Voice of the Wild

Headphones on! Today we’re giving voice to the array of plants and animals which can only be found where the land and the water mingle. It's a set of ecosystems united by inundation, whether it's the long edge of a shallow pond, a cypress swamp, or a wet prairie. It starts with an unwanted sparrow...

Thank you to the various researchers, friends, and coworkers who gave me feedback on this episode (and to my partner who listened to many drafts over the course of a weekend.)

This episode was written and recorded by Brodie Dunn. Some of the information from this recording was derived from a fantastic master naturalist training delivered by Dr. Susan McIntyre.

The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode:

Dark-eyed Junco Song by Wil Hershberger (ML509729)

Henslow's Sparrow by Geoffrey A. Keller (ML509579)

Note: While I used this for emphasis at a few points, most Henslow’s calls in episode were native to the recordings.

Sora call by Geoffrey A. Keller (ML506061)

Virginia Rail grunt by Wil Hershberger (ML506054)

American Bittern booming song by Steven R. Pantle and Gregory Budney (ML505854)

Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a deep dive into wildlife science, news, and natural history. Voice of the Wild is brought to you by the University of Illinois Extension Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy program.

Available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Subscription links Here

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Listen online on our Homepage

Voice of the Wild is a service of Illinois Extension’s Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy program.

Learn the song and call of the Northern Parula (Setophaga americana).

This bird forages at the top of the canopy so it can be hard to spot. Luckily, it's easy to hear. It calls with gusto, often ending an ascending trill with a loud hiccup. Getting a close look at the bird is worth the effort. It's among the most ostentatious of our migratory warblers: A blue head and back, bright wingbars, yellow under the bill, and a partial eyering that puts a white dot above and below each eye. Males even have a dark band across on their front, sometimes with a bit of orange in it. It's an absolute mess of color and a joy to behold.

Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a deep dive into wildlife science, news, and natural history. Voice of the Wild is brought to you by the University of Illinois Extension Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy program.

Available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube

Subscription links Here

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Voice of the Wild Homepage

The following Macaulay Library recordings were used in today’s episode:

ML509167 by Robert C. Stein and William W. H. Gunn, ML509169 by Gregory Budney, and ML509171 by Randolph Little and James Kimball

Learn the song and call of the Red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus).

A key member of the summer orchestra, you’ll hear this common gray and olive bird on nearly every hike. It sings throughout the day, every day, seemingly every minute. Uttering short little phrases one after another as if it's just letting us know that it’s up there. It tends to slink about in the upper canopy inspecting the underside of leaves for caterpillars and other arthropods. Despite its name, its red iris is not always easy to see; look instead for its dark eyeline and pale eyebrow.

Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a deep dive into wildlife science, news, and natural history. Voice of the Wild is brought to you by the University of Illinois Extension Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy program.

Available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Subscription links Here

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Listen online on our Homepage

The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode:

Red-eyed vireo song (ML507846) by Geoffrey A. Keller

Red-eyed vireo call (ML507849) by Oliver H. Hewitt

Learn the song and call of the Yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia).

You might find this little yellow bird in a stand of willows next to a pond or hear its call while walking past the shrubby edge of a creek. Its song is an anthem of the early summer and it’s sung in two phrases. The first goes “sweet sweet sweet” and the second can be heard as “I’m so sweet” or “song so sweet.” The singer is yellow from head to tail with just a tinge of olive across its back. In the breeding season the males have handsome red streaks down their front.

Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a deep dive into wildlife science, news, and natural history. Voice of the Wild is brought to you by the University of Illinois Extension Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy program.

Available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Subscription links Here

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Listen online on our Homepage

The following Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode:

ML509228 by Mike Andersen, ML509226 by Wil Hershberger, and ML509234 Robert C. Stein

Dickcissel (Spiza americana).

In a good tallgrass prairie the Dickcissel’s call can seem to come from every direction. It may have a passing resemblance to a Meadowlark, but on closer inspection you’ll find the Dickcissel is much smaller and has stubby finchlike beak. If you are still unsure, simply wait for the bird to sing it’s own name; dick-dick cissel-cissel.

Do you want to learn more bird songs, frog calls, and insect noises? Join Voice of the Wild every Friday to explore a new wild voice. From time to time, we’ll also do a deep dive into wildlife science, news, and natural history. Voice of the Wild is brought to you by the University of Illinois Extension Natural Resources, Environment, and Energy program.

Available on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Subscription links Here

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Listen online on our Homepage

The following Cornell Lab | Macaulay Library recordings were used in this episode:

Dickcissel song by Geoffrey A. Keller (ML509877)

Dickcissel flight call by Paul Coopmans (ML509879)

Dickcissel call by Wil Hershberger (ML509878)

Sources and more:

• https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dickcissel/overview
• https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/dickcissel
• Sibley, David. Sibley Birds East: Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America. Second edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. Print.
• Peterson, Roger Tory, and Virginia Marie Peterson. A Field Guide to the Birds: A Completely New Guide to All the Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Fourth edition, completely revised and enlarged. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980. Print.
• Dobson, Colin et al. Field Guide to Hotspots and Birds in Illinois. Champaign-Urbana: Scissortail LLC, 2023. Print.
• Godfrey, Michael A, John Farrand, and Roger Tory Peterson. Videoguide to the Birds of North America. New York, N.Y: MasterVision, 1985. Film.