Imagine the sound of Sandhill Cranes, a group of dozens of the large gray birds, flying overhead in the sky during their migration.
I’ve heard that trilling sound hundreds of times when I’m birding on the back dirt roads of Michigan.
Long before I can spot the birds.
That sound, and many like it, is why I take two minutes during my day to slow down and listen to a BirdNote radio show.
What is BirdNote?
I was driving to mid-Michigan listening to our University of Michigan National Public Radio station, in search of a Golden Eagle.
A bird I had only seen in Colorado a few years earlier.
The sound of the Golden Eagle on the radio perked my ears.
What was I listening to?
A less than two-minute episode about the eagle eye and the incredibly sharp vision a Golden Eagle has.
Talk about timing!
I wanted to learn more about the project, so I headed to their website after I was done birdwatching.
I learned BirdNote was a project of Seattle Audubon started in 2004, spearheaded by Chris Peterson, then Executive Director of Seattle Audubon.
Writers, staff, volunteers, ornithological advisors, and contractors worked together to publish short stories about birds.
In February 2005, BirdNote launched on the Western Washington National Public Radio affiliate KPLU 88.5FM, now KNKX 88.5FM.
According to their history, BirdNote became a separate nonprofit organization in 2006.
On its seventh anniversary in 2012, BirdNote had expanded to almost 200 pubic radio stations across the United States.
I’ve been listening to BirdNote ever since that day a few years ago, I hope you consider joining me!
Since I’m on holiday, I’m enjoying a break from writing about the web and technology.
