Ros Renfrew is a conservation biologist at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. And she’s passionate about a range of conservation issues. She loves grasslands like the Konza Prairie by the Flint Hills of Kansas. It’s this rich, vivid biological realm that has Ros entranced. And in…

Gordon Orians, BirdNote science advisor and blackbird expert, believes we should appreciate nature “simply because of its intrinsic wonder.” He says, “Often people would ask me, 'What good are blackbirds?’ and I would sometimes answer by saying, 'Well, what good is a symphony orchestra?'…

William John Swainson, ornithologist, author, illustrator, was born in October 1789. He settled in New Zealand, and it's quite likely that he never saw any of the birds named for him. But because of Swainson's reputation and knowledge about birds, the Swainson's Warbler, Swainson's Thrush…

Ken Jacobsen is a retired senator in Washington State who’s a keen birder. When he was on the campaign trail, Jacobsen often advised constituents on ways they could improve conditions for birds in their yards and neighborhoods. You won’t believe what happened when he encouraged one…

BirdNote asked listeners to tell us about the bird life around their homes. BirdNote’s Dominic Black met up with Denise Acsay — who lives on San Juan Island in Washington State — to learn more about Denise’s love of birds such as this Barred Owl. Denise says her favorite bird sounds are…

If you’re a biologist and you want to save habitat for birds such as this Savannah Sparrow, how do you do it? You talk to people, says Ros Renfrew of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. And you listen. Ros meets with landowners in Vermont, New Hampshire, and across New England. “We might…

Bruce Beehler, an ornithologist with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, admits to spending a lot of time at his computer. “Even the naturalists are isolated from nature,” he says. And yet, time outdoors defines the job. “You’re following your passion, which is birds and…

American naturalist Bruce Beehler — inspired by Edwin Way Teale's similar journey in 1947 — is following the spring songbird migration to build greater appreciation for birds. In partnership with American Bird Conservancy, Beehler is traveling from the Gulf of Mexico to the boreal forest…

BirdNote asked our Facebook fans about the birds they observed in their yards this spring. Some people say they have more birds. Others say fewer. And why? Changes in habitat mean changes in species. In one person’s yard on San Juan Island, in Washington State, more trees mean more Barred…

Lester Franklin is a student in coastal Maryland. He's also a writer and a coastal steward, working to encourage people of color to get involved with birds, conservation, and the environment. For Lester, becoming more aware of nature was a step-by-step process that started with peaceful…