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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2020 Florida Science Birds 254

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? How about you?

2020 262

2020 Shelters Birds Experience 262

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. For several years, I had seen photos of this species posted by my friend Julio Álvarez, from the state of Jalisco, just to the west of my state of Michoacán.

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2020 Birds Mexico Species 253

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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2020 Australia Cattle Groups 264

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. I finally chased down what has been a nemesis species for me at Webster Park, which seems to be one of Rochester’s most reliable winter finch hotspots.

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2020 Cooking Birds Experience 229

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.

2020 228

2020 Adoptable Birds Species 228

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.

2020 260

2020 New York City Whales Whaling 260

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2020

That is the state of our 2020 year lists and general birding experience. Some of us have already enjoyed some New Year’s day bio-blitzing, but the first weekend of the year offers so much potential to become reacquainted with the species you haven’t seen since 2019. Embrace it… the opportunity, not the birds!

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2020 2019 Birds Experience 226

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. I was shocked to still find a number of shorebird species up at Braddock Bay, perhaps because of how much productive mud the dropping lake levels have exposed.

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2020 Connecticut Virginia New York 234

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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2020 Birds Industry 2011 162

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. I was thrilled to find more species than expected along the lake this weekend, especially a pair of foraging Hudsonian Godwits willing to be added to my county list. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2020 196

2020 Birds Experience Experiments 196

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. Lifers are in caps and the most outstanding species are in bold. Go birding!

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Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 264

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?

2020 174

2020 Birds Experience Experiments 174

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2020

Another month, another movement of the world’s birds from one point to the next. Corey enjoyed a morning walk on Saturday with three friends at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where they spotted over fifty species between mosquitoes and biting flies. It was easily Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend. How about you?

2020 182

2020 Pennsylvania Jamaica Birds 182

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2020

I draw quiet strength and hope from birds. They help me start the day, make a beautiful new beginning to each morning and even if many are the same species as the previous day, I am thankful for their presence. It’s all good in this birding hood, the more you look and listen, the more you find.

Costa Rica 248

Costa Rica 2020 Protest Protesting 248

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2022

Despite what some outdated sources claim, the list of bird species reported for Costa Rica is much more than 860. The same can be said for Costa Rica’s first Red-breasted Merganser , a species first documented for the nation in 2020. Check out the crazy new bird for Costa Rica!

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Costa Rica Species Panama Geese 264

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?

2020 189

2020 New York Birds Experience 189

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2020

The annual parade of birds is happening and the feathered participants are dressed in their best breeding suits. Now is when we can venture into the closest park and see birds of the deep woods, species that breed far from town. It’s a living festival and for the birds, 2020 is no different. Spring migration!

Costa Rica 240

Costa Rica 2020 Spain Panama 240

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2020

The checklist for a basic birding outing has become more complex during the COVID-19 crisis. Your choice for birding spot depends equally on the abundance of birds and scarcity of birders. Yes, birding may not be as carefree as usual, but the freedom, fun, and fascination the act elicits matters more now than ever.

2020 202

2020 Birds Owls Experience 202

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2020

As we ascend to the height of the season, we become more likely to encounter extreme weather coupled with extremely mundane birding. This is not to say that you won’t find great birds where you are, but only that they will likely be the resident breeders or wintering species you’ve already grown accustomed to.

2020 169

2020 Breeders New York Birds 169

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2020

The birds we encountered up on the lake this weekend could only be described as mundane. Corey enjoyed a foul-weather seawatch on Saturday morning and birded a couple of locations Sunday morning before leading a walk for New York City Audubon in Forest Park. Don’t worry… we’ve got 11 months to go! How about you?

2020 182

2020 New York City New York Birds 182

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2020

One of the things Corey most enjoys about a new year is the way it resets your year list, giving you an excuse to pay a little more attention to the common species as you check them off your year list. In that spirit, Corey chose the lowly feral Rock Pigeon as his Best Bird of the Weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2020 156

2020 Feral Sparrows Birds 156

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2020

Despite this ongoing period of historic uncertainty and sacrifice, we can find comfort in at least one certainty: May means birds and plenty of them. No matter where on this big, beautiful planet you live, you probably anticipate the passage of new species over the next thirty-one days. appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

2020 172

2020 Suffering Birds Species 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2020

Corey got out and about birding on both Saturday and Sunday morning, before joining a Black Live Matter march on Sunday. 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?

2020 169

2020 Breeders Birds Owls 169

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2020

We humans may desperately want to migrate somewhere better, but birds have to. Keep your eyes open, because new species may be showing up right outside your window. Corey never lets weather conditions keep him out of the field, so look for him where birds are and people are not. appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

2020 172

2020 Birds Humane Rights 172

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2020

In the normal course of things, Corey’s first Eastern Phoebe of the year on Sunday morning would have easily been 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?

2020 179

2020 Birds Experience Experiments 179

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2023

How can one, in what is barely the second week of the first month of the year – even think of suggesting a Bird of the Year? I began recording my bird sightings with photographs in late 2009, and since then I have seen (or at least heard) a fair proportion of species recorded within my home country of Trinidad & Tobago.

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Birds Trinidad 2020 2012 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2021

Louisiana is a magical place to bird. At the same time I was ogling Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Upland Sandpipers, Marybeth Lima was also birding Louisiana. Chapter Two is a potpourri of stories about nemesis birds, birding by ear, birding for science, under the rubric of birding ‘for the love of it.’

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Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

For several years I lived and birded in the south of Africa , and still have my battered second edition (1997) of the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, the most trusted local field guide. Now, I am holding the 5th edition (2020) in my hands – what has changed in the meantime, especially in the 9 years since the 4th edition?

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Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2023

It is home to four diverse forest ecosystems (deciduous, mixed, boreal, and lowlands), experiences seasonal weather systems ranging from cold dry Arctic winters to humid, thunder-storm filled summers, and, according to the latest official checklist, hosts four professional sports teams with bird names.* state and Canadian provinces.

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North America Birds Owls America 238

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?”

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 283

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2020

Between them they shared 63 checklists, spanning 5 countries and noted 231 species of birds. The post Collaborative list – April 2020 appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Other sightings have been included from legitimate outings for work and exercise (at all times maintaining a respectable distance).

2020 160

2020 Woodpeckers Sparrows Blackbirds 160

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2021

2020, one of the more memorable and infamous tear years of our lives, is finally done. In the birding realm, it means a new year list, beginning the year with winter birds, and planning trips for the next 12 months. Tennessee Warbler is one of my winter birds. See More Birds. Write More About Birds.

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Costa Rica Liberia 2020 Birds 247

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

If you followed Dorian’s adventures on his Big Year blog, Biking for Birds , you are familiar with many of these stories, but not the major one, the internal journey that was going on inside Dorian’s mind as he pedaled and birded: his history and multi-year struggle with alcoholism and related addictions.

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Birds Los Angeles Massachusetts New York City 240

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 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. 140 birds). In 2020, due to Covid19, your presence was missing. My name is Nikos Gallios.

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Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 264

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. Life is strange.)

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Mexico Cuba Chile South America 225

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2020

This was the month we (in the northern hemisphere) had all been waiting for, but what a strange month May 2020 has been. 149 checklists were submitted, accounting for 465 species. The post Collaborative List – May 2020 appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina).

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2020 Sparrows Niger Woodpeckers 158