In 2004, Chris Petersen, the executive director of Seattle Audubon, approached the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for help in creating a public radio program about birds. His idea was to create a program that would consist of 2-minute broadcasts with information about various birds and recordings of their unique songs and sounds. Chris’s team would provide the stories and he asked if Cornell would provide the sounds. He thought that the broadcasts would be a great way to introduce the public to birds and Cornell agreed. In addition to the broadcasts, there would also be a website and a book.
The book, BirdNote, provides pictures, stories, and songs of 100 birds, a small fraction of the whole. You can read the print version of the book or, better yet, you can download the Kindle version. In that version, these short articles include links so that you can hear the presentation and the accompanying sounds. If you’re reading from the printed book, you can go to the website for the recordings. Of the 100 birds in the book, there was only one that I’ve never seen or heard, the Blakiston’s Fish-Owl. I was quite close, having visited the Kamchutka Peninsula in far eastern Siberia a few years ago, but no luck. I wrote about this owl in February 2021, in a book review.
The BirdNote website, www.BirdNote.org, provides access to more than 1,600 of these stories and bird sound recordings, as well as other resources, including a wonderful section on bird poetry. On the website, I especially enjoyed hearing the thumping of the Roughed Grouse, a sound I have a really difficult time hearing in the wild because of my hearing loss. Here is how the authors describe the sound: “Imagine this: you’re at the edge of a forest dominated by aspen. And you’re hearing this accelerating thumping sound. What’s going on in there? Is somebody starting up an engine?” and, “In spring, the Ruffed Grouse is a star percussionist in nature’s symphony.”
The BirdNote radio program is written by a dedicated group of scientists and bird lovers. My friend, Bob Sundstrom, was the primary editor until he passed away two years ago. Bob was a retired English professor and a guide for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. A talented team continues to create these wonderful bird stories.
I am also pleased to share information about an upcoming online program. In association with BirdNote, The World According to Sound, creators, and producers of live, communal listening programs, will stream a “sonic exploration of all things avian” at 5:00 pm (Pacific Daylight Time) on April 24th.
Listeners “will hear the world’s most complex songs, a series of antiphonal duets, slowed down birds, extinct birds, loud birds, quiet birds, and birds that sound like laughter.” The show, which is 80 minutes long, is engineered to create a sense of total immersion. The effect will be greatly enhanced if you can listen with headphones. All ticket holders will also receive eye masks to wear during the show, to help them focus their attention on the sounds. After the program, a Cornell Lab staff member will host a live Q&A.
For a preview, listen to any of these radio episodes. To receive 25% off the ticket price, enter the code “BirdsEncore25,” when purchasing your ticket here: The World According to Sound website.