The end of the month means This Month in Birding, and for July 2025 we've got a great panel of fun birders to discuss the month's birding news and scientific publications. Birders know Rebecca Heisman, Nick Lund, and Dexter Patterson for their great work in the birding world, and they join host Nate Swick to talk about hummingbird bills, drinking birds, and the best bird tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. 

Links to articles discussed in this episode:

AvianLexiconAtlas: A database of descriptive categories of English-language bird names around the world

A new study knocks down a popular hypothesis about why birds sing at dawn

Bird feeders have caused a dramatic evolution of California hummingbirds

Birds are consuming alcohol more often than we realized

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The ABA’s 2025 Bird of the Year Common Loon is beloved across the United States and Canada, and though we at the ABA will only celebrate it for a short time, there are other organizations that have made protection and awareness of Common Loons their reason for being. The National Loon Center in Crosslake, Minnesota, is one such organization. They aim to restore and protect loon habitat, enhance responsible recreation, and promote research and education of not only Common Loon, but the habitats they enjoy. Natasha Bartolotta is the Science and Stewardship Manager for the National Loon Center, and she joins us to talk about loon outreach and wetlands conservation. 

Also, urban Cooper's Hawks show surprisingly clever adaptations. 

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The search for the perfect mnemonic is the bane of any field guide author, from Roger Tory Peterson to your podcast host. It's the part of writing about birds and birding that requires the most creativity, ans Nova Scotia author and artist Becca Rowland, The Girl in White Glasses, has come up with an entire book devoted to the weird and wonderful sounds birds make, and the weirdest and cleverest ways to describe those sounds. It's called Bird Talk: Hilariously Accurate Ways to Identify Birds by the Sounds they Make from Storey Publishing. She joins us to talk bird noises and bird community.

Also, some thoughts about the new taxonomy at Avilist. 

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The state of Hawaii’s birds is a topic that is frequently front of mind to those of us who care about bird conservation, and on every island there are bird researchers and conservationists on the ground putting any number of conservation efforts into practice. Dr Hannah Mounce is the program manager of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, and she joins us to talk about some of the most pressing efforts on the island. 

Also, Nate finished his Breeding Bird Surveys and hopes that this isn't the last year for the venerable conservation project.

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The story of the Florida Scrub-Jay is one that encompasses many modern conservation angles and concerns. Local government, bedrock federal legislation, development, climate change, eBird, and at the center of it, a remarkable and friendly endemic bird species. Recent challenges to conservation efforts in Florida have prompted the public interest group Earthjustice to intervene to help defend protections for the Florida Scrub Jay and lead attorney Aaron Bloom joins us to to lay out the threats to the jays and to all endangered species, and how birders have helped to make his case. 

Also, the 2026 Young Birder of the Year Mentoring Program is open for registration! If you're a young birder, or you know a young birder, sign up now!