Advertise on podcast: The American Birding Podcast

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!

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!

The wide open spaces of the North American west are frequently spotted with signs of human industrial energy production. Oil and gas wells, massive wind turbines, and the like are impossible to miss and impact, occasionally significantly, the birds that live in these vast prairie ecosystems. Dr Janet Ng studies the effects of this industrial incursion into these wild places in the southern Canadian plains, and works with various partners to keep landscapes "hawky". Also, Peter Pyle has some interesting thoughts on "electronic pishing" in the most recent issue 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! This episode is brought to you by Birding Louisiana. 

Host Nate Swick leans once again on Birding magazine editor Ted Floyd for another Random Birds discussion. The Random Number Generator has a certain late winter/early spring bias with warblers and gulls and warblers and gulls on the agenda.  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! This episode is brought to you by Birding Louisiana. 

They say March comes in like a lion and out like an American Birding Podcast This Month in Birding episode, and this month panel is an exceptional one to end a month with. Host Nate Swick is joined by Stephanie Beilke, Andres Jimenez, and Ryan Mandelbaum for a fun and birdy conversation covering Airtags on birds, the most bouba and kiki species, and Tom Johnson's last piece of amazing bird science.  Links to topics covered in this episode: Using Apple AirTags to Document Dispersal and Exploratory Movements of Harris's Hawks Indigenous Peoples and local communities report a consistent decline in the body mass of birds across three continents Seeing in the dark: Using thermal imaging to directly observe nocturnal migration The bouba-kiki effect: Baby chicks match sounds to shapes just like humans 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! This episode is brought to you by All4Birding. 

The early years of bird conservation in North America, is a fascinating period, featuring colorful characters and countless battles fought in the pages of newspapers and magazines regarding the need for conserving the continent's wildlife. It is a history thoroughly recounted in the book The Feather Wars and Great Crusade to Save America's Birds by James H. McCommons. The author joins the American Birding Podcast to talk about the creation of the bird conservation movement that not only saved a number of species from extinction, but provides the basis of our the conservation landscape we enjoy today.  Registration is open for the ABA's Community Weekend in Philadelphia! It's free! 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! This episode is brought to you by Naturalist Journeys.

The state of Louisiana hosts one of the world's largest repositories of ornithological knowledge, the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural History. With nearly 200,000 bird specimens, including important collections from the tropical Americas, this institution informs a lot of what we know about bird taxonomy in this hemisphere. Dr Nick Mason is the curator of that collection, and he joins us to talk about the fascinating work done at this place and what museums are doing to make sure bird science stays on a sound footing into the future.  Also, the ABA's live What's This Bird program is breaking ground in online phenology... sort of.  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! This episode is brought to you by Naturalist Journeys and Birding Louisiana. 

The specter of a World Without Birds is certainly a sobering one, but one that could, though, inspire new birders and environmentalists to support the efforts needed to make sure that world is never a reality. In Nick Lund's latest book aimed at younger readers, he tells the stories of birds made extinct by human hands and also those of birds that have been rescued from that fate. Nick and Nate also tell stories of birds seen in unlikely places, and the birding goals of a marathoner in a wide-ranging discussion.  Also, a new study about birds and brain health has made it to The Today Show! 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!

February is the shortest month, but thankfully our end of the month roundtable discussion is long on fun and insight. This month's This Month in Birding brings together Jason Hall, Mikko Jimenez, and Sarah Swanson to discuss birds and plants, whether birds can be illegal immigrants, and our favorite avian romantic gestures. Plus, in a TMIB first, Mikko brings his own science to the discussion.  Links to articles discussed in this episode: Ancient bird routes mapped via plant diversity Can a bird be an illegal immigrant? How the White Australia era influenced attitudes to the bulbul Noise pollution is affecting birds' reproduction, stress levels and more: The good news is we can fix it Migratory bird stopover patterns linked to urbanization and social landscapes 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! This episode brought to you by All4Birding

One of the most iconic and beloved birds of the North American west is the Clark's Nutcracker, the highlight of anyone's trip to the high country. It will come as no surprise to anyone that the bird's relationship to the ecosystem goes beyond begging for trail mix from hikers, a fascinating symbiosis that was recently the topic of Glacier National Park's Headwaters podcast, whose host, Peri Sasnett, joins us to talk nutcrackers and conservation. This interview previously ran in August 2022.  Also, Nate is keynoting at the Black Belt Birding Festival this summer! 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 2023, ABA Area birders welcomed Chihuahuan Meadowlark to the official ABA Checklist, and subsequently to many life lists. Previously considered a distinct subspecies of Eastern Meadowlark, the split was the result of work done by Dr. Johanna Beam while she was an undergraduate researcher. Informed by her background as a birder, Johanna used museum specimens, audio recordings, and genetic tools to inform the eventual split. She joins host Nate Swick to talk about how it's done, and what other potential new species might be out there.  Also, the ABA announced our 2026 Community Weekend schedule. We hope to see you out there! 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!

Birding editor Ted Floyd returns for another episode of random birds. This time around, the random number generator wants passerines, and Ted and host Nate Swick must oblige. We cover the ABA's Bird of the Year for 2026, and a number of other grassland species.  Also, the ABA Checklist Committee's recent update suggests a new direction for the ABA Checklist, at least partially.  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! This episode brought to you by All4Birding

It's the first This Month in Birding panel of the new year, and Nate welcomes a crew of birders featuring Mollee Brown, Frank Izaguirre, and Jordan Rutter to discuss predation of penguins, evolving junco bills, and weird bird stuff in our houses. Plus, is pishing an ethical birding practice? Links to items discussed in this episode: Penguins Become Prey for the Pumas of Patagonia  Without campus leftovers to pick through, the beaks of this bird changed shape during the pandemic Bias in density estimates from avian point-count surveys: Prospects for post-hoc corrections using calibration data Woman's viral "bird theory" about white people has everyone checking their homes 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! This episode brought to you by All4Birding

2025 was an exciting year for rare bird sightings in the ABA Area, with two first ABA records and a fascinating array of interesting and unexpected records from all corners of the US and Canada. North American Birds editor Alex Lamoreaux and writer and teacher Tim Healy join host Nate Swick to have some fun remembering the highlights of last year. Check out the 2026 Bird of the Year merch available NOW at aba.org/store 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!

Science writer Ed Yong was an invaluable resource for many of us navigating the strange pandemic landscape. His writing about Covid-19 at The Atlantic earned him a Pulitzer Prize, but left him looking for an outlet to recalibrate after that anxiety-ridden period. Inspired by his own writing in his book, An Immense World, he turned to bird-watching despite not expecting to be any good at it. It has turned into a passion, a way to explore both his home and the wider world, and an inspiration for his writing.  Also, Nate shares his experience wrangling endemics in Puerto Rico.  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!