A century of science packed into a single feather. Hannah + Cleo visit a 20-year-old banding station at Chatfield State Park, where four organizations, a lot of whisper nets, and one very informed bird bander are quietly building the data that keeps birds alive. From Hans Christian Mortensen's aluminum rings to hemisphere-spanning genomic maps, it turns out the oldest trick in ornithology is still the backbone of everything.

26:58 Bird Banding conversation starts

Sources

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies — Bird Banding: https://www.birdconservancy.org/what-we-do/education/bird-banding/

Denver Audubon — Bird Banding: https://www.denveraudubon.org/bird-banding

Audubon Rockies — Bird Banding Start to Finish: https://www.audubon.org/rockies/news/bird-banding-start-finish

USGS — Why We Band Birds: https://www.usgs.gov/labs/bird-banding-laboratory/science/why-we-band-birds

USGS — How to obtain a federal bird banding permit: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-do-i-obtain-a-federal-bird-banding-permit

Bird Genoscape Project: https://www.birdgenoscape.org

Bird Genoscape Project - How To Make A Genoscape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NmCI6z9vYM

Audubon Bird Migration Explorer: https://explorer.audubon.org

Motus Wildlife Tracking System: https://motus.org

U.S. Fish & Wildlife — Motus Stations: https://www.fws.gov/story/2023-05/motus-stations

NA Banding Network — Training resources: https://nabanding.net/passerines/training/

History of bird banding: https://www.raptorresource.org/2020/06/10/banding-birds-a-brief-history/

USGS Bird Banding Lab — Banding records: https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/Bander_Portal/login/howmany.php

EURING Databank (Europe): https://euring.org/data-and-codes/euring-databank

SAFRING (Africa): https://safring.ringing.africa/

Flight Paths by Rebecca Heisman

She walks on water, runs the territory, and leaves dad holding the babies. Hannah + Cleo dive into the Jacana: the Jesus bird of the wetlands who breaks every rule nature supposedly wrote and somehow ended up tied to the oldest conservation treaty in history. And honestly? She's just getting started.

18:18 Jacana conversation starts

Sources:

Wikipedia: Jacanidae
Wikipedia: Northern Jacana
Wikipedia: Ramsar Convention
Wikipedia: Wetland
Wikipedia: Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants: Jacana
https://ebird.org/species/norjac
Animal Diversity Web: Jacanidae
A-Z Animals: Jacana
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/jacani1/cur/introduction
https://earthsky.org/earth/jacana-birds-long-toes-walk-on-lily-pads/
https://www.birdnote.org/podcasts/birdnote-daily/jacana-aka-lily-trotter
Dimensions.com: Northern Jacana
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lucy-cooke-2/bitch/9781541674912/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-70480-6
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
UNESCO — Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust — Why the Ramsar Convention Matters More Than Ever
Hoosier Environmental Council — The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
Kayhan Life — Obituary: Eskandar Firouz
https://www.ramsar.org/
Colorado Wetland Information Center (CWIC)

The stink bird! Hannah + Cleo finally get out of North America and take on the Hoatzin. The smelly punk rock pheasant of South America that may or may not be a pheasant... Tune in to hear about this and MUCH more.

20:10 Hoatzin conversation starts

Sources:

https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/hoatzi1/cur/introduction

https://www.ourbreathingplanet.com/hoatzin/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1602607328&gbraid=0AAAAADL0VgAHYIovTdN6qkMJD-vfUiOze&gclid=Cj0KCQjw77bPBhC_ARIsAGAjjV-InO0SQfBrTnO_1vbmGGnlkZuEW_C9f9E8RNPesjLD2jA435JksfwaAqGSEALw_wcB

https://critter.science/the-unusual-and-stinky-hoatzin/

https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/common-tern-chicks/#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20stay%20warm,down%20feathers%20natal%20down%20nesting

https://www.livescience.com/animals/birds/hoatzin-the-strange-stinkbird-born-with-clawed-wings-that-appears-to-be-an-evolutionary-orphan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HytWfqWYUQ&t=88s

https://a-z-animals.com/articles/meet-the-hoatzin-the-smelly-bird-with-claws-on-its-wings/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_(anatomy)