American Birding Podcast

It’s time for the American Birding Podcast Birding Book Club and host Nate Swick welcomes bird media reviewers Frank Izaguirre from the ABA’s Birding magazine and Donna Schulman from the website 10,000 Birds to talk family specific guides. What are those, you might ask. We'll chat about identification guides or reference books that focus specifically on one group of birds, frequently, though not always strictly speaking, a family as defined taxonomically. Shorebirds, warblers, raptors, and birds-of-paradise are on the agenda.  Thanks to Buteo Books for sponsoring this episode. You can find every one of these titles at their online store and ABA members receive at 10% discount on every purchase.  For a list of all the books we discuss in this episode, please see the American Birding Podcast website. 

The path to becoming a birder is as much as about coming to grips with what is happening to you as it is about finding increasing joy in birding. We all may end up in a similar place but our paths to that place are as individual as we are. Toronto writer and lecturer Julia Zarankin didn't mean to become a birder, but 10 years on here she is. She recounts this odd journey in a new memoir, Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder, out in September in Canada and in October in the United States. She joins host Nate Swick to about how she came to call herself a birder.  Also, Nate wants you to normalize misidentifying birds. 

It’s the last Thursday of the month and that means it’s time once again for This Month in Birding. This month's esteemed panel this month has more of a western bent, significantly pulling the mean location of panelists a little bit closer to the Mississippi River at least. We welcome Canada-based bird educator and researcher Jody Allair, ABA Young-birder liaison and Sonoran Joint Venture coordinator Jennie Duberstein, and host of the Fowl Mouths podcast, Sean Milnes. We talk Thick-billed Longspur, Audubon's reckoning with their namesake, the retirement of Ron Pittaway and his Winter Bird Forecast, and the word bird pronunciation mistakes.  Links to topics discussed: Welcome Thick-billed Longspur A new beginning for the winter Finch report NAOC's online conference Audubon deals with John James's legacy

Birders on the mainland of the US and Canada have no shortage of options when it comes to field guides. Our friends in Hawaii, however, have not had such luxuries despite being home to some of the world's most spectacular birds. Now that Hawaii is included in the ABA Area, interest in the islands among birders is high, and the need for a good field guide was dire. Helen and André Raine have created just that guide along with photographer Jack Jeffrey, published as part of the American Birding Association series of field guide earlier this year. They join host Nate Swick to talk about it, and you can even win a copy with our trivia giveaway. Also, a virtual NAOC was pretty great and a Cedar Waxwing story from Chris Ortega of California. 

If there’s one thing that this year has taught birders, its how to appreciate your immediate surroundings. The cancellation of festivals, international trips, and even many local bird walks and meetings has encouraged us to be more present and local. It's something that Vermont naturalist Bridget Butler has been pushing for a long time as part of her “Slow Birding” initiative. She joins host Nate Swick to talk about how birding can create a connection to yourself and the place where you live.  Also, welcome Thick-billed Longspur!

In 2020 birders have taken to the internet in droves, but the adoption of perhaps the history’s most profound technological advancement by birders hasn’t been entirely smooth. In all those fits and starts, one person who has been here since the beginning has been Mike Bergin.  Mike’s blog, 10,000 Birds, which he now shares with Corey Finger, has been a nearly constant presence in the birdosphere for almost 15 years. He joins host Nate Swick to chat about where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what it's like to be a birder online.  Also, Travis Audubon is hosting a Spanish for Birders virtual class to those who are interested. 

Every bird organization on the planet encourages bird-friendly coffee, but what does that mean, why are there so many bird-friendly standards, and why is it so important for migratory birds? Dr. Ruth Bennett of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has the answers. She’s an avian ecologist with the Smithsonian Bird Friendly habitat initiative which works to optimize bird diversity in commercial coffee and cocoa agro-forests. Hopefully her interview will have you rushing to purchase some ABA Songbird Coffee from Thanksgiving Coffee Company or any coffee from SMBC's list of shade-grown producers.  Also, statue news we can all appreciate! And Birding editor Ted Floyd celebrates birding by camera, a modern phenomenon whose time has truly come. 

John James Audubon is frequently referred to with reverence as the father of the North American ornithology, and has a public reputation that is nearly impeccable. He has birds named after him, the country’s best known bird organization has his name, and is widely acknowledged as both a skilled painter and the best of the gentleman naturalists of the 19th century. But not so fast, says ornithologist and historian Matthew Halley, in a recently published article in Bulletin of the British Ornithologist’s Club called "Audubon's Bird of Washington: unravelling the fraud that launched The birds of America". The product of 10 years of work, Halley's  article blows the lid off of the origins of perhaps North America’s best known bird book and he joins host Nate Swick to talk about Audubon's spectacular grift and his troubled legacy.  Also, it's our 100th episode! The first 27 listeners to respond to podcast@aba.org will get some American Birding Podcast stickers!

Birders are undoubtedly familiar with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, at least by name, and recent proposed changes to that venerable piece of conservation legislation by the Trump Administration have environmental groups concerned about the long-term impacts on birds. Tykee James, host of On Word for Wildlife, a wildlife and politics podcast on the Wildlife Observer Network, and a government affairs professional joins host Nate Swick to talk about what the MBTA does and what birders can do to address these changes including commenting here before July 20! Also, thoughts on the AOS's McCown's Longspur announcement and Nate issues corrections.  Donate the ABA’s Nesting Season Appeal!

When it comes to bird conservation in North America, there are so many groups that need to be engaged. You've got government agencies from many nations alongside multiple non-profits all invested in protecting birds. But how do they know to coordinate efforts, to spread their influence, or at least, how not to get in each other’s way? Into this space comes the North American Bird Conservation Initiative - NABCI for short -  whose US coordinator Judith Scarl joins Nate Swick to talk about how they get it all done.  Plus, another Cedar Waxwing Story from Tyler Wilson of Bend, Oregon.  Donate the ABA’s Nesting Season Appeal!

It's This Month in Birding, a panel discussion covering the best bird news we might have missed here at the ABP for the last month. This episode features a panel of science writers and birders, Ryan Mandelbaum of IBM and Gizmodo, Purbita Saha of Popular Science and The Birdist Nick Lund! We cover Black Birders Week, Female Bird Day, murder loons, politics that birders needs to watch out for, and everybody's hottest bird takes. Links to topics discussed: Black Birders Week Female Bird Day Hooded Warbler Females take on nesting themselves A loon murders an eagle? Trump to override NEPA Reinterpretation of Waters of the US  Great American Outdoors Act passes the Senate Donate the ABA's Nesting Season Appeal!

Following birder Christian Cooper’s encounter with a racist white woman in Central Park on Memorial Day, a group of Black birders and naturalists created #BlackBirdersWeek, an online event to celebrate Black naturalists and scientists and to draw attention to the unique issues birding can pose to Black people. Co-organizers Corina Newsome and Tykee James join host Nate Swick to talk about what the week meant to them, and where we need to go from here. Corina Newsome is an ornithology graduate student at Georgia Southern University and Tykee James is the government affairs coordinator for National Audubon, and the host of the podcast On Word for Wildlife. Also, Nate looks at problematic honorific bird names and offers a way forward. ABA members are eligible for a 15% discount to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World subscription. Log into your ABA account to get the code. Sorry for the technical difficulties earlier today. This one should work. 

It’s split and lump season again. And that means Dr. Nick Block, professor of Biology at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts and Secretary of the ABA’s Recording Standards and Ethics Committee, is back on the podcast. He joins host Nate Swick  to talk Northwestern Crow, Great White Heron, messy duck genetics, and scrub-less jays.  #BlackBirdersWeek was last week! Don't miss the Birding while Black panels. Session 1 and Session 2 can be found on Facebook.  ABA members are eligible for a 15% discount to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World subscription. Log into your ABA account to get the code.

David Sibley hardly needs an introduction to the ABA’s audience. He is the author and illustrator of what is the most popular field guide in North America, and the one simply known by his name - The Sibley Guide, now in its second edition. David has a new book out earlier this year, What It’s Like to Be a Bird: What Birds are doing and Why – from Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing. It is a look at the fascinating behaviors and lives of our familiar birds, and, of course, a vehicle for David’s amazing artwork. He joins host Nate Swick to talk about his book, his art, and the benefits of birding alone.  Also, Nate talks about the racist attack on Christian Cooper, the incredible response that is Black Birders Week, and why the mostly White birding community needs to be paying attention.  ABA members are eligible for a 15% discount to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World subscription. Log into your ABA account to get the code.

The American Birding Podcast brings you This Month in Birding, a panel discussion covering the best bird news we might have missed here at the ABP for the last month. This episode features a panel of birding podcasts, Sean Milnes of Fowl Mouths Podcast and Sarah Bloemers and Mo Stych of Bird Sh't. It's a conversation that covers the gamut from Piping Plover love and the best birding clothes to Fast and the Furious and Samuel L. Jackson.  Links to topics discussed: AOS changes the name of The Auk Piping Plovers in Chicago What to Wear While Birding When You Want to Look Good Scientists Discover Why Some Birds Live Fast and Die Young Bird Diapers Gateway Arch Turns off its Lights for Birds ABA members are eligible for a 15% discount to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World subscription. Log into your ABA account to get the code.

More than ever, birders are turning their attention to the birds immediately outside their front door, and for millions of North Americans there is scarcely a more ubiquitous bird than the feral Rock Pigeon. But that humble Rock Pigeon can provide some interesting insights into how natural selection is impacted by the urban environment. In fact, that is the work of Elizabeth Carlen, a PhD candidate at Fordham University in New York City and the lead author of a recent article in Evolutionary Applications that looks at genetic connectivity of Rock Pigeons populations in various cities in the Northeast United States. She joins host Nate Swick to talk about the unique issues with studying urban Rock Pigeons.   Also, Nate sings the praises of his Fantasy Birding yard squad, and talks about the birding that has kept him sane in a COVID-19 world.  ABA members are eligible for a 15% discount to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World subscription. Log into your ABA account to get the code.

In recent years it has seemed as though doing an ABA Area Big Year means that you have to write a book about it, but the form's roots can be traced to Roger Tory Peterson himself. What makes them so popular? Are they travelogue, sporting conquest, adventure, or some combination? Or is the appeal as simple as wish fulfillment? 10,000 Birds media reviewer Donna Schulman and Birding magazine media review editor Frank Izaguirre join host Nate Swick to talk about Big Year narratives and what makes them great in the first edition of the ABP Birding Book Club.  Also, the USFWS disappoints with new rules for the Duck Stamp.  ABA members are eligible for a 15% discount to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World subscription. Log into your ABA account to get the code.

Welcome to the new weekly American Birding Podcast! Jennifer Ackerman is the New York Times best-selling author and essayist who wrote The Genius of Birds and a great many other science books. Her newest, out this week, is The Bird Way: A New Look at how Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think. It's a companion to that much loved earlier book, exploring the many creative, novel, and bizarre ways in which birds approach problems that they face and what they says about bird cognition and intelligence. Also, a Cedar Waxwing story from Karina Li of Big Sky, Montana. ABA members are eligible for a 15% discount to Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Birds of the World subscription. Log into your ABA account to get the code.

The COVID-19 crisis has forced us all to take stock of how we do everything, and birding and birding community events are hardly unique. It's impossible to think about anything else so we just decided to devote an entire episode to it. Host Nate Swick is joined by Brodie Cass Talbott, an educator from Portland Audubon, in Portland, Oregon, who have been adapting to this situation in novel ways, and frequent guest Birding editor Ted Floyd. They talk about how bird clubs are adapting and what we should expect from our fellow birders as the pandemic continues. 

It’s hard to step out your backdoor these days without being overwhelmed by birdsong. Spring is easing northward across the continent and with it, an increase in the activities of birds. Few people know this like ornithologist and author Donald Kroodsma, professor emeritus or ornithology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the author of a great many books on bird vocalizations. He joins host Nate Swick today to talk about his most recent book, Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist just in time for the annual explosion of birdsong in the northern hemisphere.  Also, is birding seeing a renaissance in the COVID era? And more Cedar Waxwing stories from our listeners.