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The American Birding Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by American Birding Association
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 for news and happenings, recent rarities, guests from around the birding world, and features of interest to every birder.
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- Yesterday53 min
10-22: Looking for Lost Birds with John Mittermeier
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!
- 1 weeks ago1h 18m
10-21: This Month in Birding - May 2026
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!
- 2 weeks ago1h 19m
10-20: Take it or Leave it LIVE!
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!
- 3 weeks ago43 min
10-19: Ten Birds that Changed the World with Stephen Moss
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 eye, 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!
- 4 weeks ago41 min
10-18: Sharing Spark Birds with Jenn Lodi-Smith
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!
- Apr 29, 20261h 18m
This Month in Birding - April 2026
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!
- Apr 23, 202638 min
10-16: Mob Tape Malpractice? with Marty Freeland
Pishing, mob tapes, and playback are all tools that birders frequently use to supplement their birding experience, be it to show other birders a great bird or to bring birds close for photographs. They have typically been seen in the community as benign but the ease of their use certainly raises questions about how they affect the birds we enjoy. Marty Freeland is a Stanford student who has not only been thinking about these questions, but has attempted to answer them in a scientific manner. His work helped inform an essay by Peter Pyle that was published both in the most recent issue of Birding magazine and on the ABA website. He joins Nate Swick to talk about his work, his thoughts on the use of "electronic pishing", and the amazing pishing behavior of lyrebirds. Also, the ABA is hosting a membership drive this spring! By joining or renewing now, you can help unlock an additional $100 per member for the ABA's 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!
- Apr 16, 202658 min
010-15: Saving Birds to Save the Planet with Scott Weidensaul
Scott Weidensaul is the author of nearly 30 books about birds, birding, and natural history. His latest is The Return of the Oystercatcher: Saving Birds to Save the Planet, a globe-trotting look at look at bird conservation successes from re-wilding efforts in England to vultures in Romania, to the puffins and plovers of North America. It is a soothing balm in this time of great anxiety about bird populations and a critical look at what still nees to be done. He joins host Nate Swick to talk about it all. Also, we're coming up on The Biggest Week in American Birding! Nate will be there. Will you? 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!
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About The American Birding Podcast
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 for news and happenings, recent rarities, guests from around the birding world, and features of interest to every birder.
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