10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

Tucson Arizona is turning out to be a very birdy area. This amazing area has a widely varied habitat range, and the variety of birds observed here, in nearly 20 different eBird.org hotspots average almost 200 species each. I got to see my first ever Arizona Woodpecker here as well. US Species – 278.

Tucson 156

Tucson Arizona Costa Rica Birds 156

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

It’s a well-known fact that southeast Arizona in summer is awesome. My first birding trip ever was to Arizona. This was a wonderful re-introduction to the desert species I was seeking. It was time to drive south and up, to the Sky Islands of southeast Arizona. At least for birders.

Arizona 102

Arizona Lovebirds Phoenix New Jersey 102

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. Southeast Arizona Sky Island Spring Sampler. So let’s look at this sampler, shall we? Want to see an Elegant Trogon on a Naturalist Journeys tour?:

America 263

America Arizona North America Texas 263

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

Clapper Rails , as currently defined by the AOU, occur along the coasts of North and South America and Caribbean islands, and inland in southern California and Arizona. In California and Arizona, however, Clapper Rails are brightly colored and occur in both salt and freshwater environments.

Species 220

Species North America Cuba Louisiana 220

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2023

Pelee National Park – Ohio Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge – Texas These locations offer a variety of habitats including marshes, wetlands, forests, coastal areas, and deserts, attracting numerous bird species throughout the year. Please note that the availability of specific bird species may vary depending on the season.

United States 162

United States Michigan Texas Virginia 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2021

As of mid-November 2021, the Collaborative had submitted more than 4,200 checklists (up from 1,700 in 2018) and has observed 691 species in the United States (up from 618). Thus, there are now seven states with 200+ observed species. The state with the largest increase was Arizona , with 139 species added.

United States 200

United States West Virginia Puerto Rico Minnesota 200

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2019

Of course, the California Condor is listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and it has been famously subject to some of the most ambitious conservation efforts (including litigation ) ever undertaken for a bird. One management tool used by FWS is reintroduction of an endangered species into its former range.

California Condor 224

California Condor California Endangered Species Oregon 224

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

In fact, the overwhelming majority of federal land is in just 11 western states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). BLM land is particularly important for conservation of the Greater Sage-Grouse and other sageland species.

Virgin Islands 212

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 212

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2022

So here are some numbers: As I write this, on March 24th, my 2022 list includes 239 species, all from within the state of Michoacán. The latest species I picked up is the Spotted Wren , a rather common endemic here that I had somehow managed to not see, until three turned up in my garden this morning.

Mexico 189

Mexico Arizona Horses Texas 189

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

Most birders that have spent any amount of time chasing down our fine feathered friends have learned that most cities waste treatment facilities are incredible magnets for many species of birds. One of the small cities south of Tucson Arizona, Amado, has a very small pond, right along highway 19, also known as the Nogales Highway.

Pelicans 160

Pelicans Tucson Arizona Groups 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2019

Now that Jeanne and I have finally settled on Tucson, Arizona at least for a while, I will pick up where I left off at the end of 2018. Arizona, specifically the South East portion of the state, will be my “beat” for the rest of this year. This area has no less than 17 eBird hotspots recorded, many of which boast nearly 200 species.

Arizona 138

Arizona Tucson Florida 2018 138

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2021

In Costa Rica, with around 50 hummingbird species on the list, we have our fair share of minute feathered stars. I feel fortunate to see one or more of this species on a daily basis. Being smaller than the other species, it seems to sneak in and out of their territories. Cinnamon Hummingbird. Plain-capped Starthroat.

Costa Rica 262

Costa Rica South America Arizona Species 262

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2022

American White Pelicans spend their winter months along the Gulf states, California, parts of Arizona, and Mexico down into Central America. No matter how many times I see them, this particular species remains breathtaking. I’m talking, of course, about “my” flock of American White Pelicans.

Pelicans 231

Pelicans United States Canada Arizona 231

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2019

Now that Jeanne and I have settled here in Tucson, Arizona, we have been questioned by our friends dozens of times….Why 10 countries, over 1300 bird species, and now I have limited my various twitches to just one county, Pima, which pretty much surrounds the greater Tucson Arizona. Why Tucson? I want to establish a base here.

Tucson 113

Tucson Arizona Birds Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2020

There are 17 species of Becard. Just one species of Becard spills across the border into the U.S., in the usual places for such spillover: the southern tip of Texas and the mountains of southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico. I don’t see this species all that often, but when I do, it could be almost anywhere.

South America 264

South America Mexico America United States 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2022

We might have limited space but we make up for it with a massive amount of biodiversity including well over 900 bird species on the official Costa Rica bird list. It was something that truly caught me by surprise, a bird usually heard or seen in Mexico or certain, out of the way gulches in Arizona.

Costa Rica 216

Costa Rica Latvia Albatross Netherlands 216

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

When you think of Southeast Arizona Birding, and the unique birds that can be found there, it conjures thoughts of roadrunners, hummingbirds, trogons, and the many other desert residents. We are right in the middle of the fall migration, so new and unusual species is not without some expectations. Here is our Purple Gallinule!

Tucson 141

Tucson Arizona Florida Rights 141

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

For most avian migrants heading south towards Mexico, Central and South America, crossing thru the Arizona desert areas can provide very few water, food and resting areas. This 90 acre lake, managed by Arizona Fish and Wildlife is about a 45 mile drive from Tucson, and 9 miles from Mexico, as the Chihuahuan Raven flies.

Mexico 133

Mexico Tucson Arizona Ducks 133

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2021

Having that in mind, it is no small miracle that Colombia still has 1965 bird species left to be covered by this guide – more than any other country in the world. Among them are 94 endemics and 101 near-endemics, 4 introduced species and only 42 vagrants. Neither have I.)

Colombia 264

Colombia South America 2000 Birds 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2013

I had the pleasure of paying this national park a visit on a trip to Arizona in late May, and I was immediately struck by how important this species of plant is to this ecosystem. Thriving in a hostile, rocky, arid environment, these cacti are oases for nearly all vertebrate species that have evolved to live in the Sonoran Desert.

Arizona 164

Arizona Tucson Miami Shelters 164

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2018

This is a water reclamation plant, so the water is not quite as sweet as the name might suggest, but it certainly is a magnet for a lot of bird species. Deborah and I had a wonderful morning, and found 39 species. I spent quite a bit more time in the area this time and was able to see a total of 55 species. Stay tuned!

Tucson 125

Tucson Arizona Blackbirds Texas 125

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2018

Now that we have “settled” in Tucson, Arizona, or at least this is where the 5th Wheel is for the time being, it has been nice to be able to spread out a bit. Now that we have been in sunny, dry Arizona, it has rained 5 of the last seven days. By the time we left there four hours later, I checked off, seven total hummingbird species.

Tucson 113

Tucson Costa Rica Arizona Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2020

Yes, it’s the same species that so many North American birders have looked for around the San Pedro River (myself included) and like those Arizona birds, our urban Gray Hawks likewise use riparian zones. In Costa Rica, the urban raptor can take more than one form but usually, the local avian top predator is a Gray Hawk.

Costa Rica 296

Costa Rica Mice Arizona Squirrels 296

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2019

In a check of the eBird hotspot list for Santa Rita Lodge, it shows a life list there of 170 species, and approaching 13,000 check lists submitted. Most days you will get a good look at the Arizona Woodpecker. There is a variety of seed feeders, suet and peanut butter blocks, and most importantly, over a dozen hummingbird feeders.

Arizona 139

Arizona Woodpeckers Turkey Sparrows 139

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2021

This lake, with a surface area of up to 150 square miles in good years, is my go-to site for dozens of waterfowl and shorebird species, so I take its health personally. It is also a vital wintering and migratory site for most of these species, so I imagine they take its health very personally, as well.

San Francisco 264

San Francisco 2018 Mexico Ducks 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

we learn) that are home to coveted boreal species, breeding wood-warblers, and two species of Grouse. There are 461 species on the Maine checklist. This field guide covers 265 species, the ones most likely to be seen–residential and migratory, almost all nesting birds, many wintering birds.

Los Angeles 198

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 198

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2020

It’s not like when a birder is visiting Arizona and hoping for “the trogon” (aka Elegant Trogon ) because when a birder walks in Costa Rica, there are nine of these eye-catching beauties to look for. Like several other species, this fancy one evolved to live in the humid forests of southern Costa Rica and adjacent Panama.

Costa Rica 211

Costa Rica Panama Arizona Protection 211

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

Honesty requires that I confess to having seen none of these species. These species are visually very similar, with subtle differences in their tail patterns. These species are visually very similar, with subtle differences in their tail patterns. Females of both species are mostly coppery-brown, with red bellies.

Mexico 184

Mexico Indonesia North America Arizona 184

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

That’s 18 species in one book. This is more than a collection of species accounts. There are also two pages illustrating the “Holistic Approach,” silhouettes of each species (Western birds on the left, Eastern birds on the right), that allow for comparison of structure, size, and shape.

Los Angeles 213

Los Angeles North America America Species 213

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2013

After nearly a week of traveling through Arizona’s very dry southeastern corner, I decided to make a detour to Flagstaff for a change of pace, a change of scenery, and a chance at seeing an assortment of birds more typical of the Great Basin than the Sierra Madre of Mexico. Truly, a must see species in North America.

Arizona 140

Arizona Woodpeckers Phoenix Birds 140

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

I know humans as a whole are a powerful species, but really, we do not have that much control over hummingbird migration ( Trumpeter Swans , maybe, but not hummingbirds). Some of the unusual species we’ve documented here in Minnesota in the fall include Magnificent Hummingbird (above), Costa’s Hummingbird and Green Violetear.

Arizona 249

Arizona Minnesota Compassion Welfare 249

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2018

rufifrons occasionally strays to southern Texas or Arizona, but on the whole, they are seldom seen north of the border. They can frequently be seen in mixed flocks and each group has its own favourite species with which they like to associate. The Rufous-capped Warbler, B. 10,000 Clicks: Photo-galleries and ID Features.

South America 100

South America Argentina Stray Arizona 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

Many Nearctic species and families reach their southern terminus in the Northern Central American Highlands, such as Common Raven , Red Crossbill , Steller’s Jay , and even Brown Creeper. Alex also masterfully worked another tricky species into view for us during that first afternoon, Ruddy Crake (a close relative of the Black Rail ).

Honduras 216

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 216

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2018

At last count, there are 25 species of birds named for U.S. But only two states have more than one bird named for them: Hawaii and California, with nine and seven extant and eponymous species, respectively. states, with varying degrees of geographical relevance (sorry, Tennessee Warbler ).

2015 113

2015 San Diego Family California Condor 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2017

FWS began releasing captive-bred condors from the program into the wild in the early 1990s, with considerable success: once down to 22 birds, there are now approximately 275 wild condors in California, Arizona, Utah, and Baja California, as well as 165 in captivity. But they disagreed on the means to obtain that shared goal.

California Condor 106

California Condor California District of Columbia Utah 106

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2012

Common species like Lesser Goldinch , White-winged Dove , and Verdin quickly gave way to more rarified fare. The attraction of Southeastern Arizona in summer stems from the presence of certain highly range-restricted species. Where else can you see something like that?!

Tucson 154

Tucson Arizona North America Sparrows 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

A half-century ago, this species might have been restricted to Iowa or New Jersey, but now it can be found throughout New England and even south-eastern Canada. This native of Oklahoma, Texas, and Mexico is now recognized as a separate species, but the two species will hybridize when they meet.

Arizona 264

Arizona Oklahoma Texas Mexico 264