From the Editor

When a young girl in Colombia named Melida Cruz Beltrán released a Golden-eared Tanager from her mother’s horsehair trap, she had no way of knowing that the handsome little bird would reappear three decades later to change her life in more ways than one. To read about her story, turn to p. 14. This Golden-eared Tanager was photographed at the feeders at El Encanto Nature Reserve, Huila, Colombia on 14 Oct 2024. Photo by © David Casas.

Birding travel means different things to different people. For the truly fortunate, such as ABA’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Jen “J.B.” Brumfield, an amazing migrant trap is a short ways from home. In this issue, J.B. provides information on visiting the famous Wendy Park, among other locations that are within an hour’s drive of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The short travel times make them viable destinations during a long layover.

For the more adventurous, Brian Small relays experiences and shares photos from his trip to the North Slope of Alaska along the famous Dalton Highway. With some planning, you, too, can spend a week birding along the quiet, 414-mile road that leads north from Fairbanks.

Tracking down the endemic birds of Hawaii, however, requires more planning. Due to invasive species and climate change, the few surviving species are now mostly, and sadly, confined to high-elevation reserves with restricted access. So seeing them requires visiting the reserves with a guide on a pre-planned tour. Sharon Wada shares with us her experience doing just that on the “Big Island”.

Seeking the native birds of Cuba is just as complicated for U.S. citizens, but in different ways. Still, it’s possible, as Lisa Robbie Freeman tells us. By joining a government-approved tour, she managed to see 26 of Cuba’s 28 extant endemic bird species!

Like me, many of you are concerned about the ecological impact of travel. Long-distance travel, in particular, often gets a bad rap. But the engaging story of El Encanto Lodge and the Molina Cruz family in Colombia shows how traveling birders can have real, direct, and positive effects on people and conservation efforts.

Finally, Birding Editor Ted Floyd was recently fortunate to bird the world’s only “quadripoint”—where four countries meet. Think of it as the “four corners” of southern Africa. Besides seeing amazing birds and scenery, Ted was struck by the geographic novelty of the area and how using eBird will “will change the way you bird”.

The ABA strives to make heard the voices of historically marginalized and under-represented groups in birding, and though we’re making progress, the lack of diversity among our authors is concerning. We urgently want and need to hear more and varied perspectives in these pages, and we enthusiastically invite them to appear here!

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 and wherever you travel, I wish you a happy, safe, and bird-filled trip!

Michael L. P. Retter

Editor, Birding Special Issues