Bird of the Day

Recently, birding has become much more popular with the general public. I think that one of the biggest drivers of this surge in popularity is Merlin Bird ID. You have probably already heard of it. It is a free, easy to use app that will help you identify birds by their looks, behavior, and even sounds, and works just about anywhere in the world. Merlin has helped turn ordinary people into obsessed bird lovers. This app has 10 million users worldwide, and that number is still growing daily. Now, don’t get me wrong, Merlin is awesome, but it isn’t always 100 percent accurate. So in this episode, we are going to take a deep dive on Merlin, the good parts and the bad parts.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

The Eurasian Griffon is a large, majestic bird. It's one of the largest raptors in all of Europe, and truly a fearsome bird. Luckily, you have nothing to worry about, because Griffons are vultures, almost only eating dead animals, known as carrion. Listen to learn all about this awesome bird!

Click these links to help save the world's vultures!

Vulture Conservation Foundation

Vulpro

SAVE (Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction)

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

The word waxwing and the word fruit are essentially synonymous. Waxwings eat fruit, fruit, fruit, and more fruit. Of all the birds in North America, waxwings eat the most fruit. These are also very well liked birds, and I can see why. They look cool, sound cool, and travel in large flocks. If you don’t already like waxwings, I intend to change your mind! Listen to this episode to learn all about these awesome birds: what they look like, what they sound like, their habits, and more.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

This is the third and final of three special episodes that I’ve been releasing. These episodes are from my performance and collaboration with Jack Magauhey. These three episodes have covered 3 totally new and different birds that I’ve never talked about before. In each episode, we learned about a bird and then listened to a piece of music inspired by that bird. This suite, Feathered Friends of Fern Ridge, was written by Jack Magauhey and I’m really excited to talk about the birds and hear his music. I hope you enjoy it! This episode is about the Great Blue Heron, one of the most well-known and recognized birds in North America. So let’s get into it!

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

This is the second of three special episodes. Now, if you already listened to the first one, you can skip this part and just get right to the birds. If you haven’t listened to the first episode, the Western Grebe, yet, you’ve got some homework! I’ll still fill you in on what this is all about either way. These three episodes, each a little shorter than normal, I will be releasing in the next week. These episodes are from my performance and collaboration with Jack Magauhey. They will cover 3 totally new and different birds that I’ve never talked about before. In each episode, we will learn about a bird and then listen to a piece of music inspired by that bird. This suite, Feathered Friends of Fern Ridge, was written by Jack Magauhey and I’m really excited to talk about the birds and hear his music. I hope you enjoy it! The second episode is all about the California Scrub Jay, so let's learn all about this awesome bird.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

This is the first of three special episodes that I will be releasing in the next two weeks. These episodes are from my performance and collaboration with composer Jack McGaughey. They will cover three totally new and different birds that I’ve never talked about before. In each episode, we will learn about a bird and then listen to a piece of music inspired by that bird. This suite, Feathered Friends of Fern Ridge, was written by Jack, and I’m really excited to talk about the birds and hear his music. I hope you enjoy it! The first episode is all about the Western Grebe, so let's learn all about this awesome bird.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

Owls are some of the most well known birds in the world. Everyone loves them, and they get really excited if they see one. Maybe it's something about their creepy hoots and nocturnal lifestyle, making it seem almost like they are magical. Maybe it's because owls look sort of like us, but large, flat faces with big eyes. Or maybe it’s because they can turn their heads all the way around and do things normal birds can’t. Whatever it is, owls seem to fascinate us. But by far the most loved and sought-after owl is the Snowy Owl.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

One of the rarest birds in North America, the Kirtland's Warbler lives only in the young Jack Pine forests in central Michigan, and it can only survive due to extensive conservation efforts. Sadly, it has been on the endangered species list for a long time, and is still considered threatened. But apart from that, it is a pretty bird, with the male being colored in shades of gray, black, and yellow. This bird is also very interesting, with many unique behaviors and facts. Listen to dive into the world of the Kirtland’s Warbler!

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

This is the first special episode! These special episodes are a way for us to learn about other aspects of birds and birding. They could be about anything from bird anatomy to why birds migrate to birds v.s. cats. If you have an idea for a new special episode, send your idea in the Special Episodes section of the Carrier Pigeon Corner form. This episode is all about bird names: what we name them, why we name them, and some of the strangest names out there.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

Made famous by Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking book On the Origin of Species, the group of birds dubbed “Darwin’s Finches” is a group of small grayish birds that are almost entirely endemic to the Galapagos Islands. You have probably heard of the book, or maybe even the birds themselves, but I’ll bet you don't know about the Common Cactus Finch, or what about the Vegetarian Finch? Well, that’s what I’m here for. In this episode we will take a deep dive into these very interesting birds, learning all about their habits, looks, sounds, and more.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

You have probably at least heard of the island of Bali, but what about the Bali Myna? Probably not. Now, I don’t blame you, this bird is very endangered, and found only on the western-most part of Bali. In fact, there are probably only less than 50 individuals today. This bird needs all the help it can get, so let’s learn all about the Bali Myna.

You can donate to help save the Bali Myna at http://birdfund.com/bali or at https://www.fnpf.org/donations/buy-bali-starling-nest-boxes/.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

As many of you probably know, I just got back from a trip to Costa Rica. The focus of this trip was 100% birding. This episode will have a different structure than most others. Instead of talking about one single bird species, this episode will have three main parts. First, I will talk about my stay at one of the most world-renowned birding lodges in all of Costa Rica, if not the world, Rancho Naturalista. Then, I will go over some of the other animals we encountered, and over the habitat and climate of Costa Rica. And then, finally, I will talk about three of my favorite birds from the trip.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

If you are a birder, you may have noticed that the focus of this episode is a little different. You would be right. Very little is known about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. There are only a few photos and sound recordings from some deep forest in Arkansas and Louisiana. In fact, most people say it's extinct, but some disagree. So are there still Ivory-billed Woodpeckers out there, or are they lost forever? Listen to learn more!

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

This might seem like a basic, neighborhood bird to you, but the Gray Catbird is actually pretty interesting. After all, it is related to the mockingbirds and thrashers, famous for their mimicking abilities. And this bird is nothing short of a virtuoso, mixing songs from other birds to create its own. So let's learn all about the Gray Catbird.

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

The King Eider definitely deserves the name “King.” It is an explosion of color, with a mix of green, red, yellow, and blue-gray on its face. If I was given the choice of which duck is the most colorful, the King Eider would definitely be in the top five. But this bird isn’t all looks; it has some pretty amazing behaviors too!

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

If you have a hummingbird feeder, you know these birds fight each other—a lot! The Rufous Hummingbird is notorious for being the feistiest of them all. It's also very migratory, and it breeds the farthest both of any hummingbird. This bird has a lot of personality, so take a listen and learn more about it!

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

This is the second episode, and it’s about the Arctic Tern. If you are somewhat into birds, you have probably heard of this bird before. The Arctic Tern is super famous for migrating the farthest of any bird. But there’s more to the Arctic Tern than just its amazing migration – so let’s “tern” the page and get started!

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Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.

Bird of the Day has been an ongoing thing for the past 2-3 years for me, although not in podcast format until now. It started out as a website, and then I branched out to sending a daily email, which turned into a weekly email. The first ever Bird of the Day was about the Merlin. So, as a commemoration of that very first website page, the first Bird of the Day Podcast episode is about the Merlin. Luckily, this is a very interesting bird, so there is much to discuss!

Submit your Carrier Pigeon Corner questions in this form.

Check out the Bird of the Day website, https://www.birdofthedaypodcast.com/.