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On our latest show (#1,104 Aug. 23): Hummingbirds drinking fermented nectar; Mike explaining goldfinch behavior; and a Violet-green Swallow singing in San Diego. Hear it here.
A rare bird in Orange County
A Purple Gallinule has showed up in Irvine, CA. While they do sometimes travel far from their normal range, this is only the eighth documented Purple Gallinule in all of California. (8/29)
Prepare for the Christmas Bird Count
Start planning now for one of our favorite community science projects: the Christmas Bird Count. This year's, taking place in late December and early January, will be the 127th. You can learn to help lead it. (8/25)
Studying night migration
Here's info on the study of nighttime migration flight calls by Indiana Audubon that Ray and his guest discussed on our latest show (#1103, August 16). If you're participating, let us know! Using that automatic sound recorder looks like fun. (8/18)
A beach-cleaning robot in Canada
It looks like a giant sifter on wheels...which it is! An electric, remote-controlled robot is cleaning up plastic trash on beaches in the Great Lakes region. Watch the video. "BeBot" strikes us as rather noisy, but it certainly is efficient, cleaning up (sifting) 3000 square meters of beach per hour -- over 32,000 square feet. We're impressed. (8/10)
Bees and birds are drinking alcohol from flowers
On our show #1,104 (Aug. 23), Ray visited our Debbie Blicher in the Talkin' Birds Science Corner. Here's the article they mentioned about hummingbirds and alcoholic beverages -- we mean fermented plant nectar. Bottoms up! (8/24)
A Canadian feeder cam
We saw primary colors at this lively webcam in Alberta, Canada: Bluejays, Red-winged blackbirds, and American Goldfinches. This is a great one to listen to while you work at your desk. It's in Mountain time. (8/26)
Why is August quiet?
Are you noticing that it's quieter where you are? Fewer birds are making noise? You're not imagining this change; there's a reason. Here's The Farmer's Almanac on what's going on and why. (8/18)
Register now for September 18-20
There's still time to register for the Urban Birding Festival in Chicago, IL. It'll be the third year for this wonderful festival which, in addition to lots of bird-related options, provides lots of access to activities for non-birding partners of birders. (8/13)
Our sponsors and partners:
Bird vocalizations provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Website photography by Shawn Carey/Migration Productions.