BirdNote Daily
Escape the daily grind and immerse yourself in the natural world. Rich in imagery, sound, and information, BirdNote inspires you to notice the world around you.
Great Horned Owl Duet
The 22-inch Great Horned Owl has two tufts of feathers that stick up from the top of its head. This owl is difficult to see, but it's often heard during dark winter evenings and pre-dawn mornings. A pair of owls may call back and forth or overlap their hoots. The male’s call is slightly lower in pitch. Listen for the owl’s night-time refrain, "Who’s awake? Me, too."More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. …
Kererū: Pigeons That Get Tipsy
Kererū, green-blue pigeons native to New Zealand, like to sun themselves after dining on fruit. But in warm summer months, the bird’s sunbathing has a surprising side-effect. A part of their digestive system called the crop stores their latest snack – where it begins to ferment, eventually making the pigeons drunk! The rotund creatures often get so tipsy that they fall out of trees, prompting compassionate people to deliver them to local bird rescues and let them sober up.More info …
Listening to Nuthatches
Nuthatches rank high on the list of favorite backyard birds. Compact and stub-tailed, they climb down tree trunks and along the underside of branches with comical ease. One at a time, they flit in for suet and sunflower seeds. But out in the woods, where they spend most of their time, nuthatches are hard to spot. Fortunately, they give themselves away with their voices. Compare the calls of Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, then head to the woods.More info and transcript …
Why Penguin Feathers Don't Freeze
Gentoo Penguins live in the frigid waters of the Atlantic. Only recently have scientists begun to unravel why penguin feathers don’t freeze. An electron microscope revealed tiny pores on the feathers that trap air, making the surface water repellent. This feature, plus a special coating oil from the preen gland, prevents water build-up and delays freezing. Engineers could attempt to apply these principles to prevent icing on plane wings.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our …
Ontario’s Birdhouse City
Driving down a country road in eastern Ontario, there’s a surprising sight by the roadside: dozens of vibrantly coloured, eclectic birdhouses sitting atop 12-foot poles. It’s called Birdhouse City, and it’s in a conservation area boasting close to 100 birdhouses, with 30 under renovation. The initial birdhouse designs were based on nearby historical buildings, from the general store to the courthouse. About a third of them are occupied, with several species reliably taking up residence.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. …
Building Nature Trails Accessible to Blind People
When Juan Pablo Culasso spends time outside, he often encounters people thinking he doesn’t belong out there as a blind person – despite the fact that he’s a renowned nature recordist. He helped design nature trails in Colombia with features that make them more accessible for people who are visually impaired, including guide ropes with textures that signal points of interest and QR codes that provide info. But Juan Pablo says these are not simply trails solely for blind people …
Swans Come Calling
Trumpeter Swans land in a plowed field to forage for remnant potatoes, grain, and other waste crops. This swan is among the largest of all waterfowl; the Tundra Swan is somewhat smaller. These swans migrate in family groups each fall from nesting sites in Canada and Alaska. Learn more about these swans, and view a map to the Skagit Flats of Washington where you can see them. When you go, please be courteous, and if you stop, pull completely off …
Giant Owls of Cuba
The Cuban Giant Owl, now extinct, was 3½ feet tall and weighed 20 pounds — the largest of all known owls. It had very small wings, running after its prey on long, powerful legs. Similar large owls, with long legs and small wings, have been unearthed in places as disparate as Georgia and Hawaii. Very little is known about why giant owls died out.More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for …
A Library of Feathers
Esha Munshi co-founded the Feather Library, a digital library that collects and documents the feathers of Indian birds. Launched in 2021, the library has high-resolution photographs of about 90 bird species. This library is open to everyone — whether you’re a researcher, birdwatcher, conservationist, or an ordinary person who came across a feather.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 …
A Pigeon-eyed View of the World
Pigeons — and other birds with eyes on the sides of their heads — have a different view of the world from that of creatures with forward-facing eyes. The images from a pigeon’s eyes overlap slightly, so the bird can see in front of itself, even though it has worse depth perception. But these laterally placed eyes have a big advantage for prey species: they provide a much wider view of the world. A pigeon has a remarkable 340º view …