10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

Keep looking… November 2020 appears full of surprises. Despite his best efforts Corey didn’t find any truly outstanding birds this weekend as he stomped his way across Queens. A subspecies as Best Bird of the Weekend? What is 10,000 Birds coming to? What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

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2020 Birds Sparrows Experience 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

To every bird, though, mid-September remains what it’s always been: a good time to feed, mass, and move ! Corey enjoyed his outing with me on Saturday and his coastal birding with his pal Mary on Sunday. Over twenty species of wood-warbler, a variety of shorebirds, and host of birds in general will make for some fun fall birding.

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10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2020

Go birding. 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 ! The post Where Are You Birding This Final Weekend of October 2020? appeared first on 10,000 Birds. How about you? Share your plans in the comments below.

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2020 Birds 303

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2020

As we all well know there is something very different about 2020. Following on from our first camping trip for 2020 we took another camping trip a bit further afield. We soon added Sandstone Shrike-thrush to our 2020 bird list and it is a great place to find them without too much walking. A couple of crocodiles.

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2022

This week marks only the second time the Osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ) has been featured here at Birds and Booze. A few years ago, we were treated to an especially charming, almost serene portrait of this bird on a can of beer that remains one of the better depictions of any bird we’ve seen at Birds and Booze, in my opinion.

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10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2020

The winds of December blow in a dramatic shakeup of birding conditions in most parts of the world, especially the ones with fair odds of a white Christmas. The excitement of those not-likely birds of November has died down, but the new regime of real winter birds in the Northern Hemisphere hasn’t fully asserted itself yet.

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10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2020

I saw my first migratory Eastern Phoebe of 2020 this morning at Cunningham Park in my home borough of Queens, where I was looking for my first Rusty Blackbirds of the year. (I 2020 – 15 March. The post First Phoebe of 2020 appeared first on 10,000 Birds. I found them too!) For me, it is now officially spring!

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10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2020

But birds don’t seem to care about what ails us humans. My daughter and I visited Owl Woods in search of winter finches but were surprised to find owls instead; obviously, the name of this legendary birding site suggests otherwise, but encountering both a Saw-whet and Barred Owl on the same autumn day was both unexpected and thrilling.

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10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Fortunately, nature assures that, as one suite of birds leaves, another takes its place. Corey enjoyed some good birding on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. But his Best Bird of the Weekend was one he saw with his family on a visit to Jamaica Bay on Saturday evening. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

Change is good, particularly because it always brings new birds. Of those, the best was a Bay-breasted Warbler , which is Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. How about you?

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2020

Corey spent most of Sunday driving to the Adirondacks for a week in the mountains, but he did get out birding in Queens on Saturday morning. Shorebird migration is in full swing and though Jamaica Bay’s East Pond is still full of water he saw some good birds on the beach. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2020

Corey did get out for some socially distant birding this weekend and his Best Bird of the Weekend was a Yellow-throated Warbler at Cunningham Park, only his fifth record of the species in Queens. What was your best bird of the weekend? The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of April 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2020

Though Corey really enjoyed a ginormous flock of gannets on Sunday morning his Best Bird of the Weekend was a Short-eared Owl , his first of 2020, at Edgemere Landfill in the predawn light on Saturday. What was your best bird of the weekend? It’s hard to top an owl! How about you?

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2020

Birding in the era of COVID-19 can be confusing. Then again, I’ll probably make a run somewhere to catch some early spring birds. Then again, I’ll probably make a run somewhere to catch some early spring birds. Corey has enough secret birding spots in Queens to stay busy, safe, and secluded all weekend.

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2020 Medical Birds Sparrows 260

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2020

With hope, this was a memorable one for you, even if the birds weren’t particularly rare. However, many of the bird’s field marks were obscured because it flew far below me as I walked across the bridge I’ll always know as the Tappan Zee. What was your best bird of the weekend? Another weekend is in the books.

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10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2020

Last week, I wrote about my best birds of last year. Fortunately, by the time I wrote that post, I had already seen what is sure to be one of my best birds for this year. And yet, on the first Monday of 2020, a female Woodstar turned up at El Temascal, a site that never seems to fail to bring me some surprise.

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10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2021

The data are in: the nesting season proved successful for some species of Florida’s wading birds and… less so for others. Wading birds – including Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Wood Storks, White Ibises, and more – are a critical barometer of ecosystem health in the Everglades.

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 24, 2020

No matter where you find yourself, heed the imperative of 2020: live to see better days! I could definitely use better birding than the dull summer fare observed in the Southern Tier this weekend. But the birds he most appreciated were the juvenile Least Sandpiper feeding at his feet on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

The end of September doesn’t necessarily mean the end of what you might enjoy about September birding but it definitely signals the beginning of what you love about October. Corey had a few really good birds this weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend? Hopefully, you’re looking forward to the month ahead!

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10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2020

2020 is almost over… finally. Rather than belabor the obvious, I’ll just point out that the global pandemic may have spawned a new wave of birders, but collectively we’ve seen far fewer species of birds. As I’m not traveling these days, I’ve been spending lots of time with my local birds.

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10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

November doesn’t fit any of the conventional narratives of birding seasons. Nonetheless, November can really cook when the birding conditions are just right. However, picking these birds out by call in flight leaves me wanting the kinds of views Corey’s been able to muster. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2020

August weekends don’t always promise birding excitement, but the tantalizing prospect of a singular sighting always exists. Don’t ever think that the best birds can’t appear at the most unexpected times. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Third of August 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2020

That is the state of our 2020 year lists and general birding experience. Embrace it… the opportunity, not the birds! Corey can’t help but scour every inch of the Queens coastline in what may be a fruitless effort to top his monumental 2019 birding year. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding?

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10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

And this doesn’t mean you are obsessed or a little bit too much into birds because keeping track of a year list actually comes with some side benefits. Yeah, many of us living the birding life do so anyways because we can’t help it. Go birding! I strongly suggest the experience of sharing Turquoise-browed Motmots.

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10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2020

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 ! The post Where Are You Birding This Final Weekend of June 2020? appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Share your plans in the comments below.

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10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

The year 2020 has delivered (mostly unwelcome) surprises just about every month. I’m hoping for more birds! Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? 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 ! How about you?

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

Embrace the excitement; changeable winds tend to carry abundant birds. Corey and I will, for the first time in a long time, be birding together along coastal Queens. 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 ! How about you?

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10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2020

Of all the birds observed on the highway, the most interesting was surely the Ring-necked Pheasant that blithely strolled out on the NY Thruway but was smart enough to pull back before losing a battle with a speeding vehicle. Yeah, it’s not a great photo but it’s a pretty great Best Bird of the Weekend! How about you?

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10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2020

I can’t recall a year when birders were as thrilled to see the month of May pass as we all are in 2020. Despite the cold, I had to take a run at our last migrants this weekend and was rewarded with a lovely morning of lakeshore birding that included an FOY Tennessee Warbler … don’t know how that one got past me all month!

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2020 Tennessee Jamaica Birds 158

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2020

We should all savor this moment, one of the best birding periods of the year, bar none. Even better, May 2020 features as many weekends as a month can accommodate, so live it up!! Corey will diligently be birding in and around Queens. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? How about you?

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10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

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 ! The post Where Are You Birding This First Weekend of September 2020? appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Share your plans in the comments below.

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10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2020

The first weekend of the tenth month of the year usually delivers in terms of birds, but you’ve got to meet them halfway. Corey got out birding a bunch around Queens this morning, trying to add to his burgeoning county year list. Still though, it was a good bird, and is Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend.

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10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2020

That summer generally signals a decline in local avian diversity probably hasn’t sunken in yet, but rest assured the birds you saw this weekend may grow tiresome in another month. Those owls were easily Corey’s Beat Birds of the Weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

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10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2020

Cherish these birding moments, because they pass as swiftly as the migrants eager to find their new homes for the next half of the year. Corey enjoyed a great time at the Big Sit on Saturday, adding several new birds to the cumulative total and getting the second-most birds on their seventh attempt. How about you?

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10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2020

I need more birds!! As usual, I restricted my birding activity this weekend to local trails. However, my best birds showed up much closer to home in the form of a chattering House Wren family which apparently displaced my usual Carolina Wren. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

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10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2020

Corey got out for some birding and got four new birds for the year. Easily his Best Bird of the Weekend! What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. How about you?

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10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

This past weekend was both Global Big Day and World Migratory Bird Day, and yet I had to deal with snow and freezing cold. Corey, on the other hand, had plenty of good birds this weekend what with him doing a Queens Big Day on Saturday and all. What was your best bird of the weekend? Isn’t that against the rules?

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