Bird Life at the Grand Canyon

BirdNote^®

Bird Life at the Grand Canyon

Written by Frances Wood

This is BirdNote!

[Music from Aaron Copland throughout]
With its awe-inspiring vistas and eons of geologic time on display, the Grand Canyon also offers a unique habitat for birds, some very rare.
What you’re likely to see first are Bronzed Cowbirds, dark, long-tailed birds strutting on the lawns of lodges and restaurants.
[Vocalizations of Bronzed Cowbird]
Common Ravens call and squabble from the branches of scraggly pines.
[Calls of Ravens]
Gazing out across the bright canyon wall, you notice dark shapes floating on the updrafts. Those large birds holding their wings in a broad “V” are Turkey Vultures.
Suddenly a large shadow floats across the landscape and you squint up into the sun. For a breathtaking moment, wings nine feet across float above the canyon rim.  The bird banks to show whitish undersides, then drops away out of sight.
The largest of all North American birds, a California Condor, has dipped his wings to you!
Would you like to introduce your friends to BirdNote?  Invite them to receive stories each week. Begin at our website, BirdNote.org.
I’m Mary McCann.
[Go out with Aaron Copland music]
If you ever miss a BirdNote, you can always get the latest episode. Just tell your smart speaker, “Play the podcast BirdNote.” Learn more on our website, BirdNote dot org.
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Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Bronzed Cowbird recorded by G.A. Keller; Common Raven by Gerrit Vyn.
Musical selection from Aaron Copland’s “Suite from the Ballet Billy The Kid: Introduction the Open Prairie” from Copland: Fanfare For the Common Man, performed byThe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 2009 Royal Philharmonic Master Works.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2014 Tune In to Nature.org     August 2016/2019/2021  Narrator: Mary McCann

ID# grandcanyon-01-2011-08-08