Return of the Birds

44from26
  • 5.0 (11)
  • NATURAL SCIENCES
  • SERIES
Return of the Birds

If you're feeling shut in, shut down or shut out, let the birds carry you away. John Burroughs's Wake-Robin with premier bird vocalizations from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology delivers something something truly delightful and wholly unexpected. A long-form, serialized audiobook podcast.

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  1. Second Edition Trailer

    SEASON 2 TRAILER

    Second Edition Trailer

    It’s the best time of the year. The parade begins. As Winter retreats Spring leans in. The birds are returning. And so is our show.  Return of the birds is the serialized audiobook podcast of the nature study, Wake Robin, by John Burroughs. It’s the best story about birds I’ve ever read out loud. The podcast combines Burroughs’s anticipation and delight that the birds bring to the changing seasons with field recordings of the bird songs he so accurately describes woven into the narration. First published in 1871, Return of the Birds is a podcast 149 years in the making. Come join the gentleman rambler on the shady trails of the Catskills, the Adirondacks and the fields and farms around the nation’s Capitol.  Return of the Birds is 18-episodes. You can binge the first edition now or enjoy the weekly episodes of this new, second edition as they’re released.

    3 min

  2. 03/08/2020

    Introduction: Presenting Live Birds and not just Stuffed and Labeled Specimens

    Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Winter Wren Eastern Bluebird American Robin Intro music: Kai Engel Walking Barefoot on Grass Outro music: The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps: United States National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) Download Wake-Robin by John Burroughs in e-reader format at archive.org. The Creative Commons and public domain contains a wealth of images, music and more. The images used in these show notes link back to the contributors. Winter Wren Eastern Bluebird American Robin

    19 min
  3. Welcome Back Flycatchers, Woodpeckers & Thrushes

    03/22/2020

    Welcome Back Flycatchers, Woodpeckers & Thrushes

    Credits & Links: Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology American Robin  Bluebird Phoebe bird Kingbird Northern Flicker 1 Northern Flicker 2 Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Eastern Meadowlark Northern Bobwhite Ruffed Grouse Barn Swallow Greater Prairie Chicken Great Horned Owl Barred Owl Barn Owl Red Rooster Chipping Sparrow Snow Bunting Brown-headed Cowbird Downy Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 2 Song Sparrow Baltimore Oriole Wood Thrush Intro music: Kai Engel Walking Barefoot on Grass Outro music: The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps: United States National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) Download Wake-Robin by John Burroughs in e-reader format at gutenberg.org or archive.org. The Creative Commons and public domain contains a wealth of images, music and more. The images used in these show notes link back to the contributors. American Robin Eastern Phoebe Eastern Kingbird Northern Flicker Tuffed Titmouse a title="Tufted Titmouse

    21 min

  4. 03/29/2020

    Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos, White-eyed Vireos, and a Side-by-Side Comparison of the Hermit Thrush and Wood Thrush Bird Songs

    Naturalist John Burroughs quotes 'To the Cuckoo’ by William Wordsworth. He considers in detail the White-eyed Vireo’s skilled mimicry in her mid-summer song and how it may rival the mockingbird’s own ability. Burroughs shares observations on how elevation might impact and effect the distribution of species in the Town of Highlands, New York.  And concludes with a comparison of the vocal quality and musicianship between the hermit and the wood thrushes. Intro music: Kai Engel Walking Barefoot on Grass Outro music: The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps: United States National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) Download Wake-Robin by John Burroughs in e-reader format at gutenberg.org or archive.org.

    33 min

  5. 04/05/2020

    John Burroughs Shares His Admiration for the Aristocratic Wood Thrush, Praise for the Soulful Veery, Some Criticism for the Catbird, and an Encounter with a Black Snake

    Naturalist and gentleman rambler John Burroughs was born 183 years ago on April 3, 1837. We’re grateful to carry on his work. Continuing where we left off in episode 3, we pick up in the first chapter of his book Wake-Robin. John Burroughs focuses on the thrushes. He details the grace and ease of the Wood Thrush. The Veery’s simple, descending flute-like tone adds to the twilight symphony. But Burroughs has some terse criticism for the Catbird and its song. But he turns to empathy for a Catbird family, when its nest is terrorized by a black snake and loses a fledgling to its grasp. In the end, Burroughs avenges the Catbird family. Credits & Links: Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Wood Thrush Veery Vesper Sparrow Gray Catbird Intro music: Kai Engel Walking Barefoot on Grass Outro music: The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps: United States National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) Download Wake-Robin by John Burroughs in e-reader format at archive.org. The Creative Commons and public domain contains a wealth of images, music and more. The images used in these show notes link back to the contributors.

    14 min

  6. 04/12/2020

    The Scarlet Tanager and the Dog Days of August, and, Finally, the Silent End of the Season

    Reaching the end of Chapter 1 in John Burroughs's classic nature study, Wake-Robin, the gentleman rambler describes the birds of July, the Scarlet Tanager, compares the Peewee’s hunting prowess and efficiency on the wing to the Chipping Sparrow's, or Socialis's, fumbling pursuit of a month. The marvel and spectacle when the pigeon hawk, now known as a Merlin, unflinchingly chases a goldfinch. Concluding with the late season silence and August’s departures. The Creative Commons and public domain contains a wealth of images, music and more. The images used in these show notes link back to the contributors. Credits & Links: Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Scarlet Tanager Field Sparrow Great Crested Flycatcher Barn Swallow Chipping Sparrow Vesper Swallow American Robin Yellow-billed Cuckoo White-eyed Vireo Bobolink Hermit Thrush Intro music: Kai Engel Walking Barefoot on Grass Outro music: The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps: United States National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) Download Wake-Robin by John Burroughs in e-reader format at archive.org.

    13 min

  7. 04/19/2020

    In the Hemlocks, a Guided Tour of a Primitive, Undisturbed Forest and the Avifauna Living There

    The start of Wake-Robin, chapter 2, In the Hemlocks. Author and gentleman rambler, John Burroughs, begins a guided tour in the hemlocks. Years before, townsfolk, tanners, and lumbermen attempted in vain to tame and exploit the grove. But nature proved uncooperative and the effort abandoned. By his account, the spirit and energy of the wilderness repaired and rejuvenated the injuries and offer refuge to all. We meet the Red-eyed Vireo and hear his contented song. For Burroughs, the Bobolink’s song expresses hilarity; the Sparrow’s, faith; the Bluebird’s, love; the Catbird’s, pride, White-eyed Vireo, self-consciousness; the Hermit Thrush's, spiritual solemnity: the Robin’s, a military tone. In-depth reviews of the Snowbird and Winter Wren’s song and demeanor, the Veery’s mellow expression, the unfortunately named Blackburnian Warbler and the Northern Parula. The Creative Commons and public domain contains a wealth of images, music and more. The images used in these show notes link back to the contributors. Credits & Links: Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Red-eyed Vireo Warbling Vireo Bobolink Vesper Sparrow Eastern Bluebird Gray Catbird White-eyed Vireo Hermit Thrush American Robin Snow Bunting Winter Wren  Veery Blackburnian Warbler Northern Parula Intro music: Kai Engel Walking Barefoot on Grass Outro music: The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps: United States National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) Download Wake-Robin by John Burroughs in e-reader format at archive.org.

    23 min

  8. 04/26/2020

    Reverence for the Hermit Thrush, Disdain for the Kingbird and Pewee, and Banter with the Ovenbird

    Nineteenth-century naturalist and essayist, John Burroughs gives a detailed account of the Hermit Thrush’s song. For him, it is the finest sound in nature; the peace and deep solemn joy only the finest souls may know. Commentary about the cowardly Eastern Kingbird. The Wood Pewee’s plainness. Praise for the Ovenbird and the Louisiana Waterthrush. The Creative Commons and public domain contains a wealth of images, music and more. The images used in these show notes link back to the contributors. Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Hermit Thrush Eastern Wood-Pewee Eastern Kingbird Eastern Phoebe Veery Wood Thrush Ovenbird Louisiana Waterthrush Intro music: Kai Engel Walking Barefoot on Grass Outro music: The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps: United States National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) Download Wake-Robin by John Burroughs in e-reader format at archive.org.

    19 min
See All Season 2 (18)

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5
out of 5
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About

If you're feeling shut in, shut down or shut out, let the birds carry you away. John Burroughs's Wake-Robin with premier bird vocalizations from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology delivers something something truly delightful and wholly unexpected. A long-form, serialized audiobook podcast.

Information

  • Creator
    44from26
  • Episodes
    37
  • Seasons
    1
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2019 44from26
  • Show Website
    Return of the Birds

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