10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

These lands support countless birds, either year-round, as migratory stopovers, or as breeding grounds. BLM land is particularly important for conservation of the Greater Sage-Grouse and other sageland species. For example, most of the world’s Black-footed and Laysan Albatross and Ashy Storm-Petrel breed on these islands.

Virgin Islands 203

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 203

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2022

Even so, in the short term, it can be hard to accept that hundreds of species are close to being extinguished from this irreplaceble tapestry of life, that hundreds more are headed for the same eventual abysmal stop. We would see how species that used to be common, even abundant, became remnants of their former, robust populations.

Costa Rica 251

Costa Rica Parrots Albatross Birds 251

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 176

Albatross New Zealand Dolphins Whales 176

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

Anyone that has read my posts before knows I love Kaikoura and the amazing people at Albatross Encounter. This species is best seen at Kaikoura , but they do disperse after the breeding season, so I didn’t see any when I dropped by at Easter. Salvin’s Albatrosses were nice to add to my year list.

Albatross 157

Albatross New Zealand Fish Breeding 157

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

You can’t say the same about migration: you can’t say that every book about birds is necessarily about migration, for the simple reason that only about 4,000 bird species migrate (with some 1,800 of those traveling long distances). (Well, purely physical attributes play a part, too: they’re pretty good looking.).

Alaska 200

Alaska Breeding Kenya Africa 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

With 500 pages, this guide is a bit on the heavy side, but still not too much, having in mind that half of the region falls into the tropics and the edition is dealing with almost a thousand species (989 to be exact). Distribution maps show the relative abundance of a species in the region and also indicate resident or visiting status.

Africa 264

Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2012

Buller’s Albatross ( Thalassarche bulleri ) and Cape Petrel ( Daption capense ) at Kaikoura. The focus of today is one of the guys above, but since I have already done a story on Buller’s Albatrosses before it is going to be about the other guy. This post is not about albatrosses!

New Zealand 158

New Zealand Albatross South Africa Brazil 158

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. It’s not often that we have the opportunity to glimpse the home life of albatrosses, nor of any seabird species. Technology to the rescue!

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

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. And species-level taxonomy of the tubenoses remains a great frontier for study and discovery.

Albatross 178

Albatross Penguins Groups New Zealand 178

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

They are, I think, the most numerous species of seabird in the tropical Pacific I haven’t done a post on yet. Their name in Hawaiian is ewa ewa, literally “cacophony”, and another name for the species is wideawake tern, which is how they’ll leave you at first. If not, then certainly the loudest.

Hawaii 166

Hawaii Albatross Breeding Species 166

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2011

Although the islands are a cramped home to 18 species of seabird, the dominant and most charismatic of these are the two species of albatross, the Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses. There was one young Black-footed Albatross that was apparently not planning on going quietly into the dark night, however.

Albatross 177

Albatross Hawaii Seals Parrots 177

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2012

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters The commonest of the two shearwater species you can find on the island, this species has burrows all over the place. They are also one of the more vocal species on the island, braying like lost souls under the house we lived in. Laysan Albarosses Last but by no means least are the Laysan Albatrosses.

Albatross 126

Albatross Hawaii Japan New Zealand 126

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2018

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to some of the largest assemblages of breeding seabirds in the United States. 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. They are also disease vectors.

Mice 102

Mice Albatross Honolulu Rats 102

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Why are these issues?

Costa Rica 206

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 206

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2015

Corey asked that I didn’t post any albatrosses today, which suits me since I didn’t do a pelagic trip and thus didn’t see any. African Penguins, or Jackass Penguins as they are sometimes known, are one of those species of penguin you’ll find away from the frozen wastes of Antarctica. Boulders Beach.

Penguins 155

Penguins Seychelles Albatross Africa 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

It is one of several species of Procellaria petrels found in New Zealand, and several more that are found in the southern hemisphere. The species is somewhat unusual in that it is one of the few procellariids that still breeds on the mainland of New Zealand.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Breeders Albatross Mammals 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2012

If you’ve read my posts before you’d know I’ve written at length about the devastating effects of introduced mammals in New Zealand, and also of the ways that New Zealanders have been working to save their species from those same mammals. Spread the word and support the project if you can at Million Dollar Mouse !

Mice 158

Mice New Zealand Albatross Mammals 158

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

The species ranges widely across the Pacific, as its scientific name suggests, from the Revillagigedo Islands off Mexico to the Japanese Bonin Islands to New South Wales in Australia. In the air you can see the wedged tail that gives the species its name. I’ll do a post on this special little shearwater later on.

Albatross 169

Albatross Madagascar Breeders Mexico 169

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

But, I did take many photos, and used the book, in spurts during the trip and more closely afterward, to identify three seabird species, two expected (Sooty and Black-vented Shearwaters) and one a surprise. It does not include near-shore, coastal species, like Brown Pelican, Elegant Tern, and Harbor Seal.

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Whales Whaling Porpoises 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2011

Last week I introduced the Great Frigatebird , one of five species of man-o-war bird. I got rather carried away showing all the plumages you can see around a breeding colony, which means I had to split my post on the species into two. They are capable of covering great distances, perhaps like an albatross.

Albatross 162

Albatross Birds Hawaii Philippines 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

In particular the South Island destination of Kaikoura is world-renowned for the flocks of albatrosses and giant petrels floating right off the pelagic boat, and the ease of the trip makes it a must-visit for any visiting birder. The final large petrel species is another gadfly petrel, albeit a much larger one than the Cook’s Petrel.

New Zealand 174

New Zealand Albatross 2011 Cooking 174

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

It was a Benguela Nino year, and pelagic seabirds were in super-abundance in the south eastern Atlantic, with the total of species by variety and number exceeding all expectations for the birders on the inaugural trip as we pitched and wallowed about in the rolling swells on our way out to the trawling grounds.

Albatross 178

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 178

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

That’s why I went for an albatross, because it wasn’t my BBOY, but it would at least tweak Corey. The scope is to give you the illusion you might be able to work out the species). My first view of this amazing species! Note bonus swift in background (no idea what species). Storm’s Stork.

2013 172

2013 Birds Rhinoceros Thailand 172

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2013

I once worked with banders who used to use the ratio of the lengths of the primary projections (or some other voodoo like that) and an alchemical tome known as the Pyle Guide to separate some species. This spoke very clearly to me that people who claim to be able to separate these species in the field were either birding gods or delusional.

New Zealand 162

New Zealand Albatross Breeding Species 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2015

However, that doesn’t mean that the bird species in question is necessarily endangered. The same goes for some bird species commonly encountered by many an American and Canadian birder. Three of the main candidates are Waved Albatross, Peruvian Booby, and Inca Tern. A rare bird is one we don’t see very often.

Costa Rica 161

Costa Rica Birds Panama Sparrows 161

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2012

You’ll need to find yourself an albatross. Gratuitous Black-browed Albatross photo ( Thalassarche melanophrys ) not engaging in dancing Albatrosses are the longest lived of an already long lived order of birds, the petrels, and are in fact among the longest lived of all birds. So what is going on?

Albatross 203

Albatross Raised Breeding Rights 203

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

ALWAYS assume there is some other bird species in there that you have not found yet. Here is a flock of endangered species. Some birds breed in flocks, at least in part to avoid predation. This is my flock of Laysan Albatross , on Midway Atoll. Could a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper be mixed in with that flock of Pectorals ?

North Dakota 161

North Dakota LACS Oakland Falcons 161

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2016

In addition to splits, selected rare visitors have been added (Lesser Sand-Plover, Zenaida Dove, Red-vented Bulbul and African Collared-Dove are some of the species new to the East book, Streaked Shearwater, Stonechat, Red-flanked Bluetail and Japanese White-eye are some of the West adds), and selected exotics.

North America 155

North America 2003 Birds America 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

Humboldt and Del Norte Counties offer top-knotch birding, and a suite of species that can’t be found in the rest of the state. Hawaiian Petrel has become an annual visitor in recent years, and albatross are more abundant in this part of the state. There are plenty of desert species to see here as well. Arcata, CA.

California 194

California San Diego Birds Oakland 194

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

to the ongoing conservation of breeding Lesser Flamingos at Kimberley’s Kamfers Dam to the Albatross Task Force, which works with fishermen to find solutions to seabird bycatch (birds caught in fishermen’s nets). We observed far fewer Lesser Flamingos, a near-threatened species. And then there were the Flamingos.

South Africa 252

South Africa Africa Leopards Penguins 252

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

(Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike) Dunedin You don’t have to go very far to see spectacular seabirds in this southern city, the adjoining Otago Peninsula is home to the only mainland colony of albatrosses in the world. Image by Dunedin NZ, Creative Commons.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Birds 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

For mankind to snatch away a species’ very existence is wrong on so many levels that I can’t begin to explain them. However, despite our best efforts to wipe them off the face of the earth, some of the more vulnerable species have managed to hang on. this species breeds. this species breeds.

Albatross 199

Albatross Endangered Species Geese Alaska 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

The section South Georgia Wildlife describes 65 species of birds, 20 species of sea mammals, nearly 60 species of insects, and more than 40 species of flowering and nonflowering plants. In addition to the photo below, of a Black-browed Albatross and its young, a full-page photo shows adult and juvenile birds in flight.

Georgia 173

Georgia Penguins Wildlife Whales 173

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2012

Howell continues his tradition of giving clarity to what most birders find intimidating with Petrels, Albatrosses & Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide , just published by Princeton University Press. My photo above of Galapagos Albatross (also known as Waved Albatross) shows the nostril tubes on the side of the bill. (In

North America 158

North America Albatross America Species 158

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

At Sea With the Marine Birds of the Raincoast opens with the unexpected appearance of a Laysan Albatross. We are all suckers for an albatross, at least in the United States. The author, conservation biologist Caroline Fox, is observing the albatross’s shadow to the side of the boat. Do I need to say anything more?

Fox 100

Fox Albatross Geese Bald Eagle 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2017

There are also entries for “ albatross ,” “ dove ,” “ eagle ,” “ egret ,” “ flycatcher ,” “ gull ,” “ grebe ,” “ hummingbird ,” “ loon ,” “ murrelet ,” “ shearwater ,” “ sparrow ,” “ swallow ,” “ tern ,” “ thrush ,” “ woodpecker ,” “ wren ,” and so forth. Many individual species get an entry too, though they are generally not capitalized.

Albatross 103

Albatross Bears Ducks Bald Eagle 103