We think of songbirds as beautiful, mostly peaceful vegetarians, but there are exceptions to every rule. This week, we talk about a carnivorous songbird: The Northern Shrike, also known as the Northern Butcherbird!
In this episode, co-hosts Heidi Holtan and Charlie Mitchell delight in these evolutionary weirdos, enthuse about community science projects, and learn to recognize alarm calls from common birds.
In addition, we hear from North Shore Community School and listen to a voice memo from Mike Spry.
Love the podcast? Have a seedy story to share? Let us know! Email us at seasonwatch@kaxe.org.
You can also send us a voice memo through Speak Pipe!
Community science projects we mentioned this week include:
iNaturalist
Offal Wildlife Watch
Xeno-canto wildlife sounds
Zooniverse
Attributions
- Downy Woodpecker: GABRIEL LEITE, XC420821. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/420821.
- White-breasted Nuthatch: Russ Wigh, XC564810. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/564810.
- Blue Jay: Dany Sloan, XC861979. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/861979.
- Black-Capped Chickadee: Valerie Heemstra, XC679897. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/679897.
- Voice memo submitted by Mike Spry.
- Phenology Talkbacks and Phenology Report by KAXE and are funded in part by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
