The American Birding Podcast

By American Birding Association

What's The American Birding Podcast about?

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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The American Birding Podcast episodes:

04.18.2024
08-16: Take it or Leave It - Seawatching, Records Committees, and Owls
Birders are full of strong opinions, some serious and some silly. In this new feature, we invite friends on to discuss the spiciest bird takes we can find to determine whether we Take it or Leave it. George Armistead and...
04.11.2024
08-15: Martin Migration Madness with Kevin Fraser
Spring is finally on its way and with it, the promise of returning migratory birds to the United States and Canada. Among the first to arrive every year, and beloved among birders and non-birders alike, is North America’s largest swallow,...
04.04.2024
08-14: Random Birds, Special Edition, with Ted Floyd & John Lowry
John Lowry steps from the production booth into the host's seat this time around to join Birding magazine editor Ted Floyd in a special Random Birds featuring John's home state of Michigan and Ted's old home of Nevada. They discuss a...
03.28.2024
08-13: This Month in Birding - March 2024
Beware the IDs of March! Shakespeare was no doubt concerned with molting grebes, singing juncos and the various other birding difficulties brought to us in this month when he wrote those words. Jody Allair, Mikko Jimenez, and Purbita Saha join...
03.21.2024
08-12: More than a Lawn Thrush with Emily Williams
What can we learn from one of the most familiar birds in North America? A bird so well-known that it’s migration is remarked upon by friends and colleagues who might otherwise have no knowledge about birds at all. The American...
03.14.2024
08-11: Beat this Big Year Record with Jeff Bouton
Digiscoping is more popular than ever, but bird records involving this practice are few and far between. We needed someone to lay down the gauntlet, and last year that person was Jeff Bouton. Many birders know Jeff as the representative...
03.07.2024
08-10: Protecting Plovers in NYC with Chris Allieri
Beach nesting shorebird conservation is one of the more nuanced issues on the continent because the sorts of places and times of year where they prefer to nest are the sorts of places and times of year that humans prefer...
02.29.2024
08-09: This Month in Birding - February 2024
It's Leap Day! It’s not often that we have an extra week in February, but this month’s This Month in Birding marks the first time we’ve ever had an episode on the 29th of February. We are joined by Jennie...
02.22.2024
08-08: Still Birding to Change the World with Trish O'Kane
Way back in 2019, we first spoke with Trish O’Kane about the Birding to Change the World program she had instituted at the University of Vermont, where she is a lecturer and environmental educator, because of an essay she had...
02.15.2024
08-07: 2023 Rare Bird Draft with Amy Davis & Tim Healy
2023 was an exceptional year for ABA Rarities, and few can remember a more extraordinary one in terms of both quality and quantity of shocking and spectacular rare birds in the US and Canada. As we do every year, we...
02.08.2024
08-06: The Drama of Shorebird Migration with Randall Wood
The voyages of migratory shorebirds are cinematic in their scope; certainly an attractive subject for a nature documentarian. Randall Wood is the award-winning writer, director, and producer of Flyways: The Untold Story of Migratory Shorebirds, which aired in the United...
02.01.2024
08-05: eBird Analytics with Harry Stevens
Birders use eBird to log their own personal lists, and to help find birds they would like to see, but the heart of eBird, the dream even of eBird, was to create a massive public database of bird sightings that...
01.25.2024
08-04: This Month in Birding - January 2024
This Month in Birding is back in the new year, with a panel of old friends to talk bird and birding news of the month. This time around, Stephanie Beilke, Jordan Rutter, and Brodie Cass Talbott come by to talk...
01.18.2024
08-03: Two-Fisted Birdwatching with Mike Lubow
A disillusioned adman and casual birder, a mysterious ransom plot, and a conservation program for restoring Peregrine Falcons all combine in Mike Lubow’s irreverent new novel, The Idea People. Mike is a prolific writer and story-teller whose interests intersect with...
01.11.2024
08-02: 2024 Bird of the Year Artist Natasza Fontaine
The 2024 Bird of the Year is Golden-winged Warbler--the first of the charismatic and colorful wood-warbler family to be so honored. This gorgeous Parulid has it all, stunning colors, an important conservation story, and a unique taxonomic conundrum with its...
01.04.2024
08-01: Inside the Bird Name Committee
The decision by the American Ornithological Society last year to begin the process of renaming birds currently named after humans has been one of the more animating debates in the birding and ornithological communities in recent memory. The recommendations...
12.21.2023
07-51: This Month in Birding - December 2023
This Month in Birding is The American Birding Podcast’s monthly round table discussion on all things birds and birding. This month features Nick Lund, Sarah Swanson, and Mo Stych talking AI and birding, light pollution, a tragic macaw love story...
12.14.2023
07-50: Random Birds X with Ted Floyd
It’s a holiday miracle! The podcast feature that was supposed to last one episode, lasted significantly more than that! Birding editor Ted Floyd is back to talk Random Birds. He and Nate cover lots of passerines and two different hummingbirds...
12.07.2023
07-49: Birding Book Club - Best of 2023
The Birding Book Club is back again to do our annual Best Bird Books of the Year episode for 2023. With the holiday gift-giving season is right around the corner there’s no better time to give the gift of bird...
11.30.2023
07-48: Secrets of Slow Birding with Bridget Butler
If there’s one thing that 2020 taught birders, its how to appreciate your immediate surroundings. The cancellation of festivals, international trips, and even many local bird walks and meetings encouraged us to be more present and local. It’s something that...
11.23.2023
07-47: This Month in Birding - November 2023
This Month in Birding is The American Birding Podcast’s monthly round table discussion on all things birds and birding. This month features Jennie Duberstein, Tim Healy, and Ryan Mandelbaum covering bird name changes, universal alarm calls, what makes a bird...
11.16.2023
07-46: Random Birds, Vol 9, with Ted Floyd
Host Nate Swick is on the road, but that doesn't mean you won't get new content! Birding editor Ted Floyd is back again for another edition of Random Birds, the most fun you can have with a bird list and a random...
11.09.2023
07-45: Talking Lumps - Western Flycatchers with Alec Hopping
One of the biggest taxonomic changes of this year was the long-anticipated lump of the species formerly known as Pacific-slope and Cordilleran Flycatcher back into Western Flycatcher. It’s a story with all the taxonomic highs and lows packed into a...
11.02.2023
07-44: Meet Wayne Klockner, the ABA's New Executive Director
This past summer, the ABA brought on our new Executive Director. Wayne Klockner comes to us after a long career with The Nature Conservancy in Maryland and beyond, with efforts that have led to the conservation of thousands of acres...
10.26.2023
07-43: This Month in Birding - October 2023
This Month in Birding is The American Birding Podcast's monthly round table discussion on all things birds and birding. This month features Martha Harbison, Mikko Jimenez, and Dexter Patterson covering the USFWS's recent extinction news, Takahe reintroductions, birding at night,...
10.19.2023
07-42: The Wingsnappers with Barney Schlinger
Manakins are among the most unique and fascinating neotropical bird families with displays that run the gamut from group line-dancing to bizarre percussive feather snaps. One species, in particularly, has long fascinated UCLA researcher Barney Schlinger, the Golden-collared Manakin of...
10.12.2023
07-41: Birding Under the Influence with Dorian Anderson
In 2014, Dorian Anderson pushed pause on his life, which at the time included a career in neuroscience research, a burgeoning relationship, and the ongoing struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, for an ABA Area Big Year. But not just...
10.05.2023
07-40: The Public Lives of Birds with David Welch
Birds are one of the most commonly encountered elements of human culture across time and across peoples in all parts of the world. Perhaps nowhere is that quite as evident as Las Vegas, Nevada, where humanity of every possible description...
09.28.2023
07-39: This Month in Birding - September 2023
It’s the end of the month which means its time for This Month in Birding, and we’ve got a panel of ABA friends and staff here to talk about the beautiful fall season, every birder’s favorite time of year. In...
09.21.2023
07-38: Birding for a Better World with Sydney Golden Anderson & Meghadeepa Maity
The Feminist Bird Club has been one of the more interesting and inspiring movements in the birding world over the last few years. They champion inclusivity, social justice, and an approach that is comfortable for novices and other folks who...
09.14.2023
07-37: Random Birds, Vol. 8, with Ted Floyd
It's a random time for Random Birds, the American Birding Podcast segment with Birding editor Ted Floyd that involves host Nate Swick, a big bird list, and a random number generator. We never know exactly what we're going to get, but you'll...
09.07.2023
07-36: Lifer Momos and Monals with Anuj Ghimire
Moving to Nepal to North Dakota offers quite the ornithological whiplash, but birder and graduate student Anuj Ghimire takes it all in good stride. He joins guest host and Birding magazine editor Frank Izaguirre to talk Himalayan pheasants, North Dakota nemeses, and...
08.31.2023
07-35: This Month in Birding - August 2023
It's This Month in Birding for August 2023, our monthly round table discussion featuring voices from around the birding world. This month, we welcome back our friends Jody Allair of Birds Canada, Jordan Rutter of the American Bird Conservancy, and...
08.24.2023
07-34: Secrets of Summer Birding
How would you describe summer birding? Hot? Humid? Buggy? Unbearable? For many birders it has always been the least exciting and most taxing season for getting in the field, but there’s a lot to be excited about for those who...
08.17.2023
07-33: Birding Book Club - Books for Birders that Aren't About Birds
Birders love books, and with so many options out there it’s nice to have some friends around to make suggestions, talk about what we like a lot, maybe what we don’t like quite as much, and celebrate the literary side...
08.10.2023
07-32: Birding Rwanda with Winnie Kyamujara
Nestled in the Central Africa’s Great Rift Valley, Rwanda, the Land of a Thousand Hills, is one of the most biodiverse nations on the continent, all the more impressive given its small size. With nearly 700 species of birds and...
08.03.2023
07-31: Remembering Tom Johnson
The birding community is collectively mourning the recent loss of Cape May birder Tom Johnson. Tom was a world-renowned birder and a prodigious contributor to the ABA's media, with insightful articles, phenomenal photography, and occasional appearances on the American Birding...
07.27.2023
07-30: This Month in Birding - July 2023
Welcome to the end of the July, the turn of the year as we heard into the second half of 2023. It’s also time, once again, for This Month in Birding, our monthly panel discussion about bird news and birds...
07.20.2023
07-29: Indigenous Reconnection through Birds with Alyssa Bardy
Humans have loved birds for as long as there have been humans. And while many of us in the birding world stay a birder for similar reasons, every birder, bird-watcher or bird enthusiasts has their own path to this world,...
07.13.2023
07-28: El Niño and Birds with Alvaro Jaramillo
The connections between weather and birds seem both obvious and arcane to many birders. This is especially true in this time of global warming, when weather seems particularly wonky. This summer the globe is experiencing El Niño, a warm phase...
07.06.2023
07-27: Hear Birds Again with Lang Elliott
It is an inevitability that as a birder ages, they lose the ability to hear some birds, particularly those with high pitched songs and calls. It is a struggle that nature recordist Lang Elliot has dealt with for decades, but...
06.29.2023
07-26: This Month in Birding - June 2023
It’s the end of June and that means it’s time for This Month in Birding, where we round up a panel of interesting and thoughtful birding friends to round up the latest birding news from around the ABA Area and...
06.22.2023
07-25: Random Birds, Vol. 7, with Ted Floyd
Birding magazine editor and all-around bird-knower Ted Floyd is back for another bout of Random Birds. He joins host Nate Swick, a big bird list, and a random number generator to create podcast magic. This session includes a smorgasbord of birds,...
06.15.2023
07-24: What an Owl Knows with Jennifer Ackerman
Birders and bird enthusiasts are so fortunate that science writer Jennifer Ackerman so frequently turns her mind to birds. This year, she follows the critically acclaimed The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way with the new What an...
06.08.2023
07-23: 2023 Splits and Lumps with Nick Block
It’s split and lump season again, and that means that we turn to our friend Nick Block, professor of Biology at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. He's the person we talk to when it comes to predicting the decisions of...
06.01.2023
07-22: For the Love of Birds
On May 19, 2023, the ABA and the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University hosted the For the Love of Birds panel as part of the Academy’s Cheryl Beth Silverman lecture series. If you weren’t able to join us in Philadelphia,...
05.25.2023
07-21: This Month in Birding - May 2023
It’s the last Thursday of the month of May and that means it is time to bring on a panel of birding friends to talk about bird news and goings on on the American Birding Podcast. And it’s another excellent...
05.18.2023
07-20: Halcyon Kingfisher Journeys with Marina Richie
Despite being such a charismatic bird, there are very few books about our 2023 Bird of the Year Belted Kingfisher, but this week's guest Marina Richie has written one. Her 2022 title, Halcyon Journey: In Search of the Belted Kingfisher...
05.11.2023
07-19: The Big Year that Flew By with Arjan Dwarshuis
In 2016, Arjan Dwarshuis undertook a massive birding year that took him from his home in the Netherlands to 6 continents, 41 countries, and just over 6,800 species of birds. His global big year was a massive feat, breaking the...
05.04.2023
07-18: The New Pyle Guide is Here with Peter Pyle!
2023 ABA Lifetime Achievement Awardee Peter Pyle has probably been one of the most influential American ornithologists of the last few decades. His Identification Guide to North American Birds, informally known as “the Pyle Guides”, are widely known as the...

What's The American Birding Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The American Birding Podcast episodes:

08-16: Take it or Leave It - Seawatching, Records Committees, and Owls

08-15: Martin Migration Madness with Kevin Fraser

08-14: Random Birds, Special Edition, with Ted Floyd & John Lowry

08-13: This Month in Birding - March 2024

08-12: More than a Lawn Thrush with Emily Williams

08-11: Beat this Big Year Record with Jeff Bouton

08-10: Protecting Plovers in NYC with Chris Allieri

08-09: This Month in Birding - February 2024

08-08: Still Birding to Change the World with Trish O'Kane

08-07: 2023 Rare Bird Draft with Amy Davis & Tim Healy

08-06: The Drama of Shorebird Migration with Randall Wood

08-05: eBird Analytics with Harry Stevens

08-04: This Month in Birding - January 2024

08-03: Two-Fisted Birdwatching with Mike Lubow

08-02: 2024 Bird of the Year Artist Natasza Fontaine

08-01: Inside the Bird Name Committee

07-51: This Month in Birding - December 2023

07-50: Random Birds X with Ted Floyd

07-49: Birding Book Club - Best of 2023

07-48: Secrets of Slow Birding with Bridget Butler

07-47: This Month in Birding - November 2023

07-46: Random Birds, Vol 9, with Ted Floyd

07-45: Talking Lumps - Western Flycatchers with Alec Hopping

07-44: Meet Wayne Klockner, the ABA's New Executive Director

07-43: This Month in Birding - October 2023

07-42: The Wingsnappers with Barney Schlinger

07-41: Birding Under the Influence with Dorian Anderson

07-40: The Public Lives of Birds with David Welch

07-39: This Month in Birding - September 2023

07-38: Birding for a Better World with Sydney Golden Anderson & Meghadeepa Maity

07-37: Random Birds, Vol. 8, with Ted Floyd

07-36: Lifer Momos and Monals with Anuj Ghimire

07-35: This Month in Birding - August 2023

07-34: Secrets of Summer Birding

07-33: Birding Book Club - Books for Birders that Aren't About Birds

07-32: Birding Rwanda with Winnie Kyamujara

07-31: Remembering Tom Johnson

07-30: This Month in Birding - July 2023

07-29: Indigenous Reconnection through Birds with Alyssa Bardy

07-28: El Niño and Birds with Alvaro Jaramillo

07-27: Hear Birds Again with Lang Elliott

07-26: This Month in Birding - June 2023

07-25: Random Birds, Vol. 7, with Ted Floyd

07-24: What an Owl Knows with Jennifer Ackerman

07-23: 2023 Splits and Lumps with Nick Block

07-22: For the Love of Birds

07-21: This Month in Birding - May 2023

07-20: Halcyon Kingfisher Journeys with Marina Richie

07-19: The Big Year that Flew By with Arjan Dwarshuis

07-18: The New Pyle Guide is Here with Peter Pyle!