10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2014

The birds seem to be dragging their proverbial heels this year, but migration still rewards those who would brave the bitter May chill! Although I arrived with warblers on my mind, my favorite bird had to be a beauteous Blue-headed Vireo. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2014 231

2014 Birds Experience Experiments 231

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2014

Camping and birding both fall under the category of “nature” activities, yet the two seem only tangentially related. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. Birding best bird weekend' How about you?

2014 200

2014 Philadelphia Birds Experience 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2022

In 2007 I was working in a university building that was just begging for bird feeders. This was where I set up my bird feeders, just one at first, then expanding as everyone expressed delight in seeing the Carolina Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Downy Woodpeckers. There were no dead birds for weeks. I hoped it was an anomaly.

New York City 258

New York City Birds Illinois Science 258

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2014

If you read my weekly posts bookending theweekend birding experience, you know that I pay close attention to phenology. The way the ebb and flow of each season impacts out experience of the natural world must inform our efforts to observe avifauna if we want to optimize our experience. Birding best bird weekend'

2014 169

2014 New York Birds Experience 169

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. But if you’re eager to share the spoils of your recent avian adventures, let the bird bragging commence! What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend' How about you?

2014 209

2014 Birds Experience Experiments 209

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2014

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. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

New York City 195

New York City 2014 Kentucky New York 195

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

With this weekend consumed by Halloween excitement, bats were more easily encountered than birds. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a relatively common species though it was uncommonly cooperative. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend' How did you fare? How about you?

2014 170

2014 Bats New York Birds 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2014

Most North American birders I know would definitely represent the month of May with a bright and sprightly wood-warbler, though the argument about which bird would best serve would be epic indeed. What birds, I wonder, would you select to fill out your birding calendar? What is your bird of the moment? How about you?

2014 206

2014 Kentucky Birds Canada 206

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2014

While I didn’t notice any Neotropical migrants this weekend, I was pleased to spot a Tufted Titmouse , a species I tend to miss during winter. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. Birding best bird weekend'

New Jersey 177

New Jersey 2014 Louisiana Bears 177

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2014

Seriously, if this continues into migration, the birds are all going to fly back south. He wanted to tell me all about it, which earns the robin Best Bird of the Weekend honors. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed.

2014 203

2014 Lions Birds Owls 203

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. BBOTW speaks volumes about birders, not birds.

2014 190

2014 Feral Asia China 190

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2014

I enjoyed all manner of early summer entertainment and look to the Barn Swallow s that bombed us as we picked strawberries and soared daringly along the lakeshore as my Best Birds of the Weekend. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a no-brainer. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2014 178

2014 Endangered Species Birds Experience 178

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2014

Perhaps the weekend’s pleasure proceeded from the arrival of birds not seen here for months. The Best Bird of my weekend was a real find. This species is quite rare during migration in my area and this bird was, in one sense, way too early but, for my purposes, right on time. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2014 190

2014 Birds Rights Experience 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2014

When asking “Where Are You Birding This Weekend?” The insightful point I meant to make is that springing forward means losing an hour of sleep, not an hour of birding. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was one of three great goose species he saw on Saturday during a day-long expedition in eastern Long Island.

2014 178

2014 Geese Birds Experience 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2014

Though Corey had a heck of a weekend for birds, especially on Saturday, there was one species that stood out, both because of its inherent awesomeness and because it was color-banded. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed.

2014 157

2014 Birds Experience Experiments 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2014

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was any one of the forty-five Canvasback he counted at the World’s Fair Marina in Queens. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. Birding best bird weekend' How about you?

2014 165

2014 Sparrows Birds Experience 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2014

His song, “C hanges in latitude, changes in birding attitude” really rings true when you’re on the road. Most people don’t expect birding wisdom from Buffet, but he is, after all, the Chief Parrothead! The grosbeak gets the edge for my best bird since I have a thing for blue birds. How about you?

New York City 165

New York City 2014 Breeders Virginia 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2014

Because of said snow, the smart birds are refraining from returning to Rochester; we’re dealing with a lot of confused robins and smug starlings. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. Birding best bird weekend'

2014 164

2014 United States New York Birds 164

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2014

Which winter sporting event captured your attention more this weekend: The Olympics or the Great Backyard Bird Count? I’ve been paying careful attention to nuthatches in anticipating of seeing a gaudy new species of what has always been a prosaic but still pulchritudinous bird for me. Birding best bird weekend'

2014 165

2014 Birds Owls Experience 165

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2021

My readers are already familiar with Beljarica Backwaters, as described in half a dozen posts here at 10,000 Birds. It all started well three decades ago, when I intensively birded the Danube Backwaters by kayak. mi2 of the Danube Backwaters in 2014 (cover photo). mi at its widest point and some 9 km2 / 3.5 Fingers crossed.

Serbia 277

Serbia Protection Deer Boars 277

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2015

The title of warmest year on record currently belongs to 2014 , but the crown may pass in just a few weeks to the present year. But I wonder how these trends are impacting every other species on Earth… yes, sometimes I can think of someone besides myself! What was your best bird of the weekend? Not anymore! How about you?

2015 105

2015 2014 Geese Birds 105

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2013

No matter how successful your efforts, you’re bound to begin 2014 with fewer regrets! Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Black Guillemot in New York State and it only took him two tries on the same day to get it! I have to admit that I only had time for one interest this weekend, and it wasn’t birding.

2013 164

2013 New York 2014 Birds 164

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2015

As a result, some of the most popular and exciting birding destinations in the world run on Tico time. Having visited quite a few outstanding ecolodges in my blessed life, I’ve learned that exceptional birding destinations must first and foremost harbor exceptional, accessible birds. Are there hummingbirds?

Costa Rica 249

Costa Rica Birds Farming 2014 249

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

All of these titles deal with birding in specific North American geographic areas: The Atlantic coast, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The photos show the forms of the bird seen on the east coast and are annotated with notes on plumage and other distinguishing field marks. It’s time for some short book reviews. Well, short for me.

Pennsylvania 171

Pennsylvania Texas Whales Whaling 171

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

But, sometimes an appreciation of birds and birding requires more than a reference book with images of birds and facts about their identifying field marks. There are large avian handbooks and small ‘how-to bird’ guides, and quite a few excellent books of both types have been published.

Birds 115

Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2014

That will be the opening day of the 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. I had a great time back in 2012 and even more fun in 2014. Who knows what great birds 2015 will bring? Like this past January, I will be leading field trips and spending the rest of my time birding.

2015 201

2015 Wildlife Florida Birds 201

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

Birding that starts with the largest eagle of the continent certainly bears promises… The next stop is the town park in Opovo, north of Belgrade, where local bird expert Ceda Vuckovic reported one, locally rare, Short-eared Owl. I observe them, but feel I still lack experience to tell with certainty the SEO from LEO in flight.

Serbia 242

Serbia Owls Rodents Eagles 242

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

British birders are very serious about birding and their birds. This is a very good thing; it means they publish a lot of books about birds (probably more at this point than U.S. This is a very good thing; it means they publish a lot of books about birds (probably more at this point than U.S.

Ireland 146

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 146

10,000 Birds

MAY 14, 2018

Third, Kirtland’s Warbler has only recently made the New York State checklist with two sightings in 2014. ( Fifth, Kirtland’s Warbler is an amazing conservation success story, having come back from the brink of extinction to the point where it is now proposed for delisting as an Endangered Species.

New York 111

New York New York City Michigan United States 111

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

Most of the books about extinction, including Fuller’s Extinct Birds (now, ironically, out of print), describe what was lost and look for explanations, scientifically and historically. The idea of Lost Animals was conceived after the publication of Extinct Birds (2001), a 400-page, four-pound book on 75 extinct species.

Animal 269

Animal Mammals Hawaii Dolphins 269

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

I like observing them, reading about them, grappling with species and subspecies identification, and even—on a good day—talking about sparrow taxonomy. Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America covers 61 species of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae that breed in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.

North America 152

North America Sparrows America United States 152

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2016

So close to the pole only a handful of bird species can survive, and even so, death toll is very high, hence their populations must be huge (millions). There are 11 species of birds that breed in the Ross Sea region. As a consequence, the Ross Sea has one of the highest concentrations of seabirds in the world.

Russia 176

Russia Penguins Whales Whaling 176

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. It is the first bird field guide to every country of Central America (plus the islands governed by those countries).

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2014

The result is a nature lover’s paradise rich with mountains, beaches, and birds. Lots and lots of birds! I visited Hong Kong from February 20-27, 2014. Though my trip wasn’t dedicated exclusively to birding, that was part of my daily routine and sometimes the focus of my day. Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island.

2014 219

2014 Eagles Asia Groups 219

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert).

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2014

So, while we are in awe of an identification guide that discusses every single field mark of hawks or warblers, we tend to accept without question bird identification guides that aim to teach beginning and intermediate birders how to recognize birds in their backyards, neighborhood parks, and state preserves. Think about it.

New Jersey 247

New Jersey Birds 2014 Species 247

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

There are few bird names that will elicit great big smiles and Penguin is one of them. Other contenders are Kookaburra, Shoebill, and Umbrellabird, but people smile when they hear these names because they know a song or because they can’t believe these are real names of real birds. <pause> Do I have your attention now?

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278