Songbirding Studios

Nature-based audio documentaries.

Shows

Songscapes

Soundscapes from nature sanctuaries and natural areas in Canada. Includes birds, amphibians, insects, and more. Season 1 and 2 produced from field recordings of the Hamilton Bioacoustic Research Project & the Hamilton Naturalists' Club in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Season 3 produced from field recordings of various recordists around the world. See the episode notes for details.

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Birdsong Serenades

Learning to identify birdsong by ear can be a satisfying skill for anyone who has interest in birds and nature. In this podcast, birdsong recordist Rob Porter introduces you to the songs found in various habitats across North America. Recordings are by Rob Porter. Cover art is by Lauren Helton. https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/

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Songbirding

Let's go birding by ear! Guided by award-winning naturalist and field recordist Rob Porter, the Songbirding podcast is an audio nature documentary that takes you on guided hikes while you learn the songs of dozens of North American songbird species. Entirely recorded in the field, and equally ideal for learning or relaxing to. You won't hear any other podcast quite like this. Songbirding has been four-time nominated as Best Science Podcast for the Canadian Podcast Awards. You can start with any episode in any season. Season 1: Bruce Peninsula, Ontario; 2-3: Southern Ontario; 4: Mid-western & Southern Ontario; 5: Johnston Harbour, Ontario; 6: Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania; 7: Kananaskis Country, Alberta. For those with high-frequency hearing loss, please search for "Songbirding Under 5kHz". Credits Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter. Cover art by Lauren Helton - https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/ About the Host Rob is a software engineer and naturalist in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is the winner of the 2025 Betty Blashill Environmental Prize, and started the Songbirding podcast in 2019. He is also currently the Bird Studies Group Director of the Hamilton Naturalists' Club. Support Support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

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Journal of a Songbirder

Birds, nature, field recording, and more. This is a new podcast where host Rob Porter talks about his field recordings (used in the podcasts "Songbirding" and "Songscapes") as well as general bird and nature-related topics. Most episodes will be based on newsletters from https://www.patreon.com/songbirding where anyone can sign up for free.

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Latest Episodes

#20 of Songbirding

Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, Part 3

I’m continuing my hike through Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest. As the morning air warms, the birdsong continues to increase in intensity and diversity.CreditsSongbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

#19 of Songbirding

Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, Part 2

We continue the exploration of Jumpingpound Forest.CreditsSongbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

#18 of Songbirding

Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, Part 1 (Northern Waterthrush)

The Northern Waterthrush is a small, brown bird that may resemble a thrush, and may even inhabit thrush habitat, but is actually a warbler.They live in bogs and wooded swamps throughout Canada and the northeastern United States.The song of the Northern Waterthrush can be considered similar to the Yellow Warbler, and is described as sounding like twit-twit-twit, sweet-sweet, chew-chew-chew.For this hike I’ve returned to Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, this time in much better weather and early in the morning. It is the last day of May 2025, and I don’t know what to expect this time, I’m just hoping to hear and record some new bird songs.CreditsSongbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

#17 of Songbirding

Species in Focus: Yellow-rumped Warbler

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is an abundant, versatile warbler found throughout Canada and the western United States during the summer.They are easily identified by the bright yellow patch on their rump just above their tail.The males sing a slow, soft warble or trill in two phrases, which is usually faster in the second part.This species was once considered to be three separate species, and Kananaskis Country is right in the midst of the hybrid zone of two of them: the Myrtle Warbler, and the Audubon’s Warbler. For this species in focus episode I’ll be sharing my recordings of the Yellow-rumped Warbler at Little Elbow PRA, Prairie View, Allen Bill Park, and Long Lake Provincial Park (not in Kananakis, but in Alberta).CreditsSongbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

#16 of Songbirding

Stormbirding

Note: unlike most of my episodes this one will have some very loud weather. I know there are quite a few listeners who use Songbirding to relax and fall asleep, and I just wanted to give you a heads up that if you’re one of them, you may want to skip this one as it ends quite loudly, or, if you happen to find thunder sounds relaxing, set a sleep timer of 20 minutes.When I first arrived in Kanaskis Country to begin to record Songbirding, I started at Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, one of the eastmost hiking areas of Kananaskis. It was noon, and I hadn’t looked at any forecasts, and also had no idea what to expect in terms of bird activity. Noon isn’t the best time for birdsong recording, especially as late as it was in the season. And while what I recorded wasn’t very many bird sounds, I encountered a very different experience with nature sounds that I will always remember.CreditsSongbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

Hosts

Rob Porter

Host of Songbirding