10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2017

The point is, the field guide I grabbed without hesitation was the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition by Jon L. North America is defined as from north of the Mexican border to the far north, plus “adjacent islands and seas within 200 nautical miles off the coast or offshore islands.”

North America 178

North America America 2017 Birds 178

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

Published by Princeton University Press in early 2016, Waterfowl of North America, Europe, and Asia (I’m going to use this shortened title for the rest of the review), covers 83 species of Anseriformes–ducks, geese, and swans–of, yes, Europe, Asia and North America.

North America 142

North America Asia Europe America 142

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2014

The second edition of the National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition has one of the longest book names in bird bookdom: National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition: Now Covering More Than 1,000 Species With the Most-Detailed Information Found in a Single Volume.

North America 177

North America America Birds Family 177

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2015

Here are some things I’ve learned from the Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean by Scott Weidensaul: The Burrowing Owl is the only North American owl species where the male is larger than the female, albeit, only slightly larger. The 39 owls include five endemic Caribbean species.

North America 214

North America Owls America Dominican Republic 214

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2024

The next volume in this three-book series is now out: Field Guide to North American Flycatchers: Kingbirds and Myiarchus by Cin-Ty Lee, illustrated by Andrew Birch, and it is as informative and well-organized and lovely to look at as the Empid/Pewee volume. Introductory Material Sixteen species, 190 pages.

Los Angeles 169

Los Angeles North America Species America 169

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2023

The official Ontario bird checklist, produced by Ontario Field Ornithologists , June 2022 listed 506 bird species**, putting it in the top tier of U.S. Small Species Accounts: Each species is allotted one page (with certain exceptions) offering basics–bird names and size, one or two photographs, and a one-paragraph description.

North America 200

North America Birds Owls Canada 200

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2017

The Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America by Nathan Pieplow is innovative, fascinating, and challenging. The guide covers 520 species of birds regularly found in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, including, interestingly, a number of exotic species. But, first the basics.

North America 161

North America America Birds New York 161

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Bufflehead ( Bucephala albeola ) Female at Cavity Entrance photos by Larry Jordan “Some 85 species of North American birds excavate nesting holes, use cavities resulting from decay (natural cavities), or use holes created by other species in dead or deteriorating trees. Notice the chick in the upper left corner.

North America 207

North America America Barn Owls Falcons 207

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. In the summer, they are the highest altitude breeding songbird in North America. So let’s look at this sampler, shall we? So let’s look at this sampler, shall we?

America 260

America Arizona North America Texas 260

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2024

The species is listed as Vulnerable – the estimated number of individuals is 4600-5100 (HBW), of which about 2000 winter on Hokkaido. Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709 – 1746) was a German-born naturalist, though it seems he spent most of his (shortish) adult life in Russia, participating in the exploration of the North Pacific region.

Eagles 130

Eagles Sea Lions Bears Russia 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2012

Howell continues his tradition of giving clarity to what most birders find intimidating with Petrels, Albatrosses & Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide , just published by Princeton University Press. This is the first field identification guide on tubenoses in North America.

North America 158

North America Albatross America Species 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2024

Nor have I chased particular birds, either: almost all the birds I have seen have been encountered during a normal day’s birding, not a targeted twitch for a particular species. A lone Whooper Swan on a grey January day in Norfolk As for the ducks – I’m now up to 15 species.

Spain 130

Spain Eagles North America Ducks 130

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2024

When a birder uses the word, we usually refer to a species that canbe mostly or exclusively found in a single country. Which means that the large country of Mexico boasts (according to one list) 127 endemic bird species, while the famous birders’ destination of Costa Rica has only 6. It doesn’t seem fair at all.

Costa Rica 177

Costa Rica Mexico North America Lions 177

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

elegans ) are the largest rails in the Americas. Their taxonomic status long has been unclear due to their overall similarity and the fact that in eastern North America and Cuba, they hybridize. King Rails occur widely in eastern North America, in eastern and central Mexico, and in Cuba.

Species 212

Species North America Cuba Louisiana 212

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2024

Being a westerner — raised in California, and now living in western Mexico — I was perhaps most excited about the migratory birds that breed in eastern North America. This was only my fourth encounter with the species (all on the east side). It was by far my best (and longest) view of this species.

Mexico 185

Mexico Birds Raccoons Baltimore 185

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica: A Field Guide by Dennis Paulson and William Haber fills a large gap in the field guide coverage of Costa Rica and continues the high level of excellence set by Paulson’s previous guides to dragonflies and damselflies of eastern and western North America. Paulson, William A. INTRODUCTION.

Costa Rica 256

Costa Rica North America Family America 256

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2013

Unlike the more common American Goldfinch, the Lesser Goldfinch’s ( Spinus psaltria ) plumage does not change color during breeding season. The female Lesser Goldfinch can sometimes be confused with the female American Goldfinch in breeding plumage. Both of these species show gregarious flocking behavior except when nesting.

California 163

California Species North America Oregon 163

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2023

What are the best field guides for birds in North America? Birders often venture into various habitats, such as forests, wetlands, grasslands, or coastal areas, to encounter different bird species. The primary objective of birding is to identify bird species based on their physical characteristics, behavior, and vocalizations.

United States 147

United States North America Birds America 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

A breeding bird atlas is a special kind of book. For ornithologists, it is the documentation of a multi-year project designed to record the distribution and abundance of birds in a specific area (in North America, usually a state or a province), utilizing a mapping method involving blocks and grids.

Pennsylvania 220

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds Sparrows 220

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2020

One of the highlights of autumn for many birders in eastern North America is the annual release of the Winter Finch Forecast. Every September, this report offers predictions on possible southward movements of nomadic finches of the boreal forest for the coming winter, as well as a handful of associated non-finch species.

2017 270

2017 Oregon North America United States 270

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2014

Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the “Rufa” population of Red Knot ( Calidris canutus rufa ) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The other sub-species, Calidris canutus roselaari , migrates along the Pacific Coast and breeds in Alaska and the Wrangel Island in Russia. Photo: Ron Knight.

Endangered Species 160

Endangered Species Protection Delaware Species 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

That’s 18 species in one book. The third thing to note about Field Guide to North American Flycatchers: Empidonax and Pewees is the care authors Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch have taken to present their identification expertise in a way that is understandable by birders of every level.

Los Angeles 201

Los Angeles North America America Species 201

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2020

May migration in many parts of eastern North America was and is an amazing natural celebration. Yes, the birding is truly exciting but we just don’t have the annual parade of breeding plumaged, singing warblers, grosbeaks, and orioles. In Costa Rica, this species is common in various middle elevation forest habitats.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Panama Nashville Baltimore 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2022

Then there was the Northern Cardinal that turned up at the pre-Columbian Tres Cerritos ruins on the lake’s north shore. So yes, this appears to be a breeding population.]. And since I don’t go to the lake very often in late spring, I rarely get to see these Avocets in their breeding plumage. It means something.

Mexico 209

Mexico 2018 Ducks Breeding 209

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Dale Dyer put in years working on his paintings for Birds of Central America , both in the field and in the museum. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Not every bird.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 203

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

Heermann’s Gulls form large breeding colonies on arid islands in the Gulf of California, Mexico, from March through July. The largest colony exists on Isla Raza, where an estimated 90–95% of the total world population breeds 1. This photo by Basar from Wikipedia Commons shows the adult in breeding plumage. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUBX_tlHySc.

San Francisco 158

San Francisco North America Seals Sanctuary 158

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

Insects and a host of other invertebrate life have evolved with these plant species, and thus depend on them. The latter figure very significant when you remember that many breeding passerines depend on the humble caterpillar to feed themselves and their offspring. Locally native plants are the base part of the local ecology.

Wildlife 261

Wildlife North America Mammals Breeding 261

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

In June, I visited North Dakota for the first time. Like any birder visiting a new place, I had a target species list I was hoping to seek out during the one day I had available between business commitments. They had two world-class datasets on which to draw the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, and the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

Species 173

Species Science Los Angeles 2000 173

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 220

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 220

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2019

One of the ironies of birding in North America is that the easiest way to see many species that breed on the shores of the Arctic Ocean is to go to tropical coastlands. Marbled Godwits, like the Willets shown above, breed on the northern Great Plains. Only their reflections give any sense of the beach beneath them.

North America 120

North America Mexico Breeding America 120

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

There is much to enjoy and appreciate here and I only wish I could have tested out some of these species accounts in pelagic waters before writing about them (sadly, the 10,000 Birds pelagic to Antarctica was canceled this year). SCOPE & SPECIES ORGANIZATION. It covers 434 species across 9 orders and 18 families of birds.

Albatross 278

Albatross Penguins Groups Family 278

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2018

Among these lands are some of the most productive avian breeding grounds in the United States. Yukon Flats NWR is one of the most productive waterfowl breeding areas in North America. More than a million ducks and half a million geese, including Emperor Goose, also breed in the Yukon Delta.

Alaska 203

Alaska United States Puffins Wildlife 203

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2020

Perhaps one of my reasons for going to the lake was that it guarantees more species in one day than any of my other sites. But I am also always eager to get a better handle on the migration dates for our wintering species, and April is a great month for that. How on earth do they breed so quickly up north?)

Mexico 161

Mexico Breeding Ducks North America 161

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

There are not, as far as I know, any plans to re-name the Montagu’s Harrier, a bird that’s now a real rarity in the UK that only occasionally breeds here. North America has far more birds named after people than we do in Europe, where’s there is only around 50, and most of those are scarce or restricted in range.

Falcons 213

Falcons Collecting 2003 Wounded 213

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2019

Our big month of bird movements in Costa Rica, the 10th month of the year, is when most of the swallows, Scarlet Tanagers , thrushes, and other species on the South American express push through. How do they compete with resident species? In October, it’s what’s happening in Costa Rica. What do they eat?

Costa Rica 257

Costa Rica Nicaragua Birds Panama 257

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 20, 2016

The Mew Gull is the smallest of the “white-headed” gulls in North America, where it was formerly known as the Short-billed Gull. Maybe because there are 27 species, some of which take four years to attain adulthood and then some of the larger gulls cross breed! Click on photos for full sized images.

California 174

California North America Alaska Breeding 174

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2012

There cannot be many ABA area breeding birds harder to get than those that only breed on the remotest tips of the north of North America and then fly off to places that aren’t on the major continental flyways. They do turn up on the coast of North America, but not often.

North America 177

North America Fiji Hawaii America 177