No matter where on Earth you live, this is a time of year when birds are very busy migrating, singing, breeding, and nesting. So on today’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast we’re talking all about avian life — why birds deserve your care and attention, plus some recent research findings and conservation measures.

We are very pleased to welcome back to the program author Sy Montgomery, whose two most recent books are all about our avian comrades. The Hawk’s Way: Encounters With Fierce Beauty is out this week, and The Hummingbird’s Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal On Wings came out last year. Montgomery tells us why these books speak to our current pandemic times, what she learned from her experiences with falconry and hummingbird rehabilitation, and why she finds birds so fascinating.

We also speak today with Mongabay staff writer Abhaya Joshi about the birdlife of Nepal, a new bird-counting app that’s sparking greater interest in Nepal’s rich avian life, and some of the most recent conservation actions being taken in the country to protect birds.

Further reading:

• “Bird-counting app kindles interest in Nepal’s rich avian life” (23 March 2022)

• “Nepal’s first bird sanctuary takes flight, raising hope for conservation” (14 March 2022)

• “Study: Farmland birds in Nepal, India in dire need of conservation action” (22 April 2022)

Further listening:

• “Podcast: Exploring the minds and inner lives of animals” (20 February 2018)

Subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever you get your podcasts from! You can also listen to all episodes here on the Mongabay website. Or you can download our app for Apple and Android devices to gain fingertip access to new shows and all our previous episodes.

Follow Mike Gaworecki on Twitter: @mikeg2001

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