This aired live on November 5 and was very fun to do. Lisa has been one of the very best interviewers I've dealt with in my long career, and I've been interviewed on a lot of local, state, and national radio and television news programs. Lisa always does her homework, so her questions are always intelligent and informed (seriously—very few people in media have her knowledge about nature and environmental issues), and her quick wit is SO fun to engage with! Here we talk about the Audubon Naturalist Society dropping "Audubon" from its name, the California Condor's so-called "virgin births" announced last week, and New Zealand announcing a tiny little mammal as its Bird of the Year.

Laura Erickson's For the Birds

EXTRA: Birds in the News— Live Interview at KUMD with Lisa Johnson

Laura concludes National Pigeon Week by talking to Rosemary Mosco about pigeons used in wartime.

Book Review: A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching

Rosemary Mosco explains why pigeons have never been raised as prolifically in captivity as chickens, how cool their neck's circulatory system is, what B.F. Skinner really thought about pigeons, and how Charles Darwin was totally smitten by them.

Book Review: A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, Part 4

Today Rosemary Mosco explains how we know the Neanderthals domesticated pigeons, and ways people have used pigeons over the ages.

Book Review: A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching Part 3

Today Rosemary Mosco tells Laura why pigeons are doves, why they're dinosaurs, and why they're puppies.

Book Review: A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, Part 2

Laura decided to make this National Pigeon Week to celebrate Rosemary Mosco's new book, *A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird*. She interviewed Rosemary Mosco this summer. Today's program recounts parts of the conversation explaining why Mosco loves pigeons so much.

Book Review: A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, Part I

Laura remembers the famous Halloween snow storm 30 years ago.

1991 Halloween Blizzard Reminiscences

Yesterday, Ethan Freedman wrote an op-ed for *Slate* magazine about how the pandemic made him lose interest in birding. Laura hopes he at least keeps an interest in protecting the environment that we and birds share.

Pandemic Birding

Laura talks about the delight she takes in watching her little grandson looking at birds.

Sharing a Sense of Wonder with Walter

This is a banner year for Blue Jays in Duluth. Laura's concerned about how other species are doing.

Migration Update

Laura talks about some of her exciting experiences photographing Pileated Woodpeckers. All the photos she mentions are on [today's Blog post](https://blog.lauraerickson.com/2021/09/camera-fun-with-pileated-woodpeckers.html).

Camera Fun with Pileated Woodpeckers

Laura's window feeder entices a couple of squirrels more than she wanted, but she found an effective, if expensive, solution.

Hot, Peppery Bird Food

We humans aren't the only species into violent spectator sports.

Acorn Woodpeckers, Part 2

Laura talks about a bird with a fascinating mating system.

Acorn Woodpeckers, Part I

Research about a tropical hummingbird, the White-necked Jacobin, is making scientists pay attention to the advantages females with brighter plumage have, at least in super aggressive species.

Interesting Hummingbird Research

"For the Birds" began airing on KUMD in Duluth, MN, in May, 1986, and is the longest continually-running radio program about birds in the U.S. Hundreds more episodes are available for free at http://www.lauraerickson.com/radio/.

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Laura Erickson's For the Birds

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