Bird Sh*t Podcast

Pack an extra pair of pants because we're playing scary bird calls for our Halloween episode! Play these creepy bird calls at your Halloween party or listen to them late at night when you can't sleep. (Don't worry, it's totally normal.)
In addition to learning scary bird calls, you'll hear real-life horror stories about zombies and blood-sucking vampires in the bird world. If that's not enough spooky stuff for you, we also reveal scary bird omens and legends from around the world. You won't look at ravens the same way ever again...and we've got a feeling you'll rid your house of any peacock feathers, too. Tune in to find out why!
BIRD SHIT WE DISCUSSED

USEFUL RESOURCES

• All bird calls in this episode are copyrighted recordings from The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The copyrights for all the bird calls belong to their respective owners, who graciously shared them with the Macaulay Library database; we do not own the recordings in this episode. Thank you!
• Our source for the bird omens and legends.

BIRDS WE MENTION (in order)

• Common Loon
• Barn Owl
• Laughing Kookaburra
• Common Potoo
• Corn Crake
• Great Tit
• European Pied Flycatcher
• Vampire Ground-Finch
• Blue-footed Booby
• American Crow
• Sparrows
• Swallows
• Indian Peafowl
• European Stonechat
• Common Raven

BIRDS IN THE NEWS

• It’s old news, but here’s all about that rogue Corn Crake that showed up in New York (despite the fact that it’s supposed to only migrate between Europe and Africa)
• Here’s more info about that Great Tit vs. European Pied Flycatcher situation that’s occurring due to climate change

OTHER COOL SH*T

• Miyazaki’s Kodama forest spirits (not super scary but def super cool)

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The problem with birdwatching is that, once you start, your only goal in life is to ALWAYS BE AROUND BIRDS. One way you can do that is by beautifying your home with plants that birds freakin’ love.

We’ll cover plant species that attract specific kinds of birds for various regions in the United States. Don’t worry if you have a black thumb (like Sarah). Most of these plants are low maintenance and native to specific regions. That means low-key gardening and high-reward birding. Make sure to check out the resources listed below to get native plant recommendations for birds near you!

BIRD SHIT WE DISCUSSED

USEFUL RESOURCES

• NestWatch: get certified to monitor your birdhouses for research!
• YardMap: match birds and plants based on your region
• YardMap also has useful info on native bird-friendly plants by region
• Audubon’s amazing zip-code-specific recommendations for plants that birds love!
• Super specific Bluebird box sizes, dimensions, and recommendations

BIRDS WE MENTIONED (in order)

• Great Lakes Piping Plovers
• Mallard
• Orange-Fronted Parakeet
• Cedar Waxwing
• Northern Cardinal
• Finches
• Orioles
• Hummingbirds
• Brown Thrasher
• Red-Eyed Vireo
• Eastern Bluebird
• European Starlings
• House Sparrows
• Savannah Sparrow

BIRDS IN THE NEWS

• Mamby music festival canceled in Chicago!! YAY piper plovers
• Parakeet back from the brink of extinction thanks to lots of sex

OTHER COOL SH*T

• Sarah’s favorite plant: artificial IKEA wheatgrass in a pot.
• Hilarious “House Hunters” tweets making fun of the insane budgets on the show

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Some people think it's weird that many gifts in the "12 Days of Christmas" carol are birds. We're not those people...because BIRDS. Impress your friends and family this holiday season by spittin' some fun facts about the birds mentioned in this song—plus, a special Hannukah bird!
You'll also get the lowdown on Audubon's 2019 Christmas Bird Count and how you can participate. This long-standing citizenry science event turns a whopping 120 years old this year! WOWOWOWOW. Plus, joining a CBC group near you is a great way for beginner birders to get a helping hand with identification. Check it out!
Oh, we also share two fun and intriguing articles in "Birds in the News" that aren't about climate change destroying birds. Yay!
Thanks to everyone who listened to Bird Sh*t Podcast in 2019. We'll see ya with our eyes to the skies in 2020!
BIRD SHIT WE DISCUSSED

USEFUL RESOURCES

• Hanson’s “Snowed In” is the quintessential Christmas album.
• James Bond’s “Birds of the West Indies” Peterson Field Guide
• Get the info on the 2019 Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count taking place near you!

BIRDS WE MENTION (in order)

• Rock Pigeon
• American Black Duck
• Red-legged Partridge (French Partridge)
• Gray Partridge
• European Turtle-Dove
• Faverolle (chicken breed)
• Eurasian Blackbird
• American Robin
• Graylag Goose
• Mute Swan
• Trumpeter Swan
• Ring=necked Pheasant
• European Goldfinch
• Scarlet Macaw
• Northern Cardinal
• Blue Jay
• Great Tit

BIRDS IN THE NEWS

• Happiest bird story of 2019: this 91-year-old Canadian man who has built 900+ birdhouses
• James Bond was an ornithologist IRL. True story. (And RIP <3)

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It's one thing to admire birds in the wild, but it's rare to find people who dedicate their lives to helping injured birds return to the wild. Suzie Gilbert is one of these impassioned birders. Luckily for the world, she picked up a pen to start sharing her wildlife rehabilitation stories. In this episode, we sit down with Suzie to learn the behind-the-scenes stories that inspire her writing—including her newest novel—and hear some of her wildest bird rehab stories.
After years of working as a wild bird rehabilitator, Suzie submitted a collection of short stories about bird rehabbing to a few editors and ended up writing a memoir (Flyaway: How a Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings). She's also written a children's book (Hawk Hill) and now her first novel: Unflappable.
Unflappable blends the real-life challenges of wildlife rehabbing with a high-energy fictional thriller. Luna Burke is on the run with a homicidal Bald Eagle in the back seat. Licensed to take care of injured and orphaned wildlife, she is determined to smuggle the bird from her husband’s private zoo in Florida to an eagle sanctuary in Canada. Hot on her trail are her husband, his bodyguards, the police, state conservation officials, and an expert tracker from the federal Fish & Wildlife Service. Whew!
USEFUL RESOURCES

Visit Suzie’s website to purchase her books (including her latest novel, Unflappable)!

BIRDS WE MENTION (in order)

• Red-Tailed Hawk
• Peregrine Falcon
• Rock Pigeon
• American Robin
• Brown Thrasher
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Cooper’s Hawk
• Southern Cassowary
• Eastern Bluebird
• Bald Eagle
• Roseate Spoonbill
• Great Blue Heron
• Northern Flicker

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There are many unsung bird heroes throughout history. There was the dove that Randy Johnson struck with a fastball. Or the bird that pooped on your dad during a family vacation. #memories
Unlike these nameless legends, other birds have withstood the test of time and are in our history books (ok, probably only our history books, but they're still well-known). Meet seven famous birds from throughout history. We'll give you their full backstories, introduce the supporting (mostly human) counterparts that helped them rise to fame, and provide fun anecdotes about their famous antics so you can marvel in their birdy brilliance.
Got a favorite famous bird we missed? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram @birdshitpodcast and share it with us!
BIRD SHIT WE DISCUSSED
USEFUL RESOURCES (about the famous birds in this episode)

The birds from “The Birds”

• Short clip showing why The Birds is so scary (you should go watch the whole thing if you haven’t seen it, unless you don’t want to be scared of birds)
• Jimmy Stewart = LOVE

Jimmy the Raven

• Lots of info about Jimmy the Raven
• Turns our Stewart Little had a Roadster, but there was that creepy “The Mouse and the Motorcycle” movie from the 1980s.

Alex the Gray Parrot

• A touching feature on Irene and Alex the Gray Parrot (by Neil deGrasse Tyson!)
• ALEX WAS SO SMART YOU GUYS.
• Help save parrots from being illegally traded.

Pierre the Penguin

• Pierre the Penguin in his wetsuit
• Chicken capes, in case you need one...

Dick the Mockingbird

• Thomas Jefferson and his mockingbirds
• Other presidential pets
• The mockingbird song from “Dumb and Dumber”

Rufus the Hawk

• Meet Rufus the Hawk (and his handler, Imogen Davis)
• Great feature on Rufus the Hawk (this bird is super famous, guys.)
• Rufus the Hawk’s Twitter handle...sexy profile pic or nah?)

Gertie the Duck

• Photos and backstory on how Gertie became so famous: straight from the Milwaukee Journal (Sentinel) itself.
• Buy

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