Free event! Birding Across the Pond

Join us for a transatlantic 'name that tune' with BirdNote & Birdsong Academy

When is a robin a thrush? How did Shakespeare change the ecology of the Americas? What unites people around nature on both sides of the Atlantic, and beyond?

→ Thursday 23 May
→ 7.30pm BST / 2.30pm EST
→ on Zoom

These are the kinds of questions that have cropped up over the three years that Shriek of the Week has been putting birdsong in email inboxes. 

It was all supposed to be neat and tidy.

Shriek of the Week started with a tight focus on the species that we find in the UK - where to find them and how to tell them by ear.

International considerations were to be confined, I thought, to the seasonal migration patterns of our species - mainly North-South and vice versa - and how many of 'our' birds in Europe ought to be considered equally those of Africa and the Mediterranean. 

How foolish of me. The ornithological exchange across the Atlantic is, it’s clear, just as fascinating.

In the comments we find ourselves talking about the miraculous transatlantic displacement of migrating birds - rare warblers turning up in Ireland after an October storm.

But perhaps even more it's the entangled histories and cultures of birds and humans that have come to the fore.

Europe has exported some of its most familiar species westwards, just as it planted many of the names and conventions around bird classification during the colonial era.

Meanwhile the huge diversity of birds and wild spaces, and the sheer number of both professional and 'backyard' birders in America, helps to make the US a modern heavyweight in bird science and understanding. 

This exchange, fuelled by international readers of Shriek of the Week, introduced us to BirdNote. 

BirdNote also puts out a daily show about birds that is syndicated to public radio, and is heard by some 6.5 million people.

So who better to speak to about what unites us birdlovers in Europe and the US, and maybe where we confuse each other too?

I'm delighted we’ll have some time with Conor Gearin and Bibi Baksh-Pabion, two of the team at BirdNote, for us to find out more about what they do and why, and to compare notes on birdsong in each of our respective 'patches'. 

Join us for an hour of inspiring presentation, conversation and a transatlantic 'name that tune' quiz where we can all learn a little birdsong from the other side of the pond (whichever side we're on).

Hope to see you there.

~ Charlie

More about our guests:

Bibi Baksh-Pabion is Communications Director for BirdNote, where she develops and oversees communication strategies for the nonprofit. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Central Florida and a Master's Degree in Communication & Media Studies from Lynn University. Bibi resides in South Florida, USA, where she was raised and developed a lifelong love of birds, and spends her free time photographing birds as well as hiking and biking through the South Florida landscape.

Conor Gearin is Managing Producer of BirdNote Daily. He writes, edits and produces shows for the daily radio program and podcast, and supports the production of BirdNote's longform podcasts. His work has appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2019, The Atlantic, UnDark, The Millions, The New Territory, New Scientist and elsewhere. He received an S.M. in Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Biology at the University of Nebraska Omaha, where he completed thesis research on grassland bird conservation. Raised in St. Louis, he developed an interest in the native songbirds of the Midwest, which led to a career focused on studying birds and exploring ways that people and wildlife can live together sustainably. He now lives in Omaha.

BirdNote is an independent media production organization that brings joy, inspiration, and hope to millions of people around the world who value birds and the environment we share. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world — and take steps to protect it. As listeners tune in to the lives of birds, their connection with nature deepens and they become champions for conservation and stewards of places important to birds and people. BirdNote is widely-known for its flagship program, BirdNote Daily, which has a listenership of 6.5 million people through public radio stations across North America, as well as a global listener base through podcast listening services. BirdNote also produces longform podcast Bring Birds Back, and the Spanish-language version of BirdNote Daily, BirdNote en Español.