10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2019

Owling on Christmas Bird Counts is a peculiar business. There’s the whole role of chance in owling, too. In birding, perhaps only the proverbial wild goose chase and snipe hunt rank below owling in terms of expected success. A pair of Great Horned Owls ( Bubo virginianus ) painted by John James Audubon for The Birds of America.

2017 141

2017 Owls Game California 141

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. Long-eared Owls are irresistibly cute. Not far from it, several Long-eared Owls douse in winter sun.

Serbia 244

Serbia Owls Rodents Eagles 244

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2013

states and thirty-seven counties, and added a whopping ninety-two species to my life list. Despite that, I managed to see 511 species in 2013 , which is not half-bad. Hopefully I will see at least that many species in 2014! Finally seeing my 300th species in Queens. You will not be disappointed. My life Gyrfalcon.

2013 179

2013 New York City New York Trinidad 179

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2014

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. That’s a global initiative I can support! Speaking of the globe, I’ll be spanning it later this week. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

2014 168

2014 Birds Owls Experience 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2020

There are more than 1100 plant species, the most valuable being the 76 endemics. Also, there are 58 mammal species represented in the park, which is home to the largest Brown Bear (50+ animals; bear watching can be arranged through the NP authorities, find the link below) and Chamois populations in Serbia.

Serbia 264

Serbia Bears Birds Mammals 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

You can’t say the same about migration: you can’t say that every book about birds is necessarily about migration, for the simple reason that only about 4,000 bird species migrate (with some 1,800 of those traveling long distances). (Well, purely physical attributes play a part, too: they’re pretty good looking.).

Alaska 222

Alaska Breeding Kenya Africa 222

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Although you know from the beginning that Dorian will end up with 618 species, there is suspense as he searches for skulkers like Black Rail, rarities like Rufous-back Robin, and his trip nemesis, Pacific Golden Plover. Big Year Books are the niche genre of birding.

Birds 228

Birds Los Angeles Massachusetts New York City 228

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2019

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) declared the Golden-cheeked Warbler “ endangered ” under the Endangered Species Act. In 2014, FWS completed a five-year status review , concluding that continuing urbanization and associated habitat destruction and fragmentation still threatened the warbler. On December 27, 1990 , the U.S.

Austin 184

Austin Texas Endangered Species Birds 184

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

When I went to Honduras in 2014, I was advised to use The Birds of Costa Rica by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean (2014) and The Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America by Steve N.G. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America covers 827 species, including resident, migratory, and common vagrant birds.

El Salvador 235

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 235

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

Hugh, who years ago helped me find my first Pauraque in the Rio Grande Valley , visited Peru as part of the 2014 World Birding Rally, where he stopped thinking of himself as an experienced birder. Eight days with 20 of the world’s top birding guides looking for some 1,000 species and three dozen endemics. Come to Peru, they said.

Peru 255

Peru Birds South America Owls 255

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

There is another area of the Queens County CBC where a team will also likely see Monk Parakeets , Myipsitta monachus , but I am seriously determined to count that bird for my area, Coastal Flushing, a section of northeast Queens, New York, that includes Whitestone, home of one of the loudest invasive bird species in the U.S.

Chicago 209

Chicago New York City New York Illinois 209

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 270

Animal Mammals Hawaii Dolphins 270

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

A lot of those anti-Columbidae tendencies probably stem from a certain species frequently referred to as a “flying rat” In raptor enthusiast circles, “Peregrine fodder” is also used, and when a Mourning Dove gets naturally selected by a Cooper’s Hawk , some hawk watchers can’t hide their look of glee.

Costa Rica 179

Costa Rica Bolivia South America Rats 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

Humboldt and Del Norte Counties offer top-knotch birding, and a suite of species that can’t be found in the rest of the state. Other forest birds here include Sooty and Ruffed Grouse, Spotted and Barred Owls, Vaux’s Swift, Gray Jay, Pacific Wren, American Dipper, and Varied Thrush. Convict Lake, CA. The Sierras.

California 208

California San Diego Birds Oakland 208

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.

Birds 115

Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

In winter, try to bird the “Golubac Sea” (scope necessary), where good species include Smew , Velvet Scoter and Common Eider ; while the cliffs and quarries near the mediaeval Golubac Fortress offer the elusive Wallcreeper (which still eludes me, although I’ve tried this area last winter). The Woodchat Shrike, Boljetin, June 2014.

Serbia 198

Serbia Turtles Birds Eagles 198

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! The source of this ranking, BirdLife International, lists Bolivia as currently having 1,439 bird species, including 18 breeding endemics. The guide covers 1,433 species, the number of birds documented at the end of 2014, the cutoff point for the book.

Bolivia 182

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 182

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

Which is not to say that it doesn’t contain striking images of birds parenting the most adorable songbirds, owls, and heron nestlings imaginable. Some chapters focus on one species (Yellow Warbler), some on several related species (Chickadees and Nuthatches). Oops, the curmudgeon in me slipped.) And of birds courting and mating.

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2017

Back then, in 2012, the motivation was to have something nice to blog about and to show Corey how the cow eats the cabbage since he was seeing too many good species too easily. I was able to maintain the new structure in the 2014 list , and this was a mighty fine birding year in all aspects. Species List. This was fun.

2017 100

2017 Germany 2012 2013 100

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. He and Diego then described each of the eight count circles, sharing detailed maps, distances, and target species while introducing the participants.

2014 217

2014 Costa Rica Birds Groups 217

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2016

I am not entirely sure whether most birders outside Germany know or realize that Germany still has a decent population of one of Europe’s most attractive and desired bird species: the Great Bustard Otis tarda. All other harrier species may also be around, including Pallid Harriers which are recorded each year as (semi-)vagrants.

Germany 101

Germany Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 101

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

Over 3,200 photographs have been used, most showing species in their habitats. There is also text, distribution maps, a dark red bar “warning” about similar looking rare species, and conservation symbols. So, how do you find the species account for Kestrel if falcons are not placed between woodpeckers and parakeet?

Ireland 151

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 151

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2016

Few things can spell out “winter birding” as poetically as the sighting of a rare northern owl that has more or less unexpectedly found its way to southern, more balmy environs. A “winter owl” however has little meaning to German birders for two simple reasons (and male smew aren’t one of them).

Germany 103

Germany Owls 2013 2006 103

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Way back on 16 May I managed to see my 312 bird species in Queens to add to my Queens list. Somehow I forgot that the last time I predicted what the next ten species I would see in Queens would be was back on 30 December 2013, when my list was sitting at 302. Eastern Screech-Owl – There are many just outside of Queens in Nassau County.

2013 160

2013 2010 2012 2011 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2021

A brief personal digression: I moved back into the house I grew up in back in 2014, my parents vacated at the end of 2016. With that logic those trees, if left to grow, should produce something of use to at least one or two species of birds. Of course, various species of bats as well. A Yellow-crowned Parrot digs in.

Opossums 264

Opossums Barn Owls Hunting Reptiles 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

Sometimes I just want to hug eBird, or more specifically, whoever writes the short species descriptions (even though I am not the typical hugging kind of person, trust me on this). There are about 50 different species of flowerpeckers globally. If these are taken off, the species looks just like Clark Kent. “Dull, me?

Los Angeles 200

Los Angeles Birds Woodpeckers Owls 200

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

2014), presents an authoritative framework for our understanding of and future work on bird phylogeny. processed the entire genomes of 48 bird species and compared nearly 42 million base pairs of DNA (Hackett et al. Now it’s late 2014, six and a half years later, and here’s what we know today. Open Jarvis et al.’s

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2014

Sure, there is unlimited potential and every single species can once again be counted, but, nonetheless, birders often put forth the energy to get that list built up again, to erase that zero, and to hopefully put three (or even four) digits in its place before the end of the year. Short-eared Owl is a great way to start off a birding year!

2014 162

2014 Fox Birds Owls 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

Penguins are cartoons, emoticons, animated films, children’s books (though owls really take first place here), sports teams, a book publisher, and a Batman villain (a rare example of penguin negativity, though Burgess Meredith did bring an endearing attitude to his 1960’s TV portrayal). © Otto Plantema, used with permission.

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Covering 1,261 species with data and taxonomy current up to August 2017, the field guide is an exciting achievement. And, then there are the more familiar birds–Wood-warblers, sandpipers, hawks–some species migrants, some species with a wide range. Can you guess which of the species cited above are endemic?

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2014

Last year we were also halted by a badly deflated tyre , but it is only day one of the year and when you get over 100 bird species you really can’t complain. Last year we achieved 112 bird species on New Year’s Day and this year we achieved 117, but some of the easiest birds have completely eluded us. Wild Dingo.

2014 148

2014 Ducks Barn Owls Eagles 148

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2017

This past Saturday, 07 October, was the day for the Queens County Bird Club Big Sit, our fourth year of counting every species we could see from the hawk watch platform at Fort Tilden, in southwestern Queens. Well, during a Big Sit a bird is a bird is a bird and they all count as one species. It was so bad I never even blogged it.)

Birds 112

Birds Dolphins Canada Sparrows 112

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2014

This past Saturday, 8 March, was perhaps the nicest day of 2014 so far in New York. It was the only real highlight at Shinnecock for we two jaded birders, though we did appreciate seeing all three scoters, a whole bunch of Common Eiders , both species of scaup, some Great Cormorants , and a bunch of Red-breasted Mergansers.

New York 176

New York Geese Canada New York City 176

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Mack (Cassowary Conservation and Publishing, 2014) for Birding. Brit birder Goodie didn’t do an ordinary big year; he decided he would see every Pitta species in the world (32 at the time) in one year. Press, 2014) by Tui De roy, Mark Jones and Julie Cornthwaite, a gift you can give anyone. Press, 2012).

Papua New Guinea 187

Papua New Guinea 2014 Penguins Birds 187

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

are up next, with a wonderful Australian species: It is very hard to choose a Best Bird of the Year any year. So, I could capture it in all its owlish glory, complete with fake eyes at the back and nicely illustrating the capability of the owl to turn its head by almost 180 degrees in each direction. Clare (and Grant!)

2020 245

2020 Birds Costa Rica Germany 245

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2018

This all started way back in 2012 and several of us continued on in 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2016. On Christmas Day we did a bird list around Broome and although we also found over one hundred species on both that day and on New Year’s Day the lists were quite different. Pacific Swift- Apus pacifica -Broome, January 11th.

2018 100

2018 Ducks Barn Owls Falcons 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2019

In reverse order, the medals were awarded for “most species seen in a country”, to Australia with 420, USA got the silver, scoring 556 while the runaway winner was Costa Rica with 646 species. Barn Owl – Tyto alba. Indian Scops-Owl – Otus bakkamoena. Eurasian Scops-Owl – Otus scops.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113