February brings an all-star lineup to This Month in Birding, with long-time friends Jody Allair, Nick Lund, and Jordan Rutter joining us to talk about all manner of birdy topics. The panel discuss the latest birding news including bird communication, low-impact journals, snakeskin in bird nests, and our favorite signs of spring, even if the season itself seems far off. 

Also, our 2025 slate of ABA Community Weekends is up. Come join us this year!

LInks to items discussed this month:

Evaluating biotic and abiotic drivers of avian community mobbing responses along urban gradients in Southern California

Snakeskin Isn’t Just a Fashion Statement for Birds

Want to get a species protected? Publish in a small, niche journal

Songbirds socialize on the wing during migration, study suggests

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The broader birding community was first introduced to Christian Cooper though the documentary The Central Park Effect, where he featured as one of eclectic crew of Central Park birders. Since then, his memoir, Better Living Through Birding and his Emmy-winning NatGeo program Extraordinary Birder, have seen his star only rise. His most recent project is a children’s book, once again focusing on Central Park called The Urban Owls: How Flaco and Friends Made the City Their Home, written by Cooper and illustrated by Kristen Adam. He joins me today to talk books, television, and what Central Park means to him. 

Also, recent federal funding freezes and firings will likely have large impacts on birds and birders. 

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It's time to talk 2024 ABA Area Rarities! This episode is our annual attempt to look back on all the exciting rare bird observations and trends of the previous year. It ended up being a very good year for rarities and North American Birds editor Amy Davis and educator and writer at The Nemesis Bird Tim Healy are here to share their favorites. 

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We love a good field guide around these parts. The more unique, the better.  Phil Chaon and Iain Campbell have certainly done that with their new book, Habitats of North America; A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists. It's a spin-off of sorts, from their 2021 book Habitats of the World and is a deep and detailed look at some of the place that we love to bird and experience nature. They join us to talk about why birders should pay attention to habitats, but also why birds are the perfect proxy for learning about habitats. 

Also, USAID is one of the most effective conservation agencies in the US government, and its loss would be tragic for birders, birders, and biodiversity. 

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Welcome to the new year! For this month's This Month in Birding, we welcome an all star panel of naturalists and writers to talk about the month's bird news. Rebecca Heisman, Dexter Patterson, and Sarah Swanson join host Nate Swick to talk about loons, mosquito killing birds, cold weather birding tips, and much more!

Links to items discussed in this episode:

A focus on females can improve science and conservation

Coated seeds turn birds into mosquito-killing machines 

Drivers of agricultural producers' tolerance towards less-charismatic avian species

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For many of us, an interest in birds and nature started with an interest in dinosaurs. Which is approriate since that's the path modern birds took when they became birds. We still don't know a lot about how dinosaurs looked and lived, but it stands to reason that if one were looking to recreate things that came before and are no longer with us that you would want to look at their closest living relatives. That is, in fact what my guest Christopher DiPiazza, of Prehistoric Beast of the Week, is all about. He is a middle school teacher and a dinosaur educator, but also a birder and paleoartist. We talk about the overlap between bird science and dino science and how he creates prehistoric art based on the birds he watches. 

Also, are you getting burnt out on social media? Perhaps give ABA Community a try!

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It's cold outside and that calls for some hot birding takes. We've collected some for another edition of Take It or Leave It, the discussion panel for the most opinionated birders. This time we welcome Chris Sloan and Martha Harbison to talk about mentorship in the internet age, whether birders underappreciate Canada, and what would it take to get back to the old rarity phone trees. 

Also, the ABA is not the only organization with a Bird of the Year in 2025. Let's celebrate some more!

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Modern optics give birders the opportunities to feel as though they are up close and personal with the bird we watch, but nothing we experience through binoculars compares to the experience with birds that wildlife rehabbers get to enjoy. Rehabilitators not only get to know birds on the individual level, but they get broader insight into the impacts of humans on bird populations as well. Tim Jasinski is a Wildlife Rehabilitation Specialist at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village, Ohio. He oins us to talk about his experiences working with birds near Cleveland.

Also, Purple Martins will be heading northward soon, but the number of landlords waiting for them continues to decline. 

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2025 is the year of the Common Loon here at the American Birding Association! Our 2025 Bird of the Year artist, Sam Zimmerman, gets to appreciate these birds frequently from his home in northern Minnesota. He is an artist, author and educator whose work explores the landscapes and creatures of the western Great Lakes, with an eye towards capturing and preserving stories from his Ojibwe heritage. His Common Loon art is featured on the cover of an upcoming issue of Birding magazine. He joins us to launch the Year of the Loon with stories about his own experiences and insight into his art. 

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Thanks for another great year here at the American Birding Podcast. To close out 2024 we host another This Month in Birding panel featuring Jennie Duberstein, Mikko Jimenez, and Brodie Cass Talbott who join Nate to talk about bird brains, CBC memories, and old albatrosses. Plus, we make our predictions for what to look forward to in the bird world in 2025. 

Links to items discussed in this episode:

World's oldest known wild bird is expecting again, aged 74

Experiments show backyard birds learn from their new neighbors when moving house

Study suggests there's no incentive for older birds to make new friends

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And don’t forget to give to the ABA’s End of Year Appeal! Thanks!