⬅ ABA Members! Log in here before using the links below.
The March issue of Birding opens with a beautiful painting of a Pinyon Jay by artist Saraiya Kanning (who was one of the 2006 Young Birders of the Year!). In her online-exclusive About the Cover, Saraiya talks about her artistic process, her time with ABA young birder programs, and what inspired her feature article on this fascinating corvid.
In the Birding Interview, Cin-Ty Lee tells the story of how birding helped him heal from bullying, shares how he got into nocturnal flight calls, and explains his & Andrew Birch’s philosophy for their field guides. As Cin-Ty says, “I try to turn everyone I see into a naturalist and a birder.”
On the topic of field guides, Tony Leukering brings us an in-depth piece on Solitary Sandpiper identification. Examining everything from wingbars to bill color and flight style, Tony’s analysis arrives just in time for you to catch shorebirds on spring migration.
Although challenging IDs will always be a part of birding, lots of other parts are evolving rapidly. In a special segment called “Birding in the 2020s,” five authors ruminate on this period of evolution:
- Joe Trezza writes about the McGolrick Bird Club, an explosively popular bird club in Brooklyn
- Martha Steele tells the story of the first-ever Blind Birder Bird-a-Thon
- Musu Bangura shares how birding sparked much-needed joy and hope during the COVID-19 lockdown
- Peter Pyle muses about mob-taping and the stark generational divide around its use
- Don Freiday worries about how technology, especially AI, is changing birding
And as always, the Book & Media Reviews take their full form online. In this issue:
- Rachel Clark reviews “The Physics of Birds and Birding: The Sounds, Colors, and Movements of Birds and Our Tools for Watching Them” by Michael Hurben
- Joel Greenberg reviews “The Best of Words on Birds: Celebrating Birds, Birding, and Birders in Chicagoland and Beyond” by Jeff Reiter
- Matt Hanson reviews “Bird Brains and Behavior: A Synthesis” by Georg F. Striedter and Andrew N. Iwaniuk
Before we go, we’re very excited to share From the Magazines, a brand-new way to enjoy (and share) articles from Birding and North American Birds. Most of the articles are free, which means even non-members can enjoy this great content. Celebrations, the column where ABA members share their milestones, achievements, and special stories, will always be freely available, but there’ll be plenty more, too. So stay tuned, and share widely with your friends!
