10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2020

Alas, I didn’t locate any but found enjoyment in a prolonged standoff between mobbing Red-eyed Vireos and a Blue Jay who refused to take the hint. Corey got out looking for birds at Jamaica Bay on Sunday morning and is he ever glad he did! What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2020 174

2020 ALA Jamaica New York 174

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

This is the second part of a post showing some birds seen at Nonggang in December 2022, along with the usual (mostly irrelevant) comments. The poor bird’s Latin species name is macgrigoriae , apparently (HBW) named after Jane Grant McGrigor, the daughter of Maj. Sir James McGrigor (1771-1858) Director Gen.

China 242

China Birds Pythons Eagles 242

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2020

Alas, these gentle rains may not always speed spring migrants on their way to breeding grounds far from the equator. Corey could have chosen one of the several new birds for the year he saw as his Best Bird of the Weekend. Now that’s a bird that is worthy of Best Bird of the Weekend! Any luck this weekend?

2020 171

2020 ALA Blackbirds Birds 171

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2020

The coronavirus has locked us all in, literally, doing something that was totally unthinkable only a few months ago: it has prevented us from birding abroad! I am talking of the very heart of the Balkans and the final birding frontier of Europe: Serbia. Birding overview. Belgrade – weekend birding break. Top-20 birds.

Serbia 317

Serbia Sanctuary Birds Bosnia 317

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2024

So I was delighted when the Seminary grounds turned out to host at least 6 of these beautiful birds. Alas, this little lovely perched on a wire just outside the window of the classroom where I was teaching at the moment, so no photos were taken. We were happy to experience three birds of prey on this jaunt.

Barn Owls 222

Barn Owls Mexico Parrots ALA 222

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2019

Some of us still had Christmas Bird Count commitments this weekend, while others could focus on holiday prep, holiday celebration, and holiday panic. Still others found the time and opportunity to give themselves the gift of birding where they wanted to when they wanted to. Alas, I’m still stranded in the Northeast U.S.,

2019 142

2019 ALA Birds California 142

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2024

Dip (verb): [in birding] to miss seeing a bird you were looking for Many times when we speak about the trips we’ve been on we concentrate on the things we experienced, the ruing of missed opportunities tends to be saved for nighttime conversations after a few drinks perhaps. Which birds? The bright yellow birds!

Guyana 223

Guyana Brazil ALA Eagles 223

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

Chinese Penduline T**s are not particularly woke birds. White’s Thrush is described as “burly” on eBird – not entirely unjustified, I guess, but this description fails to capture the way the intricate patterns of the bird make for great camouflage and also for its own kind of beauty. Maybe the grandparents help.

Birds 211

Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 211

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

Alas, although I was once a California boy, I have never seen a California Condor. Vultures, you see, are safe birds for smaller creatures. first appeared on 10,000 Birds. Here in Mexico, I can almost always count on Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures to pad each outing’s list by two species. Which I find fascinating.

Turkey 213

Turkey California Condor Mexico Meat 213

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2022

In the English translation, the story is titled “Little Fable”: “Alas,” said the mouse, “the whole world is growing smaller every day. If you think it is rather pretentious to start a birding blog post with a Kafka story, I fully agree with you. I just want to point out it could be much worse. Depressing.

Raccoons 229

Raccoons Birds Oregon China 229

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2022

As is my self-declared tradition of speaking of groups of birds within the species gamut of Trinidad & Tobago, allow me to introduce you to yet another group of three. Alas – both Trinidad and Tobago each have two Myiarchus flycatchers. The perfect situation of course is for the birds to vocalize, as each is quite distinct.

Trinidad 226

Trinidad ALA Groups Species 226

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2021

The very best wetland birding around Belgrade, Serbia, is not to be found in the locally famous and tourist-promoted Obedska or Carska Bara Ramsar areas, but at Beljarica Backwaters and the fish farm triangle of Centa, Baranda and Sakule villages, in the Tamis River floodplain. If there were rains recently, this section of 0.3

Farming 264

Farming Birds Fish Boars 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Counting the Birds I was in my teens when I undertook my first bird-survey: it was field work for the British Trust for Ornithology’s The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. The breeding and wintering birds of Britain and Ireland. Published in 1976, The Atlas was, I believe, the very first work of its kind.

Ireland 231

Ireland Turtles Geese Farming 231

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2019

Alas, I won’t be anywhere near penguins this weekend, so I’ll have to make do with whatever uncommon shorebirds trickle through Lake Ontario. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? Also be sure to come back Monday to share your best bird of the weekend ! appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

2019 130

2019 Penguins ALA Birds 130

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Alas, the team named for a bird fell short of the crown in Super Bowl XLIX. The non-Seahawk birds that caught my eye this weekend were Northern Cardinals , which always look their best burning crimson against a blanket of white snow. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2015 185

2015 ALA Birds Humane 185

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

I definitely fall into the former category, willing to cache new birds away like an Acorn Woodpecker stores oak nuts. This week, my travels took me within the orbit of a very special bird that’s been on my rainy day list. Alas, this bird doesn’t like rain! appeared first on 10,000 Birds. How about you?

2019 113

2019 ALA Birds Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

My latest posts have tended to the thematic, rather than offering up lots of photos of the cool birds I am seeing. That is not due to a lack of birding; I am still going out every Monday. But very rainy weather during August made it harder to see exciting birds, and often resulted in poor photos of those I did see. and Canada.

Colombia 238

Colombia ALA Canada Mexico 238

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2022

I backed up quite a bit and photographed the bird from various angles. Alas, I must wait for another opportunity. Joanne looked at me, confused – but with the awareness that I would only stop for some creature. I whispered to look up, and she was greeted by the underbelly of a Striped Owl. So we waited, and waited.

Owls 218

Owls ALA Birds Trinidad 218

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

An unfortunate side effect of birding in the developing world, is the amount of habitat destruction you are likely to see. Alas, only 12 plants remain from that season, victims of my inexperienced care. Alas, this is what I must trim. The post Afforestation appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

ALA 205

ALA 2016 Free Range Livestock 205

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

I was drawn to São Tomé because of the large number of birds named after the island, and in particular the São Tomé Grosbeak. This bird had been extinct for more than a century before it was rediscovered – a Lazarus species! I was soaking wet – there even was water behind my ear drums – but the birds were amazing.

Emotional 235

Emotional ALA Bats Birds 235

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2019

This year, on the 21st of December, 2019, Michoacán had its second Christmas Bird Count. Back when I rediscovered birding, about seven years ago, there didn’t seem to be anyone doing serious birding in my corner of Mexico. And… we have an annual Christmas Bird Count! But here we are in 2019.

2019 151

2019 Birds Blackbirds Sparrows 151

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

On BirdTrack, the British equivalent of e-Bird, the list of birds provided does allow for Tufted Duck x Ferruginous Duck to be recorded, but not Tufted Duck x Pochard. However, there had been reports of a Scaup mixed in with the flock, which at first glance I thought this bird might be. My hunch was Tufted Duck x Pochard.

Geese 202

Geese Ducks Falcons Latvia 202

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2022

As we all know, birding is very much a lottery. Sure there were birds. Gradually I was able to get a visual on some of the birds as they flitted about. Alas – thick clouds in the rainforest only mean one thing: rain. They’re consummate skulkers, the embodiment of heard-but-not-seen birds.

Trinidad 245

Trinidad ALA Experience Experiments 245

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2015

Alas, the long slog to spring will take many, many more frigid, blustery weeks. At least we have birds… My desire to see boreal specialties pales in comparison to my passion for staying warm and dry. This does not bode well for my birding weekend. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding?

2015 166

2015 ALA Hunting Birds 166

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2015

Alas, the winds blew nothing exceptional my way. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was any of the four Cave Swallows he saw in Queens, part of an amazing invasion of the northeast by this species after sustained southwest winds for nearly a week. What was your best bird of the weekend? Were you hither? Were you yon?

2015 145

2015 ALA Birds Experience 145

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2024

Of course, excellent opportunity to go birding with my friends Brad and Laura. My colleague Doug wrote me an email describing the whereabouts of these “rosy finches” and my wife had to manage my excitement with horse tranquilizer… What a fantastic little birds. This is a simple grey and black bird but I have always wanted to see one.

Denver 176

Denver Colorado Ducks Mules 176

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2018

Perhaps summer still has plenty of air left in it and school in the upper latitudes won’t begin for another month, but birds really will be taking up their autumnal migrations soon. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? Also be sure to come back Monday to share your best bird of the weekend !

2018 100

2018 ALA United States New York 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2022

But their broad collection of rather odd sounds (moans, groans, hoots, screeches, and bill rattles) also do not include anything remotely like a “ beep beep “ Popular media getting bird calls wrong. Those were dark days for my attempts at bird photography, my friend. This is because roadrunners are very entertaining birds.

Coyotes 209

Coyotes Mexico ALA Abandon 209

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2021

One of the minor challenges of writing a blog post for 10,000 Birds is to come up with a title. Now, I usually go for the most boring ones imaginable, such as “Birding XY in [season]” Underpromise and overdeliver, as I would say if I was a McKinsey consultant (I swear to god I never was one). Do they eat dead fish?

China 263

China ALA Fish Mammals 263

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2013

The weather outside is frightful, but winter birds are so delightful… guess that’s as good a reason as any to brave the cold. Alas, I had no time outdoors this weekend, which leaves House Sparrows sheltering a giant wreath as my Best Bird of the Weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2013 165

2013 ALA United States North America 165

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Ideally, it should be one even less relevant than previous ones (like the one on wet birds, the one on blue birds, or the ones just showing birds eating or sleeping). Then I had an idea – a post based on birds starting with the same letter. I was just wondering about another topic for a post. Are you still with me?

South Africa 334

South Africa China Nevada Africa 334

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

Some of us love to chase down preposterous vagrants, while others eschew bird chasing for contemplation of standard local fare and seasonal specialties. I raise this perennial issue because I found myself twitching a rare ABA bird this weekend. Alas, they both kept their heads down until long after we’d left.

Oakland 197

Oakland 2013 ALA Birds 197

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2013

In truly absurd, I am not making this up news, villagers in Turkey recently accused a bird of being an Israeli spy. But alas, my comedic skills are subpar. The bird in question, a Kestrel (its species wasn’t named), drew the attention of folks in Altinayva, Turkey because of the metal band upon its leg.

Turkey 180

Turkey Austin ALA 180

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2023

They’re not, alas particularly impressive. However, I have to put it in perspective by explaining that during the year I hardly ventured out of East Anglia, and almost every bird was seen in Suffolk or Norfolk – I live on the county boundary. Every one of my 171 species was a bird that I found myself.

Estonia 236

Estonia Portugal Greece Barn Owls 236

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2021

According to the unwritten ancient rules of birding, whether your pelagic trip gets cancelled or not, as long as you go birding, there will always be highlights. Alas, our trip to the sea was not to be! Tailless or not, we were pleased to see this uncommon bird. On both ferry trips, we had a few pelagic birds.

Costa Rica 217

Costa Rica ALA Peru Texas 217

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2021

My first experience birding was as a teenager back in the 70s, when birding meant a pair of binoculars, a couple of bird feeders, and a smallish field guide (book). I have birding buddies! Suddenly, I gain new respect from the aforementioned Mexican birding buddies. … to where I once belonged. I feel special.

Kansas 206

Kansas Wounded ALA Squirrels 206

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2016

Alas, now that the Arizona Cardinals have fallen to the Carolina Panthers, we face the prospect of a Super Bowl without bird-themed football teams. Such a rare bird is always a good sighting! What was your best bird of the weekend? So, do you prefer rambunctious horses or big cats better? How about you? How about you?

2016 101

2016 ALA Arizona Horses 101