
The Red River Radio Bird Calls Podcast
Monthly podcast of a live call-in show, hosted by ornithologist Cliff Shackelford for Red River Radio.
Episodes
Reading the feed…

Monthly podcast of a live call-in show, hosted by ornithologist Cliff Shackelford for Red River Radio.
Reading the feed…
Airs Tue., Aug 11, 6 p.m. Join us Tuesday for the next episode of Bird Calls. We’ll listen to and discuss my all-time favorite bird songs as well as my least favorite bird songs and why. Call in and tell us your favorite bird song. I’ll also profile the Kentucky Warbler. Questions will be taken at 1-800-552-8502.
Airs Tue., July 7, 6 p.m. Join us Tuesday for the next episode of Bird Calls. Our guest will be nature cinematographer, Tim Barksdale, with Birdman Productions in Missouri. We’ll talk about his extensive travels filming stories about nature that change people’s lives. I’ll also profile the Dickcissel. Questions will be taken at 1-800-552-8502.
Airs Tue., June 9th, 6 p.m. Join us Tuesday for the next episode of Bird Calls. Our guest will be Jim Wright, a prize-winning journalist from New Jersey who wrote a new book on the Peregrine Falcon published earlier this year. I’ll also profile the Common Nighthawk. Questions will be taken at 1-800-552-8502.
Airs Tue., May 12, 6 p.m. Join us Tuesday for the next episode of Bird Calls. Our guest will be Grant Sizemore, Director of Invasive Species Programs with the American Bird Conservancy. Grant, the owner of an indoor cat named Amelia, runs the Cats Indoors program which is a topic we’ll discuss on the show. I’ll also profile a species of warbler called the Northern Parula. Questions will be taken at 1-800-552-8502.
Tue., Mar. 10, 2026, at 6 p.m. On this episode of Bird Calls, Cliff Shackelford is joined by Ben Jones, Vice President of Conservation and Education at the Houston Zoo. Jones talks about his involvement in the Lights Out Campaign in our urban centers and the Lincoln’s Sparrow is profiled.
Join us Tuesday, February 10, 6 p.m. for the next episode of Bird Calls. Our guest will be Dr. Sid Gauthreaux, an expert on bird migration and a pioneer in the use of radar technology for detecting migrating birds. I’ll also profile the Rusty Blackbird. Questions will be taken at 1-800-552-8502.
Join us Tuesday for the next episode of Bird Calls. We will discuss myths and folklore found in the bird world, plus we'll take your calls live on the air. Cliff will also profile the Blue-headed Vireo. Questions will be taken at 1-800-552-8502.
Join us Tuesday December 9th at 6 PM for the next episode of Bird Calls. Our guest will be Richard Gibbons with the National Audubon Society. With an organization as deeply-rooted as Audubon, there will be plenty to discuss. Cliff will also profile the Sedge Wren. That’s Bird Calls on December 9th at 6 PM on Red River Radio.
This week on Bird Calls, our guest is Dean Smith with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, based in Washington DC, and we will discuss several conservation funding programs designed to protect wetlands and the birds associated with them across North America. Cliff also profiles a species of waterfowl, the American Wigeon.
Join us Tuesday for the next episode of Bird Calls. Listeners will be encouraged to call-in with their questions about birds. Our guest will be Jennifer Bristol, an accomplished author of books on birdwatching. Cliff will profile the broad-winged Hawk.
Hi, this is Cliff Shackelford. Join us Tuesday September 9th at 6 PM for the next episode of Bird Calls. Listeners will be encouraged to call-in with their fall migration questions about birds. I’ll also have Julie Shackelford guest plus will profile the Least Sandpiper. That’s Bird Calls on September 9th at 6 PM here on Red River Radio.
Tuesday August 12, 2025, at 6 p.m. On this episode, Dr. Sara Wyckoff, wildlife veterinarian with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in Austin, joins host Cliff Shackelford to discuss avian flu. Cliff profiles the Yellow-breasted Chat.
Join us Tuesday July 8th, 2025 at 6 PM for the next episode of Bird Calls. Our guest, Dr. Erik Johnson, is based in Louisiana and works for Audubon Delta, a regional office of the National Audubon Society. He’s an expert on feathers and molt in birds. Cliff will also be profiling the Swallow-tailed Kite.
Join us Tuesday June 3rd at 6 PM for the next episode of Bird Calls which marks our 12-year anniversary of being on the air. Listeners will be encouraged to call-in at 1-800-552-8502 with their summer questions about birds. Cliff will also be profiling the Hooded Warbler!
Join us May 13, 2025 for the next episode of Bird Calls where our guests, RhoAnn Wallace and Galo Real, own and operate a nature tour company based in Ecuador. Learn what it takes to travel in South America to see an amazing diversity of birds. We’ll take your phone calls live on the air at 1-800-552-8502.
Tues., April 8, 2025 6 p.m. This week on Bird Calls with Cliff Shackelford entomologist Dr. Beverly Burden returns for the 8th annual “Birds and the Bees” episode. Dr. Beverly Burden was the longtime host of "What's Bugging You" on Red River Radio. She is recently retired as Assistant Professor of Biology at LSUS. Tune in this Tuesday so Cliff and Beverly can take your questions about birds and insects live on the air at 1-800-552-8502.
Join Cliff Shackelford, your host of Bird Calls, Tuesday March 18th, 2025 at 6PM for the next episode of Bird Calls where our guest will be David Newstead with the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program in Corpus Christi, Texas. He will discuss shorebirds and wading birds plus their conservation challenges along our waterways.
Join us Tuesday February 11th at 6 PM for the next episode of Bird Calls. Listeners will be encouraged to call-in with their winter questions about birds. Cliff will also be profiling the Pine Siskin plus taking your calls live on the air at 1-800-552-8502!
Cliff will be profiling the Song Sparrow.
Join us Tuesday December 10th at 6 PM for the next episode of Bird Calls where our guest will be Shelly Plante, Nature Tourism Manager for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in Austin. She will discuss the Great Texas Birding Classic, an annual birdwatching tournament of nearly 3-decades and what it’s meant to both birds and birdwatchers. Cliff will also be profiling the Black-necked Stilt plus taking your calls live on the air.