Laura Erickson's For the Birds

Laura had a memorable trip to Arizona, with both near-death and an after-death experiences with owls.

Inspired by the feather floating about at the start of the movie Forrest Gump, Laura talks about feathers. 4:15, reworked from 11/10/1995

Laura talks about our national bird and how it survives winter. Much of this has been adapted from versions in the 1980s.

Laura talked to the man who created the website towerkill.com about what we know about birds colliding with towers.

When a Pine Grosbeak hit a listener’s window, Laura told her what to do; she explains why this is one of her favorite birds.

Jim Baker meets Martha Stewart in this holiday parody. John and Karen Keenan and the California Ravens are featured.

Did you ever wish you had a pair of binoculars that identified the birds you saw in 12 seconds flat? This program featured Joe Erickson as technologically advanced Rudolph, Ramiro Figueroa as world-weary Blitzen, and Ian Smith as clueless Santa when they were seniors in high school.

Little birdies don’t often agree in the nest. This is the original program with the ad for how Earth Angel Bird Identification Binoculars saved Christmas.

Some of the ways we try to help birds can end up harming them. (Obsolete email address)

Laura tells some rather ridiculous bird jokes.

Not many birds make it to 16, but Laura’s daughter Katie has.

Laura loves hearing about people’s very first encounters with wonderful birds. This one was by her mother-in-law.

From Jimmy the Raven in many Frank Capra movies to Norman Bates’s stuffed crow, Laura notices birds in movies.

Laura talks about some of her own observations of birds mooching for french fries at fast food joints, and reads a personal letter from Roger Tory Peterson retelling his own experiences.

Laura had three spark birds that ignited her love for birds: the Blue Jay, Ovenbird, and Black-capped Chickadee

Laura slightly modified this program, which originally aired in 1995.

The history of turkeys in America. (Recast from 11-22-95)

The two species of crossbills are exceptional in many ways.

A group of people focused on tearing apart sensible environmental and conservation regulations is meeting in Duluth tonight to attack people like Laura. They seem to be adherents of the Religion of Short-Sighted Greed.

Lots about wild turkeys and their history

Why do waxwings have those red feather tips? (Reworked from March 7, 1988; date not certain–this month for sure)

Laura recast this program from 2-23-96. The month and year are correct, but date not.

The Passenger Pigeon is gone forever. How long will we remember this cosmic tragedy? (re-produced in November 1999, but I’m not sure of the exact date.

Pileated Woodpeckers make the forest better for many species. (I’m guessing this is the Pileated program I repeated on October 7, 2003)

Laura explains why she hates Daylight Savings Time. (This may be from 2000.)

About 27,000 birds were killed on October 16 when a farmer spread Furidan on his entire wheat crop. So far, no charges have been filed.

Poet Robert Stulo shares a poem that is about as big a contrast from Poe’s The Raven as a poem can be.

Laura’s son completed the last requirements for becoming an Eagle Scout, with not a moment to spare!

If Laura were a hawk, she’d stay larger than her sons.

Laura talks about a woodpecker that is exceptional in every way. (This script for this month is certain)

Magnum P.I. had a pet macaw during a time when macaws were not bred easily in captivity. What’s wrong with that?

Reworked from 11-3-95. Confirmed Date.

Crows may be nuisances in certain situations, but they’re the most human of birds.

Laura talks about a bird that is a true Minnesotan. (redone from November 9, 1987.)

The handsomest of sparrows.

Laura reviews a book with barely any references to birds.

Reworked from 1990. Date verified. Laura declares September National Flicker Month.

Laura talks about predictable seasonal rhythms, from waxwings and warblers to the Chicago Cubs.

Which birds appeal to our spirit, and which to our soul?

A remaking of a program from 1997. Date confirmed.

One formerly abundant bird that is declining now is deeply missed by a great many people.

Birds are quiet now, making Laura wonder what to make of a diminished thing.

This year nighthawk migration will be monitored from coast to coast.

Burgeoning numbers of urban geese are a human-caused problem.

In honor of Lisa Johnson’s birthday, Laura talks about one of her favorite birds that she misses from western Minnesota.

Laura finds herself the owner of a cockatiel named Farley.

Laura found herself taking care of a young Tyrannus tyrannus. date verified 3:31

Laura’s been fielding questions about waxwings, gulls, pigeons, and binoculars.

Laura reprises the program from 1988 about a fairly abundant little shorebird with a teetering habit.

The bird with the weirdest call in the universe, Alaska’s state bird, figured prominently in Jack London’s White Fang.

Laura talks about a beautiful bird, and a gruesome study conducted on it. (recast from 1988-05-30)

The current Atlantic Monthly has gone to the dogs. (3:26) Date verified.

Laura’s little screech owl staged a getaway.

Cars hit too many turtles. (Date confirmed)

Laura reads a luscious poem of summer by John Oberholtzer. 3:47 (Date confirmed)

Laura has a new education bird–an Eastern Screech-Owl.

Laura just added an exceptionally cool bird to her state list.

Laura is preparing for Duluth Audubon’s Birdathon. [no-longer-in-use phone number]

I have no idea when this program aired. This field guide came out in 1999, and it makes reference to the ABC All the Birds guide. Probably 1999 or 2000.

Sitting in the starlight listening to and watching woodcocks is the best way to spend a north country spring night.

The Ericksons took a family vacation to Florida.

Laura hit a major milestone on her trip to Florida. Why was #600 so important to her, and why was her #600 bird such a perfect one?

This one’s about a sparrow with an inaccurate name and a sweet disposition.

Here are tips for helping backyard birds

April Fools! (3:50)

Tonight’s Blue Moon is extra special.

Time to set out your bird houses! 3:56 (May be rerun)

Laura’s taking care of an injured Saw-whet Owl and wishing she could keep it until it was recovered. (I’m estimating the year because of the reference to Linda Tripp.)

I KNOW I did one on this date (or it’s a repeat) Why do we think some birds are “cute”? 4:29

What birds are singing right now? 4:52

Disney World is where one bird species went to die. 4:05 (may be a rerun)

Laura saw a fascinating encounter between a flock of Blue Jays and a Sharp-shinned Hawk in 1995, which she recounts this National Blue Jay Awareness Month. (Redone from September 27, 1995–this date isn’t certain but it was this month)

Imagine a weekend of northern birding and dog sledding by day, and enjoying a saw-whet owl by night.

Laura wants the Black-capped Chickadee named Minnesota’s Emergency Auxiliary Backup State Bird.

Robins give many of us lovely memories of childhood.

How did the magpie get its name? (3:44)

The true harbinger of spring is a bird you can count on–or at least a bird who counts. (4:11)

The biggest songbird in the world has inspired an enormous body of folklore and mythology. (3:45)

The zippy little finch is back in force. Plus an ad for Baker’s Blue Jay Blend by the California Ravens. (3:37)

Laura is envious of Canada because Prince Edward Island commemorates the Blue Jay as its provincial bird. (Definitely aired this month, the day after the State Bird program. Otherwise the date isn’t known for sure)

Laura can’t help but wonder why the Blue Jay isn’t the state bird for a single state. (This program definitely aired this month, the day before the program on provincial birds.)

Jim Baker reviews some avian-produced movies from last year, along with clips!

Ornithologists have discovered that Blue Jays like their brothers and sisters more than human children do. 4:03 (reworked from 1995)

A huge colony of Black-backed Woodpeckers is drawing birders to the forest north of Thunder Bay. Also, an ad for Bakers Blue Jay Blend sung by the California Ravens. 4:24

My Blue Jay Sneakers died on New Year’s Eve, 1997, but it’s nice to remember some of the silly things she did. Reworked from a program on August 16, 1995. Date verified. (3:55)

Birders and non-birders both can benefit from noticing birds when we are exploring a new place. Laura makes a suggestion for resources for finding the best birdy spots.

Birds of some species can be shockingly unfaithful to their mates, but other species are very faithful.

This is about a tiny own that fuels the human imagination. (4:45) Date verified.

Laura reviews Kenn Kaufman’s superb Kingbird Highway. (3:59) (Date confirmed)

Red-bellied Woodpeckers don’t visit the Northland very often, but when they do, it’s a memorable occasion. (4:09)

The state bird of Minnesota belongs in a lake, not on someone’s lawn.

Laura Erickson’s love for Turkey Vultures and her nervousness about an ominous development in bird feeding brought her another postcard from Dave Barry. Date verified.

This one is about the Bill Clintons of the bird world.

Mild weather is a mixed blessing for birds. Reworked from 2/15/91.

Laura finds the species accounts in this old classic utterly charming as well as authoritative, if sometimes a bit out of date. She reads selections from his Blue Jay and Pine Siskin accounts.

Some birds cuddle, but only for heat.

Do environmentalists care more about animals than they do about human beings, or is it that developers and polluters care more about money than they so about human beings?

Laura gives some intriguing stories of birds taking care of the young of other species, and also of birds caring for adults of their own species.

Not all the animals we think are hibernators really are, but one bird is a true hibernator.

Laura tells a parable about all the things that kill birds, and how it might not be a good idea to ignore them.

Laura and Russ skied through Lester Park on Sunday, Laura moseying through like the slowest bird in the world.

Do birds pay attention to the moon?

Recast from 8-12-1988. Date verified.

Laura talks about a sweet, gentle bird of winter. (Recast from 12/14/87, and 11/28/89) 3;37 Date verified.

Modified slightly from 10-26-99

When Laura got a concussion, she could relate to birds hitting windows. She discusses some ways to reduce bird strikes on our windows.

People in marginal habitat are first to notice the decline of birds. To get any bird, your feeding station should provide some special things.

Blue Jays have a lot to recommend themselves as far as being the ideal mate.

Some of the winter rarities have frozen to death; Laura has some suggestions for food offerings if you get a robin, thrasher, or mockingbird. Jim Baker reminds us that Blue Jays are virtually all below the poverty level, a problem that could be corrected if people helped Blue Jays to develop computer literacy.

Laura gives suggestions for providing water in winter, and Jim Baker recommends the bird feed the ancient Greeks would have approved of if they were alive today.

Laura spent some time watching Pileated Woodpeckers in Wayzata, Minnesota, and the California Ravens sing about Baker’s Blue Jay Blend.

Laura provides a recipe for robins and other fruit-eating birds, from Carrol Henderson’s book, Wild About Birds. And Jim Baker talks about Baker’s Blue Jay Blend, guaranteed not to be laced with Viagra.

In honor of National Blue Jay Awareness Month, Laura reads a selection of Mark Twain’s short story, “Baker’s Bluejay Yarn.”

How Blue Jays enrich our lives, from planting oak forests to warning the whole forest about approaching danger.

Why do Blue Jays deserve a month of their own once in a blue moon? Jim Baker recommends Baker’s Blue Jay Blend, “Unimpeachably delicious!”