The American Birding Podcast

We're back to the Bird of the Year basics for 2020--Cedar Waxwing! While the past two ABA Birds of the Year have been extremely range restricted (Iiwi 2018) or a vagrant to the ABA Area (Red-billed Tropicbird 2019), the 2020 Bird of the Year is truly a bird of the people. The Cedar Waxwing is an exquisite example of North American birddom and a favorite of so many birders in the US, Canada, and beyond. We chose it, in part, because they are known for flocking and sharing, two wonderful characteristics of the North American birding community. And to illustrate these perennial crowd-pleasers, we are fortunate to have multimedia artist Tony Fitzpatrick. Tony's work has been featured in major American museums and on the covers of roots albums. He is every bit as gregarious as a Cedar Waxwing, as you'll see in this interview with host Nate Swick from this year's Bird of the Year reveal party in Tony's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Also, Nate tells a story of nostalgia for people who inspire our birding and places that it takes us. Thanks to Vortex Optics for sponsoring this episode and the Bird of the Year reveal party.

When birders think of southeastern Arizona, they think of hummingbirds. And when they think of hummingbirds, they think of Sheri Williamson. The author of the Peterson Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America and director of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory, she played a crucial role in protecting one of the region's most beloved birding hotspots, the Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary. She talks with Nate Swick about her path to hummingbirds and her work with SABO. If you're going to be in Chicago, come join us as we reveal the 2020 ABA Bird of the Year.

The end of 2019 means that we're coming to the end of the ABA's 50th, looking forward to the our next 50. Any big milestone encourages taking stock of where you've been, where you're going. And here at the ABA we've been doing a lot of that internally, and in our various publications this year. But to sort of close the book on these 50 years we bring you a conversation about the ABA at 50 and beyond with a couple people listeners to the podcast are no doubt familiar with. ABA President Jeff Gordon and Birding editor Ted Floyd join host Nate Swick to talk about the past, the present, and the future of birding and the ABA. We're in the middle of our and of year appeal, and if you're able to make a donation to the ABA and this podcast, we appreciate any support you can offer. Happy holidays and Happy New Year list to you all!

As is our tradition, the end of the year means it's time for a look back at the best bird books published this year. Once again, 10,000 Birds book reviewer Donna Schulman joins me to talk about our favorites. Donna and I each share our Top 5, including field guides, family specific guides, and narratives from well-known authors and publishers. Thanks to Zeiss Sports Optics for sponsoring this episode! Subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Google Play, and please leave a rating or a review if you are so inclined! We appreciate it! Donna's Top 5 1) Oceanic Birds of the World - Steve Howell & Kirk Zufelt 2) Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America - Rick Wright 3) Mastering Bird Photography: The Art, Craft, & Technique of Photographing Birds and Their Behavior - Marie Read 4) Urban Ornithology: 150 Years of Birds in New York City - P.A. Buckley, et al 5) Ruby's Birds - Mya Thompson (author) & Claudia Dávila (illustrator) Nate's Top 5 1) Oceanic Birds of the World - Steve Howell & Kirk Zufelt 2) Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America - Rick Wright 3) A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration - Kenn Kaufman 4) Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Western North America - Nathan Pieplow 5) ABA Field Guide to Birds of Wisconsin - Chuck Hagner

The ABA's 50th Anniversary roadshow rolls on, this time to the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival for another LIVE show. Our special bird-themed game show features guest appearances from Birds of North America's Jason Ward and Birding magazine editor and podcast stalwart Ted Floyd. Listen in for fun birdy games, Rio Grande Valley anagrams, real or fake bird mnemonics and an Eagles themed parody song quiz. We had a ton of fun and you will too! Thanks to Turismo de Lisboa for sponsoring this episode.

Many birders throughout the ABA Area have been paying attention to the ongoing situation in South Texas with regard to the construction of the border wall. So many of our favorite birding sites have been under threat, and the situation has been alternately sad and triumphant and frustrating. Filmmaker Otilia Portillo Padua offers her insight into the often fraught affair with Birders, a short documentary recently released on the streaming platform Netflix. She joins me from Mexico City to talk about the film and her journey from Texas to Veracruz through the eyes of birds and the people who love them. Also, exciting news about a hummingbird oasis in Arizona and thoughts about the recent Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival.

How many of you out there have dressed as a bird for Halloween? Many, we're sure! But there is obviously so much more that can be done in the realm of bird costuming, and Dr. Lisa Buckley has taken bird inspired cosplay to its logical extreme. In her day job she is a vertebrate paleontologist in British Columbia but on the side she has created Bird Glamour, eye makeup inspired by a whole host of birds. She's a singularly appropriate person to chat with on Halloween and she joins host Nate Swick to talk about how birds inspire a very unique form of art. Also, the ear-splitting White Bellbird and your bird costumes at the blog! Thanks to Turismo de Lisboa for sponsoring this episode.

The incredible variety of bird song in a morning chorus on a spring or summer day is a phenomenon that a lot of birders are familiar with. But even after centuries of study there is still a lot we don't know about bird vocalizations, especially the world of female birdsong. The vocalizations of female birds are frequently as complex and important to the lives of birds as the songs we associate with male birds, and it's only relatively recently that we've begin to really look into that. Dr. Lauryn Benedict, from the University of Northern Colorado, has been on the cutting edge of this science and she joins me to talk about bird vocalizations and other aspects of female bird biology. Also, Kirtland's Warbler is off the Endangered Species List and what is birding like after LASIK surgery. Thanks to Turismo de Lisboa for sponsoring this episode.

3 Billion breeding birds have been lost in the last 40 years in the US and Canada. These are certainly sobering numbers. This was the conclusion of a paper published recently in the journal Science, and the core of the 2019 State of the Birds report. This report, spearheaded by American Bird Conservancy, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Canadian Wildlife Service, and others certainly made waves among the general public as much as in the birding community, and it seems to have really resonated. Jordan Rutter, director of public relations at the American Bird Conservancy, and Birding magazine editor Ted Floyd join me to talk about this study, what it means, and what you can do about it. Also, the 2020 Duck Stamp has been chosen, and it's a really sharp one. Thanks to Turismo de Lisboa for sponsoring this episode.

All birders intuitively understand the value of birding, even if we're not so great as a community as expressing that value. Birding as a means for personal growth, and coming to grips with the changing world around us is an important part of why we enjoy this hobby. It's certainly a fascinating topic with a lot of rich veins to mine. It's something that Dr. Trish O'Kane of the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources has thought a lot about. Her piece Of Fledglings and Freshmen was published recently in The New York Times, and she joins host Nate Swick to talk about her program "Birding to Change the World" and how birding can be a salve in this age of environmental anxiety. Also, the most metal birds, and a few outstanding questions from a recent What's This Bird Live Q&A session.