10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2013

In 2013 I birded in two countries, submitted eBird checklists for seven U.S. At the beginning of the year I said the following about my goals for the year’s birding: I start 2013 with 297 birds on my Queens Life List , 500 birds on my ABA Life List , and 1,096 birds on my World Life List. … Birding 2013 listing'

Birds 93

Birds 2013 Owls Blackbirds 93

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2013

As the year 2013 accelerates towards its imminent endpoint, I find myself deluged with end-of-year tasks both mundane and inspired. Instead of easing into the last days of December and out of 2013, you might consider redoubling your efforts to end this year on a triumphant note.

Birds 82

Birds 2013 New York Species 82

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

The 2013 ABA Bird of the Year has been announced. It’s well worth clicking over to the ABA Blog and checking out the video announcing the 2013 selection. Congratulations to the Common Nighthawk ! It’s a nice bird, though no Green Heron. Seriously.

Birds 63

Birds 2013 63

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012

Ron Pittaway has published his winter finch forecast for the winter of 2012-2013. WINTER FINCH FORECAST 2012-2013 The theme this winter is that each finch species will use a different strategy to deal with the widespread tree seed crop failure in the Northeast. It will be a quiet winter in the eastern North Woods.

2012 104

2012 2013 Birds Species 104

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2013

After all, this is National Moth Week 2013! If you don’t know what those terms mean, think about the most colorful and fascinating flying creatures that aren’t birds. Summer is sweet for dragonflies, butterflies, and moths, the last of which deserve your attention over the next seven or so days.

Birds 88

Birds 2013 Trinidad North America 88

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2013

What will you do this weekend to improve your 2013 year list? This penultimate weekend of the year inspires last-minute panic: how are you going to get everything you need before time is up? Some folks will go to extraordinary lengths to cross off everything on their sizable lists. How about you?

Birds 77

Birds 2013 Rights 77

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Ron Pittaway has published his winter finch forecast for the winter of 2013-2014. Interestingly, I found a Blue Jay feather stuck on a hazelnut north of Toronto on 11 August 2013. Below is a slightly elided version which removes some of the Ontario-specific information and leaves just the meat of the forecast. RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH.

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2013 2014 Species Birds 74

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2013

With simply a couple of days remaining before we consign this year’s calendars to the compost pile, our 2013 lists (deeds, birds, etc.) are pretty much set. Most people can live with that, content in the knowledge that much of the year was spent in pursuit of worthy goals and satisfied to glide towards year’s end.

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Birds 2013 Owls Family 63

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2013

How many of you are already used to writing 2013 for the year? I usually need until the end of February to feel certain about the date.

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Birds 2013 71

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2013

So as many of my loyal readers know, I have a very mixed relationship with vagrants and the chasing thereof. Nevertheless, when a Baikal Teal was reported by the illustrious Radd Icenoggle just outside Missoula, I couldn’t very well ignore the siren call.

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Ducks Hunting 2013 Birds 85

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2013

Yes, I understand you may feel that 2013 just began and its first weekend comes too quickly, but that is old-fashioned 2012 thinking. Happy New Year! This year, the weekends arrive fast and furious. Make the most of them! This weekend, Corey and I will both begin the cold, careful work of adding local birds to our burgeoning year lists.

Birds 63

Birds 2013 Canada 2012 63

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

As 2013 draws to a close we here at 10,000 Birds thought that it would be a great idea if we, like we did in 2010 , 2011 , and 2012 , shared our Best Birds of the Year. The end of the year is nigh and birders the world over are looking over their checklists and reminiscing about their amazing sightings and devastating dips.

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Birds 2013 Species Costa Rica 72

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

I’m at a yearly disadvantage when it comes to deciding my Best Bird of the Year (BBOY) here on 10,000 Birds. This is because unlike most of the writers here I live in the Southern Hemisphere, which means that like a lot of people over here I take my yearly long break over the Christmas period.

Birds 93

Birds 2013 Species Rhinoceros 93

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2013

One of the perks about living in Miami is that plane tickets to the bird-rich Caribbean, Central, and South America are often cheaper than going to places like Arizona, Colorado, or California.

Jamaica 94

Jamaica Birds Puerto Rico 2013 94

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2013

Heading out of Ecclesdown Road on the second day of my trip, I had nailed all of my targets save four species ( Caribbean Dove , Yellow-billed Parrot , Jamaican Owl , and Stolid Flycatcher ).

Jamaica 76

Jamaica Birds Parrots 2013 76

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2013

Are you going to be in Australia this weekend? As you go about your weekend, how about helping out and counting any Australian White Ibis that you see? This survey started in 2003 and needs your help! You can report your sightings easily online. You may even see a tagged ibis, like we did on our trip to Sydney last year.

2013 60

2013 Birds Australia 2003 60

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

The 2011 , 2012 , and 2013 Financial Statements continued to note the increasing deficiencies and continued to state that the ABA had essentially the same plan of action as listed in the 2010 statement. Since 2013, the ABA has had relatively modest annual operating deficits or surpluses, but mostly deficits. to $1.6M).

2010 103

2010 2007 2013 2020 103

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Can you handle it? It is fall, the time of year when wood-warblers are at their most difficult, and I have curated three images of wood-warblers for you to destroy yourself upon, pulling out your hair as you frantically flip through your field guides.

2013 87

2013 Birds 87

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2013

Were there any birds about this weekend? The only ones that concerned me were Ravens, Falcons, Seahawks, Cardinals, and Eagles. Welcome back, NFL football! Of course I still kept my eyes out for other types of birds. This time of year is perfect for finding juvenile Eastern Bluebirds , which I was happy to do.

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Birds 2013 Falcons Eagles 97

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2012

Are you as excited as I am? My Sibley Guide to Birds is pretty darn destroyed from hard use and I can’t wait to see what he has cooked up for the next edition. Do you have the same problem? Well, you can keep up with what David Sibley is up to on his new Facebook page.

2013 86

2013 Birds Cooking 86

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2013

Here in the United States, April 15 is Tax Day, which means that countless Americans have toiled through the last 48 hours to prepare their taxes. Some are surely at it still. What a way to ruin a weekend! With the foresight to get my taxes taken care of early, I was free to enjoy the cold spring weather and lingering winter species around here.

Birds 100

Birds 2013 Jamaica Wildlife 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

One question every self-described birder must grapple with is to twitch or not to twitch. Some of us love to chase down preposterous vagrants, while others eschew bird chasing for contemplation of standard local fare and seasonal specialties. I raise this perennial issue because I found myself twitching a rare ABA bird this weekend.

Birds 99

Birds 2013 Oakland ALA 99

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2013

To all you hardy naturalists who have already logged Christmas Bird Count hours in service to citizen science, I salute you! Winter has come early and often to Western NY. In the face of endless snow, all I want to do is seek shelter, warmth, and booze.

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Birds 2013 Ducks Shelters 87

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2013

I’m wondering if Best Bird of the Weekend is too restrictive a way to consider the avians we encounter from Friday to Sunday. Of course we should seek reasons to celebrate every bird species we share our weekends with, but is the species that delights us most always the most memorable?

Birds 91

Birds 2013 Species Jamaica 91

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2013

No need to draw this question out. Many of us are still enjoying the final weekend of May, so let’s cut to the chase and talk about our best birds. My best bird this weekend was an Eastern Wood-Pewee calling from a bare branch.

Birds 94

Birds 2013 North America Species 94

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

Another long, lovely summer weekend has slipped into history. Midsummer will be giving way any moment to late summer. I know that families in the United States are already fretting/anticipating September’s arrival. How do you feel about it?

Birds 92

Birds 2013 Species United States 92

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 20, 2013

When citizens of the United States tout the superiority of our country, we tend to focus on debatable issues of culture, economy, and government. However, if we’re being fair, one of the irrefutable elements that makes America great is our proliferation of Northern Cardinals.

Birds 89

Birds St. Louis Sparrows 2013 89

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2013

Even the solo birders out there have to appreciate that birding together is often better than birding alone. Corey and I don’t get out in the field together much, since we’ve determined that the ongoing security of 10,000 Birds requires the two of us to live in separate cities. Blog security is serious business!

Birds 89

Birds New York City 2013 Whales 89

4 The Love Of Animals

AUGUST 7, 2013

August 6, 2013) – For the first time in SeaWorld’s history, a Cesarean section has been performed on a shark. A team of shark experts and veterinarians performed the groundbreaking procedure on a whitetip reef shark at Discovery Cove, SeaWorld’s sister park, in Orlando on July 18, 2013. Orlando, Fla.

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Sharks Gestation Dolphins Wildlife 238

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2013

Before this lovely June weekend began, I bemoaned the evident end of spring migration. What I failed to recognize were all the great things that happen around here when the waves of migrants subside. For example, the local farmers’ markets are back in action! If you can’t get fresh birds, at least enjoy fresh produce.

Birds 94

Birds 2013 New York Experience 94

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2013

Winter may not technically begin for another couple of weeks, but frigid temperatures and wicked snow are assailing various parts of North America. The weather outside is frightful, but winter birds are so delightful… guess that’s as good a reason as any to brave the cold.

Birds 87

Birds Sparrows 2013 North America 87

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2013

Winter in the temperate portions of the Nearctic ecozone might be cold, but fine birds choose to visit no matter what the weather. I’ve always equated winter with big predatory birds like Snowy Owls and Rough-legged Hawks. But on second thought, smaller birds like Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs spring to mind.

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Birds Owls 2013 Species 98

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Oh to be in Texas admiring the celebrity bird du jour , an incredibly unexpected Amazon Kingfisher ! Amazing encounters occur when amazing birders visit amazing places, but serendipitous sightings increase exponentially when so many amazing birders gather for an amazing birding festival.

Birds 86

Birds Geese 2013 Texas 86

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2013

No matter where you live in the world, you’ve probably noticed how interesting the unfolding of this season is becoming. True, many of you live in locations that are verdant and vibrant all year long or cold and white most of the time. But from pole to pole, creatures are on the move and blossoms and berries are bursting to greet them.

Birds 94

Birds 2013 America Experience 94

10,000 Birds

JULY 14, 2013

Birding and wildlife watching can be, as we all know, a solitary activity. And our practices, though familiar to anyone in our phenologically-attuned culture, can seem strange, sometimes even threatening, to the uninitiated.

Birds 91

Birds 2013 Wildlife Experience 91

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2013

Is it coincidence or conspiracy that Father’s Day falls on a weekend where very good birding can still be found in most areas? You be the judge… I got into a bunch of great grassland and forest birds this weekend. Honors go to American Redstart which somehow escaped me for the year until now.

Birds 91

Birds 2013 California Experience 91

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2013

Halloween weekend has passed, but the big day is yet to come. Has anyone seen any noteworthy bird costumes recently? The best bird I saw this weekend was a lone Yellow-rumped Warbler , though it was not the bird that briefly appeared on the field during the World Series!

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Birds Sparrows 2013 Experience 86