IOANA SERITAN
Associate Editor, Birding magazine

Welcome to Birding Online! Here, all ABA members can access the extended online content from the April 2020 issue of Birding magazine. The complete issue, containing both print and online content, can be found at:

https://www.aba.org/birding-magazine-april-2020/

This issue may look shorter than normal. It contains all the wonderful content that you’re used to – but with less ads. Typically, the ABA gets a good chunk of our revenue from running ads in the publications that you love. Due to COVID-19, some of our trusted advertisers have had to reduce how many ads they are running with us. The content of the magazine is just as good as always. Our revenue, however, is unexpectedly decreased. If you are in a stable financial position, we would appreciate your support to help us get through this time. You can support us at aba.org/gift.

Speaking of COVID-19, I hope you are all feeling well, staying safe, and enjoying birds however you can. I know it’s frustrating for all of us that our favorite group outings, tours, and clubs are on pause for now. Thankfully, there are lots of ways to enjoy birds even from the comfort of your own home. The American Birding Podcast from Nate Swick will be posting new episodes regularly. Click here to visit the podcast page and give it a listen.

We also have a brand new Virtual Bird Club to bring us together while our regular bird clubs are not meeting. Click here to check out the first two shows. Nick Lund hosted the first Virtual Bird Club to break down the state of our state birds, and Tessa Rhinehart hosted the second to share her research on surveying bird populations without even being in the field. Tessa Rhinehart also has an article in the April issue – which is now available, for free, to anyone who wants to read it! Click here to enjoy and share.

And stay tuned for further opportunities. We’re in this together!

Okay, on to the magazine itself.

In your print issue, you will find Nick Minor’s “Frontiers in Ornithology” contains two eye-opening stories about bird body size in deserts and the metabolism of juvenile birds. Online, you’ll also find an extra story about mixed-species flocks. Click here to flip straight to this extra piece and enjoy.

The Book & Media Reviews, as always, take their full form online. You can click here to flip open to the beginning of the reviews in the online issue. The reviews are not yet on the ABA website, but they will be there soon. Until then, please click here and check out our shiny new website for Book & Media Reviews! Ooh! Ahh! So beautiful! If I do say so myself. We’re hoping you’ll find it easier to explore this newly organized page and find the reviews that you really want to read.

One of our feature articles in the April issue comes from Joanna & Byron Chin, who share how they spearheaded the construction of breeding habitat for a colony of Heermann’s Gulls in Seaside, CA. The article is already a fun read in the print issue – but it’s even more fun online! Please click here to flip open to the online version and enjoy even more photos and details.

Just like Joanna & Byron’s piece, the April Birding Interview with Drew Lanham also boasts more images online. ABA members get access to a sampler of Drew’s photographs of birds in his home state of South Carolina. Click here to flip to the interview & sampler. My personal favorite is the Prairie Warbler!

The April Featured Photo features an extra online piece from Peter Pyle, in addition to the breakdown from Marcia Blyth. Click here to flip open to both of their write-ups. The quiz is not yet live on the ABA website but will be soon. Feel free to wait to read these breakdowns until you can give the quiz a try yourself.

This is only the tip of the iceberg for April content. Click here to go straight to the Table of Contents and explore yourself. And until we meet again, please stay safe, wash your hands, keep birding, and consider supporting us at aba.org/gift so we can keep bringing you the resources you love.