Located in the northeast corner of the ABA Area, the island of Newfoundland is known for its incredible rarity pedigree. But there's far more to this beautiful place than European vagrants. The city of St. John's is a gateway to unbelievable nature experiences, from seabird colonies containing thousands upon thousands of charismatic Atlantic Puffins and Northern Gannets, to the sight of dozens of whales feeding near shore, to caribou and ptarmigan on the southernmost tundra on the continent. Last month, host Nate Swick had the good fortune to explore part of it with Birding editor Ted Floyd, Birds of North America host Jason Ward, and The Birdist Nick Lund. 

Led by the inimitable Jared Clarke of Bird the Rock tours, they covered the birding hotspots of the Avalon Peninsula, including Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, Cape St. Mary's, and Cape Race among others, finding amazing birds and generally having an amazing time. Come along with them on this week's episode. 

Also, updates on the proposed south Texas border wall and a way for you to make your voice heard. 

Fantasy Sports is big business these day, especially now that participants no longer have to do the work by hand. It’s so popular that managing virtual worlds based on real world data has spread beyond sports. Fantasy Birding has become a obsession among a growing cadre of real birders, it has been featured in a number of general interest articles, it was lightly mocked on the NPR show Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and it’s taken hold of a handful of my colleagues at the ABA. Matt Smith is a computer programmer and birder and is the creator of Fantasy Birding. He joins host Nate Swick to talk about the wild ride. 

Also, some potential changes to the Duck Stamp that seem to cause more harm than good, and Nate reminisces about an amazing trip to Costa Rica with an amazing group of young naturalists.  

Thanks to Zeiss Sports Optics for sponsoring this episode of the American Birding Podcast.