10-21: This Month in Birding - May 2026
5/28/20261 hr 19 min
It's the end of May, the season for bald cardinals, baby birds, and buggy birding. But most importantly, it's the last Thursday of the month and that means it's time for This Month in Birding, our monthly panel discussion of bird news and science and we have rounded up another great group of birding friends to have that discussion. Host Nate Swick is joined by Mikko Jimenez, Jordan Rutter, and Brodie Cass Talbott, to talk vagrant birds, robo-grouse, and birdy World Cup crests.
Links to articles discussed in this episode:
When Primm resort-casinos go dark, what happens to the birds?
Students fabricate randy robo-grouse whose strut could save birds at Jackson Hole Airport
Inter- and intra-individual variation in the feather coloration of American crows
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsNate Swick· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hello, and welcome to the American Birding Podcast from the American Birding Association. I am your host, Nate Swick. It's the end of the month, and that means it's time for a "This Month in Birding" episode. I'll get you to it, but first, a reminder that we are in the last few days of our membership drive. It ends on May 31st. We have reached our goal, so thanks to everyone who helped us accomplish that. Um, but you know, we're, we're gonna be overachievers here. It's never a bad time to join the American Birding Association, and you can still make our numbers look even better if you join before the end of the month. Last reminder, I promise. That's all I've got. I'm not gonna make the hard sell. Let's get to the fun stuff. Miko Jimenez, Jordan Rutter, and Brody Castalot join me to talk about vagrant science, crow feathers, robo grouse, and more after this week's, well, more like this month's rare birds. [upbeat music] This is your rare bird focus for most of May 2026. We've got a lot to cover this week. I have missed the last couple episodes for traveling reasons. My bad. Strap in. It is Fork-tailed Flycatcher season in the ABA area. This South American breeding kingbird is the classic austral migrant, meaning that it is a southern hemisphere breeding bird that migrates north towards the equator in the southern hemisphere fall, which is our spring.