The songs of two common finches provide a steady soundtrack in cities across North America: the House Finch and the American Goldfinch. While they can sound similar, a couple of key features help set them apart. House Finches sing sweetly but often have a sharp, buzzy note near the end. Goldfinches sing rapidly, often repeating a note several times. They also often make their distinctive call, which sounds like someone quickly saying “potato chip!”

Support for BirdNote is provided by Mary Pigott of Seattle, Washington — and generous listeners around the world. 

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Outdoor cats kill billions of birds each year in North America — and they live much shorter lives than indoor cats. But life as an indoor cat doesn’t have to be boring. On Bring Birds Back, cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy discusses how just 15 minutes of creative play with your cat can make a huge difference. Plus, letting cats watch birds through the window can act as “Cat TV.”

Listen to the full episode in Bring Birds Back season 1!

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Two eagles locking talons high above the ground might look like they’re risking injury, but it’s a normal courtship behavior called the “cartwheel display.” Fully entangled, the two birds begin spinning to the earth, disengaging just before they smack the ground. Their clasp could last for hours. At last, the eagles unlock talons and fly off. Rival adults sometimes perform the same flight.

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A pair of Bald Eagles will reuse their nest each year and repair it with new tree branches. But recently in British Columbia, scientists came across an eagle nest made largely out of dried kelp. Back in the ‘90s, that very nest had been made out of tree branches. What changed? Sea Otters were reintroduced to the landscape, which helped kelp forests flourish — and occasionally wind up in an eagle’s nest.

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J’orge Garcia loves making things. For several years at the Chicago Public Library, he helped people to design and build their own creations with educational tools like the Finch Robot. With basic coding skills, J’orge and his students could program the little, bird-shaped bot to sing, light up, or drive along a path. The experience inspired him to look for finches in his own neighborhood. On Bring Birds Back, J’orge shares how his passion for technology and nature led him to found the Windy City Bird Lab, a community-science group that’s inventing new tools to study urban birds.

Listen to the full episode in season 8 of Bring Birds Back!

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Long-tailed Ducks are back for the winter from the north, where they nested on tundra ponds and marshes. These diving ducks spend the winter in deep salt water, often in sheltered bays. Long-tailed Ducks are far more vocal than most ducks, a feature that has earned them a host of charming nicknames, including "John Connally," "My Aunt Huldy," and, from the Cree language, "Ha-hah-way."

This episode is dedicated to Dan Moore for his many years of board service and generous support of BirdNote. 

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Isla Guadalupe off the Western coast of Mexico is famous for its massive colonies of petrels, shearwaters, and Laysan Albatrosses. Now, conservationists hope it can become a safe haven for Black-footed Albatrosses too – like Bruno and La Güera. In 2021, the pair were among a dozen Black-footed Albatross chicks flown from Hawai‘i’s Midway Atoll to Mexico by researchers with the non-profit Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas. It’s part of a larger effort to establish a new Black-footed Albatross colony in Mexico as rising seas threaten their native breeding grounds. The budding romance between Bruno and La Güera has the team hopeful that they’ll be just the first of many Black-footed Albatross couples helping their species settle into a new home in Mexico.

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There are nearly ninety species of wrens in the world, and quite a few are exceptional singers. Nearly all of them reside in the Western Hemisphere, with the majority living in Central and South America. The White-bellied Wren ranks among the tiniest, at just under four inches, while the Giant Wren is nearly nine inches long — as big as a Red-winged Blackbird. And the most legendary singer? It’s a tough decision, but many would choose this Musician Wren from South America.

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The video game Alba: A Wildlife Adventure lets you have adventures in a stunning virtual landscape while curled up at home with a cup of hot cocoa. The game puts you in the shoes of a birdwatcher and conservationist on a Mediterranean island. As you traverse the animated ecosystems, listen for the calls of over 50 birds, like the Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Northern Shoveler, and Great Cormorant. The game is available on phones, consoles, or your computer.

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Wendell Berry wrote: "When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests." Where do you go to rest and renew yourself in nature? Where do you come into the peace of wild things?

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