10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

It’s a unique bird, even its scientific name is wonderful, so it’s not surprising that Gerard Gorman, Woodpecker Expert Supreme, has written a book all about the species. I was surprised to learn that there are two Wryneck species in the Jynx genus: Eurasian Wryneck, Jynx torquilla, and Red-throated Wryneck, Jynx ruficollis.

Woodpeckers 247

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 247

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2016

Another year is about to come to an end and for us birders who can’t help but keep a year list, it means that there are precious few days to add a few more species. Now for my top ten species identified by moi over the course of 2016 and not in any real order: 1 Jabiru. What am I missing? 6 Rufous-crested Coquette.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica 2016 Species Birds 100

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. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Why are these issues?

Costa Rica 227

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 227

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2023

Nestled between the Huangpu River and the East China Sea, Shanghai offers a captivating blend of urban charm and natural wonders, making it a must-visit destination for birders seeking a unique and diverse avian experience. Among the most notable is Chongming Dongtan, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

China 176

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 176

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2021

Earlier in the day, as we ventured out towards the deep waters off of Malpais, Costa Rica at 6 in the morning, another Galapagos Shearwater was the first real pelagic species we encountered. There was even that outside, enticing chance of documenting something new for Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

In fact, this is probably a species that has substantially expanded its original range through the pet shop route and the resulting escapees. In fact, it seems to be one of the species employed by past ornithologists to establish their own monument in the shape of a subspecies. A challenge for young birders, maybe. On the ground?

South Africa 246

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

I wonder what he would have made of the extraordinary peregrinations undertaken by this species in 2021, with birds turning up well north of their usual range in an event the American Birding Association has coined – with hashtag – #spoonbillsummer?

New York 264

New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Maybe these people like challenges – at least here at the monastery, getting good shots of this species is quite easy. Another species apparently enjoying the proximity of a monastery is the White-winged Grosbeak. My extensive birding experience allows me to be very confident that the bird below is a Rosefinch.

Birds 226

Birds Germany India 2018 226

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

I savor the timeless experience of scanning these tropical waves for storm-petrels and lost jaegers. With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit! Want to see a high quality video showing 53 species only be found in Costa Rica and adjacent western Panama?

Costa Rica 227

Costa Rica Birds Thailand Family 227

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2017

But does the value of a particular trip come from the number of birds seen, viewing a particular species, seeing an endangered species, catching a glimpse of a rarity, adding a lifer, or something else? How much do birders value a birding experience? This includes bird-watching experiences.

Oregon 188

Oregon Washington Birds Chad 188

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2020

The book covers 77 species; 105 taxa (species and subspecies): 45 Birds of Paradise species, 4 species formerly classified as Birds of Paradise (Satinbirds and MacGregor’s Honeyeater), and 28 Bowerbird species.* Introduction. It is, he says, “probably the most extreme examples of sexual dimorphism” (p.

Guinea 264

Guinea Birds Papua New Guinea Family 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2018

I had an amazing birding year in 2017 with tons of travel , lots of amazing birds , and some truly memorable experiences. I will add at least three new species to my Queens list. This will be very difficult as I have added a total of three species to the list in the last two years. Tune in all year to find out!

2018 128

2018 Birds 2017 New York 128

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2020

Everyone from the BBC to National Geographic has been on its shifting sands documenting these ocean giants. This tends to leave one feeling euphoric – for this instance however our happiness was tinged by the sobering fact that we were experiencing approximately ten percent of a species’ entire population.

Trinidad 228

Trinidad Turtles Turkey Birds 228

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2015

Birds are famous for manipulating brood size (in some species) in response to likely availability of food, and this ability has been at the center of major debates in biology over the level at which natural selection works. In any event, brood size matters, so in the experiment I’m talking about here, it was manipulated by the researchers.

Killing 217

Killing Zebras Birds Research 217

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

These arid hills, cloaked in a mosaic of deciduous scrub and desert vegetation, form a northern outpost for several Neotropical species while also harboring several key endemics and southwestern Nearctic species. This poorly documented swallow is a breeding endemic to these high mountains.

Mexico 201

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 201

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

In 2012, I reviewed The Jewel Hunter , an absorbing narrative in which author Chris Goodie travelled throughout Asia, Africa, and Australasia to observe and photograph every Pitta species in the world. Hummingbird species, on the other hand, number in the hundreds.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Dragonflies and Damselflies of Costa Rica: A Field Guide covers 113 damselfly species and 170 dragonfly species, a total of 283 species. Wait–that adds up to 290 species, but the book only covers 283. .* Wait–that adds up to 290 species, but the book only covers 283. Paulson, William A.

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica North America Family America 263

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2022

Solid Air: Invisible Killer- Saving Billions of Birds from Windows is the summation of Dr. Klem’s expertise, experience, and professional life–what we scientifically know about bird and glass collisions, a handbook on how to prevent them, and, not insignificantly, the story of a remarkable career.

New York City 261

New York City Birds Illinois Science 261

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2019

Born in a different era, when bird photography was difficult, I gave many advice how to write the basic info, but the strangest thing to novices today turned out to be the advice on sketching the unknown species. Still, besides documenting rare species, forms, or odd individuals (e.g. Why should I sketch it, I am lousy at that.

Birds 144

Birds Costa Rica Greece Colombia 144

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2020

As I gather the relevant documentation for our upcoming CBC this Sunday I caught myself daydreaming of CBCs past. The following year, 2014, I elected to join a different group birding the lowland seasonal forest at the opposite end of the CBC radius from where I had that wonderful experience the year before. Common Ground Dove.

Trinidad 181

Trinidad Livestock 2015 Groups 181

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 279

Albatross Penguins Family Groups 279

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Nor are there any birding authorities requiring folks to identify, count and document the nuthatches, titmice and Downy Woodpeckers that come to their backyard feeders. Watch that one and keep an eye on the others because all sorts of species can show at any time. Check out the toucanets. Northern Emerald Toucanet. Quail-doves anyone?

Costa Rica 220

Costa Rica Cooking Birds Chickens 220

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

I follow my friend, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for International Bird Rescue, Cheryl Reynolds to the release site where we document the event. If you spot one of these blue banded birds, you can help by reporting it and contribute to this important citizen science project helping the conservation of this amazing species.

Bird Rescue 206

Bird Rescue Pelicans Rescue Birds 206

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

Additional back of the book material includes a Glossary, Biographical Details, a Select Bibliography, Notes, Credits, an Index to Species and a General Index. Cocker writes about the species within each family with a literary specificity softened by a tone of conversational patience. Eagles are national symbols of the U.S.,

Birds 224

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 224

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2015

Plasticity in humans is probably modulated primarily through experience and enculturation. Most likely, all individuals of a given species have very similar genes guiding very similar developmental processes, but produce different results because the plasticity itself is selected for.

Birds 127

Birds Research Humane Pets 127

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2019

I saw 863 species of birds, bringing my life list to 1,820. Such travel brings a lot of birds and the 863 species I saw this year is the most species I have ever seen. How can I narrow down the eight-hundred-sixty-three species to ten? How can I, by listing only ten, call eight-hundred-fifty-three species not worthy?

2019 142

2019 Barbados Uganda Costa Rica 142

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The brilliant orange coloration and rich, haunting song of the Spot-breasted Oriole ( Icterus pectoralis ) makes this species one of my favorite permanent residents in southeastern Florida, even though it is an introduced exotic. How can an introduced species be a favorite among birders? Don’t they compete with native birds?

Miami 177

Miami Costa Rica Florida 2005 177

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

The title is a bit deceptive, for while photographs are a huge part of the book, it is grounded in the 239 species accounts written by woodpecker guru Gerard Gorman. This background material is a good, succinct framework within which to read the Species Accounts, particularly for birders new to woodpecker study.

Woodpeckers 252

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 252

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2015

That’s how important the lifer experience is and I suspect most other birders who started out young feel the same. Costa Rica has more than 900 birds on the country list but the small size of the territory and easy access to good habitat eventually results in sightings of most resident species.

Costa Rica 150

Costa Rica Birds Pennsylvania North America 150

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

MAY 14, 2018

One of which is documented here. Fifth, Kirtland’s Warbler is an amazing conservation success story, having come back from the brink of extinction to the point where it is now proposed for delisting as an Endangered Species. It’s hard to think of a species I would rather see in New York State.

New York 113

New York New York City Michigan United States 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2014

In this book, rare birds are species “for which, on average, only 5 or fewer individuals have been found annually in North America since around 1950.” Species that were once seen rarely and have now become more common, like Clay-colored Thrush, are not included. Rare Birds of North America covers 265 species within these parameters.

North America 259

North America America Birds United States 259

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

After writing this last sentence, I looked up the species in the HBW and found the sentence “Song poorly documented” in the appropriate section, while with regard to calls, the description is that “call is a two-note raspy nasal ‘ryeeh-reh’”. In New Zealand, the Spotted Dove is an introduced species.

Singapore 147

Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

All species are from the ABA area, and all groups must meet at least one of these criteria: (1) the group “represented a good opportunity to build core birding skills,” (2) the authors thought it was a group that needed “a refreshed treatment,” (3) the authors were intrigued by the group and wanted to present it using their unique format.

Birds 190

Birds Groups 2015 North America 190

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

The guide covers 747 breeding residents or regular migrants, 29 introduced species, and 160 vagrants, a total of 936 species. Honeyeaters are “active, noisy and pugnacious” and there are a lot of them–76 species–in Australia. The colored font is also used to indicate measurements, voice, and notes.

Australia 109

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 109

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2014

It prompted a lot of questions, many of which I had previously answered by simple supposition and presumption, but which now became highlighted as inadequate in the light of this experience. How many well sites does a sapsucker maintain? How often does he do the rounds? Does he vigorously defend his food source?

San Francisco 180

San Francisco Maryland Jordan Lifestyle 180

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

By the time they were looked at as a primary document it seems that most who saw them did not recognize the connection to the Mysterious Starling or their value in general. Not only that, but another species of starling was already called Calornis inornata.). Rats did it in, as they did so many species. Most species go extinct.

Killing 170

Killing Rats Cooking Norway 170