BirdNote

BirdNote® Arctic Dispatch: Sandpipers Sing At Teshekpuk Lake Written by Gerrit Vyn Ariana Remmel: This is BirdNote. In the summer of 2026, conservation photographer Gerrit Vyn visited a remote wilderness called the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. He shared this audio postcard from Teshekpuk Lake. Gerrit Vyn: I'm sitting here in the middle of June on an Arctic night in Alaska. The sun is low, it's close to midnight, and the shorebirds have taken flight.

BirdNote® Wilson’s Warbler Near Summer’s End Written by Bob Sundstrom This is BirdNote. It’s the tail end of summer, and the Wilson’s Warbler’s had a busy few months. [Wilson’s Warbler song] In May, courtship and nesting reached full swing. The tiny yellow birds made their homes amidst dense thickets in the humid and boreal coastal forests of northern North America. By early August, those forests were alive with flashes of yellow.

BirdNote® Reinita Caridorada Escrito por Ariana Remmel Esto es BirdNote. La reinita caridorada, también conocida como chipe cachetes amarillos, es toda una estrella. Con su atrevido plumaje amarillo, negro y blanco, —y su canto zumbante— estas pequeñas aves se roban el espectáculo en las colinas de Texas. [Reinita caridorada] La reinita caridorada es una especie en peligro de extinción y la única ave que anida exclusivamente en el centro de Texas.

BirdNote® Arctic Dispatch: Long-tailed Ducks at Teshekpuk Lake Written by Gerrit Vyn Ariana Remmel: This is BirdNote. In the summer of 2026, conservation photographer Gerrit Vyn visited a remote wilderness called the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. He shared this audio postcard in June.

BirdNote® Jaegers Give Chase in September Written by Bob Sundstrom This is BirdNote. A light, September breeze wafts across a coastal estuary. A flock of Common Terns wings over the water, their harsh voices a sharp contrast to their spritely appearance. [Common Tern calls] One plunges headfirst into the water, then bounces aloft grasping a small fish in its bill. [Common Tern calls] But before the tern can swallow its catch, a dark bird with a sharply pointed tail swoops in.

BirdNote® Truffle-Hunting Birds Written by Conor Gearin This is BirdNote. [Patagonia soundscape with Chucao Tapaculo] With their excellent sense of smell, pigs are renowned for sniffing out truffles, a fungus that grows underground and is prized for its taste. [Pig snort] But it turns out that some bird species can also find their way to a truffle treat.

BirdNote® Spark Bird: Em De Blas and the Vermilion Flycatcher Written by Ariana Remmel This is BirdNote. Em De Blas has years of experience leading bird outings in Chicago. But Em first started birding when they were 19 while visiting family near San Luis Potosí in Mexico. Em De Blas: My mom had gifted me a pair of binoculars because that's something outdoorsy people like. And I had always been an outdoorsy person.

BirdNote® Hearing Birdsong Can Help Decrease Anxiety Written by Conor Gearin This is BirdNote. [Hermit Thrush song] Many people would tell you that hearing birdsong, like the one from this Hermit Thrush, puts them in a good mood. Recently, scientists have tried to put numbers to this effect that many of us have noticed. One study has shown that people reported relief from feelings of worry and paranoia after hearing just a few minutes of birdsong.

BirdNote® Seda de arañas y nidos de aves Escrito por Bob Sundstrom Esto es BirdNote. La telaraña es una obra de ingeniería de precisión. Y la seda de araña con la que está construída es asombrosa. Hecha de grandes proteínas, es pegajosa, elástica y resistente. Por eso no es sorprendente que muchas aves pequeñas recolecten hebras de seda de araña para usarlas en la construcción de sus nidos, como los colibríes, los reyezuelos, las perlitas y algunos vireos.

BirdNote® BirdNoir: Who’s Soaring Overhead? Written by Ariana Remmel This is BirdNoir. I’m Private Eye Michael Stein. [Song “Merlin” by Art Blakey] My buddy Calvin likes to keep to himself. He had just moved out to a lakeside cabin for extra privacy when he called me: Calvin: Michael, I think I’m being watched. Some big brown hawk has flown over the cabin almost every day this week — and it’s starting to creep me out. What makes you say it’s a hawk? Calvin: Well, it’s always soaring high overhead.