4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 7, 2012

9, 2012, at 8 p.m. Nat Geo Wild presents the third annual Big Cat Week starting Sunday, Dec 9th. The week features shows that highlight the kings and queens of the jungle! From Cougars, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, and snow leopards and more, it’s a great time to learn more about these amazing cats! A few facts that might surprise you: · Africa’s lion population has declined by more than 90 percent in the last 50 years. There are now more tigers living in captivity than in the wild.

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4 The Love Of Animals

JULY 14, 2012

Hi, Birdie here! I have a complaint. The human beans left me a few weeks ago to go to BlogPaws. I don’t know what that is, but it meant that instead of being on MamaBean’s knee, I was stuck with Grandma and Grandpa bean instead. I can’t believe they didn’t take me with them! I even heard that pets got to go! In fact, I even saw evidence that there were pets at BlogPaws in MamaBean’s photos. She thinks I don’t notice what’s on the computer, but I do.

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2012

Have you seen your first Eastern Phoebe of 2012? my first decently photographed Eastern Phoebe of 2012 at Bayonne Park on 4 April 2012 This year I had several first phoebes. Though this question is probably only relevant to birders in the midwest and northeast of the United States I feel compelled, like last year , to ask it. Was it earlier or later than usual for you?

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10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2012

We’ll be celebrating World Sparrow Day 2012 by running some of our favorite House Sparrow posts. Residents of the Americas may find this hard to believe, but the ubiquitous, adaptable House Sparrow ( Passer domesticus ) is declining in its native lands. We should all be concerned about this, if not out of love for this prosaic passerine then because the sparrow may very well be a signal species for more encompassing environmental threats.

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2012 Sparrows Raised America 73

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2012

On this final day of 2012 it is time, just like it was on the final days of 2010 and 2011 , to share your Best Birds of the Year. Here, without further ado, are your Best Birds of 2012, in no particular order. I think my official Best Bird of 2012, though, was (finally, finally seeing) the Burrowing Owl. I added 38 lifers in 2012, including Wilson’s Snipe. 2012 was one of my best years for birding in Costa Rica. Birding 2012 best bird best bird of the year

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2012 Ghana Ireland Costa Rica 48

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2012

Like some of the other beat writers around here I’ve been roped into keeping a year list this year , and inspired by the other lists I looked at I thought about what I wanted to achieve this year in birding. As opposed to my usual position of seeing whatever I see. It is a scary line of thought, let me assure you. I began by playing down expectations; on my list I state that I would be very happy to reach 300 birds for the year.

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2012 New Zealand Penguins Albatross 59

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

I had some goals for this year as well, goals which I laid out in the introduction to my 2012 year list. I came up just short of reaching 1,100 Birds on my overall World Life List , clocking in at 1,096, not a bad increase of 48 from the beginning of 2012 when I started at 1,048. Finally, my 2012 Year List easily exceeded the 500 species I had hoped to see. January 2012 started off with a bang. November is the month for rarities and 2012 was no different.

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2012 2013 Czech Republic Hedgehogs 55

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2013

Back in January of last year I said in my list for the year that I’d be happy if I hit 300 birds in 2012. Birding 2012 Year List New Zealand year listMy final number for last year was 402 as it turns out. So I guess the question is “am I happy?” ” Well yes, I guess. But perhaps a better question would be “is that why I am happy?” ” Last year I saw this Antipodean Albatross. Why wouldn’t I be happy?

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2012 2013 Thailand Albatross 55

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2012

Tomorrow is the first day of June, yet the complaints have already started. Have you heard them yet? “Now that migration is over, all I can do is look for local breeders.” ” “I guess I’ll go to the beach… maybe I’ll see a shearwater or something.” ” “Summer (birding) sucks!” ” Wah wah wah. Summer happens to be one of my favorite seasons, except for the whining.

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2012

Early April is a special time for most, especially those of us in the Northern Hemisphere that love each emerging sign of spring. The month and this particular period is all the more auspicious for me and mine, as so many friends and families celebrate spring birthdays. Today happens to be mine, so send some cheer my way!

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2012 Eggs Family Hunting 74

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2012

An interesting–or perhaps enervating–aspect of this time of year is how birding tends to run feast or famine. That is to say that, at least in the temperate regions, those of us who aren’t traveling somewhere special have to make do with the same old same old. Corey and I both pondered birds that are extremely ordinary for us. I enjoyed chattering Chimney Swifts while taking in tremendous bands at the Rochester International Jazz Festival.

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2012 Experience Experiments Species 71

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2012

The last weekend of December 2012 is the last weekend of the entire year. Since I didn’t keep a year list in 2012, I feel no pressure to beat the bushes for final ticks. How many of you plan, before turning the page on this eventful year, to try to pad your year list? How will you do it? I may just sit back and contemplate how fortunate I’ve been this year to see amazing birds in amazing places with amazing people. Isn’t that what birding is all about?

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2012 California Birds 55

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2012

I have a feeling that this summer is going to be weird. How else to interpret the sudden arrival of April showers (and temperatures) in June after already enjoying summer weather? If you’re experiencing the same wacky weather patterns, don’t fret… maybe this means we’ll get another migration! My best birds of the weekend were all part of a huge swarm of Chimney Swifts circling around what I surmise was their chimney dwelling.

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2012 Cape Verde New York Experience 70

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2012

Friends, birders, countrymen (and women)– lend me your ears. I come not to praise winter, but to bury it. Those of us occupying the boreal half of the planet can give Old Man Winter an exuberant sendoff this weekend, while you on the austral side can say so long to summer. How will you be observing the last weekend of winter (or summer) and will you be birding? Share your plans in the comments below. This weekend will be busy for me, and not just because I consider St.

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2012 South Africa Africa Birds 71

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2012

September has been flush with weekends this year, but all good months must come to an end. But worry not… regardless of weather conditions, this month goes out like a lion when it comes to birds on the move! This weekend, I’ll continue searching for local fall migrants, hopefully not in vain. Corey told me where he’d be birding this weekend, but I already forgot; apparently, his plans aren’t that exciting. How about you?

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2012 Lions Birds 66

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2012

Now that late winter has eased into early spring, it seems owls are in the air. I’m hearing all kinds of owl howls, from Saw-whets at (where else?) Owl Woods and Short-eared Owls from New York to the Galapagos Islands. One birder known to many of us even had her life Barn Owl turn up in her backyard! If owls have traditionally eluded you, get back in the game… your luck may be turning. I should have chased owls this weekend, but chose to work on my landscaping instead.

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2012 Barn Owls Owls Game 70

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2012

Perhaps I’ll even see my First Phoebe of 2012. Most weeks, we tend to focus on the movements and migrations of birds. However, with upcoming Easter and Passover festivities and America’s all-important Spring Break, now is a good time to focus on the peregrinations of people. Where are you going this weekend? Will you see birds there? Share your plans in the comments below!

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2012 Albatross Eggs New York 59

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2012

The month of June has passed, giving way to the first full month of summer in the northern hemisphere. Summer can be boring from a birding standpoint or it can be very, very interesting. How has yours been so far? Since Corey fled NYC this weekend, I took over his Atlantic coast shore patrol. While I saw a number of tasty shore species, I most appreciated the behemoth Great Black-backed Gulls , which I’ve missed since I’ve moved upstate.

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2012 Experience Experiments Species 68

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2012

Some weekends are sublime and others mundane. Obviously, we cannot survive one transcendent weekend after another, but this stretch of late winter seems to require more than the usual routine. I found little inspiration in the usual birds, so I turned to the great Herman Melville for some grand avian allegory: And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces.

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2012 Eagles Experience Experiments 70

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2012

April didn’t deliver many of its vaunted showers in my area this year. I’d fear for May flowers if so many weren’t already in bloom. How is the season in your corner of the world? My best bird this weekend has to be the Hermit Thrush that’s been hanging around my backyard for the last week. We’re wondering if it plans to nest here, but I can’t imagine such a shy (compared to robins!) thrush feeling comfortable in our busy neighborhood.

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2012 Experience Experiments Birds 68

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2012

The second weekend of April holds special meaning for citizens of the United States, and by special, I really mean dire. But like it or not, most of us have filed our tax returns. At last, we can turn to more important issues like earning enough money to pay next year’s taxes! As promised, I finally made it up to Owl Woods and the Braddock Bay area. Too bad the hawks and owls couldn’t make it too! Luckily, swarms of songbirds arrived on time, including one very handsome Fox Sparrow.

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2012 Fox United States Owls 68

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2012

September slips away and October is afoot. What fresh fascinations does this month have in store? My best bird this weekend was a spry little Red-breasted Nuthatch consorting with its larger White-breasted kin. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his only year bird that crossed his path, a nice Clay-colored Sparrow at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2012 Sparrows Experience Experiments 64

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2012

The Jackson Pollack-inspired effigy of the Chicken Inferno 2012! July is ending, which prompts me to inquire whether you are making the most of your months. Summer months mean a lot to me, which must explain why I’m always on the run these days. Have you been watching the sun set in strange skies? You should. This weekend, I’m heading out to Michigan for a week of sand and sun.

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2012 Michigan Chickens Birds 57

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Though no one from 10,000 Birds participated in this year’s Superbowl of Birding IX and the Bloggerhead Kingbirds did not field a team that doesn’t mean that you can’t read about what happened this year. You can read about it in The Eyrie , Birding North Central Massachusetts…and beyond , and the Maine Outdoor Journal. Will the Bloggerhead Kingbirds ride again in 2013? Only time will tell… a. Asides super bowl of birding

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2012 Massachusetts 2013 Birds 57

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2012

Some thrill to the feeling of spring in the air. Others crave something more primal such as love. Well, friends, can’t you feel it? Love is in the air… bird love ! We’ve been talking about it– often in rather graphic terms –all week. Don’t pretend you’re not a little bit curious… This weekend, Corey and I will make every effort to be in front of the newest wave of migrants in our respective territories. Planning on doing the same?

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10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2012

Faith and Begorrah, I’ve made it through another St. Patty’s Day without ingesting corned beef, cabbage, or green beer! My liver lingers on in the same (sorry) state in which it entered the weekend. Can you say the same? My weekend was devoted to a seemingly endless celebration of my son’s 8th birthday, which meant that my best bird was bound to be a backyard species. I had a large, half-rotten tree taken down last summer, but chose not to have the stump ground down.

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

September, as you’ve no doubt heard time and time again, is a season of flux. No matter where you are in the world, chances are that an array of organisms are responding to climatic signals by, among other things, growing, dying, blooming, fruiting, fattening, nesting, or migrating. Believe it or not, the usual birds on the brain are not what calls this frenzy of activity to mind. Instead, I’m thinking of whatever plant is currently agitating my allergies!

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2012 Pennsylvania Farming New York 62

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2012

You are undoubtedly reviewing the best and worst of everything you experienced in 2012 as we prepare to ring in the New Year. Time to put another year in the books! But for now, let’s focus on some specific highlights from just this past weekend… My Best Bird of the Weekend was Red-breasted Nuthatch , many of which were emboldened to visit my feeder in the midst of mountains of snow.

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2012 Experience Experiments Birds 51

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

Like it or not, fall is falling all over the Northern Hemisphere and spring is sprung to the south. But what’s not to like about either season? These magical months of transition feature flora and fauna in flux, which can lead to your year’s best bird watching. So embrace change and get out there! I’ll be hanging around Rochester waiting for Red Crossbills to fly overhead. Corey plans to canvas the Albany area for oddities, avian and otherwise. How about you?

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2012 Birds 62

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2012

This month strikes me as the oddest April in my memory. Then again, April is always an odd month. Robert Frost certainly thought so… The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day. When the sun is out and the wind is still, You’re one month on in the middle of May. But if you so much as dare to speak, a cloud come over the sunlit arch, And wind comes off a frozen peak, And you’re two months back in the middle of March.

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10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2012

Catherine Hamilton has been the first to get all three species correct in the last two diabolical wood-warbler quizzes. If she gets three in a row it will show she is the best birder in the world and Felonious Jive will suffer the sad misfortune of dropping to second place. This quiz is a diabolical to the extreme and if anyone manages all three I will be surprised.

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2012 Suffering Species Birds 60

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 16, 2012

Stick with 2012 until the New Year comes rocking in! December is drawing towards its grand finale as we all work furiously in advance of seemingly endless celebration. Contemplation of one’s Best Bird of the Year seems more appropriate than attention to just one weekend, but December isn’t over yet. Actually, in terms of this weekend, I don’t have much of anything to share. As predicted, I spent my weekend studiously avoiding observation of anything remotely avian.

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2012 Sparrows Owls Experience 52

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2012

It is May! For those in the northern hemisphere migration fever is upon us and employers who employ birders are wondering where everybody is. Have the birds really started moving where you live? Both Mike and I were on the road this weekend.

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2012 Chicago Florida Experience 64

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

Phenology is a funny thing (a funny word too, which is neither here nor there.) Every wildlife watcher, no matter how specialized, becomes attuned over time to the ebb and flow of each local plant and animal’s life cycle. With enough observation and experience, we notice slight variations and how those aberrations sometimes ripple throughout ecosystems. Some phenological oddities, however, are blatant enough to catch everyone’s attention.

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2012 Suffering New York Experience 60

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

With the arrival of May, we turn from bird love to migrant mania. Forget March Madness… this is when things get crazy for those in sync with the endless sojourns of countless species. Make the most of this special time! Speaking of making the most of special times, I’m taking my ( very, very, very lucky ) kids down to Orlando for a long weekend of intense recreation. Yes, we are doing Disney, so share your survival tips! And yes, I’m bringing my bins.

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2012 Florida Species Birds 63

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2012

Happy belated Father’s Day to everyone who observed it this weekend. Just to keep that sweet paternal vibe going, I’m going to award double points to anyone whose best bird of the weekend was seen in the company of a dad or by a dad with his child. Oh, you didn’t know we were keeping score?

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10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2012

Ambrose Bierce, one of my literary heroes, crafted a supremely cynical lexicon called The Devil’s Dictionary. Though it’s over 100 years old, the work still has teeth and is worth a read. I’ve been considering a similar work called The Birder’s Dictionary. The first entry I have in mind is the definition of the word doldrums … July!

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2012 Africa Birds 61

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2012

October in the Northern Hemisphere is a glorious time of transformation. Not only do devoted leaf peepers fully come into their own this month, wildlife watchers have no dearth of diversions. The only way to enjoy October is to immerse yourself in it, especially during its warmer weekends. Following my own advice, I’m hoping to get in a autumn hike somewhere the birds are flying. Shouldn’t be too hard, considering how active many migrants are right now.

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2012 Wildlife Rights Birds 59

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2012

Hot enough for you? If you’re suffering through a sweltering patch of record summer heat, you may feel much as Ralph Waldo Emerson did when he penned this line: “When summer opens, I see how fast it matures, and fear it will be short; but after the heats of July and August, I am reconciled, like one who has had his swing, to the cool of autumn.” ” But is it ever too hot or too cold to get out and look at some birds?

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2012 Michigan New York City Suffering 60

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2012

In principle, weekends should generally improve upon what the everyday work week has to offer. In practice, though, some weekends are just more awesome than others. The third weekend of July always ranks among the best of my year and this one was no exception.

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2012 New York City Farming New York 60

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

Summertime is still hanging on in the Northern Hemisphere, even in some of our uppermost latitudes. Birds are on the move, filtering through green, leafy trees. Get out there and see them! I’m considering my options for this weekend, as I don’t want to waste such a special time of year. Corey, as is his wont, will be ON A BOAT (cue the SNL classic ) on Sunday. How about you? Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? Share your plans in the comments below.

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2012 South Africa Africa Birds 59

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2012

Ah, spring is here (at least on my side of the world.) Rather than wax with my usual eloquence on vernal splendors, I’d like to share a silly song that always comes to mind this time of year. My kids just loved the movie Lost in the Woods by Sisbro Studios. Laura and Robert Sams clearly love nature and film making and kids, all of which come together splendidly in Lost in the Woods. Their goofy movie always brings a smile to our faces, especially this little number: Spring is Here.

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2012

You’ve probably heard me observe once or twice how hot this summer has been in the U.S. But like so many things, evaluations of temperature can be relative. I just spent some time experiencing real heat, the kind of 100+ degree blast that hits like a blowtorch no matter how dry it is. I found the experience of authentically aggressive heat rather refreshing, but much prefer my moderate New York summers!

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