BirdNote

05/29/2026

Brianna Amingwa, is an environmental educator, co-organizer of Black Birders Week and mom of two little bird-loving boys. For Black Birders Week, Brianna shares moments of fun and learning while birding as a family.

Young birders © Courtesy of Brianna Amingwa
Image Description: Two little boys in matching outfits holding binoculars outside.

05/29/2026

Setting out bird food isn’t the only way to provide food for birds! Planting bird-friendly plants can be a great way to attract birds to your natural space and provide more of the habitat they need to survive.

Head to bit.ly/birdfriendlyposter to download a beautiful poster full of birds and bird-friendly plants by illustrator Charlotte Holden, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Enjoy beautiful, full-color illustrations of bird-friendly plants in the U.S. and Canada with a poster you can explore digitally or download to print.

05/28/2026

BirdNote is proud to partner with The Black AF in STEM Collective during each year in production of seven special episodes, brought to you by organizers of the week! Check out this year's episodes on your local public radio station or on the BirdNote Daily podcast.

05/28/2026

This is Black Birders Week! Harriet Tubman was a heroic abolitionist in the cause to end chattel slavery. She was also an excellent astronomer and naturalist — and an expert birder. She mastered the hoot of the Barred Owl, using it as a signal throughout the Underground Railroad to let freedom seekers know she had arrived.

Barred Owl © Fyn Kynd
Image Description: A Barred Owl facing the viewer while perched on a branch

Tubman used a bird call as a signal to freedom seekers.

05/27/2026

“And yet here we are and we found a way to thrive and live here and make our way here just like the cattle egret. So to me, the cattle egret is the- the spirit of Black lives set loose into the air.”

Listen to the full story to learn about bird appearances in film and television: https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/bring-birds-back/celluloid-birding-christian-cooper

And don’t forget to listen to the whole season out now to hear insightful conversations, including more about the Endangered Species Act, hunting as a tool for conservation, Chicago's Windy City Bird Lab, and migration tracking tools like BirdCast. Plus, you won't want to miss our season finale featuring renowned birder, author and Emmy-award winning host, Christian Cooper!

Season 8 of Brings Birds Back is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bird Academy and Teton Science Schools.

05/27/2026

This is Black Birders Week!

In this episode, Marcus Rosten shares his involvement in a study of the American Woodcock with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The study revealed the surprising journeys of one of North America’s quirkiest birds. One woodcock caught near Buffalo flew nearly 400 miles south without stopping, en route to spend the winter in North Carolina. Migrations like the woodcocks’ help connect people all over the continent and highlight the importance of making sure these birds can find safe places to live throughout their range.

American Woodcock © Fyn Kynd
Image Description: A small round bird with large eyes and very long beak stands amidst fallen leaves

An odd bird takes a big journey south.

05/26/2026

¿Qué nos atrae hacia una pareja romántica?

Las aves tienen muchas formas de llamar la atención de su compañero. La mayoría de las grullas cantan en dueto con sus potenciales parejas durante años antes de que comiencen a reproducirse. Las alquitas crestadas (Aethia cristatella) de ambos sexos producen un perfume cítrico muy penetrante. Y los bobos patas azules (Sula nebouxii) bailan, presumiendo sus patas el uno al otro.

Grullas grises (Antigone canadensis) © Jen Goellnitz
Image Description: Dos grullas grises bailando en la orilla de un lago

05/26/2026

This is Black Birders Week!
Masonville Cove in South Baltimore is a special place to study birds. Once a dumping ground for sediment dredged from the Baltimore Harbor, the Cove is now a popular urban wildlife refuge. Community educator and wildlife ecologist Sharon Dorsey is part of a research team that’s monitoring bird populations at the refuge with a scientific technique called bird banding. It’s a specialized, federally-regulated method to safely catch and release wild birds. The information gathered by bird banders is recorded in a global database. So if the banded bird is encountered again – at another station or during a different season – researchers will know that it once took refuge in Baltimore.

Sharon Dorsey © Courtesy of Sharon Dorsey
Image Description: A photo of Sharon Dorsey applying a band to the leg of a Red-winged Blackbird.

05/25/2026

This is Black Birders Week! Birder and naturalist Marcus Rosten loves to watch the American Herring Gulls that flock to Freedom Park in Buffalo, New York. Once a final stop for freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, the park is also known for supporting birds that face an uncertain future. For Black Birders Week, Marcus reflects on what we lose when species of conservation concern — like American Herring Gulls – are overlooked and underappreciated.

American Herring Gull © Ingrid Dietrich
Image Description: A headshot of an adult American Herring Gull.

05/24/2026

This is Black Birders Week. In this episode, urban ecologist Dr. Deja Perkins talks about how many bird species live right within bustling cities. Whether you’re on your porch, at your local park, or the parking lot of your favorite store, you can find birds. Deja suggests taking five minutes to focus your attention on birds. Look up in the sky, along power lines and the tops of buildings. Close your eyes and listen — past the sounds of traffic — for the songs of nearby birds.

Deja Perkins © Deja Perkins
Image Description: Deja Perkins sitting on the ground in filtered sunlight, with bushes and water in the background. Deja's back is against a tree trunk as she holds binoculars to her eyes, and she's wearing a pink tank top and blue pants.

It takes just five minutes of mindfulness!

05/23/2026

Tennessee Warblers love drinking nectar, but they do it without helping to pollinate flowers. By tapping a hole into the base of a flower, these warblers enjoy an easy meal while bypassing the flower’s pollen. But they give back to their ecosystems in other ways – such as eating countless insects!

Tennessee Warbler © Greg Lavaty
Image Description: A Tennessee Warbler perches upside down on a branch looking for food

These songbirds drink nectar without helping pollinate flowers