A report on concerns about possible effects of aerial drones on raptors. Arizona Game and Fish Department's continuing work on installation of wildlife crossovers and underpasses along Interstate 17. near Flagstaff. A report from Tucson Bird Alliance on the Purple Gallinule wetland bird increasingly spotted in Arizona. Bird of the episode: Bell's Vireo. Birding hotspot: Borderlands Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. Friends of wildlife: Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, Flagstaff.

A report on research regarding shorebird use of the Colorado River Delta by millions of shorebirds in migration. Highlights from the Northern Arizona Audubon Society August newsletter. A closeup of the Lark Bunting, elusive winter resident of the Wilcox Playa often observed with other sparrows. Bird of the episode: Barn Owl. Birding hotspot: Beaver Dam Mountains wilderness. Friend of wildlife: Arizona Natural Plant Society.

The Crested Caracara, a desert scavenger and sometimes breeder in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, was spotted recently in Canada. Locals say it has been observed repeatedly and may be a year-round resident. The bird was scavenging in a town dump in the Province of Ontario. Wild burros, while not native to Arizona have adapted to the desert and are wreaking havoc on native plants including Saguaro cacti. Bird of the episode: American Wigeon. Birding hotspot: Blue Range Wilderness. Friends of wildlif...

A report on the release of five more California Condors at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona. This is the fifth year that new endangered condors have been introduced into to the wild through a program involving the San Diego Zoo, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Hawk Watch International and the Peregrine Fund, among other partners. A report on how saline lakes are making a comeback in southern California and western Arizona following sigificant rains during the recent mo...

A recent study by the Nature Conservancy confirms that thinning of forests here in the Southwest is good for trees and the wildlife sustained by them, including birds. An Audubon sponsored project involving scores of scientists has come up with a new way to track birds in migration. A report on how dressing for desert conditions, especially in the heat of summer, is critically important. Bird of the episode: Lucy's Warbler. Birding hotspot: Chevelon Canyon Wildlife Area. Friend of wildlife: A...

Arizona Game and Fish Department statement encouraging the public to not feed wildlife. Doing so has the potential to spread diseases and encourage dangerous encounters with humans. Birdability update on innovative technologies designed to give disabled birders and other outdoor enthusiasts access to nature trails and other wildlife viewing opportunities. A report on the elusive Five-striped Sparrow in Southeastern Arizona. Bird of the episode: American Redstart. Birding hotspot: Aztec cattle...

A report on new research showing that Arizona Bald Eagles are expanding their ranges to include regions of the Northwestern United States. A description of how birds conform to Zipf's Law, a pattern of communication commonly observed in human language where a few words are used very frequently while many words are used rarely. Those words (sounds in the case of birds) are simplified to make the communication process faster and more efficient. A Western Resource Associates statement on the con...

A report on the Colorado River Oxbow Bridge collapse August 8, 2025. The bridge connected Cibola, Arizona to Palo Verde, California in the vicinity of the Cibola Wildlife Refuge. A description of the Sierra Madre Occidental, a unique high elevation mountain region along extreme western Mexico and parts of California and Arizona. Bird of the episode: American Kestrel. Birding Hotspot: Arizona State University Research Park. Friend of Wildlife: Arizona Solar Center.

Arizona Game and Fish Department is receiving reports of coyotes and other canids with Canine Distemper, an infectious and sometimes fatal disease that, while not a threat to humans can be transmitted to unvaccinated dogs and other pets exposed to wild canids in suburban parks and other urban areas. Symptoms are similar to behavior of animals with rabies. An in depth description of the unique ecosystems that comprise the Mojave and Sonoran desert regions of the Southwestern U.S. Bird of the e...

Scientists have discovered that plants and animals, primarily insects but including birds, communicate by exchanging information through sound. This development has upended long-held scientific assumptions and is generating new lines of research on inter-species communication that could lead to dramatic changes in understanding animal and plant ecology. Lesser Goldfinches, common in Arizona, are expanding their range to the west and northwest where they were once a rarity. Ornithologists thin...

Recently ornithologists have determined that Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees, both familiar to Arizona birders, are interbreeding in the state altering certain behavioral and appearance characteristics known to both. A report on night moths that serve as important forage for night birds and bats. Bird of the episode: Pinyon Jay. Birding Hotspot: Quigley State Wildlife Management Area. Friend of Wildlife: Paradise Mountain Preserve Trust.

Birds are classified scientifically using a system devised by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus during the 18th Century. That system, titled Systema Naturae in Latin, has been adopted internationally. It undergoes constant revision as new species of plants and animals are encountered and previously known species require updating. This episode is an introduction to classification of organisms scientifically as well as among Indigenous cultures in Arizona. Bird of the episode: Black-he...

Birding web cams are growing in popularity, and some ornithologists think they may soon begin to make significant contributions to bird science. Bird of the episode: Band-tailed Pigeon. Birding hotspot: Upper Little Colorado River IBA. Friend of wildlife: Northern Arizona Climbing Coalition.

A report on progress being made in documenting bird species found in underbirded area of Arizona. Bird of the episode: American White Pelican. Birding hotspot: Coon Bluff in the Tonto National Forest. Friend of wildlife: Arizona Forest and Fire Management.

An in-depth look at the Bald Eagle, native to North America and historically considered to be the epitome of avian dominance. But it is a complicated story that may not be so simple, or accurate. A report on the California Fan Palm, the the only palm native to Arizona and a favorite of some bird species for nesting, brooding and foraging. Bird of the episode: Black Rail. Birding hotspot: Pinaleno Mountains IBA. Friend of wildlife: Prescott Creek area volunteers.

Report on a movement to reconsider rules - or lack of them - regarding extraction of water from Arizona aquifers as wells in some parts of the state run dry. A report on the surprising presence of fireflies in Arizona. Bird of the episode: American Goldfinch. Birding hotspot: Joshua Tree Important Bird Area (IBA) in the Mojave Desert in western Arizona. Friend of wildlife: Wild at Heart in Cave Creek.

A report on Swinhoe's White-eye, a small Asian songbird that has become established in parts of California and may be headed for Arizona and other parts of North America as well. Bird of the episode: the Neotropic Cormorant. Birding hotspot: Alamo Lake State Park. Friend of wildlife: Animal Defense League of Arizona.

A report on the domestication of the American Turkey whose origins date back nearly 1,000 years in the four-corners region of the Southwest where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah come together. Indigenous people known as Anisazi are known to have domesticated birds. They predated the Aztecs who are often credited with domesticating the turkey. Bird of the episode: Arizona Woodpecker. Birding hotspot: Watson and Willow Lake IBA, Prescott. Friends of wildlife: Center for Nature and Place ...

A perspective on how smartphone bird detection software may diminish the birding experience for some birders. A report by Arizona Game and Fish Department on the lack of Chronic Wasting Disease on the Arizona deer population. The disease is known to be an issue throughout the Southwest, but not here in Arizona. Bird of the episode: Black-headed Grosbeak. Birding hotspot: Mogollon Rim Snowmelt Draw. Friend of wildlife: Central Arizona Chapter for Conservation Biology.

A report on research indicating that the growing proliferation of hummingbird feeders may be causing evolutionary changes in the length and size of the Anna's Hummingbird bill, perhaps that of other species as well. Bird of the episode: Lark Sparrow. Birding hotspot: San Rafael Grasslands in southern Arizona. Friends of wildlife: Patagonia Area Resource Alliance.