American Birding Association - History

History

In its early years, the history of the organization was congruent with that of its single publication. In December 1968, Jim Tucker sent out the first issue (volume 0, number 0) of The Birdwatcher's Digest to a dozen friends, suggesting a group to exchange birding information and publish their list totals. He proposed the "American Birdwatchers' Association" as a name for the group. At that point in time, there were few birdfinding guide books available, and birders' information-sharing networks were scattered and undeveloped.

At the suggestion of Stuart Keith, the newsletter's name was changed to Birding for the next issue (volume 1, number 1) for January/February 1969; it included a statement of intentions and objectives and three pages of lists: the names of the birders with the top ten American Ornithologists Union (AOU) area lists, the top ten world lists, and others. With issue number 2, the organization was named the American Birding Association. The organization's initial focus was on the hobby and sport of birding, leaving contributions to the scientific literature and conservation advocacy to other groups. The ABA and Birding served to connect avid birders, establish ground rules for listing, and keep them updated on the latest identification techniques; articles in the early issues discussed heard-only species, exotics seen in the Pribilof Islands, and birdfinding information on Swainson's Warbler.

An elective membership policy was established, similar to that of the AOU, and remained in place for 20 years. The number of elective members was limited to 150, and a candidate for this level of membership was required to have an ABA Area list of 500 species or a state or province list with 70 percent of the official total. Only an elective member could vote for or become a director of the ABA. By the tenth issue (1970), the organization comprised more than 500 members.

The first officers included Keith as president, Arnold Small as vice-president, and Tucker as secretary and treasurer. Shortly thereafter, Joseph W. Taylor became treasurer, and Bob Smart joined as second vice-president. Benton Basham became membership chairman in 1971, and was responsible for much of the organization's growth.

For volume 3 (1971), Birding was redesigned as a magazine, and the page count increased to 258, up from 96 in the previous year. The last issue of the volume displayed the organization's new full-color logo, designed by Guy Tudor, featuring an image of a Red-billed Tropicbird.

The ABA held its first convention in 1973, in Kenmare, North Dakota and its second in Leamington, Ontario.

Subsequent presidents of the organization included Arnold Small (1976-1979), Joseph W. (Joe) Taylor (1979-1983), Lawrence G. (Larry) Balch (1983-1989), Allan Keith (1989-1993; 1997-1999), and Daniel T. (Dan) Williams (1993-1997).

Membership numbers rose to 6,500 by October 1986 and exceeded 10,000 in October 1992. In 2001, the organization had 22,000 members, but this number had declined to 15,000 in 2009.

The first issue of a monthly newsletter, Winging It, was dated January 1989. In 1998, the ABA took over publication of the National Audubon Society's journal Field Notes, subsequently renaming it as North American Birds.

In 2000, the ABA assumed management of the Institute for Field Ornithology workshops from Charles Duncan at the University of Maine at Machias.

Towards the turn of the century, the ABA began to expand its scope to support various conservation and research efforts, beginning with a partnership with Birders' Exchange. Conservation-oriented content began to appear more frequently in Birding with the 2001 volume.