10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2017

I managed to actually beat my year list total, as accounted by eBird, by one bird. I also managed to go to 10 different countries, so rather than arbitrarily pick my top 10 birds of the year, I’ll arbitrarily pick a top bird from each country. I’ll also award each bird an award based on why I picked it.

United Arab Emirates 100

United Arab Emirates 2016 Ethiopia New Zealand 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

Ducks, swans, and geese may initially appear easy to identify. I started out my birding life sitting on Benches 2 and 7 at the Jamaica Bay NWR West Pond, my Peterson’s in my lap, studying Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, and the occasional Pintail. Or, a Tufted Duck or Cackling Goose.

North America 173

North America Asia Europe America 173

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2016

Last month we went camping and birding north of Broome and headed into the Northern Territory in search of some bird species that we had not seen yet this year. It is a great time of year for camping and birding and we had not been beyond Timber Creek in the Northern Territory since 2014. White-browed Crake. Apostlebird.

Australia 157

Australia Birds Geese Litter 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

At Sea With the Marine Birds of the Raincoast opens with the unexpected appearance of a Laysan Albatross. Having shown us the bird, the boat, and the water, Fox then introduces herself: “Albatrosses, petrels, fulmars, puffins and gulls live out their lives along these transect lines; my job is to count them all.”.

Fox 100

Fox Albatross Geese Bald Eagle 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2020

Whenever we are able we spend our Christmas Day birding together. It is almost a practice run for New Year’s day when we start a new bird list for the year. We are very lucky here to see such a huge variety of birds around town. A bird you normally see daily may elude you, but also there may be some surprises.

Geese 171

Geese 2016 Pelicans Australia 171

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2016

One of the key features of birds, and I use the term “key” literally, is vocalization. Birds are also unique or rare, depending on the trait, in the present day with their feathers, their particular modality of flight, their unusual respiratory system, and in being bipedal. Vocalization is central to bird behavior and evolution.

Groups 172

Groups Collecting Primates Bats 172

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2016

Out of just under 200 bird species I observed this year in SE Europe, there are 6 threatened species. Some of them were always uncommon in the region, others are highly localised, some are hard to notice among thousands of similar birds, but others were abundant recently and one of them still is, despite the decrease in numbers.

Serbia 203

Serbia Montenegro Greece Bulgaria 203

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2017

Since the election in 2016, Merriam-Webster has experienced something of a cultural resurgence. The Collegiate does define the word “ birder ” (“a person who birds”) and “ bird watcher ” (“a person who watches and identifies wild birds”). That’s not all: bird words abound in the dictionary.

Albatross 108

Albatross Bears Ducks Bald Eagle 108

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2020

Whisky Month at Birds and Booze: This January, Birds and Booze at 10,000 Birds is setting its sights on whiskies all month long. White-fronted Goose by John James Audubon (1785-1851) from The Birds of America. Perusing an extensive menu of Scotch whiskies is a bit like poring over a telephone directory in Scotland.

Geese 164

Geese Ireland Branding 2016 164

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2017

The point is, the field guide I grabbed without hesitation was the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition by Jon L. No other field guide to North American birds does rarities so comprehensively and so well. (To I miss the shorebird and get it a few days later, but that’s not the point of this story.

North America 189

North America America 2017 Birds 189

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2016

Will 2016 never end? Both Mike and I were eminently pleased that Trump’s wall has not yet been built and we hope that the wall, if it is ever built, will not be tall enough to keep vagrant birds from getting into the United States. Wouldn’t our birding be less fun if Hendrickson Park held only Canada Geese ?

2016 161

2016 United States Geese Birds 161

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2017

This all started way back in 2012 and several of us continued on in 2013 , 2014 , 2015 and 2016. Just looking at everyone’s lists over the years you can see how varied our birding lives can be. It seems that the bird-life is well aware of a good “wet” season this year and are arriving in force!

2017 100

2017 Zebras Ducks Australia 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2016

Rare birds don’t plot to turn up in our backyards just because we’re in the mood for just one more present. For that reason, the perfectly prosaic birds I saw this week were splendid anyway, especially in that luminous winter sunlight. Not exactly geese-a-laying but close enough for the holiday season! How about you?

2016 127

2016 Geese Birds Experience 127

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2021

There are still Magpie Geese about, but the long vegetation can make it hard to see them sometimes. There was a lone Black-tailed Native-hen in town in 2016 at the Sports Oval, so they don’t always travel in flocks! The post A nature lover’s highway appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Brown Falcon. Pacific Black Ducks.

Australia 164

Australia Falcons 2016 2019 164

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 133

Ducks North America Geese Hunters 133