10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2022

I should have known that birding High Island meant I would be 20 minutes away from a place where hundreds of thousands of shorebirds and waterbirds rest, feed, breed, and generally have a good time. I love American Avocets and I rarely see them in such marvelous breeding plumage, so I was in heaven. Clapper Rail. Back to the Flats.

Houston 211

Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 211

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2016

The 2016 tide chart is also useful if you want to see the dinosaur footprints at Gantheaume Point, because you need the tide to be below 2.16m for them to be visible and due care is required over slippery rocks. Most of the Red Knot are in very good breeding plumage now and they do stand out very well on the grey rocks.

Taiwan 100

Taiwan Breeding Japan 2017 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2019

Apo near Davao City, PEC is the site of a Philippine Eagle conservation breeding program. The bee footage is actually of Rettig in Gamboa in 2009, but I am going to assume that he had a similar, unfilmed experience in the Philippines. Located in the foothills of Mt. PEF is the center of all Philippine Eagle conservation programs.

Eagles 203

Eagles Philippines Eggs Birds 203

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2017

Many sad and unfortunate things occurred in 2016, but the birding was good. I think this might be my best bird of 2016. Greater Adjutants are huge birds that were once widespread across much of Southeast Asia; today there are two small breeding populations in India and Cambodia. It was a good birding year. 4) Small Pratincole.

2016 110

2016 India Ducks Birds 110

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

They can be challenging to identify, especially if you haven’t seen one before, though with experience they are not really so difficult. On their breeding grounds in Spain, Lesser Kestrels are very much city birds, for 95% of the population nests in towns. Perhaps some females remain, too, but I didn’t see any.

Falcons 196

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 196

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

The authors themselves–Rob Hume, Robert Still, Andy Swash, Hugh Harrop, and David Tipling–collectively have 100s of years of birding and photographic experience. WildGuides, Princeton University Press, summer 2016. The chapters, however, offer very good introductions to each bird group. 560pages, 6.3

Ireland 144

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 144

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. I’m wondering as I write if you are shaking your head, uneasy that all these FACTS will interfere with your love of observing owls, an experience that easily borders on the mystical for some of us. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 211

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 211

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

The guide covers the all–1194 species in the Species Accounts, including 959 native breeding species, 219 Nearctic migrants, 8 breeding visiting species, and 5 introduced species. Of the native breeding species, 112 are endemic or “very nearly endemic.” (Can Can you guess which of the species cited above are endemic?

America 213

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 213

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

This includes current research (up to about 2016, but mostly earlier) on how climate change and human change are affecting the birds’ ecology and behavior. Two sobering chapters on “Conservation” and “Climate Change” end the text section of the book, followed by a 36-page Bibliography and a detailed Index.

Research 169

Research Birds Hoarding Sweden 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2023

Many birders keep personal birding lists or life lists, documenting the species they have seen throughout their birding experiences. The concept of a big year gained significant attention through books, such as “The Big Year” by Mark Obmascik, which chronicled the experiences of birders participating in competitive big years.

United States 147

United States North America Birds America 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Several years ago, I read about the enormous colonies of breeding birds in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and I did some research to satisfy my curiosity. ( Google Scholar is an excellent resource and free full-text PDFs can be located for many papers, particularly when research is taxpayer-funded. It is helpful to have a sample paper.

Transported 113

Transported 2011 Research 2012 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

There are arguments for adding all territories, but experience demonstrates that the ABA moves glacially when it comes to the ABA Area. Although most conservation research focuses on northern breeding grounds, many ABA Area birds spend most of the year elsewhere. The only other populated U.S. territories are Guam (pop. Conclusion.

Puerto Rico 153

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Hawaii United States 153

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

This is the story of Fox’s experiences on board the Achiever, the research vessel of the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. The species was seemingly killed off by feather hunters, but then, after years, reappeared at the site of one of the deserted breeding colonies, Torishima Island in Japan. Rocky Mountain Books, July 2016.

Fox 100

Fox Albatross Geese Bald Eagle 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2017

The four authors, themselves field ornithologists, conservationists, birders, and writers with years of experience in southeast Asia, researched scientific studies ranging from early 19th-century descriptions of the birds of Java to the latest phylogenomic studies. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, November 2016, 496 p. by James A.

Indonesia 126

Indonesia Brunei Birds Malaysia 126

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2018

My main issue with the artwork is that I’d like more of it–more flight images, more immature images for breeding birds, more close-ups of wonderful details, like the crown of the Royal Flycatcher. Most of the images for all three artists, however, are strikingly colored and subtlety shaded where they should be. Conclusion.

Honduras 104

Honduras Birds 2015 Family 104

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

In addition to that warm, fuzzy feeling, here are some other highs and lows from March 29th, 2016 in southernmost Israel: No rain : Coming from deluge-prone Costa Rica, this was a personal highlight. Sharing those special birds with so many like-minded people of all ages may have been the most magical experience on race day.

Costa Rica 173

Costa Rica Eagles Birds 173