American Birding Podcast

2016 was an exceptional year for ABA Area Big Year birders, with four individuals all breaking the record in one year! Nate Swick talks with all four - Christian Hagenlocher, Laura Keene, Olaf Danielson, and John Weigel - about their experiences and insights in a jam-packed episode.  Nate also has a conversation with previous record-holder Neil Hayward, whose book, Lost Among the Birds, was published in 2016. Thanks to Naturalist Journeys for sponsoring this episode!

Welcome Ruddy Turnstone, 2017 ABA Bird of the Year! Nate Swick has a conversation with scientist, author, and 2017 BOY artist Sophie Webb (www.sophiewebb.com) whose image of Ruddy Turnstones will be featured on the cover of the February 2017 issue of Birding magazine. We discuss turnstones, art, and what she looks for in her role as a Young Birder of the Year judge. We also want to hear your Ruddy Turnstone stories! One of the wonderful things about this bird is that you can find them when you're birding just about anywhere in the world, as Nate Swick recently discovered. He shares the story. Share your Ruddy Turnstone stories with us! We'd love to hear them!

Merry Christmas Bird Count Season, and congratulations to Canada for their new national bird, Gray Jay, and the birdy headlines it spawned. Then it's good-bye to 2016 with Scott Somershoe, a bird researcher with USFWS, who joins Nate Swick to talk about the work he does with the ABA's 2016 Bird of the Year Chestnut-collared Longspur and other prairie species. Last, Greg Neise and Ted Floyd discuss identification of white-cheeked geese, and share tips that might help you on your next Christmas Bird Count.

Laura Kammermeier of Nature Travel Network joins us to talk about birding travel, what birders want when they head abroad, and how traveling for birds helps establish ecotourism and conservation initiatives around the world. Nate Swick offers a commentary on a cool birding tourism initiative in Colombia.