10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2013

It’s among a handful of species — American Robin, Black-capped Chickadee , the unholy trinity of House Sparrow – Rock Pigeon – European Starling , a few others — that have been everywhere I’ve ever lived. We never would have gotten all those extra species of Red Crossbill that way.

Connecticut 174

Connecticut Baltimore North America New York City 174

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2012

And apparently, non-birders are more apt to divide birds into general kinds than species lists. Most of them were pretty good in the Owl-Duck-Pigeon range, but they got bogged down when trying to make the leap from a study skin to a particular page of the field guide for, say, a blackbird or a sparrow. And that frustration was epic.

Montana 161

Montana Bald Eagle Owls Ducks 161

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

The book is divided into three parts: “Introduction,” “Avifaunal Overview,” and “Species Accounts.” Patrol and enforce wildlife-damaging violations, including the taking of endangered native plants, capturing turtles, riding ATV’s on pedestrian trails, and abandoning fishhooks. It’s a very mixed chapter.

New York City 149

New York City New York Birds Breeding 149

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2014

There’s no way around it as the various species are reasonably common, and you will surely want to identify them. And since River Warbler is an incredibly neat species (aka difficult to get on your life list), it sure is worth the effort of peeking at its undies. Option two: abandon bird. Or vice versa. And you know what?

Europe 213

Europe Kazakhstan Sparrows Abandon 213

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

… The ordinance would allow Minneapolis residents to establish cat “colonies” where abandoned and wild cats can be fed but also vaccinated, neutered and identified in an effort to humanely cut their population and control disease. And she has a North American bird book that has so far taught her how to recognize a sparrow.

Feral Cats 208

Feral Cats Feral Cats Minneapolis 208

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2021

My first House Sparrow for 2021!) January is the month where I allow myself to go only to my very best sites, and rejoice in even the most commonplace species. I correctly suspected that Lake Cuitzeo would be too dry this year to give me its usual 75+ species in the deep of winter. (It Ten of these were hummingbird species.

2020 264

2020 Birds Ducks Abandon 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2011

The thought of an Oriole foraging in bare winter branches is as foreign as a Petrel on a pool and yet, there it was in my yard picking through an abandoned squirrel’s nest for what appeared to be spiders. A trip to the coastal plain may net you up to seven species of warblers, from the omnipresent Yellow-rumps to Chats and Cape Mays.

North Carolina 140

North Carolina 2011 St. Louis Baltimore 140

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2022

While I can’t convince myself to be excited about my First-Of-Year House Sparrows , almost anything else is exciting. In most years, that wouldn’t be all that special — the lake is normally where I can see the most species in a single day, so I usually go there first. A wonderfully close Peregrine Falcon.

Falcons 183

Falcons Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 183

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

The birds were right next to an old abandoned farm house, and seemed quite happy to have their photo taken, up to a point, but then like the wind, they were gone, out thru the flat desert areas of New Mexico! This did open up the area to a few new species, like this Wilson’s Warbler. US species – 234.

Albuquerque 121

Albuquerque New Mexico Mexico Sparrows 121

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2018

We also got an extra stop in Dallas, Texas (Hey wasn’t I just here) but again no birds could be added, unless I count the House Sparrow flying around inside the terminal. After that we visited a small remote site of an abandoned resort that is going back to the jungle quickly, and a water front location for shorebirds and gulls.

Bahamas 126

Bahamas Costa Rica Abandon Abandoning 126

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2016

They form and have lots of genes on them, but over time, all the non sex-related genes abandon the chromosome. And this brings us to Zonotrichia albicollis , the White-Throated Sparrow. The result is that sparrows with this gene have different mating preferences than other sparrows. Two things, really.

Rats 106

Rats Sparrows Birds North Carolina 106

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2011

It traditionally holds the most species of all of the sections in the Queens count and is the only shot the count has at quite a few birds. Sure, there were Red-throated Loons , Common Loons , and a few Common Eider but we needed scoters, all three species, and none were in evidence. What was worrisome, though, was a lack of ducks.

2011 160

2011 Birds Sparrows Ducks 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

If you have been feeding black-oil sunflower and suddenly switch to straight safflower, birds will abandon your feeders. Safflower is not the favorite food of house sparrows, red-winged blackbirds and squirrels. They might eat it if they have to but it can sometimes keep those species away too. You can do one of 2 things: 1.

2011 189

2011 Birds Woodpeckers Blackbirds 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2012

The IOC world birdlist recognizes 90 species that bear the name “weaver” or “malimbe” Not all of these are true weavers as we will discuss below. There are currently 64 recognized species in this genus, a remarkable number indeed, and this includes the 5 Asian and 2 Malagasy species.

Tanzania 221

Tanzania Buffalo Kenya Namibia 221

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2014

I’m going to start with a specific example: species accounts for Common Tern and Arctic Tern. How have these species accounts changed from The Sibley Guide to Birds , published in 2000 (heretofore called Sibley One) to The Sibley Guide to Birds, Second Edition , published in March 2014 (and heretofore called Sibley Two).

North America 238

North America Birds Species America 238