Maybe more than anyone in North America in the last 20 years, Brian Sullivan has been deeply involved in things that birders do. He was one of the original developers of eBird, which hardly needs an introduction to listeners, and is now project lead of Cornell’s Birds of the World. In the last couple years Birds of the World has absolutely become an essential collection of bird knowledge which is all the more amazing considering the scope of the project.  Also, Merlin's Sound ID is better than you think.   

06-19: A Reference for All the Birds of the World with Brian Sullivan

The American Birding Podcast brings together staff and friends of the American Birding Association as we talk about birds, birding, travel and conservation in North America and beyond. Join host Nate Swick every Thursday for news and happenings, recent rarities, guests from around the birding world, and features of interest to every birder.

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Spring turns to summer in much of the ABA Area this week, and we celebrate spring 2024 with a birding podcast crossover event for this month's This Month in Birding. We welcome Mollee Brown, one of the hosts of the  Life List podcast and Jason Hall and Dexter Patterson, hosts of the brand new, and very fun,  Bird Joy podcast to talk about the mathematics of bird flocks, how birding makes you happy, and our favorite moments of spring 2024, among other things.  Links to articles discussed in this episode:  The federal government plans to kill half a million West Coast owls  How do birds flock? Researchers do the math to reveal previously unknown aerodynamic phenomenon  Why birdwatchers are happier than the rest of us  Bald eagles are back, but great blue herons paid the price Don’t forget to donate to the ABA’s Nesting Season Appeal, which raises money for our excellent young birder programs. 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.

08-22: This Month in Birding - May 2024

Newfoundland lies on the eastern extremes of the North American continent, and every spring it hosts an always fascinating and ocasionally extraordinary array of European vagrant birds. The phenomenon that brings European Golden-Plovers and Whooper Swans and Garganeys to North America is fairly well known now, and Newfoundland birders increasingly welcome bird enthusiasts from all over the continent to enjoy it. Guest host Jody Allair of Birds Canada hosts Newfoundlander Jared Clarke from Bird the Rock Tours to talk about why it happens and what it means to be on the leading edge of continental vagrancy.  Don’t forget to donate to the ABA’s Nesting Season Appeal, which raises money for our excellent young birder programs.  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.

08-21: Newfoundland's Euro Vagrant Phenomenon with Jared Clarke

A couple weeks ago the ABA staff convened in Chicago, Illinois, for our first in-person staff retreat in more than a decade. We discussed a lot of organizational issues and, of course, we went birding at two of Chicago’s most famous lakeshore birding hotspots, Montrose Point and Jarvis Bird Sanctuary. Usually host Nate Swick and Birding magazine editor Ted Floyd discuss separate checklists, but this time they get to discuss a checklist that they both contributed to, along with a dozen or so ABA colleagues. Also, we get some movement on the  AOS English Bird Name Project.  Don't forget to donate to the ABA's Nesting Season Appeal, which raises money for our excellent young birder programs.  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.

08-20: eBird Annotated, Chicago edition, with Ted Floyd

The ambitions, egos, and adventure surrounding 18th and 19th century American ornithology affect birding and bird study to this day. We welcome author, artist, and naturalist Kenn Kaufman, who has tackled this fascinating period in a new book  The Birds that Audubon Missed: Discovery and Desire in the American Wilderness, looking at John James Audubon, Alexander Wilson, and their peers through the lens of the common and widespread birds they did not find and describe, rather than the many many that they did.   Are we in a golden age of bird-watching? Maybe, but maybe not.  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.       

08-19: The Birds that Audubon Missed with Kenn Kaufman

Friend of the Podcast and Birds Canada stalwart Jody Allair steps into the hosts chair for a discussion on nature study beyond birding with the ABA's Frank Izaguirre. The two talk about their own favorite non-bird nature experiences, the value of looking at everything else, and follow up with a discussion on Canadian nature writers.  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.

06-19: A Reference for All the Birds of the World with Brian Sullivan

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