The Feathered Desert Podcast

What’s That Bird?: House Finch

Summary:A three-minute podcast from the hosts of The Feathered Desert about individual bird species found in the desert Southwest.

Show Notes:Song provided by Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, recorded by Ryan O’Donnell

Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa https://mesa.wbu.com

Our New email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

Summary: Is that red and brown bird a cardinal? What about the 'Black Cardinal’? Join Cheryl and Kiersten to learn about the cardinal, the pyrrhuloxia, and the phainopepla.

Show Notes:

www.allaboutbirds.org

Background bird song:  Naturescapes Backyard Birdswww.naturescapes.com

Our New email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

We are no longer sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa but through personal experience we highly recommend their products. 

Summary: Cheryl and Kiersten discuss some bird feeding myths that have spread misinformation for decades. Can I stop feeding birds once I’ve started and is white sugar really the best stuff for hummingbirds? Join The Feathered Desert to find out the answers!

Show Notes:

Background bird song:  Naturescapes Backyard Birds www.naturescapes.com

Our New email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

We are no longer sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa but through personal experience we highly recommend their products. 

Summary:The question of whether supplemental bird feeding is harmful or helpful has been a hot topic for years. Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they talk Pros and Cons so our listeners can make an educated decision about this hobby.

Show Notes:

Grieg, Emma,Living Bird, Winter 2017, Vol. 36, Issue 1, Do bird feeders help or hurt birds?

 https://www.audubon.org/news/to-feed-or-not-feed

Becker, Daniel; Steicker, Daniel; Attizer, Sonia. Linking anthropogenic resources to wildlife-pathogen dynamics: a review and meta-analysis: Ecology Letters, Vol 8, Issue 5. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12428

Additional Podcasts on this Subject:

Episode 23: How to Keep your Feeder from Becoming a Disease Depot,

Episode 24: Seasonally Savvy,

Episode 25:Hawk Migration: Backyard Bird Hunters,

Episode 27:Window Collisions: A Preventable Death

Background bird song:  Naturescapes Backyard Birdswww.naturescapes.com

Wild Birds Unlimited Mesa, Arizona: www.wbu.com/mesa

Our New email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

We are no longer sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa but through personal experience we highly recommend their products. 

Summary:Have you ever wanted to do something more than just enjoy watching the birds in your backyard? Cheryl and Kiersten talk about what kinds of Citizen Scientist projects are out there for dedicated bird feeders and watchers that want to do more with their information. Listen and find out what you can sign up for and how it helps our birds!

Show Notes:

https://www.audubon.org

https://ebird.org

https://www.birds.cornell.edu

https://feederwatch.org

Snail Mail address: Project Feeder Watch

                                  Cornell Lab of Ornithology

                                  159 Sapsucker Woods Road

                                  Ithaca, NY 14850

Background bird song:  Naturescapes Backyard Birdswww.naturescapes.com

Our New email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

We are no longer sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa but through personal experience we highly recommend their products. 

Summary:Songbirds are not the only ones who migrate. Hawks will be coming back to your yard this winter so join Cheryl and Kiersten as they talk hawks. Learn about what makes them special and how to deal with them at your backyard feeders.

Show Notes:

Fall Hawk Migration begins the end of September into beginning of October

https://allaboutbirds.org/guide

https://www.birdnote.org

https://libertywildlife.org

PDF of Wild Bird Rehabbers in Phoenix Area: https://azwildlife.org/resources/Documents/Wildlife%20Rehab%20Contact%20List.pdf

Our New email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

We are no longer sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa but through personal experience we highly recommend their products. 

Summary: Changing Seasons means changing needs for our feathered friends. Join Kiersten and Cheryl as they talk about what being seasonally savvy means and how we can help our backyard birds’ year be a successful one.

Show Notes:

The Joy of Bird Feeding by Jim Carpenter

Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa www.wbu.com/mesa

Our New email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

We are no longer sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa but through personal experience we highly recommend their products. 

Summary: Have you ever wondered why birds lay eggs? Or how chicks survive in an egg? Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they crack into the mystery of the egg. You’ll learn why birds lay eggs, why they are colored, and how the chick can survive until hatching.

Show Notes: 

Bird Egg ID: https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/attracting-birds/bird-nesting/identify-bird-eggs/

The Book of Eggs: A Life-Size Guide to the Eggs of Six Hundred of the World’s Bird Species by Mark E. Hauber (Serious Egg Enthusiasts only! Seriously big book!)

PBS Nature Egg Episode: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/the-egg-lifes-perfect-invention

Egg Coloring: https://www.indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/how-eggs-get-their-color.php

Goldcrest Link: https://avibirds.com/goldcrest

Background bird song:  Naturescapes Backyard Birds www.naturescapes.com

Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

We are no longer sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa but through personal experience we highly recommend their products. 

Summary: Cheryl and Kiersten shine a light on nighttime pollination activity. The Lesser long-nosed bat is an important desert pollinator that is amazing! Join us as we tell you all about these busy nocturnal pollinators.

Show Notes: Arizona Highways Wildlife Guide: 125 of Arizona’s Native Speciesby Brooke Bessesen was referenced

PBS Nature S39 Ep13 The Bat Man of Mexico: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/about-bat-man-mexico/25220/

Photo: https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/lesser%20long%20nose%20bat.php

 Bat Myths and truths: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/nature/article/bat-myths-busted

Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

We are no longer sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa but through personal experience we highly recommend their products. 

Summary:What’s that tapping? It’s a woodpecker! Join Cheryl and Kiersten as they discuss the fabulous world of woodpeckers. Learn about what makes them so fascinating and how to identify our local Valley residents.

Show Notes:

Woodpecker facts: https://birdfeederhub.com/facts-about-woodpeckers

Woodpecker nest box link (The Northern Flicker Size works for our locals as well): https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/birds/northern-flicker/

 Link on how to prevent invasive European Starlings: https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/managing-house-sparrows-and-european-starlings/

Ornithologyby Frank B. Gill was also referenced

Woodpecker anticdote about decoy on house: The Joy of Bird Feedingby Jim Carpenter

Background bird song:  Naturescapes Backyard Birdswww.naturescapes.com

Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: [email protected]

We are no longer sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, Mesa but through personal experience we highly recommend their products.