Bluebird

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Bluebird
/

Chapter 7 of Wake-Robin, by naturalist John Burroughs.

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.

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.

Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

Rock Creek, Piney Branch, and Wilderness beyond the Capitol

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Rock Creek, Piney Branch, and Wilderness beyond the Capitol
/

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.

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 or archive.org.

Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

Birds’ Nests, Part 2

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Birds' Nests, Part 2
/

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.

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 or archive.org.

Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

Birds’ Nests, Part 1

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Birds' Nests, Part 1
/

Beginning Chapter 4 of Wake-Robin, by naturalist John Burroughs. A detailed look at the nesting habits of Red-headed Woodpeckers, Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers, Pine Siskins, Cedar Waxwings, Robins and  Indigo Buntings. Burroughs marvels at the dirty jobs parent birds must endure to keep their nests clean for their young. Any parent who has changed a dirty diaper can relate.

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.

Return of the Birds - Bird Nests

Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

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 or archive.org.

The Lower and Upper Ironworks and the Abandoned Town, Tahawus

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
The Lower and Upper Ironworks and the Abandoned Town, Tahawus
/

The second half of the third Chapter, the Adirondacks. Continuing with a timeless bit of bird therapy, Burroughs wakes from a nap in the woods to find himself under scrutiny of the wood birds. Visiting Lake Sanford, fishing in Nate’s Pond and a 12 mile hike to the Lower Ironworks with views of Mount Mercy, Mount Macinyre and Mount Golden, the monarchs of the Adirondacks. Exploring the Upper Ironworks town of Tahawus, and nearby Henderson Lake.

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:

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 or archive.org.

The Adirondacks

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
The Adirondacks
/

The start of chapter three of Wake-Robin by naturalist, John Burroughs. Burroughs and a group of fishing companions depart for the Boreas Reach near Lake Placid, New York. Burroughs demonstrates his skill as a trout fisherman, earning the respect of their guide.

Hunting at night on an open lake, the starlight reflected in the center gave the dark timberline at the water’s edge a belt of utter blackness, a portal between the real and the imaginary, the land of shadows  and specters.

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:

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 Forenoon Chorus of Finches, Thrushes and Warblers

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
The Forenoon Chorus of Finches, Thrushes and Warblers
/

This episode concludes the second chapter of Wake-Robin, by John Burroughs. Lounging on a couch of moss in the shady woods, the gentleman rambler and naturalist allows his attention to wander from species to species. He points out the the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and the song of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Scarlet Tanager. He marvels at the Purple Linnet’s song and chooses it to be the finest songster of the finches.

By a brook, Burroughs finds a cowbird nestling crowding out the resident Canada Warbler hatchlings, and decides to intervene on behalf of the Warblers. Moving on, he details the partridge’s drumming. He arrives at a reclaimed road and finds a pair of Mourning Warblers and their cousins, the Chestnut-sided Warbler. Leaving the Barkpeelings, Burroughs finds the Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-and-White Warbler and Blue-headed Vireo mingling in the hemlock, beech and birch.

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.

Return of the Birds - Episode 8

Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

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.

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

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
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.

Hermit Thrush

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.

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

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

The start of chapter 2, In the Hemlocks. Author and gentleman rambler, John Burroughs, begins 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; Hermit Thrush, spiritual solemnity; the Robin’s, a military tone. 

In-depth reviews of the Snow Bird 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.

Return of the Birds - In the Hemlocks with the Red-eyed Vireo

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.

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

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
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.

Return of the Birds - Gallery 5 Build

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:

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.

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

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
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.

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.

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

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.

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:

Welcoming the Birds of March, April and May

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Welcoming the Birds of March, April and May
/
Return of the Birds - Welcoming the Birds of March, April and May

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

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.

Great Horned Owl

Barred Owl

Barred Owl

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

Brown-headed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow Portrait

Baltimore Oriole

Photo of the Week - Male Baltimore Oriole

Wood Thrush

746 - WOOD THRUSH (6-10-2017) howell woods learning center, johnston co, nc -01 (1)

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

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Introduction: Presenting Live Birds and not just Stuffed and Labeled Specimens
/
Return of the Birds - Audiobook Podcast - Introduction

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:

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.

Second Edition Trailer

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
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 and appropriate for all ages. You can binge listen to the first edition now or enjoy the weekly episodes of this new, second edition as they’re released.

Episode 18: Epilogue – 149 Years Later

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 18: Epilogue - 149 Years Later
/

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 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.

Episode 17: In praise of John Audubon, with a couple backhanded compliments and a correction

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 17: In praise of John Audubon, with a couple backhanded compliments and a correction
/

John Burroughs praises Audubon’s life’s work, yet questions some of Audubon’s assertions about comparisons between the Louisiana Waterthrush’s song and the European Nightingale’s, the Bobolink’s and the Blue Grosbeak’s. Burroughs appreciates the volume of Audubon’s catalog, and offers two of his own to add to the collection.

Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

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 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.

Episode 16: An Invitation

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 16: An Invitation
/

Burroughs invites you to become a birder, describing the thrill of seeing the natural world around you through a new lens. 

Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

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 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.

Episode 15: The Bluebird

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 15: The Bluebird
/

Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

Eastern Bluebird

European Robin

Western Bluebird

House Wren

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 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.

Episode 14: Strolling through Rock Creek and Piney Branch, Wilderness beyond the Capitol with the Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat and Cardinal

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 14: Strolling through Rock Creek and Piney Branch, Wilderness beyond the Capitol with the Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat and Cardinal
/

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
Kentucky Warbler
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher
Northern Water Thrush
Yellow-breasted Chat
Cardinal Grosbeak
Red-headed Woodpecker

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 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.

Wood Thrush

2018 Walk for the Woods Bacon Ridge Natural Area 446 Cropped

Veery

IMG_5650

Kentucky Warbler

Kentucky warbler

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Northern Water Thrush

799 - NORTHERN WATER-THRUSH (6-14-2019) slate-colored, sockeyerd, north of willow, ak -03

Yellow-breasted Chat

Yellow-breasted Chat, July 2015--Warren Bielenberg

Cardinal Grosbeak

Northern Cardinal

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker

Episode 13: Spring in the Capitol, the Sylvian Chorus, Bluebirds, Robins, Snowbirds, Meadowlarks, Sparrows and Crows

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 13: Spring in the Capitol, the Sylvian Chorus, Bluebirds, Robins, Snowbirds, Meadowlarks, Sparrows and Crows
/
Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: 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 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.

Episode 12: Snowbird nests, Grosbeak nests, Hummingbird nests, and the Baltimore Oriole builds the best nest of all

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 12: Snowbird nests, Grosbeak nests, Hummingbird nests, and the Baltimore Oriole builds the best nest of all
/
Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: 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 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.

Blue Grosbeak

922 - BLUE GROSBEAK (8-10-10) yard, west of patagonia, scc, az  (2)

Black-and-white Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

Blue-headed Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo, Kentwood MI, 30 April 2013

Mourning Warbler

816 - MOURNING WARBLER (6-4-2015) coos co, nh -01

Red-tailed Hawk

Red Tailed Hawk

Baltimore Oriole

Photo of the Week - Male Baltimore Oriole

Red-eyed Vireo

630 - RED-EYED VIREO ( (5-21-2015) barre, worcester co, ma -03

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher

Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher

Eastern Wood Peewee

IMG_5031-85.jpg

Episode 11: Birds’ Nests and the Lengths Parent Birds Go to Keeping the Place Clean

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 11: Birds' Nests and the Lengths Parent Birds Go to Keeping the Place Clean
/
Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: 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 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.

Cedar Waxwing

Photo of the week - Cedar waxwing (MA)

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-headed woodpecker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

American Robin

Juvenile American robin, Mammoth Hot Springs

Black-capped Chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee

Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting (male)

Episode 10: Hiking to the Upper Ironworks and Indian Pass, Taking the Pulse of Mother Nature

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 10: Hiking to the Upper Ironworks and Indian Pass, Taking the Pulse of Mother Nature
/
Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: 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 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.

Black-capped Chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee

Cedar Waxwing

Photo of the week - Cedar waxwing (MA)

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Episode 9: August in the Adirondacks, Deer Hunting at Night

Return of the Birds
Return of the Birds
Episode 9: August in the Adirondacks, Deer Hunting at Night
/
Click the links below for details about the bird vocalizations used in this episode from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: 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 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.

Purple Finch

FINCH, PURPLE (4-20-07) male -2

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskin

Vesper Sparrow

877 - VESPER SPARROW (9-27-10) san rafael valley grasslands, scc, az  (2)

White-throated Sparrow

Wite-Throated Sparrow

American Robin

American Robin at Goat Lick

White-breasted Nuthatch

Durango - White-breasted nuthatch