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“Thank you for bringing science and community together in a joyful radio show.”
— Colleen, East Walpole, Massachusetts
On our latest show (#1,037 May 11): Danae Wolfe offers tips on bringing nature to your yard; Mike O’Connor exposes the problems with puddles; and we listen to an audio postcard from a class of young birders in Iowa. Hear it here.
Video: Gray Catbird mimickry
All Gray Catbirds are mimics, but we think this one took the advanced class. Greg Budney, former audio curator of the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, analyzes the recording, noting each snippet of mimicked song. (5/8)
University of Montreal Peregrine Falcons
This is one of the best Peregrine Falcon cams we’ve ever seen. When we tuned in about 5:30 Eastern, we saw an adult sitting on eggs, occasionally getting up to turn them. This cam is noisy -- sounds like machine noise -- so no need to turn up your sound. (5/7)
Bird beak shapes aren't random - they follow a hidden pattern
Birds have always impressed people with beaks that come in every imaginable shape and form. This variety is striking, yet researchers have discovered that nearly all adhere to a single mathematical formula. (5/2)
Locals shield their cars from vandal woodpecker in Rockport, Massachusetts
A Pileated Woodpecker is damaging vehicles in Rockport, Massachusetts, by smashing car mirrors and windows, but the locals are taking it in stride. (5/1)
For the first time, all avian evolutionary relationships revealed
Colleagues at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and U.C. Merced have mapped the evolution of every known bird species as part of the Open Tree of Life (OpenTree) Project. This collaborative project is intended to build an accurate, comprehensive evolutionary tree that describes how every named species on Earth is related to every other. How cool is that? (5/6)
We hope he gets detention
Cartoon by Maritsa Patrinos, whom we feel must have teenagers at home.
Bringing Hawaiian birds home
Ray spoke with Bret Mossman of Birds of Hawai'i the Past and the Present on our latest show (#1,035 Apr. 27). What strikes us most about this project is that so many specimens of Hawaiian birds are housed outside Hawaii. The project intends to bring home all these specimens by photographing them. Check out the progress so far. (4/28)
The Wisconsin Kestrel Cam
This American Kestral pair are nesting on private property near Prairie Du Chien. There are five eggs. When we tuned in about 4 PM Central time, we saw an adult sitting on them. Very cool to see such a colorful bird up close! This cam is a collaboration between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Raptor Resource Project. (4/30)
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Bird vocalizations provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Website photography by Shawn Carey/Migration Productions.