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Spark Bird: Diana Sudyka's First Bird ID
Spotting a Brown-headed Cowbird opened up a world of birds
© Kelly Colgan Azar
When illustrator Diana Sudyka was in second grade, she was given a Peterson’s Bird Field Guide. She still remembers making her first bird ID — a Brown-headed Cowbird. Even years later, Sudyka’s love of birds has stuck with her. She recently illustrated the children’s book, How to Find a Bird, by Jennifer Ward. So Sudyka’s work might go on to inspire more bird lovers — just like that guidebook.
BirdNote®
Spark Bird: Diana Sudyka’s First Bird ID
Written by Mark Bramhill
Mark Bramhill: This is BirdNote.
[MUSIC: Gymnopedies by Blue Dot Sessions]
Diana Sudyka loved nature and the outdoors as a kid, and when she was in 2nd grade, her mom gave her a gift that would spark a lifelong passion:
Diana Sudyka: I was given a Peterson’s bird field guide. And I remember the first time I was able to identify a bird other than a robin or a House Sparrow. We were somewhere like at a state park, and I remember seeing this black bird.
[Brown-headed Cowbird ML107304]
Kind of looked like a crow, but it was too small. And I just remember focusing on its plumage and the subtle difference between its body and that glossy beautiful black and then this brown, rust-colored head. I remember noticing the shape of the bill and keeping that in my mind, and then, when I went home, going to my Peterson guide and figuring out on my own what kinda bird I was seeing. And that was a cowbird!
[Brown-headed Cowbird ML107304]
It was this great moment.
Mark Bramhill: And her love of birds has stuck with her. Sudyka spent many years volunteering with the bird lab at the Field Museum in Chicago. Now, she’s an illustrator, focused on wildlife, especially birds. She recently illustrated the children’s book, How to Find a Bird, by Jennifer Ward. So Sudyka’s work might go on to inspire more bird lovers — just like that guidebook:
Diana Sudyka: I still have my Peterson guide. It’s all dog-eared and marked up. And now my daughter looks at it.
Mark Bramhill: For BirdNote, I’m Mark Bramhill.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Brown-headed Cowbird ML107304 recorded by Wil Hershberger
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote February 2021 Narrator: Mark Bramhill
ID# sparkbird-05-2021-02-17 sparkbird-05
Mark Bramhill
WriterMark Bramhill
NarratorSights & Sounds
