BirdNote guest, Father Tom Pincelli (also known as Father Bird), comes to us from the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas, one of the premier birding spots in this country. He was born and raised in Connecticut, but now calls Texas home. This Great Kiskadee is a typical bird of that area. The…

In 1977, Stephen Kress used a creative approach to reintroduce Atlantic Puffins to Eastern Egg Rock, an island in Maine’s Muscongus Bay: decoys! It had been 100 years since these charismatic birds had inhabited the island. Today, thanks to the continuing work by Dr. Kress and Project…

Did you know that weather radar can track the migration of birds? Dr. Cliff Mass, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington, describes the radar images from a massive migration through the Puget Sound region of Washington State. Shortly after midnight on September 8…

Russell Link of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife tells how to go about planting to attract birds. He suggests that you take a walk in your neighborhood to see what plants do well. Concentrate on providing structure in the landscape, from ground covers to shrubs to mid-sized…

Geoff Credi is the facilities manager for an impressive glass building in Chicago. In 2004, Credi learned about the devastating problem of birds colliding with glass. As a result, the building he manages became one of the first to participate in the Lights Out Chicago program, voluntarily…

Writer Kurt Hoelting spent a year not driving his car, or riding in a jet, to reduce his use of fossil fuels. During his adventure in local living, he made an important discovery: “I noticed, maybe six weeks into the year, that I could really begin to feel the pace of my own body slowing…

At Willowbrook Wildlife Center in suburban Chicago, there’s hope for birds that have collided with skyscrapers during migration. Today, volunteers from Chicago Bird Collision Monitors have rescued and transported 28 injured or stunned birds to the wildlife center for rehabilitation. Many…

Scott Brizic, a fifth grader at School in the Woods in Colorado Springs, describes a recent encounter with a Peregrine Falcon: “One day as I sat down outside for lunch, I saw a Peregrine Falcon shoot across the sky . . . I saw it for a split-second, for it was going 200 miles an hour.”

Nature is evolving constantly. Dr. Mike Webster of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes an example of rapid evolution and adaptation from the world of birds. He says the European Blackcap, a species of warbler, used to breed in Germany during the summer and migrate to Spain in the…

Today’s show is dedicated to Cynthia Lufkin, friend of BirdNote, birds, and places important to birds. The music was composed by BirdNote’s Nancy Rumbel, and performed by Nancy on oboe and Eric Tingstad on guitar. The words are drawn from Kentucky poet Wendell Berry’s memorial to a dear…