This is Bird Note.

Birds make a lot of sounds, so many that author and illustrator Becca Rowland had a hard time keeping them straight.

Then they began picking up on familiar noises in common bird calls, like when Becca heard a dog's squeaky toy in the trees.

And I remember that exact moment of hearing that noise and knowing immediately in my soul that it was a

northern figure. It's so satisfying to make that connection in your brain and just know the answer to that.

Now, Becca has written a guide

called Bird Talk, hilariously accurate ways to identify birds by the sounds they make. The entries

are both fun and functional. If it sounds like a truck beeping as it backs up, it's a red-rested

nut hatch.

If it sounds like someone enjoying a fireworks display, it's a common eider.

If it sounds like a weed whacker, it's a rhinoceros ocklet.

If it sounds like wiggling a piece of aluminum siding in the air, it's a Gunnison sage grouse.

All jokes aside, Becca hopes their book can help folks appreciate the birds all around us.

Birds were just background for me, and when I was out and about, I wasn't paying attention.

I am super paying attention now.

Want to join the fun?

Start at our website, birdnote.org.

I'm Michael Stein.