BirdNote

BirdNote is an independent nonprofit public media organization that tells vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face. Its flagship, BirdNote Daily, is a two-minute daily show about the joy of birds and the beauty and mystery of the natural world, heard on more than 360 public radio stations and available as a podcast, online at BirdNote.org and on social media.

Beyond the daily show, BirdNote produces BirdNote en Español, the daily episodes entirely in Spanish, and longform podcasts including Bring Birds Back, Threatened, Sound Escapes and BirdNote Presents, along with video and a book, BirdNote: Chirps, Quirks, and Stories of 100 Birds from the Popular Public Radio Show. Public radio stations can air its programming at no cost through Content Depot, PRX or a monthly download list.

The show began in Seattle. Chris Peterson, then executive director of Seattle Audubon, conceived it in 2004, and KPLU (now KNKX) aired the first episode on February 21, 2005. BirdNote became a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2006 and grew from four stations in 2007. It is now based in Asheville, North Carolina.

BirdNote stories are written by birders, scientists and journalists and reviewed by a panel of science advisors, and most of the sounds come from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Its conservation partners include the American Bird Conservancy, Audubon, BirdLife International and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The staff includes producers, writers and narrators, content and communications leaders, development staff and IT and web management. BirdNote encourages people from communities historically underrepresented in public media and environmental organizations to apply for its openings.