23: Birds That Had a Freakin' Great 2019

Before we dive too deep into 2020, let's reflect on 2019. Some big things happened in the bird world last year.

Scientists identified the remains of a 15-pound, 3-foot-tall parrot named Squawkzilla. US cities adopted bird-friendly laws. We've lost 1 in 4 birds since the 1970s (hey, we didn't say it was all good news). Plus, meet 5 bird species that had an AWESOME year.

Here's our birdy recap of 2019!

BIRD SHIT WE DISCUSSED

USEFUL RESOURCES

• Chicago Bird Collision Monitors…we love this (and similar) organizations!
• New York City Audubon, American Bird Conservancy, and the American Institute of Architects helped pass bird-friendly building laws in NYC!
• Have you played Untitled Goose Game?

BIRDS WE MENTION (in order)

• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
• American Woodcock
• Gouldian Finch
• House Sparrow
• American Robin
• European Starling
• Long-tailed Duck
• Bufflehead
• House Finch
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Northern Cardinal
• Rock Pigeon
• Piping Plover
• Kirtland’s Warbler
• Interior Least Tern
• Hoiho (Yellow-Eyed Penguin)
• Tricolored Blackbird

BIRDS IN THE NEWS

• Birds’ bodies are getting smaller and their wings are getting larger.
• NYC and Austin’s airport are making the world safer for birds!

2019 BIRD NEWS WRAP-UP

• Changes to the Migratory Bird Act are effed up and make things bad for birds.
• Using eDNA to detect endangered species = COOL
• The worst news about birds came out in 2019. We’re still sad about it. 
• Birding is good for your mental health!
• Squawkzilla? Squawkzilla. 
• Half-male, half-female Northern Cardinal can’t sing but can lay eggs. Whoa!

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro: our one-word celebrity names
• 2:05 BITN: smaller birds, bigger wings
• 6:00 BITN: NYC's bird-friendly windows
• 8:38 BITN: Austin's airport is also bird-friendly!
• 12:00 Top bird articles from 2019
• 32:47 Birds that had a great year
• 48:37 Outroooo