10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

They are, I think, the most numerous species of seabird in the tropical Pacific I haven’t done a post on yet. Their name in Hawaiian is ewa ewa, literally “cacophony”, and another name for the species is wideawake tern, which is how they’ll leave you at first. If not, then certainly the loudest.

Hawaii 165

Hawaii Albatross Breeding Species 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2013

Scientists might find it more challenging to seek out evidence of which bird species, particularly non-Arctic, island-bound species, are NOT preyed upon by birds. Conservation American Bird Conservancy cats Hawaii petrels' At the risk of sounding insensitive, duh. That would be news.

Feral Cats 149

Feral Cats Feral Cats Hawaii 149

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

This incredibly widespread species ranges around the Northern Hemisphere (and much of the Southern as well), and is found in locations as disparate as the Arctic tundra, Hawaii, Cuba, and the Galapagos – as well as many places in between.

Owls 197

Owls New York New York City Cuba 197

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2011

While I often tease Corey about how many albatrosses we have down here in New Zealand, the fact is that the United States has three species of Albatross that breed within its boundaries, albeit one of them only very rarely, and visit the western shores of North America. One of the two species found on Tern Island is the Laysan Albatross.

Albatross 172

Albatross Hawaii New Zealand United States 172

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2018

At last count, there are 25 species of birds named for U.S. But only two states have more than one bird named for them: Hawaii and California, with nine and seven extant and eponymous species, respectively. states, with varying degrees of geographical relevance (sorry, Tennessee Warbler ).

2015 113

2015 San Diego Family California Condor 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

Going birding in Hawaii? The official bird list is well over 900 species and literally hundreds of fantastic tropical birds are accessible but when to go? According to eBird bar charts, most of the resident species are also seen at other times of the year. Check it out! How about Thailand? There might be some good recent gen.

Costa Rica 288

Costa Rica Thailand Species Hawaii 288

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2013

To try to manage the invasive Brown Tree Snake on Guam, which has forced many of Guam’s bird species to extinction and as a way to try to keep the snakes from Hawaii. This article is fascinating.

Guam 150

Guam Mice Hawaii Species 150

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2018

Others were established to protect specific bird species or subspecies. Kilauea Point NWR (Hawaii). according to eBird , including: Aransas (368 species); Bosque del Apache (360); Parker River (359); Laguna Atascosa (356); Santa Ana (342); Anahuac (329); Pea Island (326); and Edwin B. Desert NWR (Nevada). Malheur NWR (Oregon).

Wildlife 214

Wildlife Las Vegas Texas Minnesota 214

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2012

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters The commonest of the two shearwater species you can find on the island, this species has burrows all over the place. They are also one of the more vocal species on the island, braying like lost souls under the house we lived in. You can see more shots of Christmas Shearwaters here. These guys get around!

Albatross 126

Albatross Hawaii Japan New Zealand 126

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2013

For the most part the Black-footed Albatross is an all-American bird, with 97% of their population breeding in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (in the District of Hawaii), and a few others breeding in islands owned by Mexico and Japan. I was lucky to work with the species on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals.

Albatross 157

Albatross Hawaii North America California 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2021

They covered so much water so quickly, so effortlessly, I understood how they could wander from Hawaii to Costa Rica, make steady constant progress over countless kilometers of waves and deep blue water. A world birder who has seen literally thousands of species, Pirjo had hoped to connect with this small striking gull.

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2017

Before the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), there was the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. endangered species was issued on March 11, 1967, under the earlier law, and those listings were ultimately grandfathered into the ESA. The first list of U.S. Here’s the notice in the Federal Register.).

California Condor 102

California Condor Endangered Species Bald Eagle Parrots 102

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2022

Instead, they usually just describe species seen at a specific location, with the vague notion that these descriptions might be interesting to other birders. It looks quite distinct compared to some of the other recently discovered species. I guess my sympathy is more with the Plain Bunting, if such a species existed.

China 196

China Birds Vietnam Asia 196

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2011

The species replaces the widespread, almost pan-tropical, Bridled Tern in the western Pacific Ocean. It does occur in Hawaii, which is where I saw it, but everyone knows birding in Hawaii doesn’t count.

Hawaii 166

Hawaii Alaska Eggs Species 166

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2015

Found in all fifty states except for Hawaii, the robin is also the state bird of not just Connecticut, but Michigan and Wisconsin as well. In fact, they are one of the few avian species that can survive on classic American lawns, perhaps explaining why their range is so large.

Connecticut 165

Connecticut Wisconsin Michigan Hawaii 165

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

The idea of Lost Animals was conceived after the publication of Extinct Birds (2001), a 400-page, four-pound book on 75 extinct species. Lost Birds looks at photographic representations of 28 species, 21 of which are birds. Some document one of the last views of the species, others are of the last representative of the species.

Animal 263

Animal Mammals Hawaii Dolphins 263

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. It seems that this is another species for which the standard phrase of scientists anywhere, “more research needed”, applies.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2017

The addition of Hawaii eliminated any notion that the ABA Area is defined by geography or ecology and the inclusion of the territories of Washington D.C. Virgin Islands not part of the American Birding Association’s ABA Area ? and Midway Atoll means statehood cannot be a prerequisite. This all happens without setting foot outside the U.S.

Puerto Rico 185

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands United States Hawaii 185

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2016

Since then their range has spread across the United States and southern Canada, and they remain a sought-after game species. While the females are much drabber by comparison, their gold/tan color and black spotting makes them stand out from other species as well. In Hawaii, they are found as high as 11,000 feet !

South Dakota 100

South Dakota Hawaii United States North America 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

Osborn, a passionate field biologist who participates to the core of her being three re-introduction projects aimed at saving three very different, endangered species: Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (‘Alala)*, and California Condor. Sophie Osborn’s stories are personal and inspiring, but this is more than a personal memoir.

California Condor 168

California Condor Falcons California Birds 168

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2012

One such tricky bird is the Bristle-thighed Curlew , a species that complicates the matter by looking suspiciously like the common or garden Whimbrel. You can encounter them from Hawaii across to French Polynesia and Fiji. It’s also fun to think about the massive disparity between the winter and summer range of the species.

North America 177

North America Fiji Hawaii America 177

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

Other species have certainly expanded their ranges, but never in such a rapid and global scale. For reasons that are not quite clear, this species underwent a massive range expansion. In the east, this species can be found along the east coast of Africa, the Nile Valley,and into parts of the middle east and India and southeast Asia.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

North America 278

North America America Birds California Condor 278

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2011

The most dominant tern species on Tern Island is the Sooty Tern. This species nests on the edges of the larger colonies and was much quieter. The largest species of noddy is the ground nesting Brown Noddy. This species doesn’t breed on Tern Island itself, but does sometimes turn up there. Click to enbiggen.

Hawaii 172

Hawaii Breeding Wildlife Eggs 172

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Its genus name refers to supposed similarities between it and the African mousebirds , and its species name refers to waxwings. Here’s the only known video footage of that species: Kauai Oo. Hawaii Oo ( Moho nobilis ), depicted by John Gerrard Keulemans in 1893. Spellman et al. Christopher Taylor has more.

Saudi Arabia 206

Saudi Arabia 2008 Indonesia Groups 206

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2013

Mark Kirk and Alisha Belo are doing a southern Africa big year, trying to see 800 species. As of the end of March they had already reached a whopping 652 species ! Ali Iyoob is sitting pretty at 230 species in his North Carolina big year during which he is trying to break the state record of 351. Birding 2013 big year'

2013 180

2013 New Jersey North Carolina Canada 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

Take Hawaii, for example. Fearing that a natural disaster, introduced species, or disease could wipe this fragile population out, the U.S. Further, fitting the birds with bands and radio transmitters, as well as monitoring them in the field , has greatly expanded scientific understanding about the species and its behavior.

Cambodia 142

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 142

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2012

So while we are dealing with Hawaii and all, let’s change how one rule is applied! Let’s stop treating restorations of native species (be they condors, Aplomado Falcons , or whatever) in the same way as we treat introductions of exotics. The rules of the game, and what you can and cannot count, are the domain of the ABA.

California Condor 150

California Condor Rescue California Game 150

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2011

This particular example of flexibility comes from Tern Island, in French Frigate Shoals to the north of Hawaii. Although the islands are a cramped home to 18 species of seabird, the dominant and most charismatic of these are the two species of albatross, the Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses.

Albatross 176

Albatross Hawaii Seals Parrots 176

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2011

Last week I introduced the Great Frigatebird , one of five species of man-o-war bird. I got rather carried away showing all the plumages you can see around a breeding colony, which means I had to split my post on the species into two. Male coming into land at nest. Frigatebirds are masters of life on the wing.

Albatross 162

Albatross Birds Hawaii Philippines 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2018

More than 50 years ago, the Hawaiian Goose (Nene) was one of the first birds listed under the Endangered Species Act, part of the inaugural “ Class of 1967 ”. Under the Endangered Species Act, any listing, uplisting, downlisting, or removal from a list requires a formal “rulemaking” process.

Endangered Species 101

Endangered Species Species Hawaii 2018 101

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

You can easily scroll through the 940 species of bird included, which covers the United States (including Hawaii) and Canada. When looking at the “plate” for a species and you can toggle between “field marks on” and “field marks off.” Not all species are treated as well.

New York 172

New York Battery Hawaii United States 172

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Not that I don’t enjoy seeing new species myself, it’s just that they are an easy target and I am nothing if not lazy and mean spirited. This particular Common Wombat ( Vombatus ursinus ), family Vombatidae, was the first I ever saw of the species and family.

Family 162

Family Wombats Uganda Fiji 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

In Hawaii I stood on a beach as albatrosses fledged and Tiger Sharks prowled for the less successful ones. You may not get the species counts that the race delivers, but you’ll have memories burned into your skull. In the Bahamas I swam in a pod of feeding dolphins. In Belize I cruised above reefs few people had ever seen.

Uganda 160

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Now that Hawaii is in the ABA Area , the next additions should be Puerto Rico and the U.S. 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. But even with Hawaii, there are many U.S.

Puerto Rico 146

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Hawaii United States 146

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2018

Invasive species , particularly rodents, have long been a problem on the Hawaiian archipelago. Mice are also detrimental to the island’s habitat for other reasons, including their consumption of plants and invertebrates, often competing with native species. Implementing mitigation measures identified for selected species.

Mice 102

Mice Albatross Honolulu Endangered Species 102

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

Fluttering Shearwater ( Puffinus gavia ) Flesh-footed Shearwater ( Puffinus carneipes ) Buller’s Shearwater ( Puffinus bulleri ) Along with these three were Two further species, also both familiar to North American birders, Sooty Shearwaters and Short-tailed Shearwaters. It is also restricted as a breeder to the north of North Island.

New Zealand 174

New Zealand Albatross 2011 Cooking 174