10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

The proprietor of our ecolodge guides my small group of birders up a steep slope where we see, just at the point where a scope view deteriorates into pixels, a huge bird—a Chaco Eagle, also known as a Crowned Eagle—on a huge nest. We are cautioned to keep the location of the eagle a secret. Author Joshua Hammer.

Falcons 219

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 219

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2022

Eagle-eyed Pat spotted a Lesser Black-backed Gull in nonbreeding plumage and other birders that week noted a Thayer’s Gull (which we may have seen too–I mean, who expects Iceland Gull in April?). Many birders left at the first drops, but I crowded with a few other birders under the shelter of the volunteer kiosk.

Houston 221

Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 221

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Their common names reflect their size, appearance, residence, and sometimes their sound, ranging from the simple to the eponymous: Little Owl, Powerful Owl, Pharaoh Eagle-Owl, Cloud-Forest Pygmy-Owl, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Morepork, Christmas Island Boobook, Blakiston’s Fish-Owl. They are also hunted.

Owls 221

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 221

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2012

Although they share some affinities with typical raptors (building eagle-like nests and possessing hooked bills) Secretarybirds have many characteristics that warrant them to be placed in their own genus, Sagittarius. Watching them hunt is fascinating. But another reason might be that the wing flares confuse the prey.

Botswana 230

Botswana Eagles Porcupines Hunting 230

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2013

The aim of the game was to band raptors, and specifically to band Golden Eagles. To assess their populations, draw their blood, test them for lead, and discover what kind of impact feeding on gut piles might have on these iconic raptors, particularly the young ones, as hunting season begins in Montana. I’m not.

Eagles 179

Eagles Tethering Science Wounded 179