Michael Retter

When many people think of gardening for wildlife, and birds in particular, they understandably think about plants that provide food directly in the form of fruit, seeds, and nectar. But just as important are plants that provide food for insects—an even greater diversity of birds depends on them. Here, a New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) provides food for an aphid (Aphidae), which in turn is about to be eaten by a migrating Tennessee Warbler.

Click the cover above to access the magazine (28MB PDF) I type this just a month or so after the U.S. removed its COVID testing requirements for its citizens reentering the country. Canada is currently requiring vaccinated status for people entering the country, just as the U.S. is for non-U.S.-citizens. With international travel now almost back to normal—in North America, anyway—traveling birders are making up for lost time.

Every summer, birders anxiously await publication of the “Check-list Supplement” by the American Ornithological Society’s (AOS) Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of North and Middle American Birds (a.k.a. NACC). The supplement details revisions to the NACC’s Check-list of North American Birds. Presented here is a rundown of this year’s more significant revisions. You can read all the proposals on which the NACC voted this year at https://americanornithology.org/nacc/.