Bring Birds Back – Details, episodes & analysis

How much do you know about the lives of female birds? And could you identify, say, a male Scarlet Tanager from a female? This episode’s host and co-founder of the Galbatross Project, Purbita Saha, is here to explain why studying female birds is important. Joining her, ornithologist Joanna Wu details how the often overlooked and understudied female birds are crucial to bird conservation efforts. And wildlife ecologist, Michael Chamberlain, shares his vast knowledge about turkeys – a species whose survival was greatly impacted by a significant increase in research about turkey hens. 

To learn more about our guests and their work or to view this episode’s transcript and other resources, visit BirdNote.org.

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Bring Birds Back Season 6 is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the American Bird Conservancy.

Join us every other Wednesday for a new episode of Bring Birds Back! Meet this season’s co-hosts Deja Perkins and Purbita Saha, and learn about a wide range of topics from community activism in BIPOC birding spaces to regional and socioeconomic biases in the field of ornithology. From the landmark Chicago building contributing to a billion bird strikes a year to the ongoing bird flu pandemic – we have a lot to talk about. Subscribe now so you won’t miss it!  

Want more Bring Birds Back? Follow us on Instagram! For more about BirdNote, sign up for our weekly newsletter. And for ad-free listening and other perks, sign up for BirdNote+ here.

BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

Bring Birds Back Season 6 is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the American Bird Conservancy.

This episode’s guest may be too young to remember the 90’s children’s show, Gullah Gullah Island, but he’s certainly influencing the next generation the same! Isaiah Scott, a rising Gen-Z bird-influencer and ornithologist, reconnects with Tenijah to dish all about his journey into birding while young, Black and curious. He also shares how his Gullah Geechee heritage continues to inspire his work, including a forthcoming field guide that seeks to preserve his ancestral connection to birds. There’s definitely “lots to see and to do there”– press play and take the journey with us!

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org

Want more Bring Birds Back? Follow us on Instagram! For more BirdNote, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. For ad-free listening and other perks, sign up for BirdNote+ here.

BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

Bring Birds Back Season 4 is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Childhood nostalgia, anyone? Tenijah reminisces about her favorite bird moment in a film and learns all about how it came to be! Our guest this episode is Tony Suffredini, a bird trainer and master falconer, but the real stars are all Hollywood trained professionals – his birds! Tony shares how he got into bird training, how he prioritizes the health and safety of his feathered family on set and how he gives back with his super niche skills as a bird abatement specialist and Golden Eagle conservationist! 

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org

Want more Bring Birds Back? Follow us on Instagram! For more BirdNote, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. For ad-free listening and other perks, sign up for BirdNote+ here.

BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

Bring Birds Back Season 4 is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Artificial intelligence is all the rage these days – for better or for worse. Luckily, in the case of our feathered friends, it’s good news! In this episode, Tenijah speaks with three experts (starting with Garry George and Katie Umekubo) about the great environmental gains of wind energy – and their unfortunate contribution to the decline of birds. But all hope is not lost – in fact, there’s an exciting solution already underway! Susan Downey introduces us to Identiflight, an A.I.-assisted technology that not only assesses potential harm to birds, but also prevents it… to a degree. Tune in.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org

Want more Bring Birds Back? Follow us on Instagram! For more BirdNote, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. For ad-free listening and other perks, sign up for BirdNote+ here.

BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

Bring Birds Back Season 4 is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

In the season 4 premiere, we’re joined by wildlife advocate, ornithologist and (social media star) birder, Corina Newsome! Tenijah speaks with Corina about the latest findings in the State of the Birds report, the impact of environmental racism on urban communities and birds, and the uber important 2023 Farm Bill. Plus, they get into the weeds about why a zero-sum mentality could be to blame for a lack of progress on addressing climate change (hats off to Heather McGhee). Press play!

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org

Want more Bring Birds Back? Follow us on Instagram! For more BirdNote, subscribe to our weekly newsletter. For ad-free listening and other perks, sign up for BirdNote+ here.

BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.

Bring Birds Back Season 4 is sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Love is in the air and we’re not talking about your $4.99 Valentine’s Day balloon! For this special episode of Bring Birds Back, we dive into all things bird love! Doves may be the universal bird symbol for love, but romance in the bird world is happening all around. Our guest Wenfei Tong shares various ways birds are wooing each other by song, dance, gifts, and more. From choosy lovers like the Laysan Albatross to opposites-attract lovers like the White-throated Sparrows, bird love languages are real and well documented.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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In order for us to show up for birds, we must first show up for ourselves. Our show is all about ways we can help our bird friends, but today we’re looking at how birds and nature can help restore us. Over the past few decades, researchers have found strong links between our connection to the outdoors and our mental and physical health. Deja Perkins, an urban ecologist, science communicator, and friend of the show, joins Tenijah to talk about her nature and wellness practices and some research about the mutual benefits between the two. Deja shares how birding can be good for our wellbeing, ways we can all enjoy those benefits, and even guides us through her very own breathing meditation to help you really sit with nature.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Clark’s Nutcracker and the whitebark pine have a strong mutualistic relationship: the tree is the bird’s best source of food, and the bird is the tree’s most dependable seed disperser. But several factors are putting the tree at risk — and the decline in whitebark pines is making that partnership less stable.

Peri Sasnett, a ranger at Glacier National Park and co-host of the park’s podcast Headwaters, joins Tenijah to talk all about the birds, their intricately interconnected ecosystems, and ways researchers are learning if and how the birds are adapting. Season 2 of Glacier National Park's podcast Headwaters is all about the charismatic whitebark pine and its role as a keystone species.

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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Since Tenijah began birding, a lot of questions have come up about why birds do some of the strange things that they do. Writer and biologist Wenfei Tong joins Tenijah to answer some burning questions about what’s going on with our bird friends – questions about different parenting styles to reasons why we noticed birds more during the pandemic, and of course, the question plaguing all of us, are birds tiny dinosaurs?

More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.

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BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.