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Letter to an Eastern Wood-Pewee
A bird that brings tropical flair to South Carolina
© Kelly Colgan Azar
In this episode, ornithologist J. Drew Lanham reads a letter he has written to a wood-pewee, a flycatcher with an “understatedly simple and definitive” song that says the bird’s name.
BirdNote®
Letter to an Eastern Wood-Pewee
Written by J. Drew Lanham
This is BirdNote. I'm J. Drew Lanham, an ornithologist, naturalist and writer, and this is a note I've written to a bird I love.
[Eastern Wood-Pewee song]
Dear Wood-Pewee,
Thanks so much for bringing a bit of mystery to my backyard. There's something so "tropical" about having you in my little South Carolina acreage. It's not that phoebe and Great-crested Flycatcher don't excite me. They do.
[Eastern Phoebe song followed quickly by Great-crested Flycatcher song]
But something about your sallying, your little leaps off the branch to nab a fly, just makes you different.
[Eastern Wood-Pewee song]
Okay, being totally honest, there has been a time or two when you perched high up on top of the neighbors dying maple and I thought you might be an Olive-sided Flycatcher. But you turned into better light and your vest wasn't quite right. To top it off, you let a bit of your late summer song slip out; "Peeeee-ahhh".
[Eastern Wood-Pewee song]
So understatedly simple and definitive. It's kind of easy when you say your name like that. So anyway, hope you found my little pseudo pine savanna satisfactory. I know you dig that kind of park-like set up. So be careful, Pewee. Travel safely back south! Hope to hear you here next year!
Catch You (but not flies) Later!
Drew
[Eastern Wood-Pewee song]
###
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Eastern Wood-Pewee ML247190851 recorded by Wil Hershberger, Eastern Phoebe ML426779621 recorded by Jeff Ellerbusch, and Great-crested Flycatcher ML94314 recorded by Wil Hershberger.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote September 2023
Narrator: J. Drew Lanham
ID# letter-EAWP-01-2023-09-29 letter-EAWP-01
J. Drew Lanham
Writer NarratorSights & Sounds
