.org/home.  Here you can find locations of species observations made by contributors, and you can sign up to contribute your own observations. Stan Tekiela, Birds of Virginia Field Guide, Adventure Publications, Inc., Cambridge, Minn., 2002. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, “Animal Diversity Web,” online at https://animaldiversity.org/. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “List of Native and Naturalized Fauna in Virginia, August 2020,” online (as a PDF) at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/virginia-native-naturalized-species.pdf. Virginia Society of Ornithology, online at http://www.virginiabirds.org/.  The Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds in the Commonwealth. Xeno-canto Foundation, online at http://www.xeno-canto.org/.  This site provides bird songs from around the world. RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Birds” and “Weather/Climate/Natural Disas

Rafa is a biologist, ornithologist and illustrator. He has concentrated his career on birds and worked extensively studying bird migration and conservation in the Strait of Gibraltar. Rafa is the founder of Diarios de Naturaleza, where he helps others tap into their curiosity and creativity through nature journaling.Listen to hear more about:Rafa's connection to nature and art since his early life.Rafa's work on bird migration in the Strait of Gibraltar.How bird migration can connect people and places.Educaves - a program focused on educating teachers on how birds can be used as an educational tool in the classroom.Diaros de Naturaleza and Rafa's work teaching others about nature journaling.Rafa's simple field sketching materials.Rafa's experience of connecting with other nature journalers around the world.The importance to adding feelings to our nature journal pages.Natural discoveries Rafa has been exploring lately.  Find more about Rafa and Diarios de Naturaleza http://diariosdenaturaleza.com/. You can also find Rafa on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.In this video that Rafa created for International Nature Journaling Week you can hear him answer the question “What does nature journaling mean to you?” -----------------Sign-up for Journaling With Nature's Newsletter to receive news and updates as well as the Nature Journaling Inspiration List each month! You can support Journaling With Nature Podcast on Patreon, Your contribution is deeply appreciated. Thanks for listening!

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:35).Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 11-12-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 15, 2021.  This revised episode from October 2013 is the first in a series this year of winter-related episodes. MUSIC – ~ 21 sec – Lyrics: “Summer's over, winter's coming.  Summer's gone, the days were long; now the moonlight froze the dawn.  Summer's over, winter's coming.” That's part of “Winter is Coming,” from the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Va.-based band, The Steel Wheels.  It sets the stage for exploring a characteristic feathered feature of the transition from fall to winter.  To start, we drop in on a chattering crowd of eager flyers, who then hear their long-distance flights being announced but no planes are taking off.  If this sounds like a huge airport headache instead of a water event, well, just have a listen for about 35 seconds.SOUNDS and VOICES - ~36 sec – Voice call-outs: “Sora.  Snowy Egret.  Green Heron.  Osprey.  Least Tern.  Piping Plover.  Broad-winged Hawk.”You've been listening to the names and sounds of seven kinds of birds that are known to spend summer in Virginia and then typically migrate out of the Commonwealth for winter.  Fall's arrival means the departure from the Commonwealth of many species of birds—including the first six you just heard—who may nest in spring and summer around Virginia's aquatic areas.  Fall also brings seasonal migrations of land-based birds—including the seventh species you heard, the forest-dwelling Broad-winged Hawk—that travel over watery areas of Virginia, particularly the Chesapeake Bay and the Delmarva Peninsula.  In fact, the concentration of hawks and other migrants along Virginia's Eastern Shore makes it an important and popular location for monitoring bird migration, and the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory maintains a migrant-counting platform in Kiptopeke State Park in Northampton County.  Among various programs at the Observatory, Kiptopeke Hawkwatch has been conducted at that location since 1977.  In fall 2021, over 17,000 migrating hawks and other raptors had been recorded as of late October. Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use the other bird sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs, and to several Virginia Tech colleagues for calling out the bird names.  Thanks also to The Steel Wheels for permission to use this week's music, and we close with about 20 more seconds of “Winter is Coming.” MUSIC – ~23 sec – Lyrics: “Summer's gone, we're movin' on, can't regret that frozen dawn.  Summer's over, winter's coming.  Summer's over, winter's coming.” SHIP'S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close the show.  In Blacksburg, I'm Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 183, 10-14-13. “Winter is Coming,” from the 2015 album “We've Got a Fire,” is copyright by The Steel Wheels, used with permission.  More information about The Steel Wheels is available online at http://www.thesteelwheels.com/.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio in Episode 292, 11-30-15. The sounds of Sora, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Osprey, Least Tern, Piping Plover, and Broad-winged Hawk were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott, whose work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/.Thanks to Eli Heilker, Sarah Karpanty, Kevin McGuire, and Tony Timpano for recording bird names.  Thanks to Dr. Karpanty also for her help in developing the idea for this episode. Click here if you'd like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com. IMAGES An observation station for the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory in Kiptopeke State Park, Northampton County, Virginia, October 7, 2007.  The chart listed the birds of prey that had been counted to date during that year's fall migration on Virginia's Eastern Shore. North American migratory bird flyways.  Map by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, accessed online at https://www.fws.gov/birds/management/flyways.php, 11/16/21. SOURCES Used for Audio Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, online at http://www.cvwo.org/. Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson, Life in the Chesapeake Bay-3rdEdition, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md., 2006. Chandler S. Robbins et al., A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America, St. Martin's Press, New York, N.Y., 2001. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Birds of the World,” online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home (subscription required).U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge, online at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/eastern_shore_of_virginia/. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries):Fish and Wildlife Information Service, online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/.  Entries for the species mentioned in this episode are located online as follows:Broad-winged Hawk: https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040089&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18943.Green Heron: https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040028&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18943.Least Tern: https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040186&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18943.Osprey: https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040095&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18943.Piping Plover: https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040120&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18943.Snowy Egret: https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040033&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18943.Sora: https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040108&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18943. For More Information about Birds in Virginia and Elsewhere Chesapeake Bay Program, “Birds,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/birds/all. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Merlin Photo ID.”  The application for mobile devices allows users to submit a bird photograph to get identification of the bird. Information is available online at http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society, “eBird,” online at https://ebird.org/home.  Here you can find locations of species observations made by contributors, and you can sign up to contribute your own observations. Stan Tekiela, Birds of Virginia Field Guide, Adventure Publications, Inc., Cambridge, Minn., 2002. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, “Animal Diversity Web,” online at https://animaldiversity.org/. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “List of Native and Naturalized Fauna in Virginia, August 2020,” online (as a PDF) at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/virginia-native-naturalized-species.pdf.Virginia Society of Ornithology, online at http://www.virginiabirds.org/.  The Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds in the Commonwealth.Xeno-canto Foundation, online at http://www.xeno-canto.org/.  This site provides bird songs from around the world. RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Birds” and “Weather/Climate/Natural Disasters” subject categories. Following are links to several other winter-related episodes, including episodes on some birds that reside in Virginia typically only in winter (listed separately).  Please note that some of these episodes are being redone in late 2021 and early 2022; in those cases, the respective links below will have information on the updated episodes. Frost – Episode 597, 10-4-21.Freezing and ice – Episode 403, 1-15-18 (especially for grades K-3).Ice on ponds and lakes – Episode 404, 1-22-18 (especially for grades 4-8).Ice on rivers – Episode 406, 2-5-18 (especially for middle school grades).Polar Plunge®for Special Olympics – Episode 356, 2-20-17.Snow terms – Episode 300, 1-25-16.Snow physics and chemistry – Episode 407, 2-12-18 (especially for high school grades).Snow, sleet, and freezing rain – Episode 461, 2-25-19.Surviving freezing (by animals) – Episode 556, 12-21-20.Winter precipitation and water supplies – Episode 567, 3-8-21.Winter preparedness – Episode 553, 11-30-20.Water thermodynamics – Episode 195, 1-6-14. Bird-related Episodes Audubon Christmas Bird Count – Episode 294, 12-14-15.American Avocet – Episode 543, 9-21-20.Brant (goose) – Episode 502, 12-9-19.Canvasback (duck) – Episode 197, 1-20-14.Common Goldeneye (duck) – Episode 303, 2/15/16.Green-winged Teal (duck) – Episode 398, 12-11-17.Grebes (Horned and Red-necked) – Episode 233, 9-29-14.Loons – Episode 445, 11-5-18.Snow Goose – Episode 507, 1/13/20.Tundra Swan – Episode 554, 12-7-20.Winter birds sampler from the Chesapeake Bay area – Episode 565, 2-22-21. FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode's audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post. 2020 Music SOLs SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.” 2018 Science SOLs Grades K-4: Living Systems and Processes1.5 – Animals, including humans, have basic life needs that allow them to survive.2.4 – Plants and animals undergo a series of orderly changes as they grow and develop, including life cycles.2.5 – Living things are part of a system.3.4 – Adaptations allow organisms to satisfy life needs and resp

Being a parent and watching birds. Can you and how do you do both at the same time? How do you weave birdwatching into the rituals you share with your child? When and where do you make space for solo birding? These and more questions are considered and reflected upon by five parents in a mini-series about parents who bird. In Part 1, Laurel and Ed, a couple with a preschool-aged child, and Stephanie, a parent of two elementary-aged children, share their bird lives before and with children. +++ Season 2 of Your Bird Story is made possible with a Puffin Foundation grant! +++ Production Bird vocalizations in this episode were downloaded from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Creator and Host: Georgia Silvera Seamans Nature Note Writer: Loyan Beausoleil Producer and Editor: Pod to the People +++ Support the production of this podcast with a gift of any amount. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/yourbirdstory/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yourbirdstory/support

My guest in this episode is Dr. Andrew Farnsworth. Andrew is a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Avian Population Studies at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and has a BS in Natural Resources from Cornell University, MS in Zoology from Clemson University, and PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell.Andrew started birding at age 5 and quickly developed a fascination with bird migration, which continues to this day. His research advances the use and application of multiple technologies to study bird movements on continental scales. This includes the use of weather surveillance radar, audio and video recording and monitoring tools, citizen science datasets, and machine learning techniques.Today we discuss one of his primary projects, BirdCast. BirdCast presents near real time bird migration status, provides migration forecasts up to three days out, and provides local migration alerts to inform conservation action.Creating BirdCast has required decades of research and a combination of many disciplines.  Andrew discusses how ground-truth observations, acoustics, and radar data are correlated to weather data to produce a predictive model that accurately forecasts migration days in advance. Andrew discusses how advances in computing technology and machine learning have dramatically advanced model accuracy and accelerated progress.We get into the details of the model, including why temperature is the most important factor in bird migration prediction, how tropical storms impact migration, and why migration and monitoring in the western USA is different from the eastern USA.We also discuss how birders can use BirdCast for their interests, and the many ways that migration prediction helps with conservation efforts, such as Lights Out Texas.You can see the forecasts and a lot of research and technical data at birdcast.info, or follow the team @DrBirdCast, on twitter.Full Show NotesLinks to People and Topics DiscussedThe Academy of Natural SciencesAdriaan Doktor, Benjamin Van Doren and Kyle Horton from the birdcast teamDr. Sidney Gauthreaux - Dr. Farnsworth's advisor at Clemson University, and a pioneer in the field.How radar detects birds (from birdcast.info) Lights Out Texas from Texan By NatureWSR 88D (aka NexRAD) - the US National Weather Service overview of the technologyLinks to Related EpisodesBrian Sullivan - Brian is a former project lead for eBird, also from the Cornell Lab. This episode discusses that, as well are many technological opportunities to better understand birdsProject Terra - learn more about bird telemetry, nocturnal flight calls, and associated tracking technologies 

He was an American flautist living in London, studying at the Royal academy of music.  At only 20 years of age, he was intelligent, gifted, talented...a prodigy.  On the evening of June 24, 2009 he performed at the Academy in “London Soundscapes”...featuring the music of composers such as Joseph Hayden, George Frideric Handel, and Felix Mendelssohn.  But his flute wasn't the only thing he brought with him the evening of his performance.  He had with him a relatively large piece of luggage...a rolling suitcase that contained in it the accoutrements of a thief - gloves, a small flashlight, a pair of wire cutters, a glass cutting saw with a diamond blade.  After the concert, he retrieved the suitcase from his locker and put his plan in motion...making his way towards the Natural History Museum in the town of Tring.  This wasn't the first time he'd been there, but it would certainly be his last.  After months of reconnaissance - investigating, casing, scouting, scrutinizing, studying, evaluating, analyzing, planning - he was confident he would be able to make his way around walls, barbed wire, cameras and guards in order to get what he was there to pilfer...a collection of coveted relics of the past...many of which no longer existing anywhere in world...unique, rare, endangered, extinct...priceless and irreplaceable...all for a hobby that grew into an obsession...and a golden flute.The Feather Thief:  Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnsonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/books/review/kirk-wallace-johnson-feather-thief.htmlhttps://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/BIOG.htmhttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/collections/zoology-collections/bird-skin-collections/bird-skin-collection-wallace.htmlhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/a-flautist--299-stuffed-birds--and-the-bizarre-crime-of-an-obsesIMPORTANT LINKS:Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/killaforniapodPayPal:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/killaforniapodMerchandise:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/killaforniapod/shop?asc=uWebsite:  https://killaforniadreamingpodcast.buzzsprout.com/Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1296620370450345/Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/killaforniadreamingInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/killaforniadreamingpod/?hl=enTwitter:  https://twitter.com/killaforniapodEmail:  killaforniapod@gmail.com

There are 58 bird species living in Canadian oceans, 95% of them are in trouble worldwide, furthermore, we don't really understand how 62% of Canadian seabirds are doing due to unknown population trends.  In this episode, you will discover the Seabirds you did not know you love, the reasons for their decrease and what you can do to help them with your everyday choices. Dr. Sarah Gutowsky will take us on a discovery journey that starts with the career path of a talented, unconventional, and inspiring biologist to the conservation and threats facing the enigmatic seabirds that defined her journey. Please send us your voice memo with any bird question to -> podcast@birdscanada.orgAlternatively, call  519-586-3531, extension 128 and leave a voice mail!Continue your journey by reading the very short seabird section of the State of Canada's Birds Report 2019 to find out reasons for their decline and ways to help these bird species.Dr. Sarah Gutowsky is a Research Adjunct and Instructor in Biology at Dalhousie University and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Acadia University. She has been working in the field of Ornithology for 15 years, studying an array of species and ecosystems. From albatrosses and murrelets in the North Pacific to woodcocks and gulls in Nova Scotia, penguins in the sub-Antarctic to seabirds in the Arctic, all of her research projects have found a way to tackle conservation issues threatening birds all over the planet, on land or at sea. If she had to pick a specialty, she might say studying the movements of seabirds in their marine environment. She loves to share her passion for birds, and finds all sorts of ways to do so, including teaching in the academic and public realms but also guiding tourists in the Polar Regions. Her current research focus is on studying the drivers of regional trends in Common eiders on the east coast, supported through the Mitacs Accelerate Program in partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Andrea Gress studied Renewable Resource Management at the University of Saskatchewan. She pivoted towards birds, after an internship in South Africa. Upon returning, she worked with Piping Plovers in Saskatchewan and now coordinates the Ontario Piping Plover Conservation Program for Birds Canada. Follow her work at @ontarioploversAndrés Jiménez is a Costa Rican wildlife biologist with a keen interest in snakes, frogs, birds and how human relationships are interconnected with the living world. He studied Tropical Biology in Costa Rica and has a Masters in Environmental Problem Solving from York University. He is Birds Canada's Urban Program Coordinator and you can follow him at @andresjimo Beginner Seabirder Reading List*: Eye of the Albatross - Carl Safina (also try Song for the Blue Ocean by the same author)The Seabird's Cry: The Lives and Loves of the Planet's Great Ocean Voyagers - Adam NicolsonFar from Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds - Michael BrookeGreat Auk Islands: A Field Biologist in the Arctic - Tim BirkheadThe Puffin - Mike Harris and Sarah WanlessThe Herring Gull's World: A Study of the Social Behaviour of Birds - Niko TinbergenThe Island - R.M. LockleySeabirds Beyond the Mountain Crest - Richard J. CuthbertRat Island: Predators in Paradise and the World's Greatest Wildlife Rescue - William StolzenburgHoly Mōlī: Albatross and Other Ancestors - Hob Osterlund * list based on recommendations from Sarah and her international network of seabird biologist peers

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that's a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you'd like to directly support this show and independent media, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. A note on notes: We'd much rather you just went into each episode of The Memory Palace cold. And just let the story take you where it well. So, we don't suggest looking into the show notes first. Music By the Ash Tree and Semolina by Slow Meadow Opals by Catching Flies Mechanical Fair by Ola Kvernberg and the Trondheim Singers La Copla by the great Atahualpa Yupanqui Holm Sound by Erland Cooper Notes You can find the original recordings, photos, and film clips taken on the 1935 expedition and after in the remarkable online library of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Of the many books on the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, the one I enjoyed and relied upon most here is Phillip Hoose's The Race to Save the Good Lord Bird.

Iszi is in Dave's house! We have talked many times about the fact that birds are dinosaurs and we've covered some of the modern evidence that links them together, but how did we get to this point? In this edition we look at the historical arguments for the origins of birds and how they went from a groups that had no obvious evolutionary home to some early flirtations with dinosaurs, places around the reptile tree and then eventually settled to their now familiar place. It covers a lot of odd ideas and the problems of limited data and Charles Darwin even pops up and gets a mention. Appropriately, our guest this week is Suzy from the Casual Birder podcast and she wants to ask Dave all about dinosaur eyes and their colours and shapes. Links: The casual birder podcast: https://casualbirder.com/links www.patreon.com/terriblelizards @iszi_lawrence @dave_hone facebook.com/terrriblelizardspodcast

He was an American flautist living in London, studying at the Royal academy of music.  At only 20 years of age, he was intelligent, gifted, talented...a prodigy.  On the evening of June 24, 2009 he performed at the Academy in “London Soundscapes”...featuring the music of composers such as Joseph Hayden, George Frideric Handel, and Felix Mendelssohn.  But his flute wasn't the only thing he brought with him the evening of his performance.  He had with him a relatively large piece of luggage...a rolling suitcase that contained in it the accoutrements of a thief - gloves, a small flashlight, a pair of wire cutters, a glass cutting saw with a diamond blade.  After the concert, he retrieved the suitcase from his locker and put his plan in motion...making his way towards the Natural History Museum in the town of Tring.  This wasn't the first time he'd been there, but it would certainly be his last.  After months of reconnaissance - investigating, casing, scouting, scrutinizing, studying, evaluating, analyzing, planning - he was confident he would be able to make his way around walls, barbed wire, cameras and guards in order to get what he was there to pilfer...a collection of coveted relics of the past...many of which no longer existing anywhere in world...unique, rare, endangered, extinct...priceless and irreplaceable...all for a hobby that grew into an obsession...and a golden flute.The Feather Thief:  Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnsonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/books/review/kirk-wallace-johnson-feather-thief.htmlhttps://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/BIOG.htmhttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/collections/zoology-collections/bird-skin-collections/bird-skin-collection-wallace.htmlhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/a-flautist--299-stuffed-birds--and-the-bizarre-crime-of-an-obsesIMPORTANT LINKS:Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/killaforniapodPayPal:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/killaforniapodMerchandise:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/killaforniapod/shop?asc=uWebsite:  https://killaforniadreamingpodcast.buzzsprout.com/Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1296620370450345/Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/killaforniadreamingInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/killaforniadreamingpod/?hl=enTwitter:  https://twitter.com/killaforniapodEmail:  killaforniapod@gmail.com

For today's episode, we spoke with Tatyana Soto, a biologist and plant ecologist, about her newfound passion, birding. Tatyana shares her spark moment and spark bird and talks about her patch and the community of birders at this birding hotspot. Plants get a mention!! Learn more about Tatyana's research here. Thank you to Nicole Callihan, poet, for permission to recite her poem, "The Origin of Birds." +++ Season 2 of Your Bird Story is made possible with a Puffin Foundation grant! +++ Production Bird vocalizations in this episode were downloaded from the Macauley Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Creator and Host: Georgia Silvera Seamans, Founder, Local Nature Lab Nature Note Writer: Loyan Beausoleil, Bird Program Manager, Washington Square Park Eco Projects Producer and Editor: Pod to the People +++ Support the podcast with a gift of any amount. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/yourbirdstory/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yourbirdstory/support

He was an American flautist living in London, studying at the Royal academy of music.  At only 20 years of age, he was intelligent, gifted, talented...a prodigy.  On the evening of June 24, 2009 he performed at the Academy in “London Soundscapes”...featuring the music of composers such as Joseph Hayden, George Frideric Handel, and Felix Mendelssohn.  But his flute wasn't the only thing he brought with him the evening of his performance.  He had with him a relatively large piece of luggage...a rolling suitcase that contained in it the accoutrements of a thief - gloves, a small flashlight, a pair of wire cutters, a glass cutting saw with a diamond blade.  After the concert, he retrieved the suitcase from his locker and put his plan in motion...making his way towards the Natural History Museum in the town of Tring.  This wasn't the first time he'd been there, but it would certainly be his last.  After months of reconnaissance - investigating, casing, scouting, scrutinizing, studying, evaluating, analyzing, planning - he was confident he would be able to make his way around walls, barbed wire, cameras and guards in order to get what he was there to pilfer...a collection of coveted relics of the past...many of which no longer existing anywhere in world...unique, rare, endangered, extinct...priceless and irreplaceable...all for a hobby that grew into an obsession...and a golden flute.The Feather Thief:  Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnsonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/books/review/kirk-wallace-johnson-feather-thief.htmlhttps://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/BIOG.htmhttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/collections/zoology-collections/bird-skin-collections/bird-skin-collection-wallace.htmlhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/a-flautist--299-stuffed-birds--and-the-bizarre-crime-of-an-obsesIMPORTANT LINKS:Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/killaforniapodPayPal:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/killaforniapodMerchandise:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/killaforniapod/shop?asc=uWebsite:  https://killaforniadreamingpodcast.buzzsprout.com/Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1296620370450345/Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/killaforniadreamingInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/killaforniadreamingpod/?hl=enTwitter:  https://twitter.com/killaforniapodEmail:  killaforniapod@gmail.com

He was an American flautist living in London, studying at the Royal academy of music.  At only 20 years of age, he was intelligent, gifted, talented...a prodigy.  On the evening of June 24, 2009 he performed at the Academy in “London Soundscapes”...featuring the music of composers such as Joseph Hayden, George Frideric Handel, and Felix Mendelssohn.  But his flute wasn't the only thing he brought with him the evening of his performance.  He had with him a relatively large piece of luggage...a rolling suitcase that contained in it the accoutrements of a thief - gloves, a small flashlight, a pair of wire cutters, a glass cutting saw with a diamond blade.  After the concert, he retrieved the suitcase from his locker and put his plan in motion...making his way towards the Natural History Museum in the town of Tring.  This wasn't the first time he'd been there, but it would certainly be his last.  After months of reconnaissance - investigating, casing, scouting, scrutinizing, studying, evaluating, analyzing, planning - he was confident he would be able to make his way around walls, barbed wire, cameras and guards in order to get what he was there to pilfer...a collection of coveted relics of the past...many of which no longer existing anywhere in world...unique, rare, endangered, extinct...priceless and irreplaceable...all for a hobby that grew into an obsession...and a golden flute.The Feather Thief:  Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnsonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/books/review/kirk-wallace-johnson-feather-thief.htmlhttps://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/BIOG.htmhttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/collections/zoology-collections/bird-skin-collections/bird-skin-collection-wallace.htmlhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/a-flautist--299-stuffed-birds--and-the-bizarre-crime-of-an-obsesIMPORTANT LINKS:Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/killaforniapodPayPal:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/killaforniapodMerchandise:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/killaforniapod/shop?asc=uWebsite:  https://killaforniadreamingpodcast.buzzsprout.com/Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1296620370450345/Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/killaforniadreamingInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/killaforniadreamingpod/?hl=enTwitter:  https://twitter.com/killaforniapodEmail:  killaforniapod@gmail.com

He was an American flautist living in London, studying at the Royal academy of music.  At only 20 years of age, he was intelligent, gifted, talented...a prodigy.  On the evening of June 24, 2009 he performed at the Academy in “London Soundscapes”...featuring the music of composers such as Joseph Hayden, George Frideric Handel, and Felix Mendelssohn.  But his flute wasn't the only thing he brought with him the evening of his performance.  He had with him a relatively large piece of luggage...a rolling suitcase that contained in it the accoutrements of a thief - gloves, a small flashlight, a pair of wire cutters, a glass cutting saw with a diamond blade.  After the concert, he retrieved the suitcase from his locker and put his plan in motion...making his way towards the Natural History Museum in the town of Tring.  This wasn't the first time he'd been there, but it would certainly be his last.  After months of reconnaissance - investigating, casing, scouting, scrutinizing, studying, evaluating, analyzing, planning - he was confident he would be able to make his way around walls, barbed wire, cameras and guards in order to get what he was there to pilfer...a collection of coveted relics of the past...many of which no longer existing anywhere in world...unique, rare, endangered, extinct...priceless and irreplaceable...all for a hobby that grew into an obsession...and a golden flute.The Feather Thief:  Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnsonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/books/review/kirk-wallace-johnson-feather-thief.htmlhttps://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/BIOG.htmhttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/collections/zoology-collections/bird-skin-collections/bird-skin-collection-wallace.htmlhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/a-flautist--299-stuffed-birds--and-the-bizarre-crime-of-an-obsesIMPORTANT LINKS:Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/killaforniapodPayPal:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/killaforniapodMerchandise:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/killaforniapod/shop?asc=uWebsite:  https://killaforniadreamingpodcast.buzzsprout.com/Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1296620370450345/Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/killaforniadreamingInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/killaforniadreamingpod/?hl=enTwitter:  https://twitter.com/killaforniapodEmail:  killaforniapod@gmail.com

He was an American flautist living in London, studying at the Royal academy of music.  At only 20 years of age, he was intelligent, gifted, talented...a prodigy.  On the evening of June 24, 2009 he performed at the Academy in “London Soundscapes”...featuring the music of composers such as Joseph Hayden, George Frideric Handel, and Felix Mendelssohn.  But his flute wasn't the only thing he brought with him the evening of his performance.  He had with him a relatively large piece of luggage...a rolling suitcase that contained in it the accoutrements of a thief - gloves, a small flashlight, a pair of wire cutters, a glass cutting saw with a diamond blade.  After the concert, he retrieved the suitcase from his locker and put his plan in motion...making his way towards the Natural History Museum in the town of Tring.  This wasn't the first time he'd been there, but it would certainly be his last.  After months of reconnaissance - investigating, casing, scouting, scrutinizing, studying, evaluating, analyzing, planning - he was confident he would be able to make his way around walls, barbed wire, cameras and guards in order to get what he was there to pilfer...a collection of coveted relics of the past...many of which no longer existing anywhere in world...unique, rare, endangered, extinct...priceless and irreplaceable...all for a hobby that grew into an obsession...and a golden flute.The Feather Thief:  Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnsonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/books/review/kirk-wallace-johnson-feather-thief.htmlhttps://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/BIOG.htmhttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/collections/zoology-collections/bird-skin-collections/bird-skin-collection-wallace.htmlhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/a-flautist--299-stuffed-birds--and-the-bizarre-crime-of-an-obsesIMPORTANT LINKS:Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/killaforniapodPayPal:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/killaforniapodMerchandise:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/killaforniapod/shop?asc=uWebsite:  https://killaforniadreamingpodcast.buzzsprout.com/Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1296620370450345/Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/killaforniadreamingInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/killaforniadreamingpod/?hl=enTwitter:  https://twitter.com/killaforniapodEmail:  killaforniapod@gmail.com

Have you ever heard a bird in the wild, and wished you knew what it was? There's an app for that! We talk to Jessie Barry, one of the founders of Merlin Bird ID, an app developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that can identify birds using a sound recording.

This episode goes over the bird family Charadriidae, which contains plovers, dotterels and lapwings. There are a total of 68 species in this family in 10 genera.

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Richard Prum about aesthetics, birds, and the evolution of beauty. They provide an overview of sexual selection and the aspects of sexual ornamentation and mate choice. They discuss Fisher's two-factor model of evolution and use the example of the great Argus pheasant to describe Richard's idea that beauty happens. They discuss the co-evolution of beauty and how sexual selection is not only about adaptation. They mention the subjective experience of animals and theory of mind. They also discuss aesthetic radiation, phylogeny of birds, and the sound production in the wings of Manakins. They briefly discuss the colorful feathers of dinosaurs, duck sex, and aesthetic remodeling. Richard provides some of his critiques of evolutionary psychology and makes the distinction between beauty happening and pleasure happening. Richard Prum is an Evolutionary Ornithologist at Yale University. His research interests are avian biology, behavioral evolution, sexual selection, and mate choice. He has been a main contributor to the theropod dinosaur origins of birds and the evolution of avian plumage coloration. He is the Curator of Ornithology and Head Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Previously, he was the Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale. He is the author of, The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin's Forgotten Theory of mate Choice Shapes the Animal World—and Us, which can be purchased here. You can find his scholarly publications here.

He was an American flautist living in London, studying at the Royal academy of music.  At only 20 years of age, he was intelligent, gifted, talented...a prodigy.  On the evening of June 24, 2009 he performed at the Academy in “London Soundscapes”...featuring the music of composers such as Joseph Hayden, George Frideric Handel, and Felix Mendelssohn.  But his flute wasn't the only thing he brought with him the evening of his performance.  He had with him a relatively large piece of luggage...a rolling suitcase that contained in it the accoutrements of a thief - gloves, a small flashlight, a pair of wire cutters, a glass cutting saw with a diamond blade.  After the concert, he retrieved the suitcase from his locker and put his plan in motion...making his way towards the Natural History Museum in the town of Tring.  This wasn't the first time he'd been there, but it would certainly be his last.  After months of reconnaissance - investigating, casing, scouting, scrutinizing, studying, evaluating, analyzing, planning - he was confident he would be able to make his way around walls, barbed wire, cameras and guards in order to get what he was there to pilfer...a collection of coveted relics of the past...many of which no longer existing anywhere in world...unique, rare, endangered, extinct...priceless and irreplaceable...all for a hobby that grew into an obsession...and a golden flute.The Feather Thief:  Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnsonhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/books/review/kirk-wallace-johnson-feather-thief.htmlhttps://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/BIOG.htmhttps://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/collections/zoology-collections/bird-skin-collections/bird-skin-collection-wallace.htmlhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/a-flautist--299-stuffed-birds--and-the-bizarre-crime-of-an-obsesIMPORTANT LINKS:Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/killaforniapodPayPal:  https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/killaforniapodMerchandise:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/killaforniapod/shop?asc=uWebsite:  https://killaforniadreamingpodcast.buzzsprout.com/Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1296620370450345/Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/killaforniadreamingInstagram:  https://www.instagram.com/killaforniadreamingpod/?hl=enTwitter:  https://twitter.com/killaforniapodEmail:  killaforniapod@gmail.com 

New Policies Emerge In The Wake Of Climate-Connected Disasters This week, people across the United States continued to be reminded of the results of a shifting climate—with people in the Gulf states still recovering from Ida, northeastern states dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida-induced flooding, and western states battling wildfires and smoke. With climate-related disasters as a backdrop, President Biden announced a goal of shifting some 45% of U.S. energy production to solar power by 2050. Kendra Pierre-Louis, senior reporter for the Gimlet-Spotify podcast How to Save A Planet, joins Ira to talk about those stories and more, including new calculations of the importance of minimizing fossil fuel extraction, to a successful sample collection effort on Martian soil.   Is Inflammation In The Brain Causing Alzheimer's Disease? The brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease has a few hallmark traits. First, a buildup of plaques made of proteins called amyloid beta. Second, are tangles of another protein, called tau, within individual neurons. A third major indicator is inflammation. While researchers have long thought brain inflammation was a byproduct of the disease itself, there's a growing hypothesis that it might actually be a driver of the disease's progression. That would help explain why researchers have found people whose brains are full of tau tangles and amyloid plaques, but with no outward symptoms of Alzheimer's. Research on animals has supported this theory. But finding the same evidence in human brains is harder. Now, a team of scientists, writing in the journal Nature Medicine, thinks they have it: time-lapsed images of patient brains showing tau tangles and inflammation spreading through the brain in the exact same pattern. Ira talks to Dr. Tharick Pascoal, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh and the study's first author, about this finding, and what it means for future research into Alzheimer's therapies.   The World According To Sound: Ultrasonics The mating calls of the katydid, a large insect, are ultrasonic, beyond the audible limit of human hearing. What if we could hear them? That's the focus behind a collaboration between the abstract audio podcast The World According To Sound and scientist Laurel Symes, the assistant director of the Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at Cornell University. In this recording, you'll hear the sounds of one of her study animals—a group of katydids in a forest in Panama. Bill McQuay, sound engineer and an audio producer at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, slowed down Symes' recording so you can hear a whole world of ultrasonic activity open up, from ultrasonic mating calls of katydids to the ultrasonic pings of bats echolocating their next meal. The World According to Sound is a live audio show, online listening series, and miniature podcast that focuses on sound, not story. Producers Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett create intentional, communal listening experiences as a way to “reclaim autonomy in a visually dominated world that is increasingly fracturing our attention.” This katydid recording and more are a part of their next listening series, an immersive listening party where audiences from all over the globe will be invited to experience a world of sound together, beginning in January 2022.   How COVID-19 Reveals Existing Biases Against The Disability Community In early July, I visit Ingrid Tischer at the Berkeley apartment she's shared with her husband, Ken, for the past 10 years. When I arrive, she's already sitting outside at the top of a gently sloping ramp that leads up to the door. We're both vaccinated, but we're still taking precautions: masks, outdoors, and social distancing. That's because Ingrid has a severe disability. “I have muscular dystrophy,” she tells me, “which is a neuromuscular disorder that I've had my entire life because it's genetic.” Muscular dystrophy is a progressive muscle wasting disease. It impacts her mobility, including her ability to walk unassisted. Ingrid says she's most impacted by having a weak respiratory system and uses an oxygen device called a biPap to help her breathe. Earlier in the pandemic, her doctor told her that if she got COVID, it would likely be a death sentence. “I'd never heard my situation put in such stark, certain terms,” she says. Ingrid is in her mid 50s, with graying brown hair and bright blue eyes. She leads fundraising for DREDF, a disability rights and legal advocacy organization. She's also a writer — she's written a draft of a novel and has a blog called “Tales From the Crip.” In addition to a brilliant title, the blog is full of her personal reflections about navigating a world in which the needs and feelings of people with disabilities go mostly unseen and ignored. When COVID hit in the spring of 2020, Ingrid was terrified. Because of the risk of infection and smoke from the wildfires that summer, she stopped leaving her house entirely, developed severe anxiety and depression, and began noticing a host of new health issues. Her feet and legs began swelling and breathing became even more difficult than usual. Her doctor worried she might be developing congestive heart failure, but told her to stay home rather than come in for tests and risk infection. It's a common story. A recent survey by the disability advocacy group #NoBodyIsDisposable found that many disabled people have delayed medical care for over a year due to concerns about COVID-19. Read more at sciencefriday.com.  

Have you ever seen a bird and wondered what it is – or why it has webbed feet or a long curved bill? Your answers are waiting for you at Merlin – an app for portable devices from the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. The post MERLIN appeared first on sound*bytes.

What is it about big birds? In this month's episode, we spoke with Dimple and Laura about their encounters with wild turkeys and mute swans, respectively. If you've got a "big bird" story to share, record a voice memo and email it to hello@wspecoprojects.org. We will share your tale in a future episode. --- Season 2 of Your Bird Story is made possible with a Puffin Foundation grant! --- Production Bird vocalizations in this episode were downloaded from the Macauley Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Creator and Host: Georgia Silvera Seamans, Director, Washington Square Park Eco Projects Nature Note Writer: Loyan Beausoleil, Bird Program Manager, Washington Square Park Eco Projects Producer and Editor: Pod to the People --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/yourbirdstory/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/yourbirdstory/support

In today's episode, we bid farewell to a wonderful summer season of planting native flowers and enjoying the birds in our backyards. Join Catherine Greenleaf, a certified wildlife rehabilitator with 20 years of experience rescuing and rehabilitating injured wildlife, for twice-monthly discussions about restoring native habitat and helping the birds in your backyard. Send your questions about birds and native gardening to birdhuggerpodcast@gmail.com. (PG-13) St. Dymphna Press, LLC. Bird calls courtesy of Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Welcome to year 2 of Black Voices on the Hill! “The whole brand of Isaiah E. Scott is birds, art, and culture.”This fall, Cornell has the honor of welcoming the up-and-coming ornithologist Isaiah Scott to the Class of 2025. Listen to his conversation with Daniel James II about his love of wildlife, growing up in Georgia, his parents' support, the disparate impact of climate change on black communities, the racist and complicated history of the ornithological field, writing his first book, and his guided bird-watching tours, Ike's Birding Hikes. Catch Black Voices on the Hill each Friday @2pm on WVBR 93.5 FM. wvbr.com/blackvoicesInstagram: @blackvoicesonthehillMusic provided by OZSOUND. Channel: https://goo.gl/qnhQtD.

Hummingbirds are the world's smallest bird species, with a heart rate of 500 beats-per-minute on average and a breathing rate of 250/minute. Hummingbirds are nearly always on the edge of starvation, so they need to eat their body weight in nectar each day. Which might explain why some female white-necked Jacobin hummingbirds have evolved to look like male hummingbirds. Because, guess what? Male hummingbirds can be jerks. In The Good The Bad The NewThe Bad:The EU has removed US travelers from Covid safe list. This is because of all the idiots out there that will take horse medication but not the actual vaccine.The Good:Thank you to the San Francisco Airport (SFO) for protecting the San Francisco garter snakes and red-legged frogs. We at Better Than Human are friends of Snakes and Frogs.Hummingbirds are tiny acrobats with the fastest wingbeat of all birds, (70 strokes per second or more than 4,000 per minute). Unlike other birds, they can hover, fly backwards, and even fly upside down! Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of all animals. They had an amazing amount of energy and live a relatively long time for their size. Hummingbirds are native only to the Americas and thrive from Alaska to the tip of South America and are specialized to the flowers they eat from.Listen now to learn about these tiny marvels of the bird world. For more information on us, visit our website at betterthanhumanpodcast.comFollow us on Twitter @betterthanhuma1on Facebook @betterthanhumanpodcaston Instagram @betterthanhumanpodcasthttps://www.tiktok.com/@betterthanhumanpodcastor Email us at betterthanhumanpodcast@gmail.comWe look forward to hearing from you, and we look forward to you joining our cult of weirdness!#betterthanhuman #cultofweirdnes

Do you know the state bird of Utah, and how it came to be? How old are the oldest hummingbirds on record? Which gulls are of the cherry-picking variety? Get answers to these questions and so much more in this episode of Life List.  Topics covered include: Seasonal changes in birding; American Ornithological Society (AOS) updates, including a focus on genomics and inverted genes;  why the western raptor that George spotted in New Jersey didn't make the rare bird alerts; record-breaking gull lifespans and old birds including (you guessed it) albatrosses and storm-petrels, with a shoutout to good ol' opossums. Highlight bird species: Roseate Spoonbills; game birds for purchase; redpolls (how many redpoll species? you tell us); California Gulls; Laysan Albatross and other seabirds; shoutouts to elderly hummingbirds; moonwalking manakins. Locations mentioned: Niagara Falls, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, the oceanLinks: American Ornithological Society (AOS)Send your topic ideas to lifelistpodcast@gmail.com

Listen to episode 282 Chances are, some of your favorite jazz musicians and the amazing solos that they play, are influenced by the style of jazz that emerged around the 1940s called bebop. Now bebop was pioneered by musicians like Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie and a host of others, of tunes like "Moose the Mooche", "Relaxin' at Camarillo", "Anthropology", "Ornithology" --  the list goes on and on of all these amazing tunes that are just wonderful and just the amazing solos that came out of this period. But you may have noticed that playing bebop is quite difficult. It's a virtuosic style of music, it's very hard but we need to know how to play bebop lines in order to improvise as a jazz musician in a way that is typical of the dialect that is played today. So, in today's episode, I have a very special guest, member of team LJS, Brett Pontecorvo, on the show, to talk about the 3 pillars of bebop so we can understand it better and you can start soloing over it better as well. In this episode: 1. Pillar #1: Melodic Chromaticism 2. Pillar #2: Altered Harmony 3. Pillar #3: Syncopated Rhythm 4. The one thing you should do to improve your bebop solos Important Links 1. LJS Inner Circle Membership

On a surface level, birds and fish may seem like they don't have a lot in common, but they are just two pieces of this lovely ecosystem we love to learn about. Join John and Katie on a special collaboration episode between DBP and the Fisherwoman Podcast. On the Fisherwoman podcast, fisheries researcher Katie Osborn discusses all kind of fish facts with experts in the field. In this episode, John and Katie swap facts on some of their favorite bird and fish species and discuss a very special ecosystem: wetlands! Learn about the first fish in space, what smelt really smell like, and much much more...Cardinal from the cover art comes from the very talented Tj Rinoski. Check out some of his artwork and Dirty Bird T-shirts at https://www.losesome-losesome.com/..Intro song by Ricky Pistone. Check out his Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/rickypistone..Outro music "NY Redneck" by the Sidewalk Slammers. Find them wherever you get your music 

CLICK HERE to  listen to episode audio (4:30).Sections below are the following: Transcript of Audio Audio Notes and Acknowledgments Images Sources Related Water Radio Episodes For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.). Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 8-16-21. TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of June 28, 2021.  This is a revised version of an episode from August 2013. MUSIC – ~11 sec – instrumental That's part of “Bass Fisherman's Reel,” an adaptation of a traditional tune called “Fisher's Hornpipe,” by Williamsburg musician Timothy Seaman on his 2004 album, “Virginia Wildlife.”  The music sets the stage for a “reel” story about fishing equipment and a summer bird of prey.  We start with a series of mystery sounds.  Have a listen for about 20 seconds, and see if you can guess how the first two sounds add up to the third. And here's a hint: misplaced line makes for a tangled, feathered fisher.SOUNDS - ~19 secIf you guessed, an Osprey running afoul of some fishing line, you're right!  You heard he call of an Osprey, or “Fish Hawk,”; the sound of fishing line, being reeled in; and part of a rescue of an Osprey chick stuck in fishing line.  The latter sound was taken from the “Osprey Cam,” the Chesapeake Conservancy's real-time video transmission from an Osprey nest on Kent Island, Maryland.  On July 29, 2013, the camera showed that one of that year's three chicks had gotten its legs caught in fishing line.  Some viewers of the bird's predicament went to the site, waded out to the nest with a ladder, and climbed up and disentangled the chick. Unwittingly, this lucky Osprey chick had starred in a documentary about the value of fishing-line recycling stations.  Birds, sea turtles, and other animals can get stuck in, or eat, improperly discarded fishing line, nets, or other plastic items.  Such material can also get caught in boat propellers or intakes.  Recycling programs for fishing line are one way to help reduce these threats.  Virginia began a statewide fishing-line recycling program in 2009, run jointly by the Department of Wildlife Resources—formerly the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries—and the Marine Resources Commission.  Recycling is now available at many boat ramps, parks, and marinas, as well as at some outdoor-equipment businesses.  At those locations, anglers can look for the distinctive plastic tubes with a curved top, and help put plastic back to use, instead of on a beak or fin. Thanks to Lang Elliot and the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs, to Timothy Seaman, and to the Chesapeake Conservancy, respectively, for permission to use this week's sounds of an Osprey, fishing line, and the Osprey chick rescue.  Thanks also to Mr. Seaman for this week's music, and we close with about 20 more seconds of “Bass Fisherman's Reel.” MUSIC – ~20 sec – instrumental SHIP'S BELL Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close this show.  In Blacksburg, I'm Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water. AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Virginia Water Radio episode revises and replaces Episode 175, 8-19-13.The Osprey call sounds were from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott.  Lang Elliot's work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/. The fishing line sound and musical excerpt from “Bass Fisherman's Reel,” on the 2004 album “Virginia Wildlife,” is copyright Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission.  More information about Timothy Seaman is available online at https://timothyseaman.com/en/.The sounds of the rescue of an Osprey chick caught in fishing line were taken from a video recorded by the Chesapeake Conservancy's “Osprey Cam,” available online at http://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/Osprey-Cam, used with permission.  For more information about the camera or the Conservancy, contact the Conservancy at 716 Giddings Avenue, Suite 42, Annapolis, Maryland 21401; phone (443) 321-3610; e-mail: info@chesapeakeconservancy.org. Click here if you'd like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com. IMAGES Young Osprey in Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.  Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), made available for public use by the USFWS' National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov.  The specific URL for this image was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/12049/rec/9, as of 8-16-21.Osprey in flight, 2016 (location not identified).  Photo by Alvin Freund, made available for public use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov.  The specific URL for this image was https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/17870/rec/11, as of 8-16-21.Fishing-line recycling container at South Holston Lake, Washington County, Virginia, April 15, 2013. SOURCES Used for Audio Boat US Foundation, online at https://www.boatus.org/clean-boating/recycling/fishing-line-recycling/. Chesapeake Conservancy, “Webcams/Osprey,” online at https://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/ospreycam. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation, “Commission, “Reel. Remove. Recycle – Don't Leave Your Line Behind,”online at https://mrrp.myfwc.com/. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org.  The Osprey entry is online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/.  Video from an Osprey camera at Savannah, Georgia, is available online at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/savannah-ospreys/. Outdoor News, “State Agencies Initiate Fishing Line Recycling Program,” 2/10/09. [Easton, Md.] Star Democrat, Osprey cam chick Ozzie is rescued, 8/7/13. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries):“Fish and Wildlife Information Service,” online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/; the Osprey entry is online at https://services.dwr.virginia.gov/fwis/booklet.html?&bova=040095&Menu=_.Taxonomy&version=18845; “Recycle Your Fishing Line” is online at https://dwr.virginia.gov/fishing/recycle-your-line/. Virginia Marine Resources Commission, “Introducing the Virginia Fishing Line Recycling Program,” online at https://mrc.virginia.gov/rec_assessment/VFLRP_AD.shtm. For More Information about Birds in Virginia and Elsewhere Chesapeake Bay Program, “Birds,” online at https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/all/birds/all. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Birds of the World,” online at https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home(subscription required). Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “Merlin Photo ID.”  The application for mobile devices allows users to submit a bird photograph to get identification of the bird. Information is available online at http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/. Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society, “eBird,” online at https://ebird.org/home.  Here you can find locations of species observations made by contributors, and you can sign up to contribute your own observations. National Audubon Society, online at https://www.audubon.org/. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, “Animal Diversity Web,” online at https://animaldiversity.org/. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (formerly Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), “List of Native and Naturalized Fauna in Virginia, August 2020,” online (as a PDF) at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/virginia-native-naturalized-species.pdf. Virginia Society of Ornithology, online at http://www.virginiabirds.org/.  The Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds in the Commonwealth. Xeno-canto Foundation, online at http://www.xeno-canto.org/.  This site provides bird songs from around the world. RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Birds,” ‘Overall Importance of Water,” and “Recreation” subject categories. FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode's audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post. 2020 Music SOLs SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.” 2018 Science SOLs Grades K-4: Living Systems and Processes2.5 – Living things are part of a system.4.3 – Organisms, including humans, interact with one another and with the nonliving components in the ecosystem. Grades K-5: Earth ResourcesK.11 – Humans use resources.1.8 – Natural resources can be used responsibly, including that most natural resources are limited; human actions can affect the availability of natural resources; and reducing, reusing, and recycling are ways to conserve natural resources.3.8 – Natural events and humans influence ecosystems.4.8 – Virginia has important natural resources. Grade 66.9 – Humans impact the environment and individuals can influence public policy decisions related to energy and the environment. Life ScienceLS.9 – Relationships exist between ecosystem dynamics and human activity. Earth ScienceES.6 – Resource use is complex.ES.8 – Freshwater resources influence and are influenced by geologic processes and human activity. BiologyBIO.8 – Dynamic equilibria exist within populations, communities, and ecosystems, including that natural events and human activities influence local and global ecosystems and may affect the flora and fauna of Virginia. 2015 Social Studies SOLs Civics and Economics CourseCE.3 – Citizenship rights, duties, and responsibilities.CE.7 – Government at the state level.CE.10 – Public policy at local, state, and national levels. Government CourseGOVT.8 – State and local government organization and powers.GOVT.9 – Public policy process at local, state, and national levels.Virginia's SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/. Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels. Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rdgrade.Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5thgrade.Episode 403, 1-15-18 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4ththrough 8th grade.Episode 406, 2-5-18 – on ice on rivers, for middle school.Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.

How can we help threatened species to cope with climate change? We talk to Matthew Medler from the world-renowned Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. We hear about the lucky frog who lived to hop another day and Terry Flanagan goes to the Phoenix Park in search of some deer.

In today's episode, we speak with Dave Govatski, retired forester, about how to identify old growth forests and how to protect them. (oldgrowthforestnetwork.net) (newildernesstrust.org) (naturegroupie.org). (treeequityscore.org). Join host Catherine Greenleaf, a certified wildlife rehabilitator with 20 years of experience rescuing and rehabilitating injured wildlife, for twice-monthly discussions about restoring native habitat and helping the birds in your backyard. Send your questions about birds and native gardening to birdhuggerpodcast@gmail.com. (PG-13) St. Dymphna Press, LLC. Bird calls courtesy of the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Host Tenijah Hamilton joins volunteers from Georgia Audubon and Trees Atlanta who are planting wildflowers and grasses along an urban rail trail, where she learns how native plants can provide food and shelter for birds within cities. She talks to ecologist Desiree Narango about why birds depend on plants, and how we can transform our backyards and shared green spaces to serve the needs of both people and birds.Related Resources:Check out the Native Plant FinderFind native plants in your region with AudubonResearch native plants in your area with Audubon's Native Plants DatabaseFind an extension office near youRead "Why Garden with Native Wildflowers?" on the US Forest Service's websiteAttract Birds: A Dozen Native Trees And Shrubs That Birds LoveVisit the website for Trees AtlantaVisit Georgia AudubonConnect with BirdNote on Facebook, Instagram and TwitterSign up to receive BirdNote's weekly newsletterBirdNote is an independent nonprofit media production company. Your dollars make it possible to create sound-rich shows that connect you to the joys of birds and nature. Support BirdNote's conservation mission, and get more of the content you love, by subscribing to BirdNote+ at https://birdnote.supercast.tech or make a one-time gift at BirdNote.org. Thanks!

Love science and conservation? Want to discover new ways to protect our species? Elle Kaye chats with guests who work within the science genre, but whose job titles may need a little unpacking. Strap in for entomology, taxidermy, diaphonization, pet remains, human pathology and all those that work with specimens. In episode 021 Elle chats with Lucy about growing up in rural England and how this environment had an effect on her interests and career. She discusses the medical diagnosis which took her away from work and into the world of science communication, and how that has developed since her health has improved. Lucy also shares her advice for those wanting to feel a deeper connection to nature at home and how she combats eco-anxieties. Lucy Lapwing Socials https://www.instagram.com/lucy_lapwing/ https://twitter.com/lucy_lapwing https://linktr.ee/Lucy_Lapwing https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9rNJM35PvY8fq-eytAnFCg# Press related links https://metro.co.uk/2021/05/10/how-climate-change-is-impacting-mental-health-of-young-people-14540364/ https://www.bto.org/community/events/202105-nature-natter-lucy-lapwing Birdsong Lessons https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9rNJM35PvY8fq-eytAnFCg RSPB – Royal Society for the Protection of Birds https://www.rspb.org.uk/ RSPB – Coombes Valley https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/coombes-valley/ BTO – British Trust for Ornithology https://www.bto.org/ Eco-Anxiety https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327354 Wildlife Trust App https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.wildlifetrusts.naturefinder&hl=en_GB&gl=US Elle Kaye Socials www.instagram.com/ellekayetaxidermy Podcast Socials https://linktr.ee/specimenspod Patreon https://www.patreon.com/specimenspod Merch https://www.ellekayetaxidermy.co.uk/product-page/specimenspodmerch Artwork © 2020 Madison Erin Mayfield  http://madisonerinmayfield.com/ https://www.instagram.com/madisonerinmayfield/ Music Giraffes – Harrison Amer via PremiumBeat.com Researched, edited and produced by Elle Kaye Concept/Title © 2020 Elle Kaye  

What is the cleverest thing hippos can do? This week we're answering seven quirky questions about animals! Why do elephants like peanuts? Why do cows put their tongues up their noses? Has anyone ever ridden a tiger? How do woodpeckers cling to trees? Why is some bird poop black and some is white? Why do people make animals like sharks and bears sound way scarier than they are? Answers from Keenan Stears of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Christine Scales of Billings Farm & Museum; shark researcher Kady Lyons and the Bird Diva Bridget Butler. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript Related Episodes: Why Do Elephants Have Trunks? Why Do Things Seem Scary In the Dark? Resources: Hippopotamus facts, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Online Birding With Bird Diva  What is the cleverest thing a hippo can do? – Elliot, 8, England We turned to Keenan Stears of the University of California, Santa Barbara for some help with this tricky query. “The first thing that comes to mind that highlights the intelligence of hippos,” he told us, “is the ability to identify hippo friends from hippo enemies by the smell of their dung.” Dung is another word for poop. “Dominant male hippos use dung middens to mark their territories. A dung midden is a place where an animal repeatedly goes to drop their dung. The dung middens act as a way that hippos can keep track of the other hippos in the area. So when moving through the environment, hippos can sniff out areas where their hippo friends live, versus areas where their hippo enemies live and they can do all of this just by smelling the dung in middens.” Bet you didn't think the cleverest thing hippos can do would involve poop! And just in case it wasn't totally clear, a midden is basically a waste pile. So a dung midden is kind of like a toilet or an outhouse. It's where the hippos go repeatedly to poop. But, as Stears told us, it also serves another purpose. While humans can't tell their poop from someone else's, other animals can sniff out individuals this way, and use dung or urine—pee—to mark their territories. Hippos aren't the only animals to use dung middens this way, by the way. Rhinoceroses do this too! Other animals, like dogs, cats, rabbits and monkeys also sniff feces and urine as a way to learn about their fellow species, but they don't always leave their “messages” in the same place. Support But Why | Newsletter Sign-Up

The guys are all back together this week catching up on the last few weeks since they were together. We discuss the Switch OLED announcement. Then a lot more MCU talk including Loki episode 5 and predictions for episode 6 (see how wrong we were). Then we discuss a sealed copy of Mario 64 that sold for $1.5 million. Then we cap off the show with a new overrated/underrated segment! If you want to see the show live follow us on Twitch! BeyondAverageNerds Don't forget to rate, subscribe, and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify! Instagram: BeyondAverageNerds Tweet us @Ban_cast Follow us Twitch: BeyondAverageNerds

Mike Drew is a biodiversity advisor for Anglian Water and a licensed bird ringer. He has monitored and managed Nightingale nesting sites in the East of England for over a decade.  Mike shares his observations of this iconic bird and tells us about the research which helped inform habitat action plans produced by the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology). This interview was originally live-streamed on May 20, 2021. The video recording can be found here. A special thanks to Nick Clayton for permission to use his photograph for the episode artwork. TImestamps: 00:00:00 Opening 00:00:59 Promo: Last episode / Casual Birder Weekly 00:01:54 Conversation with Mike Drew 00:42:35 Support the Show Buy me a virtual coffee Tell me about your birds 00:43:16 Wrap and Close The Casual Birder Podcast   https://casualbirder.com/ Don't miss an episode - follow the show! Thank you to Randy Braun for designing the artwork for the show. The theme music is Short Sleeved Shirt by The Drones. Thanks to them for letting me use it. Check out their website at www.dronesmusic.net

The European Union has pledged to phase out cages for agricultural animals and birds after a long-running campaign and petition signed by 1.4 million people. The new laws are due to come into force by 2027 and EU farmers will be helped by grants to move to new systems. The government here is currently ‘examining the evidence' around the issue - so where will this leave the UK's claim to have the highest animal welfare standards? It's a mixed picture for the fortunes of farmland birds. Some are thriving, helped by agri-environment schemes, but the Briitish Trust for Ornithology says we need many more of them to help bolster the species that are struggling. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

We spoke with Dr. Drew Lanham, a distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University and the author of the Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature, to discuss the intersection of nature, humanity, and race. How have the natural sciences progressed since Dr. Lanham first began in his career and what work is there still to do? Why are conservation and activism inextricably linked? And why is it impossible to separate the simple act of birding from systemic racism? We'll grapple with all of these questions (and so much more) on our seventh episode of Biophilic Solutions.Show NotesDr. Drew Lanham, Distinguished Alumni Professor of Wildlife Ecology in the College of Agriculture, Clemson University The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature (Milkweed Editions, 2017)9 Rules for the Black Bird Watcher by J. Drew Lanham (Orion Magazine, 2013)Nine New Revelations for the Black American Bird-Watcher by J. Drew Lanham (Vanity Fair, 2020)What Do We Do About John James Audubon? by J. Drew Lanham (Audubon Magazine, 2021)Due to the increasing spread of Covid-19, we are taking the 2021 Biophilic Leadership Summit virtual. From the safety and comfort of your home or office, join thought-leaders for workshops, presentations, and engaging Q/As on the ‘biophilia effect' on health, climate change, policy, and future developments with a focus on Biophilia at Scale: Land and Water presentations focusing on land use and infrastructure. Join the Biophilic Movement on October 11th and October 12th, 2021, hosted by The B

The northern flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a common bird that has some exceptionally uncommon behaviors. Unlike most bird species, male flickers take an equal share of egg incubation and feeding, and, in up to five percent of females, a lady flicker will take up with two mates - an older male and a younger male - raising young in two different nests at the same time. In addition, flickers will sometimes lay their eggs in the nests of other flickers, a behavior called intraspecific brood parasitism, another habit rarely seen in birds. Join the guys as they delve into studies exploring the wild and swinging world of northern flicker reproduction.This episode was recorded on May 11th, 2021 at Chestnut Ridge Park in Orchard Park, NY. Episode Notes:Bill fully realizes that he mispronounced monogamous as monogyoumous. He doesn’t know why he did this, but he is appropriately embarrassed about it. Bill and Steve were both amazed to learn that belted kingfishers nest in burrows. Find out more here.At one point in this episode, Bill wondered about all cavity nesting birds having pure white eggs. They do not, and this article provides a nice overview of egg coloration in cavity-nesting species.Around the 32:40 mark – Bill said that of the bird species that have biparental care, 90% have extra pair paternity (EPP), and, in describing it, he said that it occurs when a female mates with another male outside her pair bond, but, to be clear, both sexes can engage in EPP. Steve asked about their longevity. Some info from one of Dr. Wiebe’s studies: Flickers have a relatively fast life history with an annual apparent mortality rates of 60%. The rate doesn’t vary with age. A 2006 study looked at mortality rates of male and female flickers over a 6-yr period and observed only 1-2 birds out of every 300 adults were 7 or more years old. There was no significant differences between male and female survival rates for the general population. The oldest known flicker was 9 years, 2 months old. The New World blackbird family is Icteridae.Why are these birds called flickers? As best as we can tell from a quick google search, the name is another effort to mimic their call - flicka flicka flicka. Useful LinksGumleaf Boots, USA (free shipping for patrons)Thank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our previous episodes! Support us on Patreon!Works CitedWiebe, K.L., 2002. First reported case of classical polyandry in a North American woodpecker, the northern flicker. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 114(3), pp.401-403.Wiebe, K.L., 2018. Age-related improvements in fecundity are driven by the male in a bird with partially reversed sex roles in parental care. Oecologia, 188(4), pp.1095-1104.Wiebe, K.L. and Kempenaers, B., 2009. The social and genetic mating system in flickers linked to partially reversed sex roles. Behavioral Ecology, 20(2), pp.453-458.Image creditYellow-shafted northern flicker (female) (Colaptes auratus), Cabin Lake viewing blinds, Deschutes National Forest, near Fort Rock, OregonPermission details: Nature's Pic's (www.naturespicsonline.com) explicitly releases for copying under Attribution-ShareALike 3.0 (see copyright release webpage: http://www.naturespicsonline.com/intro.html).

Sean Milnes, Jordan Rutter, and Purbita Saha join the May 2021 This Month in Birding panel to talk about some of the most important bird and birding related news items of the month. Links to items discussed: Female Bird Day (6:56) Colombia boycotts the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Global Big Day (8:52) AOS moves forward on changing English bird names (17:25) The period cicada's Brood X is here and impacting birds (24:15) Chicago releases feral cats into the city (33:40) Estimates of bird populations mean there are 6 wild birds per human (42:35) And don't forget that Black Birders Week is next week! Thanks to Field Guides for sponsoring this episode. Check out their new video series, Out Birding with Field Guides. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts, and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it!

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 18, 2021 is: peruse • puh-ROOZ • verb 1 a : to examine or consider with attention and in detail : study b : to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner 2 : read; especially : to read over in an attentive or leisurely manner Examples: Dmitri perused the menu while we waited for a table. "Your best friend here is eBird.org, a crowd-sourced website managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where birders file checklists and where you can peruse a map of hot spots (ebird.org/hotspots) to find out what's been seen near you in recent days." — Ty Burr, The Boston Globe, 1 Apr. 2021 Did you know? Peruse has long been a literary word, used by such famous authors as William Shakespeare, Alfred Tennyson, and Thomas Hardy, and it tends to have a literary flavor even in our time. Peruse can suggest paying close attention to something, but it can also simply mean "to read." The "read" sense, which is not especially new and was in fact included in Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary, has drawn some criticism over the years for being too broad. Some commentators have recommended that peruse be reserved for reading with great care and attention to detail. But the fact remains that peruse is often used in situations where a simple "read" definition could be easily substituted. It may suggest either an attentive read or a quick scan.