10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2018

When I arrived at the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance office in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, a high-tempo, tap-tap-tapping immediately arrested my attention. Bird territories vary in size depending on the bird species and available resources.

Florida 119

Florida Groups Breeding Species 119

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2012

With a family renowned for its strong flight and capability to colonize far flung locations (such as the Imperial-Pigeons and Fruit-Doves of the Tropical Pacific, Blue Pigeons of the Indian Ocean, or endemic pigeons of the Canary Islands), this fact comes to no surprise. Is this the closest equivalent to a tramp species in the Americas?

Florida 159

Florida Miami Bahamas Mexico 159

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Spoonbills and ibises are stocky, colorful wading birds with distinctive bills: downcurved and pointed in the case of ibises, flat and paddle shaped in the spoonbills (above is my shot of Roseate Spoonbills ( Platalea ajaja ) near a breeding colony in Louisiana). White Ibis ( Eudocimus albus ) in Florida © David J.

Louisiana 196

Louisiana Mississippi America Pelicans 196

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2012

In fact, prior to my visit to Florida in January for the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, I had never seen an Anhinga at all save one lousy look in Honduras back in 2009. I must of mistaken flying Anhingas for ten different species over the next few days and I never really adjusted to seeing a cormorant-like bird soaring.

Florida 173

Florida Honduras Turkey Wildlife 173

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2017

My family and I were staying at the edge of a sand beach, facing a wide flat in a house charmingly named “Bone Ami.” Sure, I can see most of the birds in the Bahamas while living within Florida, but not in such stunning surroundings! Unlike Sanderlings, their legs were yellow, and they were distinctively a plover species.

Bahamas 100

Bahamas South Carolina United States Florida 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2012

If you have been out birding in southeast Florida there is a good chance that you have run into him in the field. If it were not for the resident cardinals and large number of breeding exotics, Matheson Hammock would be all but silent during the late spring and early summer. That it not to say that the park is dead — far from it.

Miami 161

Miami Florida Birds Pelicans 161

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

Over Memorial Day weekend (23-25 May) my family and I spent the weekend along the Delaware shore enjoying the beaches, natural areas, and tourist traps that make visiting the shore such a delight. Blue Grosbeaks were common and clearly on breeding territory. The marsh birds more than made up for the puzzling lack of Empidonax though!

Delaware 173

Delaware New York Birds North Carolina 173

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2011

The epicenter of large, charismatic, and often photogenic, fish-eating birds is in Florida, at places like Everglades National Park and Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the only site in the park system that could convincingly be named for an exotic dancer. Below is a family shot of at least six. Who knew?).

South Carolina 157

South Carolina Alligators Florida United States 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

Seeing 525 species was nice, as was the fact that I birded in four countries, nine of the fifty states in the United States, and fifty-one counties. I want to reach 500 birds in the ABA, get my Queens list to 295, see a total of at least 500 species, and get my World Life List to 1,100. But how did I see so many species this year?

2012 143

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 143

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.

Birds 115

Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

And, sometimes, I use chip notes to try to lure a bird in, using just a couple of notes and only if I was sure it would not be interfering with a breeding bird or other birder’s enjoyment. You can easily scroll through the 940 species of bird included, which covers the United States (including Hawaii) and Canada.

New York 174

New York Battery Hawaii United States 174

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2016

In addition to splits, selected rare visitors have been added (Lesser Sand-Plover, Zenaida Dove, Red-vented Bulbul and African Collared-Dove are some of the species new to the East book, Streaked Shearwater, Stonechat, Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese White-eye are some of the West adds), and selected exotics.

North America 159

North America 2003 Birds America 159

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

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. The refuge offers opportunities for hiking and biking trails, canoeing and kayaking on Swan Lake, bank fishing, and family friendly programs and events.”

Fish 143

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 143

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Nearly 70 species of parrots have been recorded flying free at some stage or another in Miami, including Hyacinth Macaws. Dozens of other introduced bird species, largely escapees from pet owners, now call Miami home. But I couldn’t help but get more excited about the countable species as opposed to the uncountable ones.

Miami 133

Miami Parrots Research Birds 133

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2016

On my recent short family vacation to Miami, I was granted a single day to get out and really bird like a madman. Of course, I contacted Carlos Sanchez , alleged south Florida birder extraordinaire, to maximize the returns on what time I could spend. We needed countable species! At least this time we saw three of them.

Florida 117

Florida Miami Birds Owls 117

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2011

The vast majority of Baltimore Orioles that breed in North America return to the tropics between Mexico and northern South America for the cold half of the year. A trip to the coastal plain may net you up to seven species of warblers, from the omnipresent Yellow-rumps to Chats and Cape Mays. Instead I saw a flash of orange.

North Carolina 140

North Carolina 2011 St. Louis Baltimore 140

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

The scientific species name of the Golden-throated Barbet is franklinii , commemorating Capt. The HBW section on this species’ behavior mostly repeats the phrase “more information needed” Though of course scientists, hungry for grants and topics, say that all the time. Ok, I made that up.

Birds 174

Birds China Woodpeckers Breeding 174

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2012

If you have been out birding in southeast Florida there is a good chance that you have run into him in the field. Over twenty species of wood-warbler may be recorded in a single winter in Miami-Dade County, with several more species recorded regularly in Monroe and Broward. That’s right.

Florida 158

Florida Miami Cuba Bahamas 158

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2012

Jake lives in southern Florida, so he and his friends had to be interested in learning about these birds, which they saw everyday, right? And then I showed them the one photo that was not taken in Florida, an image of baby American Robins in a nest in Central Park. There is nothing as deadly as 15 bored 4-year olds.

Birds 211

Birds Owls Switzerland Lions 211

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

In the right season, with a little luck, we often find it, and sometimes it perches high and long enough that we can admire its scimitar of a bill, its stern face pattern, and even the patch of rusty red on the undertail that gives the species its English and its scientific names. I had no idea I should have been embarrassed.

2011 140

2011 Tucson Arizona Deer 140

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2013

It is one of three species of ani ( Groove-billed and Greater Anis are the other two) and together form a unique branch in the cuckoo family. Smooth-billed Anis were relative newcomers as breeders to Florida, having only begun nesting since the 1930s. During this time, southern Florida was in a state of ecological chaos.

Florida 190

Florida Virgin Islands Miami Breeders 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2011

liz Mar 7th, 2011 at 6:18 am Fleeing the snow and cold of NY, we visited Florida and I got a lifer – a snail kite. I had a beautifull view on 5 horned grebe here (one in breeding plumage), in Ann Arbor Michigan, for the 3 seconds it lasted, until I heard a huge “CRRACK&# , and I fell through the ice.

2011 154

2011 New York Deer Birds 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

The hope and claim is that transferring this process to gull identification works more easily and just as accurately (at least for species) as an examination of plumage and molt patterns. Species Accounts. Gulls Simplified covers 25 species. From the Laughing Gull species account. These vary according to species.

North America 199

North America America El Salvador Nicaragua 199

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2017

I started the year in Florida, traveled to India with the ABA in February, combined family and birding in an August trip to California, and in-between saw very good birds in New York and New Jersey. Finally, deciding that a duck that required 250 acres of land to breed probably did not welcome intruders, we tiptoed out of the swamp.

2016 109

2016 India Ducks Birds 109

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

It is one of several species in the Mallard -complex of ducks, along with American Black Duck , Mexican Duck , and quite a few others. You find them in the south from Florida to Texas and down into Mexico, occasionally as far north as the Carolinas in the east and up the Mississippi River as far north as Illinois.

Ducks 166

Ducks Florida Illinois Mississippi 166

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Decades later, Richard Pough’s Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds (I happily own the 1948 edition) included nest and egg descriptions for each species as well. And photographs of feathers in the species accounts, which surprised me. Text retrieved from the Hathitrust Digital Library. The first is accomplished well.

Eggs 228

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 228

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

But, as with many avian families, the more you look, the more complicated it gets. And, the whole question of subspecies, which in the Northeast tends to focus on the Cackling Goose, but which I’m sure is a topic of fascination with other waterfowl species in all other parts of the world. There are the females, so many so brown.

North America 149

North America Asia Europe America 149

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2019

I birded parks, landfills, fields, backyards, skies, oceans, lakes, ponds, and roads in 15 states–some familiar haunts and patches, some as part of family visits, some while passing through, some adventures with friends (three trips with N.J. In the meantime, it’s a good topic for holiday family gatherings. ” [[link].

2018 155

2018 New Jersey Michigan North Dakota 155

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

Southern Cassowary with chicks by Duncan Wright Carlos Sanchez was particularly appreciative of a new bird for him in Florida. This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. This may sound mundane, but my Best Bird of the Year is a species we all know quite well in one form or another.

2012 147

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

I had spent several holidays with my family in the USA in the 1980′s and then worked in Maine during the summer of 1985-beware the poison ivy and the snapping turtles! I then had a year in Florida – beware the alligators and hurricanes!

South Africa 158

South Africa United States Austin Alligators 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2014

I’m going to start with a specific example: species accounts for Common Tern and Arctic Tern. How have these species accounts changed from The Sibley Guide to Birds , published in 2000 (heretofore called Sibley One) to The Sibley Guide to Birds, Second Edition , published in March 2014 (and heretofore called Sibley Two).

North America 237

North America Birds Species America 237

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2011

Orlando is so rich in roadside and overhead birds that I kept a list of species seen from the car which ran to 30+ on the first morning and included a Bald Eagle nonchalantly sitting on a street lamp by a Target store. There are more at the Orlando, Florida post on Redgannet. Get yours today!

2011 116

2011 Alligators Florida Deer 116

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

The Crossley ID Guide: Waterfowl covers every residential, migrating, vagrant, exotic, and introduced swan, goose, dabbling and diving duck in North America (Canada and the United States): 62 Species Accounts on four swan species and one vagrant subspecies; 15 goose species; 46 duck species; plus accounts for hybrid geese, ducks and exotics.

Ducks 117

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 117

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2023

The Great Egret was in breeding plumage and courtship posture–bright lime green lores, head bending down and then snapping up, long, impossibly delicate plumes waving over its body as if possessed by independent spirits. I could see what all the fuss was about, why they were worth, literally, as much as gold. ©2023, Donna L.

Connecticut 147

Connecticut Washington Legislation Hunting 147