Laura Erickson's For the Birds

A splendid bird that was on the original Endangered Species List is now doing well by making the best of a bad situation.

In the past 3 weeks, the U.S. House Natural Resource Committee and the U.S. Senate both voted to rescind Endangered Species protections from the imperiled Lesser Prairie-Chicken, a slap in the face to the scientists and managers charged with safeguarding our natural resources, and to all Americans who love this splendid all-American bird, found nowhere on the planet except in the United States, vanishing before our eyes.

An unexpected four-day trip to Kissimmee, Florida, gave Laura a lifer!

Traveling to Florida raised several ethical issues for Laura.

Laura talks about the listing and numerical elements of her birding life.

Yesterday's ice storm in Duluth was harsher on birds than it was on us. (This program mentions the loon fallout happening right now. To report a downed loon, call REGI at 715-623-4015 or Loon Rescue at 715-966-5415.)

What's happening at the western tip of Lake Superior right now?

Bird flu is far from over. If we are feeding backyard birds, we need to be paying attention to them.

Yellow-rumped Warblers return well before other warblers because they literally have intestinal fortitude.

Robins appeal to our eyes and ears, and also to our hearts and souls.

April is cruelest for lonely souls who may not discern all the pairings and romantic songs and surging new life all around. Perhaps we must feel a part of nature, rather than bitter onlookers, to take joy in the reawakening of song and romance and nesting and new life. (This program was recast from a 2004 "For the Birds" program for which the audio is lost.)

Mother Nature loves to play tricks on us on April Fool's Day, but sometimes it's worth braving the weather, whether we're swans or humans.

Jim Baker, from Baker's Blue Jay Barn, "Up the Shore a Ways," has an exciting announcement! (Stations can play this on Friday if they want.)

Laura's been keeping track of a banded Pileated Woodpecker since November 2021, and now he seems to have found love.

Laura found herself with a hurt Hairy Woodpecker last week, which reminded her of her old rehab days and why she no longer does this every day.

It's the sixth snowiest winter on record in Duluth, and Laura is hungry for spring.

Last month, a Eurasian Eagle-Owl escaped from the Central Park Zoo in New York City and, despite many efforts to capture him, seems to be doing fine on his own so far. David McArthur, one of Laura's podcast listeners in New York, wonders if he can count this bird on his life list? The Eurasian Eagle-Owl recording used in this program was made in France by Dominique Guillerme, XC780278 via xeno-canto.org. And the photo of Flaco is from Wikipedia, taken by Rhododendrites.

This year, some plucky little Eurasian Tree Sparrows, far from their species' established range, have been wintering in Superior, Wisconsin. Laura and Erik Bruhnke spent Saturday morning looking for them.

Just in time for spring, Laura's friend, wildlife biologist, and all-around good person Jerry Wayne Davis has a great suggestion for improving our nest boxes--add bark to the front to give birds a more secure and comfortable perch.

It may not look like it yet, but spring has sprung.

Most birders do not keep track of the date on which they saw the first bird on their life list, but that doesn't matter.

Family vacations can be fun for everyone, as long as we remember that every one of us enjoys different things.

Birds and grandchildren learn to trust us to do the right thing.

Laura talks about things to consider when buying new binoculars

Laura went out with her husband Russ Sunday in hopes of seeing an owl on Superb Owl Sunday.

Some birds depend on conifers for very specific reasons.

Today Laura talks about the importance of conifers—both trees and shrubs—in backyard habitat, for providing food and shelter both.

A birder named Bridget Butler has been teaching wonderful workshops and online classes about "Slow Birding"—connecting with the birds we see rather than rushing and listing. She did not write the new book titled *Slow Birding*, a new book by Joan E. Strassmann, which would better have been titled *Detailed Descriptions of Some Ornithological Research Projects on Some Familiar Birds*. Many of the tagged species are not mentioned in the podcast but are discussed in the blogpost.

As night transitions into morning, Laura likes watching the birds show up in her yard, one by one.

Cats and glass windows each kill about a BILLION birds every year in the United States. Before inviting birds to your yard, consider making your windows bird safe.

As important as quality backyard habitat is, we must first make sure we're not luring birds to their deaths. Cats and windows each kill about a BILLION birds in the United States every year. Laura talks about outdoor cats today.

Most Mourning Doves leave northern Minnesota in winter, but listener Kelli Alseth wrote to Laura about one visiting her Proctor feeder this winter. Doves are very vulnerable to cold, but a few stick it out up here. Kelli is doing everything right to ensure that her bird has as good a chance of surviving as possible

After growing irritated with the birdwatchers who smugly criticize the way *other* birdwatchers watch birds, Laura talks about the many ways people can enjoy birds, hoping every individual can find their own individual path.

Blue Jays and chickadees have two different ways to eat a sunflower seed.

There are at least four ways that birds eat sunflower seeds. Today Laura explains two of them.

Seeing videos of a rescued baby beaver building a dam out of plush toys and Christmas decorations last week reminded Laura of when she was a rehabber, and how wild birds adapted to an unnatural environment. Virtually all of the transcripts of "For the Birds" programs are available on my blog, usually with photos. I didn't take a lot of pictures back when I was rehabbing in the 80s and 90s--film and getting it developed were expensive! But for this program I did post photos of my little daughter holding this particular Sora. Listeners may enjoy seeing them.

For the first time ever, Laura didn't wonder what her first bird of the new year would be--she was thinking about which individual Pileated Woodpecker she'd see first in 2023.

The Belted Kingfisher has been selected as the 2023 Bird of the Year by the American Birding Association, stirring up lots of memories for Laura.

Laura talks about her brand new book.

This year's Duluth Christmas Bird Count was a little low on both species and total numbers, but as always, Laura got to see and photograph some wonderful birds.

Laura did her annual trek on Saturday, December 17.

Wisdom, the oldest wild bird in the known universe, returned to Midway Island again!

One of Laura's college Shakespeare classes made a huge difference in her life.

Laura explains why she has taken more Shakespeare courses than most non-English majors.

Laura attended the University of Illinois from 1969-1971, when their mascot was the offensive and stereotypical "Chief Illiniwek." Due to pressure from students, alumni, staff, and the community, the U. of I. got rid of that mascot in 2008, but haven't replaced it with anything. A wonderful student, and now alumnus, named Spencer Halsey spearheaded a campaign to name a real-life blue-and-orange local bird, the Belted Kingfisher, the new official mascot. This is a splendid idea that deserves support.

It takes verifiable documentation for anyone, bird or human, to make the grade in *Guinness World Records*. But based on the standard for the entry "lowest temperature endured by a bird," the Black-capped Chickadee is definitely a contender.

Laura's been spending a lot of time perusing the *Guinness Book of World Records* this week.

Laura talks about the four godwit species in the world.

Laura's 71st birthday, as usual, has her thinking about birds.

A bird with a cool name is unique in other ways, too.

Minnesota's first record of a Phainopepla stuck around the McQuade boat landing from October 29 through November 1. Where is she now? No one will ever know.

A new Pileated Woodpecker spent some time in Laura's yard making her wonder how Pileateds figure out bird feeders.

New apps can identify songs for us, whether those songs were produced by a person or a bird. (The program opens with a Sesame Street recording of "What's the Name of That Song?" and uses the "Li'l Darlin'" tract from the album *The Atomic Mr. Basie*.

When birders gather to see one rare bird, they often spot another one.

Laura's favorite thing about the Woodson Art Museum's annual "Birds in Art" exhibit is how each artist has a unique spin on the theme.

Laura talks about her visit last month to the Leigh Yawkkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau to see the 2022 Birds in Art exhibit.

Laura's annual sojourn to the Woodson Art Museum in Wausau to see this year's Birds in Art exhibit got her thinking about the history of bird art.

Laura's quiet morning routine would be far less satisfying if the coffee she drank had robbed tropical birds of habitat or hurt the people growing and harvesting it.

Starting the day with a cup of coffee while watching chickadees, Blue Jays, and a Pileated Woodpecker just inches away--what could be better? (Any time I mention a photo or video, it appears on that program's blog post. Today's shows video of the Pileated bobbing her head.)

Blue Jays broke a record this month--over 60,000 of them migrated over Hawk Ridge in Duluth. What does this mean? And what the heck does it have to do with baseball?

This week, a little saw-whet owl turned up behind Laura's backyard.

Saturday morning was a splendid start to the month, at least on Laura's corner of Peabody Street.

Baseball players sometimes get hit by pitches--nowadays no one more than Laura's favorite player of all, Anthony Rizzo. But those players have a much greater survival rate than the hapless dove who got beaned by a baseball. (The accompanying blog post has a LOT more information than I could fit into the podcast.)

Laura's grandson Walter has a brand new name for her.

This is the fiftieth anniversary of Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve in Duluth. People will be celebrating this weekend.

Stony Point was filled with happy birders on Saturday morning.

It's hard to get anything accomplished when an extremely rare Fork-tailed Flycatcher appears.

Laura thinks the old rule about bringing hummingbird feeders in by Labor Day is ridiculous. She'll be leaving hers out until at least the end of November. She was still seeing a hummingbird on September 18.

Two of the greatest highlights of Laura's Alaska trip were Horned and Tufted Puffins. Puffins are popular enough that Alaska gift shops sold lots of them--but not one that Laura could find was one of these two native Alaskan species--they were all Atlantic Puffins!

The time around Labor Day Weekend is what Laura thinks of as the "Anything Can Happen" time of year. (The recording at start and finish is of a Semipalmated Plover, from the Macaulay Library of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Cedar Waxwing recording was made my Lang Elliott.)

How do we encourage declining birds to start using newly-restored habitat? Daniel Wanschura's "Points North" podcast for Interlochen Public Radio about Dustin Brewer's Michigan rail study can be read or heard at the IPR website [here.](https://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/show/points-north/2022-08-19/thin-as-a-rail)

Where to go to see the three species of puffins.

The features that make puffins so distinctive are also what allow them to live their oceanic lives.

How did puffins get their scientific and vernacular names?

Laura is entranced by two tiny beings this month: hummingbirds and her grandson Walter.

Was falling down hard while photographing a bird worth it?

After the big boat trip to Kenai Fjords National Park, there was still a bit of birding to do.

The birds Laura saw on her Alaska boat trip into Kenai Fjords National Park were even more thrilling than the humpback whales.

The boat trip into Kenai Fjords National Park was the most beautiful and exciting part of Laura's Alaska adventure. The first part of the morning wasn't even spent with birds, but rather, a splendid mammal.

The Kenai Peninsula was a great place for memorable birding for Laura.

Laura managed to see the peak of Denali on two days, first from an airplane and then close to the ground. Denali's wildlife is just as spectacular as the mountain itself.

Laura spent 6 of her 14 nights in Alaska in Anchorage. It's a huge city by Alaska standards, but the birding was excellent.

An amazing bird, at least 1,200 miles from its normal range, turned up at Russell Stewart's house in Carlton County last week.

The last day of Laura's trip to Nome was spent searching for a most wanted bird, the Bristle-thighed Curlew.

Laura talks about one of her most wanted birds in Alaka, a most unique species.

Most of the lifers Laura saw in Nome were along the Nome-Council Road.

Laura birded along the Nome-Teller Road on the afternoon of June 12 and all day on June 13.

Laura gives an overview of the four days she spent in Nome. The bird recording used in the program, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is of the White Wagtail.

Some of the fundamental freedoms Americans celebrate today are in jeopardy.

Laura and Russ spent some time birding on their own in Anchorage before joining their group for a Nome adventure.

When you hear this, Laura should be in Nome, Alaska.

Laura's found a great new way to identify bird songs too high for her to hear.

Laura reviews the all new online version of *Wisconsin's Favorite Bird Haunts*, National Geographic's *Complete Birds of North America*, and Sharon Stiteler's *North American Bird Watching for Beginners*.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, some of them sweeter than others.

Chicago's most famous avian residents, the Piping Plovers that nested in the dunes at Montrose Beach, are gone.

Until just this week, Laura's been taking a dainty little warbler for granted.

Laura's little grandson is growing up in a world of birds and flowers and smiling people.

This spring may be unusually cold, but that's led to an exceptionally colorful few weeks on Peabody Street.(The recording at the start and end of this program is a Cape May Warbler, whose song is so high frequency that it's out of the hearing range of a lot of people.)

Last week, Laura found yet another rare bird in her yard less than 24 hours after she saw the first one.

Tuesday just got better and better.

Tuesday, May 17, is a day Laura will long remember.

There's something uniquely special about individual wild birds that we recognize personally. Sometimes the bonds we forge with these can last a long time.

This week Laura saw a bird that belongs in an entirely different St. Louis County.

Laura is making picture cards to teach her little grandson about birds and other animals.

How early do you have to get up to hear the very beginning of the dawn chorus? Earlier than you might think.

Laura, back from her close encounter with Covid, finishes her sparrow identification series.

The end of April and beginning of May are when sparrows descend upon the Northland in big numbers. Identifying these little brown jobs isn't as daunting as it might seem.

When Laura photographed a male and female Pileated Woodpecker feeding together in her suet feeder, she realized just how happy she is.

Laura brings us up to date on the conflicting recommendations from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Cornell Cooperative Extension with regard to bird flu and keeping bird feeders going. She also talks about some birds dying at feeders not from diseases but from the bird feeder itself.

What spring birdsong is Laura happiest to hear?

Laura's researched as much as she can about this year's outbreak of a dangerous variant of bird flu. She wrote a lot about it on her blog at blog.lauraerickson.com

Laura asked Scott Weidensaul about the people he features in his new children's picture book, *A Warbler's Journey*, and also more about Yellow Warblers and their treacherous migration.

Laura had a long conversation with Scott Weidensaul earlier this month. Here is Part 1 of their conversation about Scott's new book, *A Warbler's Journey.*

One of Laura's favorite writers, Scott Weidensaul, has written a children's picture book that Laura loves.

Laura talks about some more old and more recent children's picture books about birds—both favorites and some not. Note: Laura pronounces the name of the main character in *The Trumpet of the Swan*, Louis, as *loo' iss*. E.B. White pronounced it *loo' ey*, but he said he named the character for Louis Armstrong. Although many people called Armstrong "Louie," he was very clear that he wanted people to pronounce his name "Louis." He even emphasized that whenever he sang "Hello, Dolly!" E.B. White was a wonderful writer whom Laura admires greatly, but on this she's deferring to Satchmo.

This week I'll be talking about some old and some new picture books about birds, for small children, starting with some old classics.

My friend Patricia sent me some fun information about the magpies she grew up with in Australia.

Lots of birds are making their presence known now. Except the chickadees heard near the end, all the sounds heard in this program were recorded out Laura's home office window.

Laura interviews Jim Baker from Baker's Blue Jay Barn about his newest product, Bluolingo, which translates both of the two different sounds coming from a Blue Jay's voice box.

One of the smartest birds on the planet is making it very difficult for scientists to research its movements.

This in-between period where winter slowly melts into spring is Laura's favorite time of year. At least, right now.

Laura just marked her 50th wedding anniversary,. Sticking it out this long involves luck more than anything..

The best thing about preparing for any trip is anticipating all the possibilities.

When they head to Nome, Alaska, this June, Russ and Laura will be taking a grueling hike to see the Bristle-thighed Curlew. How is Laura preparing for that?

In preparing for a trip to Alaska in June, Laura's been doing some research to make sure she's mitigating the energy involved in her travel. (The bird song in the background is the Varied Thrush, a song Laura should hear in Alaska.)

Mark Roser created a system called "Interactive Bird Feeding" that Laura wholeheartedly endorses. But as winter comes to an end, she adds one concern that we need to be aware of.

Hand-feeding birds, and just having them close enough to make eye contact, sparks love for them, which comes with responsibility.

Chickadee Day 2022 started out poorly for Laura, but things suddenly improved.

Laura always celebrates March 2, the anniversary of seeing her first chickadee. This year was a little rockier than usual.

All chickadees may be cute, but one in particular reminds Laura of her baby grandson.

Backyard redpolls are wonderful to see this winter in the Northland. Nicole Ottjes sent Laura an amazing video of redpolls crowding into her hand for seeds.

Laura talks about the little birds visiting northland feeders in big numbers this winter.

Studies of northern European birds singing on their sub-Saharan wintering grounds suggest that the reason for singing so far from mate and territory is simple—they're practicing.

Even on frigid mornings, chickadees and cardinals are singing away right now. They won't make spring come any faster, but are still warming our hearts.

A beautiful little boardwalk in the Sax-Zim Bog was created as a memorial to Augustus James Feth, with little owl carvings, gifts for anyone who walks the trail to the end, carved by Auggie's great grandfather.

Even when you don't see the one bird you set as your goal, a day spent birding is all good.

On Groundhog Day, Laura got a brief but satisfying look at an Eastern Bluebird visiting a Duluth feeder.

Dawn is noticeably earlier each day now, as Laura is noticing while feeder watching in the morning twilight.

Water is the stuff of life, even in winter.

This time Laura looks at the value of feeding mealworms to birds and things to consider in deciding whether to buy live or dried mealworms, or both, as Laura does.

Laura talks about the benefits of feeding birds peanuts and peanut butter, and also important considerations to make this safe for the birds.

Besides bird seed, the thing most people give birds at feeding stations is suet.

All week Laura will be talking about the best choices for what we offer at our bird feeding stations.

Listeners wrote in asking about White-breasted Nuthatches.

The Black-capped Chickadee may be Laura's favorite bird, but the Boreal Chickadee isn't too far behind.

Every day, a female Red-bellied Woodpecker is visiting Peabody Street. Seeing one in Duluth used to be a rare event. Laura is just as thrilled now that it's much more commonplace.

An Ivory Gull turned up in Duluth on January 3. Laura tried, but didn't succeed, in finding it.

Laura answers questions about Canada Jays (also called Gray Jays) and Pine Grosbeaks, and about how birds get water in winter.

2022 appears to be a good year for seeing Pine Grosbeaks, reminding Laura of why she loves this beautiful bird.

Laura spent the first two days of 2022 looking for birds at home and the bog.

Despite some stiff competition, Laura had some pretty compelling reasons to name her Top Bird of 2021 the Black-capped Chickadee. This program includes the first public performance of "The Chickadee Song," a very short song Laura wrote for her baby grandson.

This was a banner year for Evening Grosbeaks in many places, including Laura's yard.

A plucky little hummingbird filled Laura's heart with joy this November and even into December, making her Final Four top birds of the year.

One of the best birds of 2021 in Laura's yard were her Pileated Woodpeckers.

Most of Laura's best birds of 2021 were seen right in her own backyard or nearby.

Laura made two socially-distanced road trips in 2021, and saw lots of birds.

An article by Chris Sweeney in the current *Audubon* magazine documents just how dangerous rat poison is, and how easy it is for regular consumers to buy it via the internet.

Why are rat populations mushrooming?

Laura was relieved to learn last week that Wisdom the Laysan Albatross, the oldest wild bird known to science, had returned once again to Midway Island.

Even without a Rufous Hummingbird, there's interesting birdlife on Peabody Street.

Taxonomists from the University of Colorado, Boulder, have just released a paper in *Nature Communications* asserting, with lots of data verifying their claim, that Hoary, Lesser, and Common Redpolls all belong to just one species.

The Rufous Hummingbird visiting Peabody Street since before Halloween disappeared late Saturday. Laura thinks she took advantage of a perfect window to skip town before the snowstorm.

What do hummingbirds and little dogs have in common? Laura also bids farewell to Lisa Johnson, who is leaving KUMD after 30 years.

Laura's been thinking about how little dogs and hummingbirds are alike.

Laura doesn't usually go shopping on Black Friday, but this year she drove up to Two Harbors to buy something not available anywhere else.

Since the 1970s, Laura has been keeping various lists of birds. Today she talks about the most unsavory list of all.

Yesterday the weather was frightful—frigid and windy—but the Rufous Hummingbird continued at Laura's feeders. (You may recognize the opening music from Laura's beloved TV program, *Pushing Daisies*. The bird sound featured at the very end is the very hummingbird featured in today's program.)

Without capturing Laura's vagrant hummingbird, how are birders sure it's a Rufous Hummingbird rather than the almost identical Allen's Hummingbird? (The linked blog post has lots of photos which listeners might be interested in.)

Laura doesn't usually talk about bird identification, but sometimes it's important to focus on who's who. UPDATE: The hummingbird was back this morning.

The American Birding Association Bird of the Year for 2021, the Pileated Woodpecker, is one of Laura's favorites. Right now she's been seeing a male with a USGS band on his right leg. It's taking time to read the 9-digit number.

Laura's neighborhood got 3 inches of snow on Saturday. How did the Rufous Hummingbird hanging out in her neighborhood fare? (Monday morning update: She made it through the cold night last night!)

Laura got to enjoy something very special for her birthday--a Rufous Hummingbird at a feeder on her own front porch!

Laura works Belted Kingfishers and her first warblers into this year's Top Ten birthday list.

Tomorrow, Laura turns 70, making her look back on the last decade.

This aired live on November 5 and was very fun to do. Lisa has been one of the very best interviewers I've dealt with in my long career, and I've been interviewed on a lot of local, state, and national radio and television news programs. Lisa always does her homework, so her questions are always intelligent and informed (seriously—very few people in media have her knowledge about nature and environmental issues), and her quick wit is SO fun to engage with! Here we talk about the Audubon Naturalist Society dropping "Audubon" from its name, the California Condor's so-called "virgin births" announced last week, and New Zealand announcing a tiny little mammal as its Bird of the Year.

Laura concludes National Pigeon Week by talking to Rosemary Mosco about pigeons used in wartime.

Rosemary Mosco explains why pigeons have never been raised as prolifically in captivity as chickens, how cool their neck's circulatory system is, what B.F. Skinner really thought about pigeons, and how Charles Darwin was totally smitten by them.

Today Rosemary Mosco explains how we know the Neanderthals domesticated pigeons, and ways people have used pigeons over the ages.

Today Rosemary Mosco tells Laura why pigeons are doves, why they're dinosaurs, and why they're puppies.

Laura decided to make this National Pigeon Week to celebrate Rosemary Mosco's new book, *A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird*. She interviewed Rosemary Mosco this summer. Today's program recounts parts of the conversation explaining why Mosco loves pigeons so much.

Laura remembers the famous Halloween snow storm 30 years ago.

Yesterday, Ethan Freedman wrote an op-ed for *Slate* magazine about how the pandemic made him lose interest in birding. Laura hopes he at least keeps an interest in protecting the environment that we and birds share.

Laura talks about the delight she takes in watching her little grandson looking at birds.

This is a banner year for Blue Jays in Duluth. Laura's concerned about how other species are doing.

Laura talks about some of her exciting experiences photographing Pileated Woodpeckers. All the photos she mentions are on [today's Blog post](https://blog.lauraerickson.com/2021/09/camera-fun-with-pileated-woodpeckers.html).

Laura's window feeder entices a couple of squirrels more than she wanted, but she found an effective, if expensive, solution.

We humans aren't the only species into violent spectator sports.

Laura talks about a bird with a fascinating mating system.

Research about a tropical hummingbird, the White-necked Jacobin, is making scientists pay attention to the advantages females with brighter plumage have, at least in super aggressive species.

It's important to look through our hummingbirds just in case there's an outlier species. But sometimes we're going to misidentify them, as Laura understands firsthand.

Although just about every hummingbird in the East is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, outliers do occasionally appear.

Hummingbirds are flooding through north country right now.

Why do some birds think it's autumn?

Laura is dismayed by the murky air and what it says about our shortsightedness.

A guy named Dan helped restore Laura's faith in people, right when she needed it.

Baby humans and birds are vulnerable to particulates in the atmosphere this summer thanks to the smoke of forest fires in Canada and the American West.

Laura had a lovely time with a Winter Wren at Rib Mountain State Park in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Laura just saw a Chukar, the national bird of Iraq and Pakistan, in her own neighborhood!

Laura just discovered a lovely spot at Rib Mounta Wausau, Wisconsin, where Acadian Flycatchers nest. Unfortunately, development for a private ski club is putting this population, the furthest north in Wisconsin, in jeopardy.

It takes a combination of luck and stupidity to see a Golden-cheeked Warbler in late July when the temperature is over 110ºF.

Some of Laura's best birds during her Big Year in 2013 were seen thanks to luck rather than good planning.

In 1976, Laura learned a valuable lesson about the importance of saying no and being adaptable when birding with others.

One of Laura's friends asks how woodpeckers know to bash their faces into trees to get food.

Birds, and flying squirrels, are having troubles due to warming temperatures and other environmental issues. Citizen science is an important tool that can help us minimize the damage. Laura talks about some technology that will help us individuals contribute our own data to help.

Laura talks about cuckoos, far and near.

There's great news this year for Piping Plovers!

Today and tomorrow, Laura is talking about birds in the news. Today she covers the bad news.

Laura's baby chickadees may have fledged, but the cavity they built in her cherry tree has attracted a new bird.

Last week, Laura spent 45 minutes watching and recording a Connecticut Warbler in the Sax-Zim Bog.

Dickcissels are usually not found in northern Wisconsin or Minnesota, but this year is an exception.

Laura and her little dog Pip took a pleasant trip to Port wing yesterday.

The baby chickadees in Laura's cherry tree fledged on Friday.

Sunday, a Gray Catbird reminded Laura why it belongs on her Top Ten List of Favorite Birds. Throughout the program, you can hear the catbird that was singing on Sunday throughout today's program.

Laura spends a lot of time worrying about her nesting chickadees. She can't help it.

The chickadees nesting in Laura's backyard depend on plenty of insects to raise their young, raising Laura's awareness of how important caterpillars are right when people are turning to pesticides to eradicate insects. In the Washington, D.C. area where cicadas have been emerging, birds are being found dead and dying from something neurological that is causing them to go blind. We don't know what the cause is, but it quite possibly is the pesticides people are using to eradicate the cicadas.

Laura's large flock of Evening Grosbeaks made the front page of the Duluth News-Tribune and instantly went on their way.

Laura just added a new bird to her yard list, and she's very happy.

Last week Laura saw an exciting bird--one she hasn't seen in her yard in over a decade.

Laura discovered something exciting on Saturday.

Evening Grosbeaks and nesting chickadees are keeping Laura happy despite this slow spring migration. The bird recordings today, made by Laura, are of her Evening Grosbeaks and the male chickadee nesting in her cherry tree.

Getting older comes with a few sensory losses.

Blog reader Pam writes about an exciting encounter with chickadees in trouble, with a happy ending.

This program, dedicated to nine-year-old Aleda, is celebrates what Laura calls Song Sparrow Day.

How are warblers different from other songbirds?

With help from her friend Susan Szeszol, Laura brings us up to date on the famous Monty and Rose, the first Piping Plovers to successfully nest in Chicago since 1955.

A 38-year-old Whooping Crane named Gee Whiz had an important role in the history of the International Crane Foundation and in saving his species. He died earlier this year.

What are Laura's nesting chickadees up to?

Laura is enjoying more Evening Grosbeaks than she's seen since the 1980s.

A flood of migrating birds are returning. To enjoy them without hurting them, Laura offers a few feeder tips.

If the FCC knew what chickadees were really saying, they might not allow anyone to play their recordings on the air.

Laura asks if any listeners have had chickadees approach them asking for help.

Laura looked out the window on Sunday to see a dozen Evening Grosbeaks.

Laura's chickadees are now building the nest inside their cavity.

Earth Day is about activism, both collective and individual.

When it comes to saving for the future, Blue Jays are way smarter than we humans.

Laura heard from a most interesting radio listener last week.

Day by day and week by week, birds are coming and going on Peabody Street.

Does Laura follow CDC guidelines about feeding birds?

Listeners told Laura about two projects, one in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Minnesota, that involve birds, where we may make a difference.

One of Laura's listeners, Mark Roser, wrote about a Tufted Titmouse he feeds by hand, and a blog reader tells about the fun she's getting from one particular chickadee at her home office window feeder. They ask for advice about hand-feeding.

What birds are arriving on Peabody Street?

Chickadees may be nesting in Laura's old cherry tree. Time will tell.

A salmonella outbreak related to bird feeding has made the New York Times.

Laura's first robin of spring finally arrived and started singing this weekend!

Protections for fragile populations of Florida's unique wildlife never seem to be enacted until it's too late.

Of mainland America's 49 states, Florida is unique in the number of plants and animals found nowhere else in the country, and Laura is in love with a great many of its wonderful birds.

Laura has long appreciated how much more advanced bird senses are than ours, but suddenly last week, she discovered a new reason to envy them.

Sometimes feeding birds causes problems, but the pandemic has revealed an unexpected problem when tourists stopped feeding birds.

Good news and bad news in the world of birds.

During this Women's History Month, Laura will be talking about women who made important advances in ornithology.