BirdNote Daily

Just a few weeks past the solstice, and the real heat of summer is yet to come. Some shorebirds are already on their way south, but most songbirds will be here for a while longer. What's the best time of day to look for them? Many birds are most active in the early morning, taking advantage of the abundance of insects at that hour. Midday heat sends people inside, and birds take a siesta, too. And then, both birds and bugs rev up again in the late afternoon. But hummingbirds and also gulls — including this Glaucous-winged Gull — forage all day long!More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Wherever you live, chances are a sweet-singing, cavity-nesting bird would be happy to perform in your yard — and it might stick around if you offer it a cozy nest box, like the one this Carolina Wren enjoys. Natural cavities, like old woodpecker holes, are often in short supply. So putting up a box in the right place — and that’s the right size to accommodate them — is truly an act of stewardship.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

During her first year at the Yale School of Architecture, Kenyan graduate student Barbara Nasila was tasked to design a hypothetical outdoor pavilion in a local neighborhood called Dixwell, featuring an original copy of the enslaver John James Audubon’s book, The Birds of America. As Barbara got to know Dixwell, she realized that there was already an existing conversation about birds in the community. She designed an urban oasis with bird habitat and space for community groups — but she left out The Birds of America, feeling that Audubon wouldn’t have cared about this project. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It might sound strange, but dirt helps birds scrub themselves clean. Birds of all sizes (like the Eurasian Skylark seen here) often scrape a depression in the ground and flick dirt onto their bodies, shimmying to shake it off. Experiments showed that birds use dust to prevent oils from building up on their feathers and to remove dandruff — much like humans using shampoo in the shower!More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Birds of the same species don’t always sing exactly the same as each other. But those that live near each other sometimes have similar songs. Scientists refer to this pattern as a song neighborhood. It’s less like a regional dialect among people that’s found over a large area. It’s more local than that, like a group of friends copying each other's mannerisms.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, writer Camille T. Dungy shares the poem “Clearing” from her new book, Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Bird feathers are famously light, but they’re also strong, holding up under tricky flying and high winds. They’re made of beta keratin, a tougher version of the keratin that makes up human fingernails and hair. They also have an intricate branching structure that makes them highly flexible and free of unnecessary weight.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Toco Toucan of South America has evolved to stay cool in the sweltering heat of the tropics. Relative to its body size, the Toco Toucan has the largest bill of any bird in the world, accounting for a third of the body’s entire surface area. It’s also laced with blood vessels and wholly without insulation — features that make it a superb structure for getting rid of excess body heat.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Around this time of year, many baby birds are begging their parents for food. A Hairy Woodpecker chick calls from its nest carved deep within a dying tree. A Great Horned Owl juvenile reminds his parents "Hey! I'm over here! Feed me!" Moving from forest to water, we find this American Coot chick hoping to be fed by its parent.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Milkweed plants are important to Monarch butterflies, which depend on milkweed to raise their caterpillars. But Monarchs aren’t the only ones who benefit from milkweed. Scientists once documented hundreds of insect species they found eating some part of the common milkweed plant – including 132 species of beetles alone. When it’s part of a diverse community of plants, milkweed helps many species find food and shelter, including birds.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.