Birding Online: December 2021

MICHAEL L. P. RETTER
Birding Special Issues Editor

Click the image above to read the magazine in flipbook format.

As the pandemic eases, many of us are sliding back into travel, whether that means a long day trip, a weekend of camping, or even flying to an international destination—along with mandatory COVID testing, vaccine card checks, and even quarantine. Likewise, after a nearly two-year hiatus, the Birder’s Guide to Travel Special Issue of Birding is back!

In these pages, Eric Antonio Martínez whets our figurative and literal appetites for the birds and food of Oaxaca. James Fox shares what makes his adopted home of Alberta so great for birds. María Córdova Saeteros and Daniel Lebbin explain how nature tourism is helping endangered birds and habitats in southern Ecuador. Marie Rust journals her experience as an artist-in-residence in Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains State Park. Pau Lucio and David Warrington invite us to visit Valencia, in the Spanish Riviera. And even further afield, Ken Behrens shares what makes Madagascar such a thrilling destination for birders and other nature enthusiasts. Ted Floyd rounds out this issue with an essay on his brief visit to San Blas, on the west coast of Mexico.

Finally, we also have online-only content in the form of book reviews by Peter G. Kaestner, Julia Zarankin, and Frank Izaguirre. They looked at Field Guide to Birds of Colombia by Miles McMullian, Guía Ilustrada de la Avifauna Colombiana by Fernando Ayerbe Quiñones, Birds of Colombia by Steven L. Hilty, The Real James Bond by Jim Wright, To the Ends of the Earth: Birds of East Africa, Volume 2 by Togg Gustafson, and Birds of East Africa, Volume 2 by Terry Stevenson and Johnshawe.

The ABA strives to make heard the voices of historically marginalized and under-represented groups in birding, and—to be blunt—the lack of diversity among our authors is concerning. We urgently want and need to hear more and varied perspectives in these pages. By you sharing your knowledge, we can all become more informed and understanding birders.

I hope that there is something of use and interest to you in this issue. Please don’t ever hesitate to contact me at mretter@aba.org with your ideas for future content. Even better: Write about it yourself for the next issue!  Finally, please consider sharing this issue by giving your hard copy to a friend or family member when you’re done.

However you travel in these times, I wish you a safe, happy, and healthy trip!