10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2022

All birding is essentially good. Time spent watching any birds is time spent connecting with our natural surroundings, a time that can act as a relaxed escape as well as one of meditative focus. Such rare and special birding times can also include days when the birding doesn’t stop, when one finds one rare bird after another.

Costa Rica 258

Costa Rica Birds Owls Geese 258

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

Memorable encounters with Mammals: Part I Most birdwatchers enjoy seeing mammals, but the trouble with mammals is that they tend to be much more challenging to see than birds. I remember the guide on my first Kenyan birding safari remarking that “birding groups always see far more mammals than those who come just to see animals.

Fur 194

Fur Bulgaria Otters Estonia 194

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2020

As I simply saw too many interesting birds during my short Delhi birding trip in 2019, I decided to cover the trip in two separate posts. There is no ornithological rationale for which birds are featured in part 1 and 2 – it is merely a question of following the alphabet wherever it led me. One of my favorite bird species.

Birds 169

Birds India Zoos 2019 169

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2021

As sad as I am to say it, I must: 2021 was one of my worst years for birding since I started looking at feathered creatures with intent in 2006. COVID kept me from traveling internationally, and my only major domestic trip of the year was to California where I have birded quite a bit already. All that said, 2021 was not a total loss.

New York 260

New York Birds California Owls 260

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2024

Curlews are birds of serious conservation concern in the UK, with numbers falling sharply this century. Curlews are long-lived birds, so their decline is not always apparent, with pairs returning annually to their favoured nesting area, despite not having fledged any chicks for years. Males have noticeably shorter beaks.)

Fox 206

Fox Finland Badgers Eggs 206

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2020

I Love Birds!: 52 Ways to Wonder, Wander, and Explore Birds with Kids. Her children’s books–which include the charming Mama Build a Little Nest , other picture books, and chapter books–evince an easy familiarity with birds, their science and birding ethics. How many birds do you see?

Los Angeles 264

Los Angeles 2019 Birds 2014 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

At the end of 2022, let us celebrate the local field guide, a sub-genre that many of us feared would die, the victim of technology, development, and globalization, but which still shines bright, fewer in number but brilliant in quality, thanks to birders and birding organizations that believe in knowing your patch and your state.

Los Angeles 205

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 205

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2019

Growing up birding in Western New York was also a time when the old woods of the Niagara Gorge were punctuated with the songs of hidden Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos and the lazy notes of Eastern Wood-Pewees. Seeing the uncommon birds is key to reaching a big total no matter where one goes birding.

Costa Rica 202

Costa Rica Species Birds New York 202

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2011

My 8-year old daughter got interested in birds from a VERY early stage. By age 2 she could identify over 10 species of birds in our Johannesburg, South Africa, yard by call alone. So I guess for some people birding skills come naturally but, for others, birding skills need to be learnt. And perhaps 20 others by sight.

Birds 279

Birds Game Wildlife Family 279

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

The April arrival of the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition was a supremely happy moment in a very difficult, sad month. A companion regional guide, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America was published in 1941; its fifth edition will be coming out in early September.

North America 218

North America America Hawaii Birds 218

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

It was only during the preparation of that post I truly realized how many images I had of these little brown birds! To follow on from that, I decided to include a few other often-overlooked birds from my travels to Kenya. Two other birds that I had to take second glances at were Yellow-breasted Apalis and Grey-backed Camaroptera.

Kenya 207

Kenya Groups Washington Game 207

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 247

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 247

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2012

Namibia is politically stable and a safe country to visit offering spectacular scenery, untouched wildernesses, vast game reserves, superb wildlife and fascinating cultural experiences. Over 700 bird species occur in Namibia, many of them range-restricted and highly desirable southern arid zone species.

Namibia 257

Namibia Angola Lovebirds South Africa 257

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2020

There wasn’t much in the way of birds in the yard, maybe a Cooper’s Hawk winging through from the north, crows calling and House Sparrows chirping. That’s where the birds were, thousands of gulls, rafts of diving ducks, Buffleheads and goldeneyes buzzing the cold, gray water.

Costa Rica 239

Costa Rica Turkey Iceland Eagles 239

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

Another paper on Taiwanese birds found that “the urban Crested Goshawk bred 34 days earlier on average than the rural population with significantly higher nesting success”, concluding that “the urban Crested Goshawk population benefits from high food supply and low predation risk.”

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

I was laid out with a bad back last week, which didn’t really affect my birding as I wasn’t planning any at the time. And it did so in spectacular fashion, in the form of a mixed-species feeding flock, or a bird wave. Bird waves are a feature of birds all around the world. Cardinal Woodpecker. Blue Waxbill.

South Africa 145

South Africa Tortoises Woodpeckers Birds 145

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2023

Here goes: Paradise Flycatchers are a genus in the broader (and rather large) family of Monarchidae. A characteristic of most but not all Paradise Flycatchers is the long tail of the male bird (tail length is thought to be a criterion by which females select their partners – please insert your own pornographic joke here).

Japan 130

Japan China Guinea Germany 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2011

The California Quail ( Callipepla californica ) is the California state bird, inhabiting scrub, broken chaparral and woodland edges primarily in California, Oregon, Washington and Baja California. At this age, they are also able to make short flights, a highly desirable trait for game birds.

California 227

California Eggs Gophers Rattlesnake 227

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2021

After spending Christmas Day birding around Broome and observing 92 species we spent the week making a mental note of what bird species were where. Every time the weather changes or you observe a bird you did not see on Christmas Day you wonder where it will be on New Year’s Day. Four Dollarbirds. Frill-necked Lizard.

Geese 215

Geese Ducks Breeding Zebras 215

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2023

In February, I was invited to participate in a Ducks Unlimited-sponsored survey of the waterfowl (and, collaterally, shorebirds and terrestrial birds) of Lake Cuitzeo. This would not be an issue, however, with the remaining biologists in this report — they are all certifiably bird-crazy, and live for their time in the field.

Mexico 217

Mexico Cuba Species 2014 217

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2020

Having finally found a Black Vulture for my Queens list , an important tick both because it was long overdue and because it was the tenth bird since my last set of predictions, it is time, once again, to look at what might be coming to my Queens list. Black Vulture – The bird that has been reported the most in Queens that I have never seen.

2018 162

2018 2015 Birds 2019 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

I’ve never been one to be overly concerned about whether a bird “counts” People, and organisations, have complex and elaborate rules about whether a bird you saw or heard actually is a bird you saw or heard, which seems a very unnecessary way to add complexity to an already complex hobby. Red Lechwe.

Botswana 162

Botswana Birds Lesotho Elephants 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

Consequently my usual pre-travel excitement is a lot lower than usual, and I’m spending much less time than I’d like unproductively daydreaming about the birds I’ll see. Can you spot the African bird in this shot? Birding skimmers Uganda' There is a cool one! Skimmers are funny things. Euphorbias at sundown.

Uganda 198

Uganda Madagascar Buffalo Africa 198

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2021

“Gamebirds” to some, cool, cryptic understory birds to the birding people, grouse crouch protected as unfettered winds sway the top of the tall prairie grass. Then there are the ones that live in PA , the state bird, “the grouse” that a great many non-birders are aware of, my Uncle Fred was one of them.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Chickens Pennsylvania Litter 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Way back on 16 May I managed to see my 312 bird species in Queens to add to my Queens list. Whimbrel – Undoubtedly this is the easiest bird left for me to find in Queens. Sedge Wren – This is a bird that rarely shows up on the coast in fall migration. Sooty Shearwater – This will take some more dedicated seawatching.

2013 160

2013 2010 2012 2011 160

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge : Open to migratory bird hunting (youth only). The Refuge is now home to nearly 200 species of birds, over 50 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles and amphibians, and a wide variety of insects, fish and plants. Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge : Expand big game hunting.

Fish 144

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 144

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Last week, a good friend, Dan Weisz gave me a tip on the location of a family of Burrowing Owls that were extremely easy to access. Another friend recently commented that while she loved all forms of birds, owls were, well, just something special! I counted a total of 9 owls, with 4 being mature adults and 5 juvenile birds.

Owls 157

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2018

A successful birding adventure tends to include a fair bit of planning. It’s needed if “success” is synonymous with seeing a higher percentage of target birds (even if that just means any possible species), the trip being rather glitch free, and having abundant coffee available at all hours. Supposedly real but how?

Costa Rica 107

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Game 107

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2016

By the time this post publishes, I’ll be on an airplane heading back to the United States following a truly remarkable two week visit to Uganda as part of a group of western birders visiting there to promote the inaugural African Birding Expo. The enigmatic Shoebill is perhaps Uganda’s most famous bird.

Uganda 165

Uganda Africa Squirrels Tanzania 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2019

Birds are singing and migrating, freshets are running, and trees are budding – yes, it’s time for all those things. And given what these birds have been through, this caution is certainly warranted. At last, it’s spring in the northern half of the world. What’s in a name?

North America 113

North America Vermont America Farming 113

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

This evergreen post, first written in 2004, has become a 10,000 Birds staple. No Christmas carol features birds as prominently as this one. To the birder, this begs the question: what species of birds appear in the Twelve Days of Christmas ? Why would the benefactor in this ballad vacillate from birds to jewelry to birds again?

Turtles 279

Turtles 2004 United Kingdom Geese 279

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2013

Mangrove Warblers, in particular, turn up in the ABA listing area with some regularity, particularly at the southern tip of Texas, where higgledy-piggledy is the name of the game. Chuk makes his quip about the Black-winged Yellow Bird; my friend Molly insists that everything is a duck, a pigeon, or an owl.

Connecticut 180

Connecticut Baltimore North America New York City 180

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2015

I have been working in the avian world for 25 years, but last summer I was out-birded by a 14-year-old girl. Each year Hog Island offers programs, taught by a stellar staff of naturalists and artists, to groups of all kinds (teenagers, adults, families). Most “bird-friendly”-labeled coffee is not bird-friendly at all.

Puffins 261

Puffins Birds Groups West Virginia 261

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2014

While you can easily find drab representatives of the pheasant family across most of the world – dull uninteresting birds like partridges, quail, francolins, grouse, or, God help you, turkeys, pheasants are usually found only in Asia. But still, had I not seen a pitta a few minutes later it might have been my bird of the year.

Congo 145

Congo Asia Chickens Turkey 145

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Nowhere else in Africa do the preconceived ideas of the continent really exist in such living detail; tall, red-robed Maasai herding their skinny cattle, endless grasslands studded with flat-topped Acacia trees and grazed by herds of zebras and wildebeest, and dramatic volcanic calderas brimming with big game and fierce predators!

Tanzania 224

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 224

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

While much of the attention that Africa’s tourism industry gets is for its (deservedly) popular national parks and game reserves, a lot of wildlife viewing is possible away from the big name places. Red-crested Korhaans are attractive members of the bustard family. Southern White-faced Scops Owl or African Scops Owl? You decide.

Zimbabwe 100

Zimbabwe Botswana South Africa Endangered Species 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2012

Several years ago, I was asked to visit my nephew’s preschool class and talk about birds. Jake lives in southern Florida, so he and his friends had to be interested in learning about these birds, which they saw everyday, right? How old were the baby birds? I chalk it up to the original baby bird book, P.D.

Birds 219

Birds Owls Switzerland Lions 219