The American Birding Podcast

10-27: 2026 Splits and Lumps with Nick Block

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!

10-26: Random Birds, July 2026, with Ted Floyd

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!

10-25: This Month in Birding - June 2026

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!

10-24: Birding the Black Belt with Andrew Lydeard and Chris Joe

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!  

10-21: Living and Birding in Labrador with Vernon Buckle

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!