The American Birding Podcast

The reintroduction of the Bald Eagle in North America is justifiably counted among the world’s great conservation success stories. Ravaged by DDT, the Bald Eagle was on the brink of extirpation in the United States by the 60s. As a young college student, Tina Morris played a large role in bringing this impressive bird back to the eastern United States, nursing young birds in upstate New York. Her memoir Return to the Sky: The Surprising Story of How One Woman and Seven Eaglets Helped Restore the Bald Eagle, documents these efforts. She joins us to talk about it. Also, Nate is back from Georgia with a rare bird finding story.  Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!  

David Sibley hardly needs an introduction to birders in North America, and his Sibley Guide to Birds is on the shelves of nearly every bird-curious person on the continent. He's also a frequent collaborator with the Dean of Cape May, Pete Dunne, and their latest project, The Courage of Birds, written by Pete and illustrated by David, is out at the end of October. He joins us to talk about winter birding, Cape May in the old days, and how art has changed in the age of photographs.  Also, California Condors are moving north, and that's pretty exciting. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!  

Last month saw the passage of Sandy Komito, perhaps the ultimate Big Year birder. Not only did he set records twice, but his second attempt, along with Al Levantin and Greg Miller, was the subject of Mark Obmascik's book, The Big Year. That book because a movie of the same name, where an exagerated version of Komito was played by Owen Wilson. While a great deal of artistic license was taken in the underhanded behavior of Wilson's character, the drive, passion, and charisma was recognized by those who befriended Sandy over the years. In light of his passage, we bring you a series of interviews by the ABA's Greg Neise, where Sandy tells the stories of his Big Year and what it takes to put it all together not once, but twice, in his own words.  Thanks to our friends at FeatherSnap for sponsoring this episode. Feathersnap is a smart bird feeder with AI bird identification capabilities that send photos of the birds visiting your yard. Capture every moment with FeatherSnap. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!

It's the last Thursday of the month and that means it's time for This Month in Birding, our monthly roundtable discussion on birderly and ornithological topics. For September 2024, we welcome Jennie Duberstein, Gabriel Foley, and Ryan Mandelbaum (check out their newsletter) to talk about chickadee hybridization, lost birds, and what's so great about birding in fall.  Links to topics discussed in this episode:  Scientists Made a List of Lost Birds and Now They Want Us to Find Them Chickadees Show How Species Boundaries Can Shift and Blur When birds build nests, they're also building a culture hanks to our friends at FeatherSnap for sponsoring this episode. Feathersnap is a smart bird feeder with AI bird identification capabilities that send photos of the birds visiting your yard. Capture every moment with FeatherSnap. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!

The enigmatic and nomadic finches are among the most beloved groups of birds on the continent. From the widespread and familiar American Goldfinch to the bizarre honeycreepers of Hawaii, these birds can teach you just about anything you'd want to know about taxonomy, evolution, and ecology. Prolific natural history author Lillian Stokes and Matthew Young of the Finch Research Network have joined forced to celebrate these birds in their new Stokes Guide to FInches of the United States and Canada, and they join us to talk about them.  Also, the Lost Bird Project hopes to elist birders to help find 144 species of birds not seen in decades.  Thanks to our friends at FeatherSnap for sponsoring this episode. Feathersnap is a smart bird feeder with AI bird identification capabilities that send photos of the birds visiting your yard. Capture every moment with FeatherSnap. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!

It’s hard to find a more dramatic groups of birds than cranes with their massive size, spectacular breeding dances, and impressive migrations celebrated by human civilization for millennia. But even with the advantage of awareness 10 of the world’s 15 species of crane are threatened with extinction including one, famously, in North America. The International Crane Foundation has been on the forefront of efforts to protect these birds all around the world, and its President Dr. Rich Beilfuss, has been involved at almost all levels in doing do. He joins host Nate Swick to talk about the work they do and the what the future might hold for these amazing birds.  Also, the ABA Checklist is updated, with a handful of new birds and splits to add to your life list.  Thanks to our friends at FeatherSnap for sponsoring this episode. Feathersnap is a smart bird feeder with AI bird identification capabilities that send photos of the birds visiting your yard. Capture every moment with FeatherSnap. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!  

Birding editor Ted Floyd joins us for another random number inspired trip down birding memory lane with Random Birds. This time around Ted and host Nate Swick discuss the least of these, flycatchers and sandpiper, along with bitterns, warblers, and whatever else pops up. Thanks to our friends at FeatherSnap for sponsoring this episode. Feathersnap is a smart bird feeder with AI bird identification capabilities that send photos of the birds visiting your yard. Capture every moment with FeatherSnap. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!

It's the end of the month and time for This Month in Birding, our monthly panel with birding friends discussing the month's birding and ornithology news. For August 2024, we have a panel of Jody Allair, Tim Healy, and Sarah Swanson talking vultures, bustards, and the winners of the birding Olympic games. Links to articles discussed in this episode: How do birds communicate? Network science models are opening up new possibilities for experts The COVID19 confinement revealed negative anthropogenic effects of unsustainable tourism on endangered birds Loss of India’s vultures may have led to deaths of half a million people Who Wins gold in the Bird Olympics? Thanks to our friends at FeatherSnap for sponsoring this episode. Feathersnap is a smart bird feeder with AI bird identification capabilities that send photos of the birds visiting your yard. Capture every moment with FeatherSnap. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!

The flamingo phenomenon last summer was one of the more exciting birding events in recent memory, but American Flamingo has long been an intriguing species in the ABA Area. Amy Davis and José Ramirez-Garafalo are the authors of an article in the most recent issue of the ABA's North American Birds that looks at the past, present, and future of these incredible pink birds in the ABA Area.  Also, some new insights into Dodos from old sources.  Thanks to our friends at FeatherSnap for sponsoring this episode. Feathersnap is a smart bird feeder with AI bird identification capabilities that send photos of the birds visiting your yard. Capture every moment with FeatherSnap. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!

Break out the oven mitts because it's time to welcome a panel of birders to tackle the hottest birding takes we can find in Take It or Leave It. This time around we welcome ABA colleagues Michael Retter, editor of Birding special editions and North American Birds, and Jennie Duberstein, wildlife biologist and ABA Young Birder liaison to offer opinions on the scope of bird banding, eBird's tightrope between bird science and listing repository, and whether or not having multiple bird taxonomies is a good thing. Also, a major bird mortality event leads to real changes on Chicago's lakefront.  Thanks to our friends at FeatherSnap for sponsoring this episode. Feathersnap is a smart bird feeder with AI bird identification capabilities that send photos of the birds visiting your yard. Capture every moment with FeatherSnap. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!

Birders and books are inseparable. And so from time to time we like to welcome some auspicious bird book enthusiasts for we call the Birding Book Club. This time around a panel consisting of Birding magazine editor Frank Izaguirre and 10,000 Birds book reviewer Donna Schulman tackle the most bird rich continent, which ironically seems to the most bird book depauperate continent, at least until realtively recently. We cover guides to South America and all the tagential discussions that they inspire.  You can find a list of all the books we discussed at the American Birding Podcast website.  Thanks to our friends at FeatherSnap for sponsoring this episode. Feathersnap is a smart bird feeder with AI bird identification capabilities that send photos of the birds visiting your yard. Capture every moment with FeatherSnap. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!

Dr. Kaeli Swift knows crows. And she’s watched them do some pretty extraordinary things. In fact all corvids-the family that includes crows, jays, magpies, and others-have a well deserved reputation for intelligence and fascinating social behaviors. Dr. Swift’s research has provided insights into how crows interact with us, with their dead, and with each other. She joined host Nate Swick from Denali National Park where she is working with Canada Jays to talk about corvid culture and cognition. Also, some spectacular, if slightly wrong, bird art in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Thanks to our friends the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival for sponsoring this episode. Register today! Chicago's Urban Birding Festival is a great way to enjoy the unique birding in unique landscapes Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders!  

It's This Month in Birding for July 2024 with Stephanie Beilke, Martha Harbison, and Mikko Jimenez the aeroecologist! The panel discusses recent bird news including AOS splits and lumps, bird intelligence, and bird regalia, but that's hardly all. Join us for another great conversation about birds, science, and, for some reason, the Insane Clown Posse.  Links to articles discussed in this episode: AOS Checklist Redux 2024 Birds barcode food to map stashes These crows have counting skills previously only seen in people Do Magnetic murmurs guide birds? A directional statistical investigation for influence of Earth’s Magnetic field on bird navigation  'As I Stood There, a Bird Watcher in Full Regalia Paused Next to Me’ Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders! Thanks to our friends at OM System for sponsoring this episode. Embrace the outdoors and find new ways to enjoy birds and birding. Visit omsystem.com or log in to your ABA member account to claim your exclusive 10% discount on cameras and lenses like the all new weather-sealed bodies and lenses. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts, and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it!

The incredibly diverse and unbelievably photogenic landscape of British Columbia is on display in photographer and birder Melissa Hafting's new book, Dare to Bird, and with it, the birds that make this part of the continent so special and inspire Hafting’s effort to spread the joy of birding and photography around the province, across Canada, and beyond. She joins host Nate Swick to talk about it, along with rare bird recordkeeping, young birders, and more.  Also, new hope for Hawaiian birds in the form of mosquito air drops.  Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders! Thanks to our friends at Zeiss for sponsoring this episode. For a limited time you can get $200 of all ZEISS Conquest HD binoculars. Visit your local optics dealer or visit ZEISS.com/nature to find a dealer near you. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts, and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it!

Birding with Benefits, a new book by author Sarah T Dubb, is a unique new addition to the birding canon. While we shouldn’t be too surprised that all the new attention paid to birding has seen it turn up in surprising places, but the pages of a romance novel certainly seemed like a stretch. To help discuss birding's introduction into the romance genre, host Nate Swick turns to his own birding adjacent relationship and beach read enthusiast to talk about this unlikely intersection.  Also, SpaceX turns out to be a bad neighbor to birds in South Texas, according to The New York Times.  Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! And don’t forget to join the ABA to support this podcast and the many things we do for birds and birders! Thanks to our friends at Zeiss for sponsoring this episode. For a limited time you can get $200 of all ZEISS Conquest HD binoculars. Visit your local optics dealer or visit ZEISS.com/nature to find a dealer near you. Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts, and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it!