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Illustrator David Sibley and actor H. Jon Benjamin will face off in the bird illustration battle of the century during BirdNote's Year-end Celebration and Auction!
In honor of BirdNote's 18th Birthday, our staff has handpicked some of the best BirdNote Daily episodes! Check out our picks and learn more about each episode below. To get to know our entire team, visit our Team page.
Nick Bayard, Executive Director
Trumpeter Swans Rebound in Arkansas
With the major caveat that my “favorite” episode depends on the day and my mood, I have to give a shout-out to Trumpeter Swans, as it has so many elements of what makes BirdNote special: a conservation success story, eye popping facts about bird anatomy and behavior, and extraordinarily immersive sound. Crank up the volume on this one, and you’ll be able to feel the honking and flapping of these marvelous birds deep down in your bones.
Trumpeter Swans weigh over 25 pounds and measure about five feet from beak to tail. They were nearly hunted to extinction by the turn of the twentieth century. In Arkansas, a small flock of Trumpeter Swans began spending the winter at Magness Lake in the 1990s. It has now grown to one of the biggest winter swan flocks in the Southeast. In recognition of its value to the swans, Magness Lake has been designated an Important Bird Area.
Jessica Rugh Frantz, Director of Development
Urban Birding with Deja Perkins
"I recently noticed that I tend to look for birds at random opportune moments, like while walking to the car from the grocery store or out the window while on a Zoom call (shh!) or while cruising down the interstate (I love counting Red-tailed Hawks and deer.) The joy of birds is everywhere, and this episode teaches you how to slow down and notice it."
In this episode, urban ecologist Deja Perkins talks about how many bird species live right within bustling cities. Whether you’re on your porch, at your local park, or the parking lot of your favorite store, you can find birds. Deja suggests taking five minutes to focus your attention on birds. Look up in the sky, along power lines and the tops of buildings. Close your eyes and listen — past the sounds of traffic — for the songs of nearby birds.
Bibi Baksh-Pabion, Director of Communications
Birds Talk, People Squawk
"I’ve always been fascinated by the cognitive abilities of birds, parrots in particular. It’s amazing to me that birds as small as Budgie Parakeets can have a vocabulary of more than a thousand words!"
Darvin Gebhart is a champion goose-caller. But there are also birds that use human language. Sparkie Williams was a famous parakeet, or budgerigar, that lived in England in the 1950s. He recorded commercials for bird seed and released his own hit single "Pretty Talk." Alex, the African Grey Parrot, was another notable talking bird, with amazing cognitive abilities.
Jonese Franklin, Director of Content
The Woodcock’s Silly Walk
"There's a lot to love in this episode: The writing is so fun and evocative. There's a clip from Monty Python! And I'm not sure you'll find a more perfect song to use as a backdrop to Michael Stein describing the woodcock's walk than Herbie Hancock's Chameleon."
When it comes to silly walks, no bird outdoes the American Woodcock’s one-of-a-kind strut. It goes like this: take one step forward, then rock your whole torso forward and back a few times before sliding another foot forward — all while keeping your head perfectly steady. It looks like a bird with an undeniable sense of rhythm. It’s not entirely clear why woodcocks walk this way. It’s another of the bird world’s little mysteries — and one of its grooviest dance moves. Check out the accompanying video!
Katie Meyer, IT and Web Manager
Spider Silk - Duct Tape for Bird Nests
"I love remembering this episode when I see or hear hummingbirds: that one of the tiniest birds around uses spiders' silk to make such strong, flexible nests. As if they are tiny superheroes, using a secret weapon to protect their offspring!"
The spider’s web is an intricate piece of precision engineering. Made from large proteins, it’s sticky, stretchy, and tough. So it’s no surprise that many small birds — including this Anna’s Hummingbird — make a point of collecting strands of spider silk to use in nest construction. Spider silk not only acts as a glue, holding the nest together, but it’s flexible enough to accommodate the growing bodies of nestlings. And it’s resilient enough to withstand the bustle of raising those hungry babies.
Jazzi Johnson, Managing Editor
BirdNoir: The Wild Tom Turkey
"I'm still new to BirdNote Daily so I have quite a lot more to hear, but this episode stuck out to me the most as a huge Bob's Burgers fan -- and I just love the theme of the Private Eye episodes!"
In this episode of BirdNoir, the private eye gets a call from H. Jon Benjamin about unusual Wild Turkey behavior. A male turkey (known as a “tom”) won’t leave his car alone. He keeps tapping his beak on the car. Then the turkey starts circling the house and looking in all the windows. The private eye reveals how things look from the turkey’s perspective, which points the way to a possible solution.
Zahiyah Frazier, Development Coordinator
Moonwalking Manakins
"As a person who isn't necessarily into Birds or Birding, this episode brought back sentimental memories of my family in Trinidad and my summers spent there as a child. Because they are so common in certain parts of St. Augustine (TNT), I've always recognized their beautiful colors, but I never knew they danced, or "moonwalked" until listening to this episode. Of course after listening, I looked up additional information about the manakin's dance and found out some pretty interesting details."
The Golden-headed Manakin is a tiny bird with dance moves that would turn a pop star green with envy. Johanne Ryan, a nature educator who lives in Trinidad, describes this bird’s remarkable breeding display, which features a moonwalk and tail-flicks.
Jason McCue, Communications Coordinator
Spark Bird: Tig Notaro and the Dinosaurs
"Tig Notaro is one of my favorite comedians out there, so I was pretty excited to hear she’d be on BirdNote Daily. She illustrates so wonderfully how a love for birds can be passed down through generations."
Tig Notaro is known for her acting, writing, and especially her deadpan comedy. Less well known is her love for birds. Watching the film Jurassic Park, she noticed how the dinosaurs were portrayed to move similarly to birds, and it piqued her interest. These days, she has bird feeders outside pretty much every window of her house, so she and her kids can always look out and see those modern-day dinosaurs.
Mark Bramhill, Producer
Ada Limón and the Birds of Kentucky
"Not only was interviewing now U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón a huge honor, I now tear up every time I hear a White-throated Sparrow sing its three-note descending song."
When poet Ada Limón moved to Kentucky with her husband for his work, she was having trouble adjusting to her new home. To connect with the place, she began learning about the local birds and plants. She found comfort in the idea of the nearly omnipresent state bird, the Northern Cardinal. That inspired a poem in which the state bird becomes a metaphor for love.
John Kessler, Senior Producer
Tweety Bird
"I couldn't resist poking some fun at all the serious birding episodes we'd done!"
Do you recall when you were a young Saturday-morning birdwatcher, learning the intricate lessons of predator-prey relationships? Twitiavis superciliosis is a small, animated yellow bird, native to Southern California. It's particularly susceptible to predation, and so has developed a complex series of alarm calls. Against all odds, Twitiavis eludes its predators to sing its song another day.
Sam Johnson, Production Assistant and Video Editor
A Grandchild’s Song for Robins
"I think this is such a wholesome story. I'm a musician, so it makes me happy seeing other people doing creative, fulfilling things with music, and Ray Young Bear has such a fantastic voice for it."
Ray Young Bear is a writer, musician and a member of Meskwaki Nation. He considers himself a word collector, writing poetry in both English and Meskwaki, his first language. And he enjoys taking photos of the birds around his home in Iowa. In the spring of 2021, he was spending time with his grandson, Ozzy Young Bear. He composed a song in Meskwaki about how his grandson enjoyed watching the robins hunt for earthworms. He later recorded the song for a music collection called For the Birds: The Birdsong Project. Over 200 musicians, artists and writers contributed, with proceeds going to the National Audubon Society.
Bar-headed Geese © Hari K Patibanda