Story Archives of 'Birding'

As the weather gets colder in New Hampshire, bird watchers are keeping their eyes to the sky to catch a glimpse of migratory birds heading towards warmer climates. Birding is a year-round activity in this part of the country, and new high-tech devices are bringing more people into the hobby. A couple of months ago on this show, we heard from Noah Strycker, a birding enthusiast who uses his i-Pod to bring him closer to his subjects. But i-Pods are just one of the new devices employed by the birding community. Tour guide and naturalist Mark Suamala joins us on Word of Mouth to tell us all about other new-fangled do-dads used in the field.

Useful Links

Tracking a Peregrine Falcon using Satellites
Tracking Bird Migrations using Weather Satellites
Digital Bird Song Hearing Device
Bird Song Recognition Software

Also, producer David Gorn of KQED's QUEST radio series reports on the fate of the Condors who lost their sanctuary in this Summer's Big Sur fires.Click here to listen, see a slide show and read David's reporter notes.

(Photo by Glen Scott)

An unvisited feeder isn't a commentary on your back yard, the birds are probably just had previous plans.

Mark and Becky Suomala join us to talk about all things ornithological, including the status of birds on the endangered/threatened species list, the start of shorebird migration, bird babies and activity, and some cool local projects, like one that hopes to bring back the Night Hawk bird, which helps keep the insect population down.

Guests

• Mark Suomala, experienced birder, naturalist and tour guide. He has worked as field biologist for the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, and has volunteered extensively as a bird-banding assistant on the Isles of Shoals.
• Becky Suomala, biologist and natural history services coordinator for New Hampshire Audubon

Why don't woodpeckers get headaches? It may seem like a silly question, but not too silly for our guest. Mike O'Connor has been answering all kinds of bird-related queries for the past twenty years. He runs the Bird Watcher's General Store on Cape Cod, and he writes a weekly column for a small local paper that tries to get to the bottom of his readers' bird-related mysteries. He'll join us to share some of the most bizarre questions he's been asked, and to talk about who's flying around our New Hampshire skies this time of year. Mike's new book is called – you guessed it -- Why Don't Woodpeckers Get Headaches? And Other Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask.