10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2016

Our celebration of mothers during the first Sunday of May finds symmetry in the natural world, where so many maternal-minded birds are building nests or protecting eggs. And go birding! I hardly need to go anywhere with the cavalcade of tasty species visiting my feeder every day. How about you?

2016 102

2016 Eggs Birds Protection 102

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2018

This year is the eighteenth year since we discovered our first Pied Oystercatcher nest on Cable Beach in Broome and it didn’t take us long to realise that they are not at all successful at raising young due to egg and chick predation. Each year we hope for anther success, but so far it has not happened. Pied Oystercatcher nest.

Breeding 100

Breeding 2018 Eggs 2016 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2020

Having finally found a Black Vulture for my Queens list , an important tick both because it was long overdue and because it was the tenth bird since my last set of predictions, it is time, once again, to look at what might be coming to my Queens list. Black Vulture – The bird that has been reported the most in Queens that I have never seen.

2018 167

2018 2015 Birds 2019 167

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

I first encountered Molly Hashimoto’s bird art in California. Hashimoto’s prints and water color bird portraits differ in materials and style from Harper, but she shares with him a talent for portraying common birds in a lively, accessible, yet new way that belies the artistic processes employed to create the finished image.

Birds 165

Birds Eggs Laws Woodpeckers 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. It’s also about human-owl interaction on an individual level and a wider sociocultural level, and ultimately how we can use all this for habitat and bird conservation.

Owls 231

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 231

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2023

The photos in this post were taken in 2015 and 2016 – I was not only an amazingly attractive, almost young person then, but also a surprisingly bad photographer. I also only managed to see rather common bird species at Shennongjia, a nature reserve in Hubei province, China. Yes, it looks kind of plain.

China 187

China Birds Eggs Woodpeckers 187

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

This is the thing—no matter how devoted you are to birds and birding, once you get to Africa, you can’t resist the mammals. This means you need to pack a mammal guide in addition to your bird guide. Species that belong to the famous “Big Five” get special badges. Believe me, I tried.

Rhinos 249

Rhinos Mammals Animal White Rhinos 249

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Once upon a time, bird field guides included nests. Decades later, Richard Pough’s Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds (I happily own the 1948 edition) included nest and egg descriptions for each species as well. But somewhere along the way, nests and eggs got dropped from our field guides.

Eggs 250

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 250

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

At Sea With the Marine Birds of the Raincoast opens with the unexpected appearance of a Laysan Albatross. She doesn’t know the species till it emerges, almost dreamlike, from the heavy glare of the sun. Fox does an excellent job balancing these three elements, keeping the emphasis on the birds. Do I need to say anything more?

Fox 100

Fox Albatross Geese Bald Eagle 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2016

It is a dream, nay, a mission statement of 10,000 Birds to see as many of the World’s birds as possible. Thus, a combined list of current beat writers will be compiled to see how many birds, weird and wonderful, common or unusual we can find between us. 29 Jan 2016. 09 Jan 2016. 17 Mar 2016.

2016 100

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2016

Despite recording 370 species during the month, the list total has advanced by just 45. Just to confuse things a little, only 14 new species were recorded since June 1 st. The same can be said of 10,000 Birds beat writers, but we are not as sensitive on the whole. As at June 30 th , it stands at 1796.

2016 100

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2016

It is a dream, nay, a mission statement of 10,000 Birds to see as many of the World’s birds as possible. Thus, a combined list of current beat writers will be compiled to see how many birds, weird and wonderful, common or unusual we can find between us. 25 May 2016. 25 May 2016. 25 May 2016.

2016 100

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2016

Electric storms closed the new walkway there and he amassed a total list of just 3 birds! It is a dream, nay, a mission statement of 10,000 Birds to see as many of the World’s birds as possible. Should the fancy take you, you could call up a 10,000 Birds life list (from 2016 onwards. 27 Aug 2016.

2016 154

2016 Sanctuary Australia Ghana 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2022

This year, it seems I wrote one post on birding in Shanghai each month – and I am still not even sure anyone is interested in these. Probably the most interesting bird this month was a Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher showing up in the Shanghai Botanical Garden. I know – sexism is very common in the birding world.

Finland 147

Finland Birds 2016 McDonalds 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

Duncan has contributed to break through the unspoken target of 2000 birds for 10,000 Birds and on to a running total of 2011 as at August 31st. It is a dream, nay, a mission statement of 10,000 Birds to see as many of the World’s birds as possible. 27 Aug 2016. 29 Jan 2016. 09 Jan 2016.

2016 102

2016 Sanctuary Australia Ghana 102

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

9 beats, birded 9 countries this month; Belize , Guatamala , Costa Rica, UK, Iran, USA, Greece, Australia and Mexico. They submitted 144 checklists, noting 628 species adding 72 to the year’s running total bringing it to 1890. Those are the numbers, here come the birds; Alphabetic Taxonomic. Eastern Egg Rock.

2017 100

2017 Australia Sanctuary Woodpeckers 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. Best wishes to you all for 2019, keep safe and keep birding. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Alphabetic Taxonomic.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2018

It’s September and time for birds to start their southerly journeys. Please remember to give migrating birds the space that they need. They noted 598 species as a team, bringing the year total to 2118 and pushing the life list to 3555. Jason hoisted his colours in Kansas and claimed the state for 10,000 Birds.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2018

The two most prolific contributors, Pat and Tom, have been sharing their birding space in Costa Rica. The beats have now contributed more checklists than birds. During October, 7 countries (Costa Rica, Australia, USA, India, Hong Kong, UK, Serbia) were birded by 11 beats who shared 135 checklists and noted 697 species.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2018

8 beats shared 126 checklists accounting for 704 species. They birded 6 countries; USA, UK, Costa Rica, Serbia, Australia, and Mexico. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Gray Go-away-bird – Corythaixoides concolor. Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. La Cotinga Birding B&B.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Since 2016, the Rustic Bunting has been listed as Vulnerable, as data suggested rapid population declines (HBW). I did not find much about this bird online except for a paper with the exciting title “A new quill mite Torotrogla emberizae sp. led its listing as Vulnerable. Maybe there is some justice in this world after all.

Birds 230

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 230

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

Larger, denser with avian information than your typical field guide, a Crossley Guide bursts with bird images, photographic plates that verge on the surreal of birds in all plumages and poses against real-life habitats, informing, sometimes overwhelming us with visual and, if you can take your eyes off the images, textual information.

Ducks 128

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 128