Laura Erickson's For the Birds

Birds have no interest in money, but they’re into real estate. (3:41) date confirmed.

Several prominent ornithologists have weighed in on U.S.West’s proposed tower on Moose Mountain, in the direct path of bird migration.

From wind socks to Snoopy’s Woodstock, Laura talks about the birds of Christmas.

Laura has more tips about feeding birds. (3:42) Date verified.

Laura brings us up to date on her cell phone tower battle and Icarus the Crow. (3:49) date verified

Tomorrow is Duluth’s annual Christmas Bird Count. (4:00)

Laura’s car passed the 100,000 milestone, making her wonder how many birds fly that many miles.

Laura talks about a treasured feeder bird.

When Laura’s son Joey was little, he wanted to be a garbageman because it was such an honorable job. Avian scavengers are honorable, too, for many of the same reasons.

(Recording re-recorded; original from 1987-12-11.)

Glenn Miller’s orchestra helped make Woody Woodpecker an iconic figure even among non-birders. (3:33)

Laura finds herself in a legal battle with US West regarding a proposed cell phone tower.

Laura has some suggestions for gift buying this year.

Some birds can fly upside down, a tree almost became extinct because it needed Dodos, and the Jackass Penguin is an avian Pinocchio. Some birds have tried to incubate very inappropriate items.Children can use one bird’s nests for slippers. One hummingbird’s bill is longer than it’s entire body.

Recording was reworked from 1987.

Laura celebrates Mark Twain’s birthday with a reading of an excerpt from Baker’s Blue Jay Yarn. (3:43)

“Eating like a bird” requires a pretty big appetite.

Reworked from 12/5/1986 (3:35) Date veriifed.

Laura reviews Roger Knutson’s new book, which is stronger in some sections than those about birds.

Laura explains the new Duluth Audubon statement about efforts to decrease the local gull population.

Recast from 12/12/1986

Laura talks about birds that ostensibly say their names or other words. (3:41) Date verified.

Do birds of a feather flock together? And why, and why not? (3:45)

Laura always remembers November 11. (4:04) Date confirmed.

Laura talks about juncoes and why scientists are befuddled with them.

Birds are much smarter than most people give them credit for—well, most of the time. (3:53) Date verified.

Laura has sad news of an encounter with Snow Buntings and an update about Icarus the Crow. (3:45)

An extraordinarily rare Yellow-billed Loon turned up in Duluth two weeks ago.

Laura reads an abridged version of Poe’s The Raven.

Laura talks about the two big black birds that confuse so many.

Laura reads from Sam Cook to explain her ambivalence about duck hunting. (3:46) Date confirmed.

Laura reviews Bob Janssen’s indispensable new book.

A Barred Owl’s cranky yet Shakespearean response to Laura’s Ode to the Pumphouse. (This script is not on the index of programs so I’m not sure if/when it was aired.)

Apparently hunters need to be told not to shoot swans. (3:53) Date confirmed.

Laura talks about the abundant birds under every northland feeder right now.

The two last warblers to leave each year are the easiest to see and enjoy.

Spending time doing “Dawn Dickey Duty” at the Lakewood Pumping Station set Laura on a poetic bent. (3:46)

Laura reviews the newest in the Peterson series of field guides, A Field Guide to Hawks.

Laura talks about the vultures in the Disney film “The Jungle Book,” and how they compare to real vultures.

Laura talks about Mark Twain’s favorite bird.

Baseball season has left Laura thinking again about those birds of baseball.

Laura talks about the passing of what was one of the most abundant birds ever found on earth. (3:56)

Today is the beginning of Hawk Ridge Weekend. 3:46

Laura has spotted a few little items in the news this week. (3:52) Date verified.

Laura brings us up to date on hawk migration in time for this weekend’s Hawk Ridge Weekend. (3:32)

Laura intercepted a letter Icarus the Crow was sending to his family. (3:18)

Sort of recast from 1986-09-24

Laura often gets up before dawn to count birds flying above the Lakewood Pumping Station, just up the shore from town. (This program contains the first mention of Donald Trump that Laura ever made on the radio.) (3:40) Date confirmed

Laura is taking care of an injured crow who she named Icarus. (3:35) date confirmed

Tyrannus tyrannus lives up to its name.

Elliott Coues, an early American ornithologist, called it “the prettiest and jauntiest of our Hawks, and yet no prig.” William Brewster, a fervent cat-hater as well as prominent nineteenth century scientist, called the kestrel “most light-hearted and frolicsome.”

How do you weigh a hummingbird? Calvin Trillin’s guess wins points for good humor.

What differentiates domestic birds sold as pets from wild ones? (3:45) Date confirmed.

Laura talks about the swallow mentioned by Aristotle, Tennyson, and Shakespeare.

Laura talks about some of the rare birds that have shown up in Duluth and has suggestions if you want to see a rarity. (3:36)

Laura reads several Ogden Nash poems in honor of his birthday. (3:23)

Fall is here, at least for the birds. (3:28)

Laura celebrates her father-in-law’s birthday by talking about his favorite and least favorite birds, and mentions the only time there has ever been a mid-air collision between and airplane and a fish.

What is that big brown bird that sits on lawns this time of year?

Laura wrote to the famous Roger Tory Peterson to get his take on birds mooching at fast food restaurants and received a charming reply.

Laura watched Snow White with an ornithological eye.

One of the most conspicuous songbirds right now is the Cedar Waxwing.

Birds are showing up here and there in magazines.

Lightning, hail, and high winds take a huge toll on birds. (3:31) (Substantially reworked from 8/13/86) Reworked again in 1998, with reference to the St. Peter tornadoes, based on this transcript.

As summer wanes, some birds are already migrating while others are finishing child-rearing for the year.

Does the intelligence of crows set them at the pinnacle of avian evolution?

Laura reads Ogden Nash’s “Up from the Egg: Confessions of a Nuthatch Avoider” to welcome new listeners.

Cormorants catch fish for themselves, but also for people.

From Edgar Allan Poe’s fearsome raven to Odin’s messengers, ravens are important in virtually all cultures.

Sometimes real birds DO hurt people.

The best birds of the Boundary Waters, at least for Laura, are the warblers.

What sounds can you hear when canoeing in the Boundary Waters?

Several Duluth news writers are likening Duluth’s Ring-billed Gulls to The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock. This episode features the radio debut of Laura’s 5-year-old son Joey.(3:11) Date, and date of repeat, confirmed.

Laura brings us up to date on the Peregrine reintroduction program in Minnesota.

Laura fields questions about waxwings, gulls and pigeons, and birding optics.

Laura visited a used book sale where she found lots of cool books.

Laura’s children enjoy watching gulls, but not everyone does. (3:35)

How can a bird so drab it’s called a flying cigar be closely related to brilliant hummingbirds?

American Goldfinches are the latest nesting bird in the Northland. Why does it wait so long?

Why isn’t it good news if you’re sitting in the catbird’s seat?

Loons are doing fairly well in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but are in trouble in Michigan.

Cuckoos know the best way to deal with army worms. (3:26)

Merlins are nesting on Peabody Street! Laura answers questions about them.

Bartlett’s Quotations include plenty of fodder about birds. (3:28) Date confirmed.

Laura answers questions about nighthawks and birds mobbing other birds. (3:20)

Whether she’s stuck in a meeting or walking around the block with her children, Laura is always birding.

Some people name their daughters after a bird that says its own name over and over.

Laura talks about a goatsucker that doesn’t suck on goats.

A long walk in a lovely place can restore the spirit. (4:04) Date confirmed.

reworked from 1986 (3:35)

Playing the “BIrdie Game” in the car can keep children, or at least their mommy, entertained on a long car trip.

Carl Sandburg may have known fog, but perhaps didn’t appreciate a true Duluth fog. Fortunately, birders do. (3:49)

Laura isn’t the only one who loves Bobolink. Odgen Nash and Emily Dickinson wrote poems about it. (3:19)

In anticipation of the best bird-watching of the year coming up now, Laura gives some tips on how to find and identify birds. (3:42) date confirmed

Laura talks about three of the easiest warblers to hear.

Reworked from May 14, 1986

Birders are setting out tomorrow to see as many birds as they can in various Minnesota counties.

What resources have made this radio program possible? (4:04) Date verified.

This is a re-recording of last year’s program about a tiny, pugnacious bird.

Ogden Nash wrote a poem about little birdies in the nest.

Migration is hazardous; Laura explains the dangers and makes an offer listeners can’t refuse. (4:01)

Bird seed is a bit more that tuppence a bag, but Mary Poppins had the right idea. (3:45)

Laura plays some of the most beautiful bird songs.

A few stragglers are sticking around even as more and more new birds arrive. (3:33) date confirmed

Laura explains a few of the Shakespearean lines about birds. (3:45) Date verified.

Laura talks about a magic moment with a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Laura’s original program about the American Woodcock

Simon and Garfunkel’s 59th Street Bridge Song helps remind us to slow down and enjoy what’s all around.

Laura talks about Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, and Toronto Blue Jays, along with some other birds of baseball.

Laura plays some shockingly weird calls of birds.

Laura of course has a soft spot for Killdeer, but apparently so did John James Audubon.

Some birds raise young produced by other mothers. (2:55)

Updated from 1986-05-16. (3:42)

One of the best ways to learn your birds is to go out with an expert, and no one fits that bill better than Kim Eckert, who is leading a great and inexpensive series of field trips this spring. (3:26) date confirmed

On April 1, 1987, I broke the news that the Cornell Lavatory of Othinology had cracked the code of all bird language. This episode features cameos by Tim Winker and Dan Proctor, and marks the debut of Jim Baker, proprietor of Baker’s Blue Jay Barn (John Keenan).

More birds are appearing every day, and Laura announces winners of the robin contest. (3:30) Date confirmed

Over Dorothy’s rainbow, bluebirds fly, but their lives aren’t always so happy and peaceful.

Laura reads a selection of Robert Frost’s bird poems. (3:18) Date confirmed.

More birds are returning! (4:00) date confirmed

Which species are the swallows of San Juan Capistrano? And why does the City of Duluth disapprove of them?

“Blackbird pie” was made up of robin relatives, not blackbirds, and our robin isn’t related to the European Robin.

President Wilson’s body is on display at the Smithsonian. No, not THAT President Wilson!

How much do we take sides in predator-prey issues?

Eagles are back!

Laura talks about some famous criminal cases involving bird watchers. (3:55) date confirmed

More signs of spring are being detected in the Duluth area. (3:42) date confirmed

How many birders are there? (3:55) Date verified.

Laura talks about what we should be expecting in March, and why to be patient if we’re hungry to see orioles or hummingbirds. (3:55) Date confirmed.

Winter finches are hard to find overall, but there are pockets where they are crowding into feeders. (3:49) Date verified

Today For the Birds is heard on a new station: KAXE in Grand Rapids.

Laura’s children are fascinated with dinosaurs right now, and as a birder, so is she.

How can a bird as majestic as an eagle be a scavenger?

The chickadee checkoff is an excellent way of supporting non-game wildlife, and Laura hopes it stays that way.

Today would be a great day to go to the zoo.

The bird most focused on romance right now is the Great Horned Owl.

Lincoln’s Sparrow was not named for Abraham Lincoln.

Laura finally saw a Boreal Owl! (This script was revised, but I don’t know when the revision was used. It’s after this script.)

No matter what you believe the roles of male and female should be, there’s a bird that exemplifies it. (3:46)

If only Shakespeare had been a better birder, starlings would never have come to America.

Laura heard from the Disney Archives and learned why they design their corvids with bright yellow-orange bills.

Laura reads Konrad Lorenz’s story from King Solomon’s Ring about leading baby ducks about.

Laura talks about a beautiful and sturdy little finch. (3:39)

For Laura’s 100th program, she decided to talk about the bird she most badly yearns to see.

A record-number of Gray Jays are flying about the Duluth area.

If there are so many good birds around, why aren’t they at feeders?

Doonesbury’s Dick Davenport died photographing a Bachman’s Warbler in Yosemite. Will Lacy ever develop the film? 4:00 (This sound file may be from a re-recording I did at some point.)

Fish sometimes turn the tables and eat birds.

How times have changed with regard to bird collecting! (4:07) Date verified.

An owl so rare Audubon never saw a living one is pretty easy to see this year just outside of Duluth.

What bird sounds are you likely to hear in Duluth right now?

Two Blue Jays are coming to Laura’s porch to take peanuts from her hand.

How do you say “Pileated”?

Duluthians are lucky enough to see waxwings year round—though not necessarily the same species.