10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2023

The (Big) Year that Flew By: Twelve Months, Six Continents, and the Ultimate Birding Record – which is the book’s full title, or Arjan Dwarshuis’s Big Year, as I prefer to call it shortly, is a highly anticipated and a long awaited travelogue of the author’s 2016 race against time across 40 countries in his attempt to break the world birding record.

Papua New Guinea 240

Papua New Guinea Guinea Suriname South America 240

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2016

Mid-December is an interesting time for birding, insofar as winter (or summer, in the Southern Hemisphere) species precede the official arrival of the season. So you still have time to add species you missed at the beginning of the year to your 2016 list. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding?

2016 124

2016 Birds Species 124

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

Everyone loves baby birds; 10,000 Birds even had a Baby Bird Week once upon a time! Baby birds are cuteness personified, possibly even more so than other baby animals, including human babies, and pose interesting questions of survival and development. Aren’t they usually in their nest with their parents?”

Wildlife Rehabilitation 246

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2016

This calendar year is slipping away, but we still have plenty of time before the ball drops on December 31 to add more birds to our respective lists. We may not see as many 2016 species as Arjan Dwarshuis ( epic! ), but happiness is a journey, not a destination, right? What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 125

2016 New York Suffering Birds 125

10,000 Birds

MARCH 28, 2024

Back in 2016 one very unexpected bird appeared in the Mexican highlands: an American Flamingo. Ever since then, the two birds would show up during the winter months in the Metropolitan Park, always together. So both birds are assumed by many to be escapees from a zoo or a private collection somewhere. Flamingos !”

Mexico 182

Mexico Cuba Chile South America 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 10, 2016

You see, we don’t just go outside and randomly watch birds during a set day in December. But then we remember that special birding moment when we saw a wood-warbler freezing it out with the rest of us (and thus sacrificing itself for the count) when it should be chasing bugs in Belize. Gulls on the cold Niagara.

Costa Rica 235

Costa Rica 2016 Eagles Belize 235

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2016

The icing on the cake has been getting to join this exceptional group of writers, and avian enthusiasts here on 10,000 Birds. In an effort to look back on the year, I have added, and deleted, written and scratched off, a list of birds that would represent my “Best Ten Birds” of 2016.

2016 100

2016 Grizzly Bear Puffins Mexico 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

It has been more than 5 years since I last went to Australia, and I was even less of a qualified bird photographer then than I am now. So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. The female looks a bit duller but I was assured it has a beautiful soul.

Australia 180

Australia Birds Koalas Parrots 180

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2016

Even the first bird of a new year feels fun. I’ll be racking up fresh 2016 species on the road from NYC to Rochester. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? Also be sure to come back Monday to share your best bird of the weekend ! What was yours? How about you?

2016 102

2016 Birds Species 102

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

Most serious bird photographers dislike taking pictures of birds wearing rings (or what on the other side of the Atlantic you call bands). I can sympathise, as a shiny new ring, clamped to a bird’s leg, rarely enhances its portrait. The information I received didn’t indicate the age of the bird.

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2021

Jim Wright is an author and birding columnist. Jim’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds was A Rare Caribbean Parrot on the Brink. In 2021, the American Ornithological Society announced that it has now classified the Bahama Nuthatch as a distinct species, Sitta insularis. There’s just one problem.

Bahamas 343

Bahamas Philadelphia 2004 United States 343

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2024

Sixteen species that have been recorded in the United States are covered: six Myiarchus flycatchers and ten Kingbird ( Tyrannus ) flycatchers. As with the first volume, I was surprised to see the inclusion of a species that has only been seen in the U.S. Introductory Material Sixteen species, 190 pages.

Los Angeles 169

Los Angeles North America Species America 169

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2020

This past Saturday, 10 October, was my favorite birding event of the year. Yes, it was the Queens County Bird Club Big Sit, our seventh iteration of the sedentary birding classic. It is a birding challenge where a team of birders stays in one spot for the entire day to see how many species they can record for their location.

Battery 168

Battery Birds 2016 Sparrows 168

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

The chapter titles of Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds represent both ends of the spectrum: “A World Full of Poisons,” “Malaria,” “Forest Intruders,” “Lead Shock,” “Shot.” Conservation. It’s not easy. This is the most intense, tragic section.

California Condor 169

California Condor Falcons California Birds 169

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

One good thing about birding during a pandemic–the forced restrictions on place and time translate into more time to observe what birds do. Bird behavior–endlessly fascinating, but so much still hidden and unknown. Extreme behaviors also push scientists to look at birds in new ways.

Research 213

Research Birds Science Costa Rica 213

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016

Of course, birds only represent a sliver of the near-infinite flora and fauna that, collectively, grows, blooms, dies back, and lapses into dormancy over the course of a year. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his favorite species, a Green Heron , at the Great Vly in his hometown of Saugerties, New York. How about you?

2016 154

2016 New York Birds Collecting 154

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2016

I hope so because the birding and biodiversity are fantastic, and the flight time from most places in the USA is less than six hours. In other words, it’s easier to bird than most might think. The owners have been faithfully feeding the birds and welcoming birders for years, and it’s only going to get better in 2016.

Costa Rica 102

Costa Rica 2016 San Jose Birds 102

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

There’s something wonderfully primeval about the Northern Bald Ibis: it has the look of a bird that really ought to be extinct. The fact that it’s not is quite surprising, as this curious bird has come very close to the brink. Sadly, they no longer breed in Algeria, while in Turkey no free-flying birds remain. (In

Morocco 215

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 215

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2016

Appreciation of invasive species may be somewhat heretical in some naturalist circles, but watching these huge winter flocks always entertains. Not the most exciting Best Bird of the Weekend but it will do. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2016 160

2016 Birds Experience Experiments 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2016

Birders concerned with ticking off bird species from a list in North America already know all about the AOU Supplement. In this case, it augments and clarifies previous knowledge regarding the classification of the birds in North America.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica 2016 South America Panama 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2017

Thank all that is good and holy in the world that the abomination that was 2016 is finally in the books. Here’s hoping that 2017 is a much better year than 2016! I know I will be doing my best to make it so, especially from a birding perspective. I will see at least 500 species for the year. Will I achieve them?

2017 102

2017 Puerto Rico 2016 Austria 102

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2021

What I didn’t realize, at the time, was that this pulp is also enjoyed by many bird species. I go there every year around this time, because in 2016 I saw Sinaloa Martins migrating north to breed. This species is rarely seen and almost unstudied. Usually these birds are a bit harder to see up close.

2016 270

2016 2020 Mexico California 270

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2021

This past Saturday, 09 October 2021, was the Eighth Annual Queens County Bird Club Big Sit. As regular readers of 10,000 Birds know, the Big Sit is my favorite birding event of the year, narrowly edging out the Christmas Bird Count. It’s lonely in the dark with no birds to keep you company.

Woodpeckers 225

Woodpeckers Battery Birds Species 225

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

Dissection 209

Dissection Birds Research Europe 209

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

And this goal has to do with birds, and I assume since your perusing this here blog, that’s something that might interest you. Granted, a flexible work schedule helps, but still, my birding has been about focusing on those birds I still need to meet my goal rather than going out an regularly working a patch. So read on.

2016 141

2016 North Carolina 2015 Raleigh 141

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2018

I have observed this species many times (my eBird says 28 times this year alone) and never had one landing near me. Before (May 2016, by Zeljko Stanimirovic)…. Cover photo : Made at the same place and time of the year, I observed this young White-tailed Eagle coming from the same nest in 2016.

2016 166

2016 Eagles Birds Otters 166

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

He was pleased to spot all of his target species, from Yellow-breasted Chat to Ovenbird. But his Best Bird of the Weekend was the fifth Western Tanager he’s ever seen in New York State. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2016 134

2016 Squirrels New York Birds 134

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2022

Beljarica Backwaters (some August birding here ) is a spacious floodplain of the left bank of the Danube, less than 10 km / 6 mi north of Belgrade, and is an exciting place to bird. In August 2016, the newly planned Chinese Belt and Road harbour development inside the most valuable 9 sq km / 3.5 sq km / 7.2

Protection 258

Protection Serbia Protest Protesting 258

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

As a result, the bird has a long history with the Endangered Species Act. If it was not, there would be no listing, as the overall species was not in peril. FWS released a 5-year review of the species in 2010. As a result, FWS denied the petition to delist in August 2016. But its U.S.

California 172

California District of Columbia Los Angeles San Diego 172

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2016

While acquiring our fragrant Balsam Fir , I was distracted by a variety of birds flying over. For the sake of family peace, I left my bins at home, which meant that the tastiest species I could put a name to was Dark-eyed Junco , which I’ll be seeing a ton of over the coming months. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 124

2016 Birds Owls Experience 124

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic. She was attracted by the number of different species and their colors.

Ecuador 174

Ecuador Spain Experience Experiments 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

One of these days, Jeopardy will feature a category called “Field Guides” and the first clue will be: “This landlocked South American country finally got its own bird field guide in 2016, but it wasn’t available in the United State until 2019.” Bolivia doesn’t come up much in discussions of birding travel.

Bolivia 168

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 168

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2017

Don’t think we’ve noticed that most of you don’t play along with this game of sharing the best–meaning the coolest, rarest, fanciest, or dearest–bird species you’ve spotted in a given weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend? Your year will be much better for it! How about you?

2016 100

2016 2017 New York Birds 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2017

The ones that will be in the calendar, the elite 12 are selected by not only the quality of the image, but most colorful, most unique, and in the case of a couple of birds cut out this year, species that appeared in last years Calendar. Least Grebe. Varied Bunting. Mangrove Warbler. California Quail. Tri-colored Heron.

2017 120

2017 Culling 2016 Birds 120

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2016

But evolving patterns of both weather and species distribution still promise wonder in the weeks and months ahead. I’ve added plenty of new species to my year list, but the bird I appreciated most this weekend was the one closest to home. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2016 101

2016 Baltimore Birds Experience 101

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2019

The Tierra Caliente, or as biologists prefer to call it, the Río Balsas Basin, is a biological island that shares its very large number of endemic species with the more southern Oaxaca Valley. As a birder, I was eager to find the quickest ways to reach these species from my home. Those black eyes make this bird. Stay tuned.

Mexico 114

Mexico Birds Nevada Sparrows 114

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2016

All my favorite birders were out at festivals, doing Big Days, or just racking up scores of awesome birds in the field. Even though I only had an hour before work, I racked up just about all the warblers I wanted; any weekend I see a Blackburnian Warbler , I know which species is my favorite. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 100

2016 Jamaica New York Birds 100