10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2024

Starting the New Year by trying to see as many species as possible is something of a birding tradition. My diary notes that the New Year dawned grey and windy, but I rose early, walked six miles before breakfast and noted a modest 26 species of birds. One of my more memorable New Year’s days was in the Falkland Islands, back in 1989.

Birds 201

Birds Albatross Barn Owls Sparrows 201

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2012

This Sunday I will be off the coast of Kaikoura on South Island for the first time since 2008 checking out the amazing albatrosses they have there. This isn’t about boasting or making Corey feel jealous (okay it is), its an introduction to one of the birds I won’t be seeing there this weekend.

Albatross 126

Albatross New Zealand 2008 Georgia 126

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2022

We might have limited space but we make up for it with a massive amount of biodiversity including well over 900 bird species on the official Costa Rica bird list. With good reason, lots of birders visit Costa Rica and we also have a good sized local birding community. However, the latest addition wasn’t any of these.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Latvia Albatross Netherlands 203

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Hannah Buschert was first exposed to birds and birding during a required ornithology course at Oregon State University and she quickly caught the birding bug. This is Hannah’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. Hannah and Erik ready to see some birds! I love to go on cruises.

South Africa 261

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 261

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2011

Have you ever stayed up late at night pondering how you might introduce your child to the awesomeness that is an albatross without having access to, you know, a real live albatross? That is why I am so psyched that illustrator Bill Bolton has come out with an ebook for kids about an albatross that is afraid to fly.

Albatross 162

Albatross 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2012

The plane (and all on board) survived but the albatross was not so lucky. See the whole story here.

Albatross 163

Albatross 163

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2022

Costa Rica has long been one of the more frequently visited global birding hotspots. In addition to providing many people with wonderful life experiences, these birding visits have helped increase our understanding of local bird distribution. More Birding in the Northern Volcanoes. More Pelagic Trips in the Caribbean Sea.

Costa Rica 252

Costa Rica Birds Albatross Protection 252

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2022

Most of the usual birds seem present, a frog or two call from a small wetland, and a few other expected animals are there too. We would marvel over cheery flocks of green and bright yellow Carolina Parakeets and then we would see them decline until there were just two, maybe one lonely bird, and then we would witness their forever absence.

Costa Rica 247

Costa Rica Parrots Albatross Birds 247

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2022

No macws in Niagara Falls… On the birding side of the coin, August up north is the quiet before the big fall migration rush, a time when many birds quiet down and change feathers before they chase the summer south. The woods and fields lack much of the bird song of May and June but coastal habitats and wetlands are another story.

Costa Rica 182

Costa Rica Eagles West Virginia Albatross 182

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 239

Papua New Guinea Guinea Suriname South America 239

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

This shouldn’t have to be stated, especially in a book on bird evolution by an evolutionary biologist with a Ph.D. How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity by Douglas J. Futuyma is a synthesis of theory and research about evolution and birds. that’s three birds).

Science 203

Science Albatross Research Birds 203

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Birds of Belize by Steve N. Howell and Dale Dyer and Birds of Costa Rica by Dale Dyer and Steve N. Dale Dyer put in years working on his paintings for Birds of Central America , both in the field and in the museum. Howell utilizes the IOC World Bird List (v.11.2, Why are these issues? © 2023 by Steve N.

Costa Rica 202

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 202

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2020

If you want to write a bird guide, you should have guided people yourself. Howell and Fabrice Schmitt: both of them are international bird tour leaders with WINGS. Birds of Chile – A Photo Guide has 240 pages and more than 1,000 photos accompanied by a brief text to make bird ID easy. And that is what recommends Steve N.

Chile 193

Chile Birds South America North America 193

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2014

You’ve no doubt heard about birds being put at risk by nonnative cats, rats, and even goats. They include Black-footed Albatrosses , Laysan Ducks , and roughly 65 percent of the world’s Laysan Albatrosses. Golden Crownbeard spreads like, well, weeds, in thick mats that crowd birds out of potential nesting sites.

Albatross 185

Albatross Goats United States Japan 185

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. Perhaps birds of prey are somewhat overcrowded, but still well organised. I particularly like the albatrosses and owls, shrikes and boubous.

Africa 264

Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

Anyone that has read my posts before knows I love Kaikoura and the amazing people at Albatross Encounter. It was pretty obvious which of the many boats out there it was, the huge flocks of petrels and albatrosses around the boat made finding it easy. Salvin’s Albatrosses were nice to add to my year list. Not a bad day!

Albatross 157

Albatross New Zealand Fish Breeding 157

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2016

” Unless we’re talking about birding, in which case the jasmine in my mind– whatever that is –patiently waits for migration! Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was an easy one to choose as it was his first albatross, a Black-footed Albatross off the coast of California. How about you?

Albatross 101

Albatross 2016 Seals Birds 101

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2017

Controversies about federal public lands, including the 2016 occupation of Malheur NWR in Oregon and proposed bills in Congress to dispose of certain land, has focused attention on the value of federal lands to birds and birders. But if one focuses on specific types of birds, the results can be both illuminating and surprising.

Albatross 137

Albatross Hawaii Alaska Puerto Rico 137

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

Birders know that some of the finest birding locations in the country are on federal land , which include national parks , wildlife refuges , forests , monuments , and seashores , among others. These lands support countless birds, either year-round, as migratory stopovers, or as breeding grounds. But what else should birders know?

Virgin Islands 199

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 199

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2013

I will never tire of banging Kaikoura’s drum as the best place in the world to see albatrosses, and since albatrosses are the among the best birds in the world it amazes me that none of you have made it out here yet (actually, some of you have, per some of the comments, but Corey hasn’t). At first anyway.

Albatross 165

Albatross New Zealand Seals Fur 165

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Kaikoura, in New Zealand’s South Island, is arguably the best place in the world to see albatrosses and petrels. And the endemic Hutton’s Shearwater, which only breeds in Kaikoura, will keep you entertained for those few minutes till the albatrosses hit. More Albatrosses, this time a White-capped Albatross !

Albatross 173

Albatross New Zealand Dolphins Whales 173

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2018

These remote islands, some more than 1,000 miles from Honolulu, are home to huge globally-significant colonies of Laysan and Black-footed Albatross, among many others. In 2015, mice suddenly started attacking albatrosses sitting on nests and attacks have been steadily increasing since. This will focus on the requirements of NEPA.

Mice 102

Mice Albatross Honolulu Endangered Species 102

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Kaikoura is New Zealand’s finest birding destination, and seeing it brought low is a terrible blow. Thanks to it’s marine canyon it’s the place to see Sperm Whales, swim with Dusky Dolphins and New Zealand Fur-seals, and watch albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels. White-capped Albatrosses are easy to see.

New Zealand 154

New Zealand Albatross Seals Fur 154

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2021

But if there is any justice in this world, there will be room on those lists for Shearwater: A Bird, an Ocean, and a Long Way Home , by Roger Morgan-Grenville. It was Bird Number 83 on his life list, and it became, he says, his “metaphor for wilderness and adventure, always free, always out there, always just beyond reach.”.

West Virginia 194

West Virginia Rats Albatross Georgia 194

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2014

Maybe you’ll see albatrosses ! I wouldn’t go that far but will point out that you’ll see a lot more birds if you leave the kids at home! I wouldn’t go that far but will point out that you’ll see a lot more birds if you leave the kids at home! Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding?

2014 165

2014 Albatross Birds 165

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. As of early 2022, no dice yet and amazingly, we have had other, less expected species fly their way onto the Costa Rica list, one of them being a young Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross.

Costa Rica 244

Costa Rica Species Panama Geese 244

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2012

Most weeks, we tend to focus on the movements and migrations of birds. Will you see birds there? Also be sure to come back Monday to share your best bird of the weekend ! Keep your eyes to the skies… you might see an Albatross! Where are you going this weekend? Share your plans in the comments below!

2012 157

2012 Albatross New York Eggs 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2011

It is easy to forget sometimes that birds can do weird things. Most birds will follow a set group of behaviours, building a nest a certain way, courting a certain way, eating a certain set of food. Most birds will follow a set group of behaviours, building a nest a certain way, courting a certain way, eating a certain set of food.

Albatross 176

Albatross Hawaii Seals Parrots 176

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

I bring this up not to boast (well, not much) but because I think that this approach to wildlife travel is somewhat neglected in birding circles. Read most accounts of how birders see birds outside their patch and one way or another, they’re tourists. Nothing forms bonds like rolling around in bird…uh… waste.

Uganda 160

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2018

About six-and-a-half years ago I had the privilege of watching a young Waved Albatross on the Galapagos island of Española learning how to fly. The sight of the large bird, so awkward on the ground, trying to launch itself with the coaching of an indefatigable parent, was funny, charming, and amazing in its uniqueness.

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2016

One of my ambitions for this year is to do more birding around New Zealand, and in particular try and knock off a few of the possible species here I haven’t seen yet, perhaps with a mind to breaking 100 species here in a year. One thing that did worry me was a lack of albatrosses, I only had one distant flyby, too far away to identify.

New Zealand 100

New Zealand Albatross Cooking Dolphins 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The boat is called the Legacy and it is an 80 foot whale watching vessel that generally seats 115, but takes about 70 for birding trips. If I saw that bird, I did not appreciate it, so it is not on my list. My recollection of prior trips is that we used relatively small fishing boats and had 20-25 birders, plus the leaders.

San Diego 147

San Diego Los Angeles Cooking North Carolina 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

My reasons for doing so were actually bird related, namely a PhD in bird evolution, the less said about the better. As I go about any part of my life here were I’m not looking for birds I’ll never see much more than the same twenty or so birds, a decent number of which are introduced species. But… but.

New Zealand 104

New Zealand Albatross Parrots Penguins 104

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 23, 2013

The giant petrels are aptly named, massive lumbering fulmarine petrels as large as small albatrosses that terrorise the Southern Ocean. The giant petrels share more than just their size with the albatrosses. On land their diet is dominated bu birds, predominately penguins. Northern Giant Petrel ( Macronectes halli ).

Albatross 145

Albatross Penguins Adoptable Birds 145

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2013

where Duncan saw albatrosses and other tasty pelagics !). Winter birds still linger, but I’ve seen signs of spring migration and will look for more until it’s time to leave. 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 !

New Zealand 150

New Zealand 2013 Albatross Cooking 150

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2011

And the famous Wandering Albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird, nearly 12 feet across in the largest individuals. Four families are often recognized: storm-petrels, albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels , and diving-petrels. Ringer Procellariiformes contains some of the greatest wanderers in the avian world.

Albatross 176

Albatross Penguins Groups New Zealand 176

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2016

Of course it also means that there is only one week left of birding to top up your year list and I am not really expecting to add anything new to my year list over the next week unless the tropical low that is buffeting the north-west of Western Australia throws something our way. It is quintessentially a Christmas bird! Common Snipe.

2016 146

2016 Geese Birds Ducks 146