Winter Birding. January 4, 2019, Part 2

Science Friday

Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Life Sciences, Wnyc, Science, Friday, Natural Sciences

4.4 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 January 2019

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Every year in the dead of winter, bird lovers flock in large numbers to count as many birds as they possibly can on a single day. This is the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, a citizen science effort to track the trends of bird numbers over time. As the 2018 count comes to a close, Ira checks in with birders Jason Ward, Martha Harbison, and Laura Erickson about this year’s trends. Already many finches, including coveted grosbeaks, are showing up south of their normal winter range, much to the delight of avid birders from Florida to Vermont. The trio also share advice for beginning birders and making the most of the winter months, and which birds to look out for in 2019. As a bonus, Ira quizzes listeners on their bird call recognition skills.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Science Friday. I'm Ira Flato. Was your 2018 for the birds? If you're one of thousands of North American birders who participated in Audubon's annual Christmas bird count,
0:13.3	maybe you spent a chilly day with binoculars frozen to your face, frantically fingering every finch, fringe, duck, or other feathered friend in flight.
0:23.1	And as that count wraps up, tomorrow is the last day. We'll talk about, well, we're going to
0:28.8	talk about it for the entire hour. It's our annual Christmas bird count show. What a bird is seeing
0:33.9	more of than usual? Rumor has it, it's a good year for Grasbeaks, for example. We'll talk
0:39.6	about that. And what birds
0:41.4	we should keep our eyes peeled for
0:43.6	as we bird our way through January, February,
0:46.8	and beyond. And of course, we want to know what's the
0:49.3	best bird you've seen this winter or even,
0:53.2	well, it's not much of a year. How about all of last year? Give us a call 844-724-8255-8-44-Sy-Talk or tweet us at SciFri. And your photos. Your photos are welcome. Yes, send us some photos of what you're seeing. Let me introduce my guests. Martha Harbison is an editor for the National Audubon Society in New York.
1:13.1	Welcome to Science Friday.
1:14.2	Thank you.
1:14.8	Jason Ward, a bird educator and writer for Audubon in Atlanta.
1:19.3	Welcome to Science Friday.
1:21.0	Thank you very much.
1:21.7	Laura Erickson, a birder and author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of Minnesota.
1:29.4	So she is, of course, in Duluth.
1:31.8	Welcome to Science Friday.
1:33.5	Hi, Ira.
1:34.5	Nice to have you.
1:35.9	Well, let me begin with, all right, it's midwinter holiday season.
	...

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