10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Finally in 1799, the first visitors on this volcanic land were a group of French seal hunters who were after the fur seals that can be found hauled out on the beaches for fur and oil, which almost wiped out the local population of the species. About half of all breeding Wandering Albatross nest on the Prince Edward Islands.

South Africa 263

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

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 213

Birds Albatross Barn Owls Sparrows 213

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. A bit larger than the Netherlands but with less land than Latvia and Ireland, in terms of territory, we rank 126.

Costa Rica 214

Costa Rica Latvia Albatross Netherlands 214

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 258

Costa Rica Parrots Albatross Birds 258

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

BLM land is particularly important for conservation of the Greater Sage-Grouse and other sageland species. NPS also manages a diverse set of lands ( i.e., from the Arctic to the Everglades to the Mojave Desert to the Rocky Mountains ) that are used by many species of birds. Only FWS has the primary goal of conservation.

Virgin Islands 210

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 210

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2022

Even so, we do have some sandpipers and plovers around; there have been recent reports of Surfbirds and various other wading species. Their local guide excitedly confirmed the bird as a Harpy Eagle (only the most dearly wanted species for every birder in Costa Rica), took photos and video, and spread the news.

Costa Rica 190

Costa Rica Eagles West Virginia Albatross 190

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2023

Yet, I was not aware of any of Arjan’s big year updates in English, so I had no clue where he was or how many species he managed to see. After 3 months of South and Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Australia, Arjan’s count stood at 2,060 species. And I wanted to learn about his travels in detail.

Papua New Guinea 249

Papua New Guinea Guinea Suriname South America 249

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

The text goes far beyond just those two birds, however, as Doug works his way through the puzzles presented by the incredibly wide diversity of bird behavior, even within species, citing current research and new and old theories, reasoning out the most likely and unlikely answers. The six middle chapters are my favorite reading.

Science 214

Science Albatross Research Birds 214

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. Not a bad day!

Albatross 158

Albatross New Zealand Fish Breeding 158

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2022

A fairly recent trip turned up Manx Shearwater and fishing boats got pictures of the young Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross that had also been seen in Belizean and Panamanian waters. Do populations of Red-throated Caracara , certain eagles, and other rare species still occur in some national parks? What else is out there?

Costa Rica 258

Costa Rica Birds Albatross Protection 258

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 182

Albatross New Zealand Dolphins Whales 182

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

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 179

Albatross Hawaii Seals Parrots 179

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. Without an albatross how could I torment Corey? A White-capped Albatross! Take that Corey!

New Zealand 100

New Zealand Albatross Cooking Dolphins 100

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. Invasive species , particularly rodents, have long been a problem on the Hawaiian archipelago. Implementing mitigation measures identified for selected species.

Mice 102

Mice Albatross Honolulu Rats 102

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Guiding aside, Howell is a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences and the author of many books, including Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America (Princeton). We have tended to a liberal (= realistic) direction when recognising species.” Well, this is one interesting claim. And now – the photos.

Chile 201

Chile Birds South America North America 201

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2014

In the case of Midway, a National Wildlife Refuge , the offending species is Golden Crownbeard ( Verbesina enceliolides ) , an innocuous-looking flower that’s native to Mexico and the Southwestern United States. They include Black-footed Albatrosses , Laysan Ducks , and roughly 65 percent of the world’s Laysan Albatrosses.

Albatross 188

Albatross Goats United States Japan 188

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. What about incubation shifts?

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

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

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 180

Albatross Penguins Groups New Zealand 180

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

FEBRUARY 3, 2016

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. And while New Zealand has lost many species, it has also been a world leader in working out how to save those that remain. Australasian Gannets.

New Zealand 106

New Zealand Albatross Parrots Penguins 106

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

Additionally, there are still a few regularly-occurring Pacific pelagic species that I have never seen. My lists totaled 35 species, but I did not see everything in the harbor and someone discovered a Manx Shearwater after-the-fact by reviewing photos. An eBird Trip Report consisting of all 11 checklists is here.

San Diego 147

San Diego Los Angeles Cooking North Carolina 147

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. There are two species, rather conservatively named the Southern Giant Petrel and, the star of today’s show, the Northern Giant Petrel. Northern Giant Petrel ( Macronectes halli ).

Albatross 147

Albatross Penguins Adoptable Birds 147

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

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 167

Hawaii Albatross Breeding Species 167

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. And a moulting site.

Penguins 155

Penguins Seychelles Albatross Africa 155

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2014

I actually have many targets, in a way, a I want to see lots and lots, but there is one species that the reason that the trip is even happening, the animal that has been pretty much the top of my animal bucket list for well over a decade. It’s a species that has bedeviled and bewitched me over the years. The African Wild Dog.

Sharks 172

Sharks Leopards Whales Whaling 172

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 207

Alaska Breeding Kenya Africa 207

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 213

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 213

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2015

They are also generally easy to see, especially species that construct huge colonies of woven nests in villages and farms (or even cities). This situation may change as more species become established around the world.

South Africa 154

South Africa Senegal Ethiopia Africa 154

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 181

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 181

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2013

Yes, the same Kaikoura I keep banging on about that is a great place to see albatrosses. Leaving from the harbour on boats were tours to swim with one of New Zealand’s most endangered mammal species, the Hector’s Dolphin. The routine for swimming with Hector’s Dolphins is slightly different to other species, however.

Dolphins 155

Dolphins Sharks New Zealand Albatross 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. Birds New Zealand endemics petrels'

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 170

Albatross Madagascar Breeders Mexico 170

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