4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 10, 2014

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Dogs 100

Dogs 2014 St. Louis Pets 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2014

The calendar year 2014 has just about run its course. What a way to end 2014’s birding. And that’s a wrap. It’s all over but the year bird counting, so take stock of any species you’ve added this weekend. I skipped the kingbird and was just happy to spot the Broadway Bridge Peregrine Falcon ! How about you?

Birds 86

Birds 2014 Falcons Species 86

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

2014 has been a good year for us at 10,000 Birds. Larry starts us off right with an owl that makes birders drool: I was able to see and photograph many great birds in 2014 but my Best Bird of the Year would have to be the Great Gray Owl , the largest Strix in North America. That’s Redgannet’s BBOTY at the top of the post.

Birds 96

Birds 2014 Costa Rica Owls 96

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2014

But the prospects of our trip grew even more exciting once we learned that our stay would coincide with the Conteo de Aves Arenal 2014 or 2014 Arenal Bird Count. Best of all, we’d be part of the count team at Finca Luna Nueva.

Birds 96

Birds Costa Rica 2014 Species 96

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2014

On a larger scale, I have no particular plans to get outside the ABA area in 2014, but I would like to time a trip back east with the spring migration this time around, and it’s been far, far too long since the west coast has seen hide or hair of me. Anyway, here we go: 1. Rock Pigeon Jan 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada.

2014 73

2014 Bald Eagle Woodpeckers Sparrows 73

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2014

The year 2014 is approaching its imminent end, which means different things for different people. For those of us interested in observing avifauna, the last six or so weeks of a year offer enough time and opportunity to finish up with the year list we’d love to look back on. Have you been working on yours?

Birds 87

Birds Bald Eagle 2014 Eagles 87

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

Ron Pittaway has published his winter finch forecast for the winter of 2014-2015. Though Ron is based in Ontario his reports are eagerly anticipated by birders across the northeastern United States and eastern Canada because it takes into account a vast array of data to figure out which irruptive species might show up where.

2014 105

2014 2015 Birds Alaska 105

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2014

Less than two weeks into the new year and I’m already used to writing 2014 instead of 2013. That must be a new record! This weekend, I took time to appreciate the sight of ten American Robins congregating in a leafless tree.

Birds 87

Birds 2014 Blackbirds 2013 87

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2014

Ready to close the books on the summer of 2014, northerners? Keep your eyes to the skies for chickadees and t**s. We in the United States like to usher out the season in style with a three-day weekend. Hope you’re on board!

Birds 86

Birds 2014 Pennsylvania United States 86

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2014

The calendar says that this is the last weekend of the winter of 2014. I’m writing this still aching from shoveling the 18+ inches that blanketed Rochester yesterday. And yet I can say with confidence and delight that spring is nigh.

Birds 85

Birds 2014 Owls United States 85

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2013

The 17th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival will take place from the twenty-second of January until the twenty-seventh of January in 2014. Will you be there? I sure as heck will! I haven’t been to Space Coast since 2012 and man did I miss it last year.

Bald Eagle 69

Bald Eagle 2014 Wildlife Birds 69

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2014

I visited Hong Kong from February 20-27, 2014. Despite impressive, often rampant development, Hong Kong reserves 40% of its land as greenspace. The result is a nature lover’s paradise rich with mountains, beaches, and birds. Lots and lots of birds! My itinerary was as follows: Feb 22: Macau (including Guia Hill and Barra Hill).

2014 100

2014 Birds Species Eagles 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013

Ron Pittaway has published his winter finch forecast for the winter of 2013-2014. Though Ron is based in Ontario his reports are eagerly anticipated by birders across the northeastern United States and eastern Canada because it takes into account a vast array of data to figure out which irruptive species might show up where.

2013 67

2013 2014 Species Birds 67

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Why is camping so interesting? I ask because, despite my deep affection for warmth, indoor plumbing, and uninterrupted Internet access, I found myself and my family enjoying an overnight out of doors. Camping and birding both fall under the category of “nature” activities, yet the two seem only tangentially related.

Birds 98

Birds 2014 Philadelphia Species 98

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

Now that autumn has fallen, my part of the world feels like summer. Hopefully, October offers more of the same! My best birds this weekend were American Goldfinches on purple coneflowers, which is where I like them best.

Birds 96

Birds 2014 Experience Experiments 96

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2014

We birders seem to keep our own arcane calendar, with weeks and months symbolized not by numbers but rather by avian avatars. Each phenological totem evokes the confluence of time, climate, and geography that tells a richer story of a place than simply its position relative to the sun.

Birds 100

Birds 2014 Kentucky Species 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2014

One of the many ancillary benefits of becoming a birder, apart from an elevated social status and encyclopedic knowledge of taxonomy, is a subtle grasp of phenology. But you don’t have to be wise to nature’s ways to realize that spring is mighty slow to fully bloom in some parts of the world.

Birds 102

Birds 2014 Species Experience 102

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2014

We’re a little slow to discuss this weekend’s birding because many of us in the U.S. are still enjoying a beautiful Memorial Day. But if you’re eager to share the spoils of your recent avian adventures, let the bird bragging commence!

Birds 99

Birds 2014 Species Family 99

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2014

Quick show of hands… how many of you in the U.S. kept a special eye out for Bald Eagles ? My favorite sighting this weekend was not of the regal representative of my nation’s pride but rather a single brilliant Indigo Bunting at Lake Skaneatles.

Birds 98

Birds Bald Eagle 2014 Jamaica 98

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2014

What a weekend for those of us experiencing the exhilaration of spring migration! Assuming that your over-worked eyes are as blurry as mine at the moment, we should get right down to business and talk birds… The best of the many warblers I uncovered at Cobbs Hill this weekend was an entirely improbable Kentucky Warbler.

Birds 97

Birds 2014 New York City Species 97

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2014

The final weekend of October positively burns with activity, from spectacular seasonal fare to sports extravaganzas to Halloween hullabaloo. How does a person even find time to look at birds? I was able to spare a few moments to appreciate the Northern Cardinals that, while always present at my home, seem so much more welcome once days turn gray.

Birds 90

Birds 2014 Experience Experiments 90

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2014

Some may consider talking about the weather banal, but I can’t help complaining during a winter like this. While March earns a reputation for coming in like a lion, the season rarely seems as wild and cold as Winter Storm Titan threatens to be over the next few days in the American Northeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic.

Birds 98

Birds Owls 2014 Lions 98

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

James Russell Lowell famously wondered , “And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days…” Of course, he was on the mark concerning the quality of June days, but don’t you think he might have overlooked September?

Birds 90

Birds Jamaica 2014 Abandon 90

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2014

Can the best bird of your weekend be one you didn’t see? Obviously, not seeing a desired bird can place the offender in the Worst Bird of the Weekend category. We’ve all been there, right?

Birds 91

Birds 2014 New York Experience 91

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2014

This is an interesting time of year when people are coming and going while birds mostly sit still. Except, of course, that some birds are also coming and going too. The trick is to make sure your path crosses those of the right birds at the right time.

Birds 90

Birds 2014 New Jersey Virginia 90

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

As much as I love hearing about and sharing Best Birds of the Weekend, sometimes I have cause to ponder just what that term means. Obviously, the birds themselves are not jockeying for recognition. Rather, we designate best birds according to our priorities and perceptions of value.

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Birds Feral 2014 Species 95

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

American fashion dictates that we retire our white shoes and frocks once the sun sets on Labor Day. Most blame snooty millionaires and sloppy September weather for the changes, but we birders know better. Fall migrants are on the wing, which brings the teeming multitudes of avian observers out in force. What’s the connection?

Birds 97

Birds 2014 97

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2014

Summer, by which I mean accepted as opposed to seasonal, surges towards its inevitable end and I find myself wondering when real summer, by which I mean hot weather, will arrive. Somehow, I suspect fall migrants and summer heat will arrive at the same time… sounds awesome!!

Birds 88

Birds 2014 Experience Experiments 88

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2014

I wonder how many of you enjoyed this weekend as much as I did. Was the joy a natural result of a delicious Easter brunch or the welcome warmth of a dilatory spring? Perhaps the weekend’s pleasure proceeded from the arrival of birds not seen here for months.

Birds 92

Birds 2014 Species Family 92

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

Now that Winter Olympic fever has gripped the global imagination, I can’t help but wonder why we don’t have more international birding competitions like the International Birding Rally in Peru. You’ve got to imagine that the only thing better than winning a gold medal would be getting the gold AND a bunch of lifers.

Birds 95

Birds 2014 Peru Killing 95

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2014

The solstice serves as a sunny reminder of the mutable nature of our days. Some of us enjoyed our year’s longest stretch of daylight this weekend, while others endured their longest night. To paraphrase an insightful innuendo, it’s not the length of the day but how you spend it. I hope you spent your solstice well.

Birds 89

Birds Endangered Species 2014 Species 89

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 24, 2014

Henry James knew all about how transcendent this time of year can be, at least up here in the northern temperate zone: “Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” Beautiful indeed.

Birds 86

Birds 2014 Jamaica New York 86

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2014

What a thrilling weekend, rich with epic snow and playoff football and all those other things that happen in January to people who don’t live near me. Hope you enjoyed at least part of the excitement! From atop a terrific sledding hill, I enjoyed watching American Tree Sparrows lend class and native charm to flocks of House Sparrows.

Birds 83

Birds Sparrows 2014 Species 83

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

September sharpens one’s priorities, in that every weekend offers so much to do that only the most attractive or important options make the cut. We are all entitled to our illusions about ourselves, but the truth will out on Saturday and Sunday!

Birds 84

Birds 2014 Jamaica Wildlife 84

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2014

So many people devoted serious time this weekend to acquiring gifts for family, friends, and strategic acquaintances. Hopefully, each of you found time to give yourselves the gift of a decent bird sighting or two. I tried to rustle up some Short-eared Owls down at Nations Road, a notorious haunt for these magnificent beasts.

Birds 81

Birds Owls 2014 Virginia 81

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2014

Hopefully, those of you who observe St. Patrick’s Day by doing more than donning green didn’t “celebrate” so much this weekend that you’re suffering today.

Birds 90

Birds Geese 2014 Jamaica 90

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2014

September migration is a fine time to appreciate birds on the wing, so fine that many of you may have missed many of our Extinction Week posts. Fortunately, Monday morning is a fine time to catch up on what you missed over the weekend! My Best Bird of the Weekend was a turkey, actually several Wild Turkeys.

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Birds Turkey 2014 Experience 82