BirdNote Daily

This Osprey looks similar to other birds of prey. But the species is truly unique among raptors. For example, the Osprey is the only raptor with oily feathers. And the Osprey’s long, slender, arched wings help it clear the water as it takes flight after catching a fish. The Osprey we see today — just one species worldwide — has changed little since tens of millions of years ago, suggesting that over this period, it has remained particularly well suited to its environment.

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When wildlife conservationist Olya Weekley was a little kid, she noticed something incredible from her grandmother’s kitchen window: a pair of House Martins had built a mud nest in the eaves of their third floor apartment. That experience sparked Olya’s life-long love of birds. Now she leads the nestbox program at Tucson Bird Alliance, which designs nestboxes for desert birds and helps people create nesting opportunities at home.

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One of Hawaii’s rarest forest birds is this ‘akiapola’au. Some of the roughly 1,000 'akis left on earth live and breed in kipukas on the lower slopes of Mauna Loa, Hawaii’s largest active volcano. A kipuka is an island of native forest surrounded not by water but by recent lava flows - a green oasis in a sea of black lava. Kipukas are critical areas of native habitat. And the ‘akiapola’au is especially adapted to this habitat and its flora. As the bird forages up and down tree trunks and across the branches, the short half of its bill hammers like that of a woodpecker, and the upper probes for insects under the bark and lichen. In living with a volcano, 'aki and kipuka perform one of nature’s most remarkable balancing acts.

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Billions of pounds of plastic end up in our global oceans every year. Birds – like this Short-tailed Shearwater –  that mistake this pollution for food often die from malnutrition, poisoning, or damage to their digestive systems. We can all make the world a safer place for birds and people by keeping plastic out of our waterways. You can replace single-use plastics with reusable items, join a community clean up day in your area, or maybe skip party balloons at your next event.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Ornithologist J. Drew Lanham's favorite bird is “the one with feathers.” But here, he shares a few species that have been especially on his mind lately — “selected birds of the moment annotated by why.”

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Eagle Cliff in New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch State Park is an important nesting site for Peregrine Falcons. Each year, popular climbing routes in the area close temporarily to give nesting falcons their space. After peregrines disappeared from the northeast due to the pesticide DDT, Eagle Cliff was the first natural rock face to host a successful peregrine nest. Now, state agencies and New Hampshire Audubon work with rock climbing groups to decide when to close cliffs in the summer.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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The Mississippi Kite is one of America's most elegant raptors. These dove-gray birds spend the summer hunting over plains and woodlands in the southern United States. They often nest colonially — unusual for hawks — with a half-dozen pairs in sight of one another in a grove of tall trees. By nesting in groups, they can work together to mob an approaching predator.

This show is dedicated to the memory of Rusty Rose, a great friend to birds everywhere, including a group of Mississippi Kites he followed, watched, and protected on his ranch in Texas.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Some bird-lovers have tagged the Marsh Wren the "Heinz 57 variety" bird, because scientists have recorded 57 different variations of its song. And nightfall doesn't faze these birds. A male may sing straight through the night. Marsh Wrens usually forage out of view, hopping up only for brief moments. You're most likely to see only movement among the cattails. It's just one of many species to benefit from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Marbled Murrelets are secretive little birds that spend most of their lives at sea — but they breed in redwood forests! While North America’s remaining redwoods are protected in parks, predators are moving in. Stellar’s Jays and Common Ravens are just two opportunists that thrive on our food that human visitors leave behind. And once they’ve eaten our leftover trail mix, their next meal may be a murrelet egg or chick. The Keep It Crumb Clean campaign is a state park initiative that’s educating people about the importance of leaving no food unattended. That means storing food in secure containers, disposing of waste in animal-proof bins, and cleaning up all food — even crumbs!

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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By moving from the faster high air to slower low air, or vice versa, an albatross can propel itself forward. In a series of sinuous loops, the albatross surfs the wind, up and down, repeating the pattern over and over again as it moves thousands of miles across the ocean.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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