BirdNote Daily

Sooty Terns have long been called "wide-awakes" because of their calls. But it may describe their sleeping habits, too. When young terns leave their breeding grounds, they don't return for several years. They do not rest on the water, and only rarely land on floating objects. They feed while aloft, grabbing prey from the ocean's surface. On the fly, they also capture fish that have been chased out of the water by predators. In other words, Sooty Terns live in the air for years at a time.
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The Purple Martin is the largest swallow that nests in the U.S. and Canada. During fall, Purple Martins from western North America migrate to a distinct wintering area in southeastern Brazil — a travel distance of more than 5,000 miles! Scientists believe that Purple Martins started out as a South American swallow species. Over time, they evolved a seasonal migration to North America because the longer days of summer sunlight provided extra hunting and feeding opportunities during nesting season.
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More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
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Saturday October 10, 2026, is World Migratory Bird Day, a celebration of one of our planet’s most marvelous natural phenomena. It occurs twice a year, on the second Saturday of May and October, in observance of peak spring and fall migration in the Americas. This year’s theme is “Every Bird Counts,” which highlights the importance of community science to migratory bird conservation worldwide.
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Smaller than a pigeon — but fierce enough to knock one from the air — are the powerful, compact falcons known as Merlins. Climate change is pushing ranges of many birds farther north, but more and more Merlins have been nesting farther south, in towns and cities across the northern United States. Merlins will take over old crow nests, especially in conifer trees, in parks, cemeteries, and neighborhoods.
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This Bar-tailed Godwit makes one of the longest migrations of any animal — a 7,200-mile non-stop flight each autumn from western Alaska to New Zealand. In his book A World on the Wing, Scott Weidensaul explores the remarkable transformation godwits undergo to make this migration possible. Their digestive organs shrink as their weight more than doubles in stored fats and muscle mass.
More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.
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