The American Birding Podcast

Latest Episodes:

08-41: The Courage of Birds with David Sibley Oct 10, 2024

Show notes

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.

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08-40: Sandy Komito, In His Own Words Oct 03, 2024

Show notes

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.

08-39: This Month in Birding- September 2024 Sep 26, 2024

Show notes

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.

08-38: A Field Guide to Finches with Lillian Stokes and Matt Young Sep 19, 2024

Show notes

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.

08-37: Inside Crane Conservation with Rich Beilfuss Sep 12, 2024

Show notes

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.

08-36: Random Birds XII with Ted Floyd Sep 05, 2024

Show notes

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.

08-35: This Month in Birding - August 2024 Aug 29, 2024

Show notes

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?

08-34: Figuring out Flamingos with Amy Davis and José Ramirez-Garafalo Aug 22, 2024

Show notes

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.

08-33: Take It or Leave It - Banding, eBird, and Taxonomy Aug 15, 2024

Show notes

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.

08-32: Birding Book Club - Bird Books for the Bird Continent Aug 08, 2024

Show notes

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.

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