10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2020

The bird family that got his attention was originally the herons, egrets and other wading birds, but as time went on New World warblers, woodpeckers and ducks fueled the passion further. Luis is an avid eBirder and he likes to keep a good record of his lists, photograph as many species as he can, and he encourages others to do the same.

Canada 163

Canada Cuba Miami Florida 163

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2015

Birding in Florida is unique in that so much of that state’s plenty is evident even to the casual observer. There are few places in the United States where simply driving around can leave you with a list of 30+ species, many of them large and spectacular. I’ve spent the last week in southwest Florida.

Owls 196

Owls Florida Tenant United States 196

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2016

It was odd to realize that with a temperature of 85 degrees F and a breeze, I felt like “fall” had begun in Northwest Florida. Here and there, spits of pale sand became playgrounds for families and dogs, or hunting areas for Great Blue Herons. My husband remained more interested in the species below the surface.

Bald Eagle 154

Bald Eagle Florida Alligators Fish 154

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2013

Broward County has one of the highest densities of Burrowing Owls in Florida. The Florida sub-species of Burrowing Owl is now classified as a threatened species in Florida and it is one of the rarest sub-species of Burrowing Owls. This is unfortunately an all too common problem for these owls in Florida.

Owls 230

Owls Florida Raised Coyotes 230

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2015

I have now officially moved to the Emerald Coast of Florida, a beautiful region on the Florida Panhandle. I am within one of Florida’s sub-tropical zones, and my birding experiences have expanded, with life birds galore. The largest of the three species was the Ruddy Turnstone , in between its breeding and non-breeding plumage.

Florida 157

Florida Birds Mice Breeding 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

This spurred her to pursue a career in environmental education and wildlife nature tourism as a park ranger in Texas and as the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail Coordinator with Florida Fish and Wildlife. Marion has a fascinating history with invasive species.

South Africa 262

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 262

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

So what’s so special about seeing the resident re-introduced Whooping Cranes in Florida? One of the last remaining Whooping Cranes in the non-migratory Florida flock. Whooping Cranes occurred naturally in the eastern United States until the late 1940s, and there are records of Whooping Cranes in Florida until the 1930s.

Florida 219

Florida Buffalo Louisiana 2004 219

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?

Miami 172

Miami Costa Rica Florida 2005 172

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2012

With a family renowned for its strong flight and capability to colonize far flung locations (such as the Imperial-Pigeons and Fruit-Doves of the Tropical Pacific, Blue Pigeons of the Indian Ocean, or endemic pigeons of the Canary Islands), this fact comes to no surprise. Is this the closest equivalent to a tramp species in the Americas?

Florida 156

Florida Miami Bahamas Mexico 156

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017

It was a hot and sunny Labor Day along Florida’s Gulf Coast, and my husband Brian and I were heading home from a friends and family weekend on the Suwannee River, stopping at state parks along the road-trip home. Luckily, the birds stuck around, and eventually I captured a smattering of photos looking straight up.

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Florida United States Family Species 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

At the end of October, my family flew to Florida for a multi-day road trip aimed at the beautiful springs. We had an ambitious itinerary planned: six springs within eight Florida State Parks. Water quality was good that day, and we could perfectly see the waving eelgrass, the freshwater fish species, the adorable turtles.

Florida 100

Florida Fish Turtles Shelters 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2019

This is the same history of conquest and despoliation which now puts many of these very species in danger of extinction. Prior to serving in the Confederacy, Driver notes, McCown played leading roles in genocidal campaigns against indigenous peoples on the US-Canada border and against the Seminoles in Florida. Well, no more!

Birds 260

Birds North America Cooking Campaign 260

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2018

When I arrived at the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance office in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, a high-tempo, tap-tap-tapping immediately arrested my attention. Bird territories vary in size depending on the bird species and available resources.

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Florida Groups Breeding Species 119

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Together, they are placed in the family Threskiornithidae, and they’re related to herons and egrets, pelicans, and the strange Hamerkop and Shoebill. White Ibis ( Eudocimus albus ) in Florida © David J. The other two living species, the Andean Puna Ibis and the White-faced Ibis occur in the Americas.

Louisiana 193

Louisiana Mississippi America Pelicans 193

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2015

One particular family of owls had particularly evaded me. All the local birders had seen them, and though I arrived on the Florida Panhandle too late to observe them when they were young, I fervently wished to see them all grown up. Almost the entire family had us surrounded. Three owl species seen, many more to go!

Owls 150

Owls Florida Family Raised 150

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2012

In fact, prior to my visit to Florida in January for the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, I had never seen an Anhinga at all save one lousy look in Honduras back in 2009. I must of mistaken flying Anhingas for ten different species over the next few days and I never really adjusted to seeing a cormorant-like bird soaring. .

Florida 172

Florida Honduras Turkey Wildlife 172

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2012

If you have been out birding in southeast Florida there is a good chance that you have run into him in the field. Thick-billed Vireo in Florida’s Matheson Hammock Fall By the time mid-July rolls around, fall migration is well underway in extreme southeast Florida.

Miami 161

Miami Florida Birds Pelicans 161

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

Seeing 525 species was nice, as was the fact that I birded in four countries, nine of the fifty states in the United States, and fifty-one counties. I want to reach 500 birds in the ABA, get my Queens list to 295, see a total of at least 500 species, and get my World Life List to 1,100. But how did I see so many species this year?

2012 143

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 143

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2017

My family and I were staying at the edge of a sand beach, facing a wide flat in a house charmingly named “Bone Ami.” Sure, I can see most of the birds in the Bahamas while living within Florida, but not in such stunning surroundings! Unlike Sanderlings, their legs were yellow, and they were distinctively a plover species.

Bahamas 100

Bahamas South Carolina United States Florida 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2011

The epicenter of large, charismatic, and often photogenic, fish-eating birds is in Florida, at places like Everglades National Park and Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the only site in the park system that could convincingly be named for an exotic dancer. Below is a family shot of at least six. Can you find all of them?

South Carolina 157

South Carolina Alligators Florida United States 157

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2014

That is, of course, dependent on me finishing a manuscript in a timely way by the end of February which I am well on my way to doing, having completed over one hundred species accounts thus far. In the meantime, I have whittled down the number of birds I want to include to 298 species, which is still a bit more than I am supposed to include.

New York 194

New York New Jersey Colorado Pennsylvania 194

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2017

From Florida to Maine and back again I toured urban forests, marshes, estuaries, and more, stopping along the way to visit family and friends. For three weeks in June, I traveled up and then down the eastern seaboard visiting ecological research sites. Unsurprisingly, I am very fond of this small piece of natural habitat.

Virginia 100

Virginia Branding 2013 Blackbirds 100

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.

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Birds Game Wildlife Family 277

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

Over Memorial Day weekend (23-25 May) my family and I spent the weekend along the Delaware shore enjoying the beaches, natural areas, and tourist traps that make visiting the shore such a delight. That I got to share a bunch of these birds with my family later in the day on Sunday was nice too.

Delaware 171

Delaware New York Birds North Carolina 171

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2016

In addition to splits, selected rare visitors have been added (Lesser Sand-Plover, Zenaida Dove, Red-vented Bulbul and African Collared-Dove are some of the species new to the East book, Streaked Shearwater, Stonechat, Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese White-eye are some of the West adds), and selected exotics.

North America 154

North America 2003 Birds America 154

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

So when we were contacted by Mitchell Waite, the creator and owner of the iBird family of apps, offering a promotional code for the new version of iBird Ultimate in return for a review I thought, why not? You can easily scroll through the 940 species of bird included, which covers the United States (including Hawaii) and Canada.

New York 173

New York Battery Hawaii United States 173

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

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. The luxury of space means that each species can be shown from various angles and in distinctive poses.

Cuba 225

Cuba Birds United States 2000 225

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2017

As birders, we tend to spend more time in wetlands than most of our peers, neighbors, and family members. Despite our focused efforts at the La Fortuna Waterfall Trail, the first target bird remained elusive but once we reached our primary destination, we sort of made up for the miss by laying eyes on some other choice species.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica Birds Ducks Pelicans 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

Eight days with 20 of the world’s top birding guides looking for some 1,000 species and three dozen endemics. You can see as many hummingbird species as the folks at Magee Marsh are seeing warbler species—during 25 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. As the rally tore through its itinerary, the species piled up.

Peru 254

Peru Birds South America Owls 254

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

A little longer than its predecessor (by eight pages to be exact), the East Coast guide is your handy dandy, pocket-sized, all-in-one guide to the seabirds, marine mammals, sea turtles, fish, and other creatures you are likely to encounter on pelagics or whale watching trips, from Bar Harbor, Maine to Ponce de Leon Inlet, Florida.

Pennsylvania 160

Pennsylvania Texas Whales Whaling 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

At the very least appreciated for their hard-shell adaptation, the way they quietly survive in ponds, rivers, oceans, islands, forests, even, for a few species, deserts, and, if you are of a certain age, their cultural depiction as ninja warriors. Or that tortoises and terrapins are considered part of the turtle family.

Turtles 191

Turtles Tortoises Family Terrapins 191

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2018

Our bogey or nemesis species, birds that we would opt to see over others. Back in the early days of birding with optics, I wonder if such wanted species would have been birds that were much more common in present times. It’s a reminder of how cool that bird really does look, that species and its red, crested counterpart.

Costa Rica 101

Costa Rica Bald Eagle Eagles Birds 101

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

The Refuge is now home to nearly 200 species of birds, over 50 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles and amphibians, and a wide variety of insects, fish and plants. The refuge offers opportunities for hiking and biking trails, canoeing and kayaking on Swan Lake, bank fishing, and family friendly programs and events.”

Fish 143

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 143

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2011

It was reportedly unforgettable, but then again most members of the celebrated psitticine family are unforgettable, though these days it probably has more to do with their dominance in western cultural traditions as primary avian cracker-wanter and pirate accessory.

Parrots 207

Parrots Mexico United States Stray 207

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

They formed their little clumps along the water, all the species mixed together until a walker approached too closely. ” Now me, with my infinite bird knowledge, quickly scoffed at her, “They can’t be frigatebirds, Mom, we are way too far from Florida.” Shorebird cluster along the beach.

North Carolina 169

North Carolina Alligators Wildlife Woodpeckers 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2013

He now wakes up to the choruses of Northern Cardinals and Northern Mockingbirds in sunny Vero Beach, Florida. These are the characteristics that generally elevate a species higher in a birder’s wish list, but often times this is not the case. An example is the set of birds living in the coastal desert of Peru. Photos: Alfredo Begazo.

Peru 168

Peru Birds Parrots Chile 168

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 114

Birds North America Breeding America 114