10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2018

If the cold weather across much of the United States is any indication than T.S. Eliot was correct when he stated that “April is the cruellest month.” On my wanderings I picked up quite a few species that were new for my year list but my Best Bird of the Weekend was one that countered cruelty with happiness.

North Carolina 113

North Carolina Cruelty 2018 United States 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

The Hawaii vote made it clear that that the ABA Area is about political borders, not geographical or ecological ones, and the two Caribbean territories have long been part of the United States. Both Puerto Rico and the USVI have active birding communities that are currently excluded from full membership in the ABA family.

Puerto Rico 160

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Hawaii United States 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. I’m wondering as I write if you are shaking your head, uneasy that all these FACTS will interfere with your love of observing owls, an experience that easily borders on the mystical for some of us. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 220

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 220

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

Or would be, had I encountered more of them – so far, I have seen only a very small share of the approximately 233 woodpecker species, and got decent photos of an even smaller number – not much more than 10% of all of them. So, writing a post about them is easy.

Woodpeckers 241

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 241

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2023

It borders the Hudson Bay to the north and four Great Lakes to the south, accessible by car and sometimes feet from the United States over bridges with names like Rainbow, Ambassador, and Seaway Skyway. state and Canadian provinces. state and Canadian provinces. © 2023 by Chris Earley and Scott & Nix, Inc.,

North America 220

North America Birds Owls America 220

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

processed the entire genomes of 48 bird species and compared nearly 42 million base pairs of DNA (Hackett et al. ’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. Now we move on to the Neognathae , which also has two very deep branches that lead to all the other living species of birds. Open Jarvis et al.’s

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

I know that families in the United States are already fretting/anticipating September’s arrival. What elevated the kings of kings above other species this time around was their gregarious behavior. Now that we’re later in the season, they are grouping either in family clusters or anticipation of migration.

2013 176

2013 United States Birds Family 176

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

A family motel and passion for responsible ecotourism brought her home to the Oregon Coast where she and her husband, Erik, adventure and record a podcast ( Hannah and Erik Go Birding ), created in an effort to inspire others to get out and bird. Marion has a fascinating history with invasive species. Salvin’s Prion.

South Africa 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2011

It may seem like cruel and unusual punishment for we denizens of the New World to spend an entire week celebrating what is surely the coolest family of birds in the world, a family that is sadly absent from the Old World, but it can’t be helped. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

United States 187

United States South America Cooking Family 187

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2016

By the time this post publishes, I’ll be on an airplane heading back to the United States following a truly remarkable two week visit to Uganda as part of a group of western birders visiting there to promote the inaugural African Birding Expo. In the relatively brief period, my group had something on the order of 450 species.

Uganda 165

Uganda Africa Squirrels Tanzania 165

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

What species is shown? Though wood-warblers, the mostly brightly colored birds of the family Parulidae, are only found in the New World we felt that birders the world over would be pleased to see a plethora of posts about these striking and sought after species. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

United States 155

United States South America 2011 2012 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

In this first installment, I will focus on my impressions and experiences in the highlands portion of our tour. Many Neotropical families and genera have some of their northernmost members here, such as the spinetails ( Rufous-breasted Spinetail ), Tangara tanagers ( Azure-rumped Tanager ), and guans ( Horned Guan ).

Honduras 222

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 222

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

His topic was the report recently issued by the Audubon Society where the organization claimed 314 species of birds in the United States and Canada are threatened by climate change. If 314 species are threatened in the United States and Canada then the numbers world wide must be absolutely staggering.

New York City 223

New York City New York United States Canada 223

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

I like observing them, reading about them, grappling with species and subspecies identification, and even—on a good day—talking about sparrow taxonomy. Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America covers 61 species of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae that breed in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.

North America 154

North America Sparrows America United States 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

There is no place that compares to Maine with its rocky shorelines, freezing waters populated by wintering alcids, offshore islands filled with nesting Atlantic Puffins, mixed and boreal forests (the most forested state in the U.S., we learn) that are home to coveted boreal species, breeding wood-warblers, and two species of Grouse.

Los Angeles 205

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 205

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2011

Clark’s Nutcracker , sometimes called the Crow Woodpecker , will always be paired with Lewis’s Woodpecker , the woodpecker that acts like a crow, both because of their cross-family likenesses and because of their namesakes. It was a wonderful experience and one that none of us will soon forget.

United States 177

United States Louisiana Woodpeckers 2011 177

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2011

Phoebes are proud members (at least they seem so) of the Family Tyrannidae , the tyrant flycatchers. Of the more than 400 tyrannids, as birds in this family are sometimes called, only three belong to the genus Sayornis , the phoebes. In fact, this is one species that seems to thrive in the face of rampant development.

Argentina 229

Argentina United States North America America 229

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

I know from experience how accessible Dennis is, last year he helped me identify a damselfly I photographed in Costa Rica (Argia anceps, no common name). Although designed as a field guide, it is a hefty book, 376 pages long, covering 336 species. Many species are dimorphic, with females looking different from males.

United States 238

United States Costa Rica Massachusetts North America 238

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2011

The sighting was easily the best I have ever had of the species, and it was in and out of view for about twenty minutes, foraging in small circuits but always coming back to the stand of thick brush where I had first spotted it. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

Tigers 159

Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 159

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! We are devoting a whole week to wood-warblers but are only just barely scratching the surface of possible topics involving this amazing family of birds.

South Africa 159

South Africa United States Austin Alligators 159

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2015

Many of these species were very high on my life bird wish list, and the country itself would be a totally new experience: a vibrant and enchanting culture, a varied and tasty cuisine, and stunning and new landscapes. Unlike most other members of the family, this species of motmot occurs in quite open and dry habitats.

Mexico 177

Mexico Birds Owls Sparrows 177

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2015

I recently returned from my family’s annual spring trip to Florida, and unlike years previous I didn’t get any special time set aside to bird this time round. There are few birds in North America that can elicit a subconscious smile in every single birder regardless of experience or skill, but this one has to be it.

Florida 182

Florida North America Neglecting South America 182

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2013

The videos and talks have wet our appetites for a book that promises to be visually exciting and fun to use, designed by birders who have used their own experiences in the field to determine what warbler seekers really need. The Warbler Guide covers 48 warblers commonly seen in the United States, arranged in alphabetical order.

United States 245

United States North America Species New York 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

This may be before the Fairy-Wrens developed the ability to detect Cuckoo young in the nest, an ability recently described by ornithologists, or this family may be one of the 60% who don’t detect Cuckoo chicks. As I said before, the book plates utilize the species names used in the original books and drawings.

Australia 197

Australia Birds Europe Collecting 197

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2013

For some reason the Fringillidae, as the finch family is called if you want to be highfalutin, frequently tend toward pink. Though its native range in the United States was just the southwest, the House Finch is now the most familiar pink finch in North America. Not that I’m complaining! House Finch.

Kazakhstan 155

Kazakhstan New York United States 2006 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

It’s probably on your mind too, especially if you live in the United States. Navarro’s exceptional drawings illustrate the species accounts. Forty-eight species. Compare, for example, the species account illustration of the Cuban Trogon with the photo that opens up the introductory chapter. 26 endemics!

Cuba 236

Cuba Birds United States 2000 236

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

Audubon Associate Naturalist, have led this tour many times, through tornados, droughts, questionable restaurants, and, sadly, the advent of fracking, and every one of my friends who has participated over the years has raved about the experience and the birds (in fact, one member of our group was on his third or fourth trip, I lost count).

North Dakota 144

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 144

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2014

En route they will be “birding in nearly every country in mainland North and South America,” and, as they say on their excellent blog , “Our journey is about collecting valuable data on bird species, their status and distribution, current conservation issues, and more along the way. Their first contribution to 10,000 Birds is here.

San Diego 192

San Diego South America Costa Rica America 192

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2011

For many birders a highlight of birding the southeastern United States, maybe even the definitive birding experience of the region, is taking in the great numbers and diversity of long-legged wading birds. Below is a family shot of at least six. My personal favorite are the Tricolored Heron s. A fairly Floridian morning.

South Carolina 157

South Carolina Alligators Florida United States 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

Superficially, it resembled the Black-chinned Sparrow of the southwestern United States with its gray chest and chestnut streaked with black back. There’s a little hint of white in the malar and throat too, which would seem to be a problem for the species Black- chinned Sparrow. New Jersey mystery sparrow.

New Jersey 230

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 230

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The first, the much caricatured hard-nosed lister who stops at nothing to get just one more bird, and the second, the deep-patch birder who just wants to hang around the common species. That regular common species are ignored? Both of these opposite ends of the birder spectrum combine effortlessly in the county birder.

McDonalds 168

McDonalds South Carolina North Carolina Jordan 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2012

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. In addition to these widespread species, Common Yellowthroat and Northern Waterthrush are reliably seen in the right habitats.

Florida 159

Florida Miami Cuba Bahamas 159

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Experiments in the field (the famed Asa Wright Nature Center veranda) involving Bananaquits and bananas came up with numbers ranging from 7 to 16, but a tanager always came along to interfere with Bananaquits’ noisy appreciation of their namesake fruit. (2) Which hummingbird was more beautiful—Tufted Coquette or Ruby-topaz Hummingbird? (3)

Trinidad 201

Trinidad Birds South America Research 201

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

COVID-19 was the worst of it but we also endured horrific wildfires, tremendously damaging hurricanes, another year of the worst President of the United States in history, and the list could go on ad infinitum. are up next, with a wonderful Australian species: It is very hard to choose a Best Bird of the Year any year.

2020 241

2020 Birds Costa Rica Germany 241

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2011

As part of the Wildlife Conservation Society Birds of Brazil giveaway we asked readers of 10,000 Birds to name the bird in Brazil that they would like to see more than any other species. What follows are the responses that readers offered, a veritable aviary of sought after species. It is a really neat bird that I have not seen before.

Brazil 212

Brazil 2011 Birds Wildlife 212

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2011

By age 2 she could identify over 10 species of birds in our Johannesburg, South Africa, yard by call alone. Astounding because she picked up birding before she could speak and surprising because this ability was definitely not inherited from anyone in my family, myself included. And perhaps 20 others by sight. BIRD FEEDERS.

Birds 279

Birds Game Wildlife Family 279

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. There is no experience comparable to birding a dump, and, I have to say, I have never experienced a dump like this one. 7) Piping Plover.

2016 112

2016 India Ducks Birds 112