10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

It’s my fantasy and it’s yours: Quit the job, say good-bye to the family, and bird. And, to give his dream year a little more oomph, he created a grand once-in-a-lifetime goal: to track down and see every pitta species in the world in one year. Each chapter of The Jewel Hunter reads like a mini-travel novel. And mosquitos.

Hunters 198

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 198

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

Nineteen days later we had racked up an amazing list of 436 species, including some of Africa’s least known birds such as Congo Serpent Eagle , Yellow-footed Honeyguide , Tessmann’s Flycatcher , Yellow-bearded Greenbul , Black-collared Lovebird and much besides. We also knew we had discovered Africa’s next hot birding destination.

Ghana 196

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 196

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It’s relatively easy to classify birds into family groups based on physical characteristics. We sing about them, we paint them, we use them as mythic and poetic symbols for our spiritual and emotional feelings, we wear them in myriad and often colorful ways, we adopt them as household pets. So, I just sit here, amazed at this book.

Birds 220

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 220

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2015

I get that you’re really angry, I mean, he was a popular lion and yes, his cute widdle cubs will probably die to, but I can’t help feeling you’ve kind of missed the point a bit, and well, ending all hunting in Africa will not solve much and maybe make things worse and… No, no, I’m not a hunter.

Lions 214

Lions Hunting Sierra Leone Buffalo 214

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2015

Each year Hog Island offers programs, taught by a stellar staff of naturalists and artists, to groups of all kinds (teenagers, adults, families). There are over a million species of arthropods. They live on land, in the air, freshwater, and the sea, and have been compared to Swiss Army Knives for their versatility.

Puffins 261

Puffins Birds Groups West Virginia 261

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

Considering the bird survived a season in an area saturated with hunters and birds of prey, this facemelting rarity deserves our respect. 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 153

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 153