First Signs of Spring

What are the first and most reliable signs of spring? In this episode we’re giving voice to the plants and animals that manage to break through winter's chill to warn of the spring ahead. This episode features both wildlife calls and ambient sounds of nature, so grab your headphones!

Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. We’re available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. 

• Subscription links Here 
• Subscribe to the Newsletter 
• Listen online on our Homepage 

The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode: 

• American Robin call 1 by Wil Hershberger (ML508731)
• American Robin call 2 by Mike Andersen (ML508737)
• Dark eyed junco call by Kevin J. Colver (ML509736)
• American tree sparrow call by Wil Hershberger (ML509480)
• Black capped chickadee call by Steven R. Pantle (ML508158)
• Black capped chickadee group calls by Robert C. Stein and Charles A. Sutherland (ML508159)
• American Robin call 3 by Martha Fischer (ML508741)
• Red winged blackbird flock calls by Randolph Little and James Kimball (ML509916)
• Common grackle flock calls by Wil Hershberger (ML510013)
• Killdeer flying by Wil Hershberger (ML506208)
• Eastern phoebe call by William W. H. Gunn (ML507621)
• Golden-crowned kinglet call by Geoffrey A. Keller (ML508537)
• Golden-crowned kinglet call with song by Matthew D. Medler (ML508542)
• American woodcock "peent" and flying by Gregory Budney (ML506492)
• Yellow-rumped warbler chip by Gerrit Vyn ( ML509293)

Sources and more: 

• https://extension.illinois.edu/podcasts/spotlight-natural-resources/early-spring-wildlife
• Dobson C, Kassenbaum D, Oehmke D, et al. 2023. Field guide to hotspots and birds in Illinois. Champaign-Urbana: Scissortail LLC.
• Peterson RT, Peterson VM. 1980. A field guide to the birds : a completely new guide to all the birds of eastern and central North America. Fourth edition, completely revised and enlarged. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company (The Peterson field guide series ; 1).
• Sibley D. 2016. Sibley birds East : field guide to birds of eastern North America. Second edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf (Field guide to birds of eastern North America).
• National Audubon Society videoguide to the birds of North America. 2004. Fullscreen. Carrboro, NC: Godfrey-Stadin Productions.
• Sibley D. 2016. Sibley birds East : field guide to birds of eastern North America. Second edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf (Field guide to birds of eastern North America).