Pleasantly surprised to discover last week's episode of the ABA podcast discussed our recent warbler hybrid work. Give it a listen! doi.org/10.1080/1559...

What was your first bird species of 2026?

Last bird species of 2025?

Stood in 7° 25mph winds for an hour to get this blurry shot of a Short Eared Owl from a quarter mile away…still counts! Last #lifer of the year #249! I started birding in Jan of 2025. Resolution completed, lifelong journey began! 🎉 @aba.org #birding #birdwatching #birds #wildlifephotography

The presence of Common Loons indicates ecosystem health because their bodies accumulate mercury and other contaminants as they move up the food chain. Loon monitoring can double as ecosystem health monitoring. The ABA salutes all the birders who monitor and protect Common Loons.

Common Loons can’t walk well on land because their legs are positioned very far back on their bodies. This rear-leg placement makes them powerful underwater swimmers but extremely awkward on land, essentially unable to stand or walk more than a short shuffle.

Continuing with our Common Loon sendoff for the ABA 2025 Bird of the Year: Common Loon chicks can swim on their own within hours of hatching, but they often ride on their parents' back for the first few days to weeks of their lives because that helps keep them warm and protects them from predators.

We're sending off the Common Loon, the 2025 ABA Bird of the Year, with some loon facts! Most Common Loons winter along major coastlines. Although loons are fiercely territorial during the breeding season, in winter they often gather in loose coastal groups, especially where fish are abundant.

Deep in the forests of Northeast Brazil, a distinctive song can reveal the location of an elusive ground-dweller: the White-browed Antpitta. Expert local guides can help you connect with this sought-after skulker. June 26-July 7, 2026. Learn more and sign up! www.aba.org/northeast-br...

New review! In the Dec. 2025 issue of Birding, Julian Hough reviews "Listers," a documentary on extreme birding that appeared on YouTube in a surprise appearance earlier this year. "Listers" was met with immediate acclaim in the birding community. Read here: www.aba.org/brothers-and...

What was your favorite lifer this year?

Check out the last TMIB podcast of 2025. I always enjoy being a guest panelist on these episodes, especially when I’m surrounded by some pretty amazing bird people. @marthaharbison.bsky.social @rheisman.bsky.social @n8swick.bsky.social

As the 2026 Bird of the Year reveal approaches, let's not forget to celebrate the 2025 Bird of the Year, the Common Loon! Did you encounter a Common Loon this year?

New American Birding Podcast episode! Jody Allair, Martha Harbison, and Rebecca Heisman join host Nate Swick for the last American Birding Podcast episode of the year, with a wide-ranging discussion of some of the latest bird and birding news. Listen here: www.aba.org/09-52-this-m...

Did you get any bird-themed gifts for the holidays? Let's see 'em!

I got my first ever digital camera this year and it's hard to chose a favorite so I'm picking two. A Northern Pygmy Owl in Multnomah County and a Western Grebe with it's young in hot pursuit in Harney County Oregon.

Enjoying this moment was my 2025 birding highlight!

Kind of like this one from Smith Island, Maryland

Maybe not the best, but I do have a real soft spot for Ovenbird and Hermit Thrush, so always appreciate seeing them 🙂

The annual highlight of the birding calendar is, for so many birders, the Christmas Bird Count. Birding Editor Ted Floyd and ABA cartoonist Sal Palmero team up to celebrate "Birding's Grandest Tradition" in this article in the Dec. 2025 Birding. Seasons Greetings! www.aba.org/birdings-gra...

Maybe this one. Taken from inside the car if I remember correct. It was only around for a few seconds. White Rock Lake, Dallas, TX

Being right under a pair of Swallow-tailed Kites, in Massachusetts of all places, will be one of my favorite memories of 2025! This was my closest look at one of them going over. Thank you, periodical cicada swarms! #birding 🪶

Did you get any good bird photos in 2025? What was your best bird photo this year?

The American Birding Association has appointed nonprofit leader and lifelong birder Kimberly Ann Check to the role of Director of Young Birder Programs. Learn more: www.aba.org/kimberly-ann...

Clear your calendar, because it’s almost time for the most hotly anticipated, passionately debated, and mildly obsession-inducing reveal in birding: the ABA Bird of the Year. Friendships have been tested. Group chats have exploded. Wild theories have taken flight. And soon, the wait will be over.

Lots of Kestrels, Red-tailed Hawks, A Ferruginous Hawk, A Prairie Falcon, and my lifer Lapland Longspur to say a few!

Got to take part in a particularly cool Christmas Bird Count this year by cruising up and down the frigid Ohio River by boat logging all the birds on the river islands! Great day birding! Here’s some White-Winged Scoter we saw just off Blennerhasset Island, WV @aba.org #birds #wildlifephotography

Sooo... How was everyone's CBCing? Did you find anything fun?

Check out Carrie-Edmund Laben's review of Starlings: The Curious Odyssey of a Most Hated Bird, by Mike Stark. The book dives deep into the crazy journey of European Starlings in North America, from myth-busting their origins to doomed human efforts to control them. www.aba.org/a-loud-and-r...

Are you going birding this weekend?

New podcast episode! Birding Editor Ted Floyd joins host Nate Swick for another installment of the ever-popular "Random Birds." Nate spins the random number generator, it lands on a bird, and Ted and Nate talk about that bird...and anything else! Listen here: www.aba.org/09-51-random...

Anyone here who knows a publisher/publishing houses or publishing agents who'd be interested in publishing a book like that? I would really appreciate if you could connect me to someone! Thanks!

👀👀 Guess who wrote an article for the ABA

Don't miss the Bird of the Year issue of Birding magazine, soon to go to press and featuring @thebirdguy.bsky.social! #SupportBirdJournalism ABA.org/join

Two spots remain for Camp Colorado!

New book review! Check out Greg Lawrence's review of Birds at Rest: The Behavior and Ecology of Avian Sleep, by Roger Pasquier: www.aba.org/birds-in-rep...

I’m so grateful for this opportunity… 🪶

Don't miss out on @onlyveesaz.bsky.social next column in Birding magazine! #SupportBirdJournalism ABA.org/join

Interesting article on Amy Tan, where she mentions Birding magazine Editor Ted Floyd's recently published National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada, 8th Edition! www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

What birds are you hoping to find on your next Christmas Bird Count?

The ABA (Am. Birding Assoc.) podcast had an episode this fall about stressful the life of many birds actually is. @n8swick.bsky.social @aba.org

White-headed Steamer-Duck. This flightless duck has a rather limited range midway along the coast of Argentina. A lifer for me ( @aba.org ) and my 3rd species steamer-duck. Punta Tombo #Argentina

Congrats to Holly Merker, the ABA's Director of Camp Delaware Bay, on her new partnership with Birdfy, recognizing her leadership in ornitherapy and her work connecting birding and wellness. Holly has an incredible legacy of mentoring young birders! Learn more here: fox2now.com/business/pre...

Planning on participating in any Christmas Bird Counts? Where and how many?

New episode of the American Birding Podcast! Anna Lello-Smith is the lead author of a recent study on the five great tropical forests of Central America. Listen here: www.aba.org/09-50-the-fi... Love the podcast? Support our work and help keep episodes coming by joining the ABA: aba.org/join

Order today to receive by Xmas!

Last day to order to receive by Xmas!

If one hadn't seen a Common Loon yet this year it's too late to look around Anchorage #Alaska Fortunately they are easy to come by during summer and we're sending more back than came back last spring. 🪶

Over the last few months, Florida has hosted a remarkable suite of southern-breeding flycatchers, including two Small-billed Elaenias, one Variegated Flycatcher, and three Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers. Get the scoop by Will Johnson here: www.aba.org/neotropical-...

San Francisco Bay area birders: mark your calendars! The California Academy of Sciences is hosting NightLife: For the Birds on Jan. 8, and the ABA will be there! Meet Ioana Seritan, pick up ABA goodies, and enter a raffle for SongBird Coffee. Learn more: www.calacademy.org/nightlife/ni...