Are you feeling overwhelmed with all of the birder and nature blogs out there? Are podcasts more your thing? How about those handy apps that are a click of a button away? Want to snuggle into a comfy chair and read a good book? Here are some of our favorites!
Bird and Nature Blogs ~
North America.
Written by Lisa Boice who is the Accidental Birder, this blog is full of fun stories of adventures, mishaps, and much hilarity while birding and traveling. Her birding trips are far-flung from international spots (Belize, Ecuador, Ecuador- Galapagos, Guatemala, Panama Mexico, and Canada) to closer places in the United States.
Audubon. This is the place to start if you are looking for your local Audubon society! Audubon has chapters in all 50 states. You can become a member, donate, shop in the online store, discover what’s going on in the birder world by clicking on the press room, learn about special initiatives, and so much more! Audubon at the local, state, regional, and national levels work tirelessly to create lasting protections for birds and their habitats.
Writer and photographer, Sharon Stiteler has created a fun blog called Birdchick that highlights her birding. She travels widely and leads bird field trips, works as a birding consultant, gives speeches, bands birds, and sundry other things involving nature. She also appears on television and radio and has a podcast. Oh, and she also raises bees. This is a fun site to explore!
Bird Watching HQ. Backyard birding is the main focus of this website by a guy named Scott who lives in Ohio. He has links to all sorts of live bird and animal cams, and even has a couple of live cams in his backyard. Scott loves all sorts of birds, but his favorites are penguins.
Birdwatcher’s Digest is full of all sorts of content — shop, publications, bird id guides, digital issues, podcasts, and more. publish this collection of blog entries and podcasts.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This is an awesome resource. You can sign up to take courses, get help with bird identifications, watch live cams, and find out all sorts of good information about feeding birds, bird songs, bird-friendly gardens, feeders, you name it! While this is a free online resource put out by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, donations are greatly appreciated.
Laura Erickson’s For the Birds. Written by ornithologist Laura Erickson who hails from Minnesota, this is a useful venue to find information about birding, ways to help, and all sorts of other things. Erickson is an accomplished award-winning ornithologist who has published numerous books about birds. She is also a columnist and contributing editor for BirdWatching magazine. She also produces a long-running radio program called “For the Birds” that airs on many public radio stations and is also a podcast as well.
The Meadowlands Nature Blog highlights nature in North Jersey’s Meadowlands District.
Written by Geoff Hill who is the curator of birds and professor of biology at Auburn University, his Ornithologist’s Blog covers birding, bird photography, and some other topics.
Ornithology: The Science of Birds. Written by ornithologist Roger Lederer, this blog is chock full of information on bird watching, resources, bird science, travel guides, and lectures. In the resource section, for example, you can view some of the latest books on birds, find out about careers in ornithology and how to become an ornithologist, talk to other birders, read all about organizations in ornithology, and check out some resources for teachers.
If you are interested in peregrine falcons as well as about birds and nature, Outside My Window is for you. Kate St. John watches birds outside her window in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, while monitoring the peregrine falcons at the University of Pittsburg. She ventures further afield in western parts of the Keystone State and beyond.
Shorebirder. Blog kept by orthopedic surgeon Nick Bonomo who keeps a journal of bird sightings and photos with emphasis along the coast of New Haven County, Connecticut. He also discusses (among other things) bird identification, migration, rare birds, and weather and its impact on local birding.
Lillian and Don Stokes are best-selling authors of the Stokes Field Guides and are known as being two of the most recognized authorities on birds and nature in North America. They also have the Stokes Birding Blog, which is full of information about birds and birding.
Urban Hawks and other wildlife in Central Park & NYC. Bruce Yolton started birding in 2005, and he created this site to share his experiences photographing Red-tailed Hawks and other wildlife around him in Central Park and the Greater New York City area. He loves for people to contact him about their hawk sightings and other discoveries.
Written by Jeff Reiter, Words on Birds is a newspaper column (Daily Herald which is in west suburban Chicago) that is all about birds, birding, and birders.
The Zen Birdfeeder is written by birder Nancy Castillo. She focuses on birds and other nature found in yards and her three zen principles of “attention, acceptance, and responsibility.”
International.
Although this amazing birding source is based in New York, 10000birds has all sorts of helpful content about birding not only in North America but internationally as well. If you are into birding, this is a must to consult.
Apps ~
eBird by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This app is great. One recent update allows you to click on an “explore” tap that shows you all of the nearby birding hotspots – and you can even get directions!
iBird Pro includes all 900+ species of birds of North America, as well as databases for four other regions: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hawaii, and the island of Palau (Steve and I love Palau). There is also a feature called Photo Sleuth that helps to identify a bird from any photo you take or upload.
Merlin by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This app has a great feature called Photo ID. All you have to do is select a photo from your camera roll on your phone and it will try to figure out what it is.
Sibley Birds. This app has information on over 930 North American species of birds. All of the detailed artwork from David Sibley’s Guide to Birds Second Edition is included as well as thorough descriptions and distribution maps.
Podcasts ~
American Birding Podcast. This podcast brings together staff and friends of the American Birding Association as they talk about birds, birding, travel, and conservation in North America and beyond. The host is Nate Swick.
Birdchick Podcast. Sharon Stiteler (aka Birdchick) joins with her husband (aka Non-Birding Bill) in discussing how birds and pop culture often intersect.
BirdNote. Daily podcast with the mission of telling “vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face.”
Grumpy Old Birder. A monthly podcast that lasts about five minutes by Brit Bo Beolens (aka FatBirder). He has all sorts of things to say about birds, birding, and other topics.
Laura Erickson’s For The Birds. Weekly podcast lasting about five minutes or so, hosted by Laura Erickson. On her podcast, she shares stories of Minnesota and birds from all over. She has written eleven books, been talking on the radio about birds since 1986, and really knows her stuff.
Ray Brown’s Talkin’ Birds. Ray Brown hosts this fun podcast from the WATD station in Marshfield, Massachusetts. He talks all about birds and conservation.
This Birding Life. Hosted by Bill Thompson, this monthly podcast is part of a lineup of others from Bird Watcher’s Digest. The series covers news as well as conversations with birders and scientists.
Books ~
There are so many to choose from! Here are some good ones!
Genre: Nonfiction.
Kenn Kaufman. A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration.
Kenn Kaufman. Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder.
John McPhee. Encounters with the Archdruid: Narratives About a Conservationist and Three of His Natural Enemies
Carl Safina. Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace.
David Sibley. What It’s Like to Be a Bird.
Marie Winn. Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park.
Genre: Fiction.
Steve Burrows. A Siege of Bitterns.
Juditha Dowd. Audubon’s Sparrow: A Biography-in-Poems.