BirdNote Daily

BirdNote: Daily two-minute stories about birds, the environment, and more.

BirdNote: Daily two-minute stories about birds, the environment, and more.

BirdNote: Daily two-minute stories about birds, the environment, and more.

BirdNote: Daily two-minute stories about birds, the environment, and more.

BirdNote: Daily two-minute stories about birds, the environment, and more.

BirdNote: Daily two-minute stories about birds, the environment, and more.

BirdNote: Daily two-minute stories about birds, the environment, and more.

Romantic or practical?Download European Starlings regularly adorn their twig nests with marigolds, elderberry flowers, yarrow leaves, and even willow bark — all of which are full of aromatic chemicals, which fumigate their nests and are thought to discourage pests and parasites. Scientists discovered that starlings hatched in well-fumigated nests tend to weigh more, and live longer, than those raised without fragrant herbs. Transcript:  BirdNote® Starlings Say It with Flowers Written by Rick Wright This is BirdNote. [European starling (206992), throughout] European Starlings are a common sight in suburban yards, waddling methodically through the grass to dig for grubs and other tasty bits. Watch long enough, though, and you may see a starling pause in the hunt to neatly pluck a marigold or other bright flower — and then fly up to deposit the bloom in the nest. How romantic. But there’s more to it. Ornithologists have found that starlings regularly adorn their twig nests with fresh vegetation — the more fragrant the better. Marigolds, of course, but also elderberry flowers, yarrow leaves, and even willow bark. All of which — as your nose will tell you — are full of aromatic chemicals. The starlings are actually fumigating their nests. Why? The chemicals have been thought to help discourage pests and parasites. Scientists have discovered that the smelly plants may offer an even more direct benefit to nestlings — by stimulating their immune systems. It turns out that starlings hatched in well-fumigated nests tend to weigh more and live longer than those raised without benefit of fragrant herbs.  The gift of flowers: romantic and practical all at once. For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein. Support for BirdNote comes from Bloomsbury, a publisher of natural history books and birding guides. Critical Critters by Ralph Steadman and Ceri Levy is available now.    ### Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. European Starling [206992] by Greg Budney. BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler. Producer: John Kessler Managing Producer: Jason Saul Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone © 2017 Tune In to Nature.org   October 2017    Narrator: Michael Stein ID#  EUST-06-2017-10-17      EUST-06 Air date: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 © Wayne Hodgkinson CC Related bird:  European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Topics & Themes:  nesting

Nature offers a solutionDownload As an old story from Germany goes, workers building the world’s tallest church were preparing to install an immensely long beam, but they couldn’t get it through the city gate. Preparing to dismantle the city wall to clear a path to the construction site, workers saw a House Sparrow carry a long piece of straw up to a crevice, then turn the straw lengthwise. The builders slapped their foreheads and did the same. Transcript:  BirdNote® The Wisdom of the Sparrow Written by Rick Wright This is BirdNote. [House Sparrow (162851)] Sometimes, when a problem seems just too difficult for human ingenuity, it pays to look to nature for a solution. Here’s an old story from Germany, about the building of the world’s tallest church 650 years ago. Construction like that is not without its challenges. One day,  the workers were preparing to install an immensely long beam, meant to span the entire length of the church. The only problem: they couldn’t get it through the city gate. The solution they came up with was to dismantle the city wall to clear a path to the construction site. But just then, as the frustrated builders watched, a House Sparrow carried a long piece of straw up to a crevice. The bird tried and tried to fit the straw into its nest and was foiled again and again. Finally, the sparrow turned the straw lengthwise and slipped it easily into the nest. The builders slapped their foreheads and did the same, turning the beam lengthwise. It’s a joke, of course, but a good enough joke that the good-humored people of Ulm have adopted the House Sparrow as the city’s unofficial mascot — a reminder that even little minds can sometimes solve big problems. For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein. Support for BirdNote comes from Bloomsbury, a publisher of natural history books and birding guides. Critical Critters by Ralph Steadman and Ceri Levy is available now. ### Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. House sparrow [162851] by Greg Budney. BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler. Producer: John Kessler Managing Producer: Jason Saul Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone © 2017 Tune In to Nature.org    xx 201m   Narrator: Michael Stein ID#  HOSP-05-2017-10-12              HOSP-05 Air date: Friday, October 13, 2017 © D.J. Cockburn Related bird:  House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Topics & Themes:  history International: Europe

“Cawing” all seagulls! Download There are more than two dozen species of gulls living in North America. Some people might dismiss them as just “seagulls.” But not the people of Port Orchard, a small town on Washington State’s Puget Sound. Each year, hundreds of people gather at the town’s waterfront in late May for the annual Seagull Calling Festival. Contestants — most of them in grade school — chirp, caw, and flap their way down the beach. Transcript:  BirdNote® “Seagull” Calling Contest Written and Recorded by Jason Saul This is BirdNote. [Sounds of Washington State gulls — Glaucous-winged, Western...] There are more than two dozen species of gulls living in North America. Some people might dismiss them as just “seagulls.” But not the people of Port Orchard, a small town on Washington’s Puget Sound. [Crowd and Caw] In Port Orchard, gulls are celebrated. Each year, hundreds of people gather at the town’s waterfront in late May for the annual Seagull Calling Festival. [Caw] Contestants — most of them in grade school — chirp, caw, and flap their way down the beach. [Caw] The town’s mascot is Seymour the Seagull. He’s at the festival, too. [Seymour’s half-hearted CAW] Organizers say they respect the ecological niche gulls fill — and it’s just fun for the kids. [Caw] The gulls along the beach definitely look amused. [Caw] For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein. Support for BirdNote comes from Bloomsbury, a publisher of natural history books and birding guides. Critical Critters by Ralph Steadman and Ceri Levy is available now.                                                                                ### Bird sounds recorded by BirdNote’s Jason Saul. BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler. Producer: John Kessler Managing Producer: Jason Saul Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone © 2017 Tune In to Nature.org   October 2017   Narrator: Michael Stein ID#            gull-09-2017-10-09     gull-09 http://www.wec.ufl.edu/birds/SurveyDocs/species_list.pdf Air date: Tuesday, October 10, 2017 © Jacob McGinnis CC Related bird:  Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) U.S. Region: Pacific Northwest Topics & Themes:  festival, humor, vocalization