Spark Bird: Em De Blas and the Vermilion Flycatcher

0:00This is Bird Note. End-of-Blas has years of experience leading bird outings in Chicago. But M first started birding when they were 19, while visiting family near San Luis, Potosi, and Mexico. My mom had gifted me a pair of binoculars because that's something outdoorsy people like, and I had always been an outdoorsy person. So I was just outside of my abuelita's house and the first bird that perches up is this bright, red, tiny little bird that's flying a very specific way. And I get my binoculars on it and I'm like, oh, how cool. It was a Vermillion fly catcher, a red bird totally unlike the northern cardinals they knew from Chicago. And that got M curious. I was also thinking to myself, well, I know that birders like to hear them as well. Maybe they have their own unique calls. So I go on Google, I'm like Vermillion fly catcher bird song. And it's a very, very beautiful whistle and it is very distinct.

1:02So the next day I get out there and I listen for that specific sound. And then I hear it all over and it gives you this added layer to how you experience nature. And then I was like, okay, well then what does the curve build? The raster sound like. What does the white winged dove sound like? Today you'll find M sharing their joy on bilingual outings with Chicago by Pock Birders, the Chicago Ornithological Society and the Urban Birding Festival. For Bird Note, I'm Ariana Rimmel. If you love nature stories like we cover here on Bird Note, you'll want to add back from the brink from mutual of Omaha's wild kingdom to your rotation. Hosted by Dr. Ray Wynne Grant and Peter Gross, they share stories about species that nearly disappeared and the people working to bring them back.

2:05A recent episode, How Coffee is Bringing Songbirds Back, explores the journeys of migratory songbirds, the threats they face, and the extraordinary comeback story of the Curtlyn's Warbler. You'll also learn how shade-grown coffee farms can provide critical habitat for migratory songbirds. Follow back from the brink from mutual of Omaha's wild kingdom, wherever you get your podcast.