The American Birding Podcast

Birding editor Ted Floyd joins host Nate Swick once again for another attempt to whittle down the Big Bird List using a random number generator. This episode of Random Birds features some widespread species that everyone has heard of, including a couple of common raptors and some eastern songbirds. Plus a swipe at Czech composer Antonin Dvorak that was a long time coming. Also, some of 2026's most anticipated taxonomic changes were leaked from an unlikely source. 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!

In the next couple months, billions of migrating birds will be crossing the continent from north to south. Those birds increasingly must navigate a gauntlet of threats, not least of which are windows and lights, the combination of which kills untold numbers of birds annually. Holly Greenberg is an artist and founder and director of Bird Collisions in the Anthropocene , an organization that uses art and community engagement to bring awareness to these threats to birds and hopefully inspire action for their benefit. Also, in light of lots of media about Gen Z birders, Nate considers the relative lack of Gen X birders. 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!

The end of August 20206 sees us looking forward to fall, but pausing first to enjoy a discussion about some interesting pieces of bird and birding news from the last few weeks. Friends of the podcast Martha Harbison, Frank Izaguirre, and Ryan Mandelbum join host Nate Swick to talk about urban bird behavior, the lifespans of female birds, and a whole lot about bird poop. Seriously. More than we expected. Links to items discussed in this episode: Urbanization reduces shyness and neophobia in a common waterbird Do birds enjoy flying? Why is it so hard to find DNA in bird poop? Female birds have shorter lifespans than male birds across 35 North American species, researchers find Guy Tudor, Whose Art Brought Obscure Birds to Life, Dies at 91 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!

Nashville based singer/song-writer Bonner Black is confidently making her way in the worlds of both music and birding. She's been touring bird festivals all over the world this year and and she is a fun follow on social media with often hilarious takes on birding culture. Bonner's well-received debut album Hopeless RomANTICS featured songs that landed on The New York Times 2023 Spring Playlist, and her fourth studio project is a 5 song EP titled Little Bird in a Big Sky, which features some birdy touches amongst the more expected tracks, releases on August 20th. She joins us to talk about birds, music, and how to make a living combining the two. Also, sent Nate your hottest bird takes for a special LIVE Take it or Leave it at the Rio Grande Valley Bird Festival . 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!

Birds and trees are a natural combination, and in author Marina Richie's latest, Feathered Forest: Aloft With Birds in Ancient Trees , she meditates on the big forests of her home in the Pacific Northwest and the birds that inhabit them. From Pacific Wrens on the forest floor, to Vaux's Swifts high above the canopy, each bird offers insights into the grandeur of these places. Also, thought we were done with NACC taxonomy? But wait, there's more! Nate updates listeners on the last proposal packet and the potential for a new crossbill. 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!

Migration is a tough time of year for many birds, as they make their long dangerous journey between breeding grounds and wintering territories. The path taken by many sees them passing over or stopping to nest in increasingly urban landscapes. These landscape changes affect birds in many ways, some obvious, some more subtle. That is the work of researcher Lauren Pharr , at the time of this interview, a PhD student studying urban noise and light pollution and their affect on birds. She joined host Nate Swick in April 2021 to chat about her work, wildlife research in urban settings, and community science.\ Also, Nate is back from a wonderful Black Belt Birding Festival. 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!

It's the last Thursday of the month and that means it's time for another This Month in Birding panel. July marks the turning point of the year, and the inexorable slide to fall. This month's panel features Jody Allair, Stephanie Beilke, and Nick Lund, who join host Nate Swick to talk AI's intrusion into birding, wind turbines marked for birds, and our favorite bird frenemies. Links to articles discussed in the episode: AI-altered images on birdwatching forums putting research at risk Bio-informed blade patterns for mitigating bird collisions with wind turbines This Rugged New York Heron Is Suddenly Facing Extinction in the City. Why? 55-years of Tree Swallow monitoring sheds light on the consequences of insect decline Pigeons and People Have Been Frenemies for Longer Than You Think 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!

The White-eyes are coming! And in a few parts of the ABA Area, they are already here and spreading. Introduced non-native species often fly under the radar of birders until the moment comes that they simply cannot be ignored any longer, and it seems like we are at that point with White-eyes, who are an increasingly common part of the landscape in the west. Rajan Rao is a California birder and Cornell University student. whose article about white-eyes was the cover story of the May 2026 issue of Birding magazine ... Also, the US federal government proposes some significant changes to the Endangered Species Act. 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!

Many birders across the continent have been aware of, and concerned by, the state of American Kestrels and their steady decline from places where they had once been common. Thankfully, the species the focus of a lot of conservation attention too, namely the construction and monitoring of nest boxes across the US and Canada. Emmy Broeg is one of those kestrel advocates in her role at New Jersey's Wild Bird Research Group. You might also know her as @emmybebirdin on Instagram and TikTok , where she shares that work with a wider community that is getting excited about birding. Also, Nate is all over the place this fall. Come and see him if your able. 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!

Split and Lump season is here again, and as we have since this podcast began, we welcome Dr. Nick Block of Stonehill College to discuss the exciting bird taxonomy changes that might be coming to a life list near you via the AOS NACC . Could this be the year we finally see the long awaited splits of Willet and Marsh Wren? Will Great Egret be picked apart into its continental forms? Is Prairie-Chicken on the way out in favor of Prairie-Grouse? We answer all those questions and more! Also, Nate fact checks a phenomenal Short-eared Owl story from last week's Random Birds. 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!

Host Nate Swick welcomes back Birding magazine editor Ted Floyd for another round of Random Birds. This time the random number generator wants to keep us ar the end of the checklist, prompting discussion on owls, jaegers, wrens, and finches. Also, Nates shares some observations about Breeding Bird Surveys in the drizzle. 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!

It's the end of the month, and that means it's time for another This Month in Birding episode, featuring a panel of birders gathering to talk aout recent bird news and science. This month we welcome Jason Hall, Tim Healy, and Sarah Swanson to talk grassland birds, ravens and wolves, and the "unseen 95%" of birding. Links to articles discussed in this episode: The joys of reporting on 3 teenagers chasing glory in the World Series of Birding More grass, more birds, more problems Ravens anticipate wolf kill sites across broad scales The collective application of shorebird tracking data to conservation 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!

Alabama Audubon has invited your own podcast host, Nate Swick, to be the keynote speaker at the 2026 Black Belt Birding Festival . The festival highlights the birds, the ecology, and the civil rights heritage of the region. To get excited for this summer's event, we welcome Andrew Lydeard, Alabama Audubon's Program Coordinator, and Chris Joe, third generation farmer whose family's 200 acre cattle farm in Newbern, Alabama, is an important site for the festival and a great example of the conservation and community efforts that the festival seeks to highlights. We talk birding Alabama, festival highlights, and how the community has come to love birders. Also, the Breeding Bird Suvey is back and Nate is excited to get back on his routes. 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!

The easternmost province in mainland Canada, Labrador doesn't get the attention afford to its island provincial partner Newfoundland. Its position on the continent, however, affords its birders the opportunity for some unique avian opportunities from unlikely rarities to birding by snowmobile. Labrador birder Vernon Buckle joins guest host Frank Izaguirre for a conversation about birds and birding in one of the continent's most unique places. Also, Frank shares some thoughts about the new internet of birding. 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!

There are bird species that are extant and those that are extinct, but between those two seemingly immutable categories, lies one hundred odd species of birds that are considered "Lost". This means that they hasn't been documented in many years but have not yet been determined to be extinct by authorities for any number of reasons. It is the search for those birds that is the work of John Mittermeier, Director of the Search for Lost Birds , an effort from the American Bird Conservancy, BirdLife International ReWild, and Cornell Lab, to seek out those birds a determine not only whether they're not extinct, but what needs to be done to keep them that way. Also, so long and thanks for all your help, John Lowry! 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!

It's the end of May, the season for bald cardinals, baby birds, and buggy birding. But most importantly, it's the last Thursday of the month and that means it's time for This Month in Birding, our monthly panel discussion of bird news and science and we have rounded up another great group of birding friends to have that discussion. Host Nate Swick is joined by Mikko Jimenez, Jordan Rutter, and Brodie Cass Talbott, to talk vagrant birds, robo-grouse, and birdy World Cup crests. Links to articles discussed in this episode: When Primm resort-casinos go dark, what happens to the birds? Students fabricate randy robo-grouse whose strut could save birds at Jackson Hole Airport Demography and dispersion: evaluating the causes and consequences of vagrancy in North American migratory birds Inter- and intra-individual variation in the feather coloration of American crows 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!

The ABA hosted a membership drive livestream earlier this week, and part of the four hours of birdy entertainment was a LIVE version of the American Birding Podcast favorite segment, Take it or Leave it. Panelists Nick Lund and Martha Harbison joined host Nate Swick to hash out some very hot birding takes on topics like four-letter codes, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and ugly birds. You can find the livestream on the ABA's YouTube channel . The membership drive is still live until the end of the month! Help us reach our goal at aba.org/join 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!

Birds and humanity have interacted for as long as there has been humanity, and various bird species have proven to be constants, influencing mythologies, religions, art, economics, and even warfare. Natural history, as it turns out, is human history, and that is the idea behind the book 10 Birds that Changed the World . Stephen Moss is the author, he is one of Britain's most influential nature writers and broadcasters. You can find him writing a monthly Birdwatch column for the Guardian and appearing regularly on BBC Radio, among many other places. Also, a recent hantavirus outbreak on a nature cruise has the wider world looking at birders and landfills with a critical ey e, even though birders have been part of the solution . 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!

The concept of the "spark bird", the transformative moment with a particular species that turns you from a normal person into a real-deal birder, is one that many birders are familiar with. These personal testimonies frequently tell you as much about the birder as they do about the spark bird itself. The human element of a natural experience is what excites Dr Jenn Lodi-Smith, a professor of psychology at Canisius University and scholar in residence at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, and it's what inspired her to create the Spark Bird Project , an online collection of spark birds and the birders they inspire. Also, if you're going to be at the Biggest Week festibal next week, come say hi! 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!

It's the end of April and that means it's time again for another This Month in Birding panel with a great group of birding friends joining host Nate Swick to talk about recent birding news and science. Jody Allair, Gabriel Foley, and Jennie Duberstein discuss birding and your brain, guano and civilization, and our favorite birding April Fools. Links to items discussed in this podcast: Backyard birdwatchers help scientists uncover what hawks really like to eat Becoming an Expert Birder Can Reshape Your Brain and Might Help Protect It From Aging, New Research Suggests Seabirds shaped the expansion of pre-Inca society in Peru Feeling you belong may keep scientists in ornithology, study suggests 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!