10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2018

To celebrate spring migration, I usually review an exciting new bird book. You can blame the nice people at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, who took it upon themselves to send me a review copy of the Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Southeastern North America by Seabrooke Leckie and David Beadle. Moths are more than bird food.

North America 100

North America America Oklahoma Missouri 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2020

For bird books, we mean – reference works and field guides, books of essays and reminiscences, novels, and works on birdsong and other specialties. In any event, there is no better judge of potent potables in the birding world, no better writer about them, than Tristan Lowery, in his charming and unique “Birds and Booze” essays.

2020 205

2020 Birds North America Italy 205

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

I was going to have something for you this month about the dinosaur-bird thing, but I never got to it. The potpourri covers some interesting bird related science of the last few weeks, and the promise is this: I’ll get to that other stuff soon, I promise! One of the birds most affected by this is Cassin’s Auklets.

Science 151

Science Iraq Research Birds 151

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2019

In the birding world, May is the beautiful time. With birds bedecked in their breeding best and filling the air with song, this is migration at its loveliest. A wonderful variety of bird species are waiting to be seen and among them are many a birder’s favorite avian group, the wood-warblers. Habitat at Las Brisas.

Costa Rica 188

Costa Rica Species Belize New Jersey 188

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

And apart from local people, primate researchers sometimes spot it, but it is a species seen by fewer than ten living birders. This book is essentially about those birds that breed on the continent south of the Sahara, a topic few birders are familiar with. Some are incredibly rare and hard to find.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2015

A new paper out this month attempts to paint the most comprehensive picture yet of the origins and diversification of the American sparrows, wood-warblers, blackbirds, cardinals, tanagers, and their kin, an enormous group of birds more than 800 species strong. The paper is by leading researchers F. Keith Barker, Kevin J.

Sparrows 259

Sparrows North America South America Blackbirds 259

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2013

Many, many things happened in the area of bird science this year, so this review can not be comprehensive. But I’ve compiled a sampling of this year’s news and events for your edification. 01–15 Who could forget the catfish that figured out how to eat birds ? 11–14 Strides were made in understanding bird migrations.

Science 191

Science 2013 Elephants Birds 191

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

With the breeding colony concentrated on one small island this species is vulnerable to a catastrophic weather event. These factors have caused the IUCN to rate this bird as “Near Threatened” 2. You know what one of my favorite things is about bird blogging? www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUBX_tlHySc. v=FUBX_tlHySc.

San Francisco 159

San Francisco North America Seals Sanctuary 159

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

Are seabirds the last frontier of bird identification? They say so right here in the Preface of Oceanic Birds of The World: A Photo Guide —seabirds are “some of the most challenging of all birds to identify.” Which makes the publication of Oceanic Birds of The World: A Photo Guide a significant and happy event.

Albatross 164

Albatross North America Birds Groups 164

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Non-bird watchers without binoculars and experience are notoriously bad sources of information. In any event, by mid summer or so, the babies are not so small and more or less do OK on their own and hang around the nest. But now there is some research on that. Every now and then you see an Eagle and a Loon interact a bit.

Humane 212

Humane Eagles Investigation Research 212

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert).

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2013

The most flamboyant of all hummers, the Marvelous Spatuletail will be one of the many endemic bird highlights along the route of the Second International Birding Rally Challenge in Peru. I can’t convey how thrilled I am about the upcoming International Birding Rally Challenge in Peru. Photo: Courtesy of Dubi Shapiro.

Peru 182

Peru 2013 Louisiana Birds 182

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. The book focuses on two listing events: her 2012 Louisiana Big Year and her 2016 Louisiana 300 Year. ’ What was left to write about? ” I wondered.

Louisiana 264

Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Birding for the Curious: The Easiest Way for Anyone to Explore the Incredible World of Birds by Nate Swick brings birding back to its roots—a simple, joyous way to enjoy nature using our eyes, ears, hands (for sketching), and brain. There are now no excuses except a lack of curiosity. And, nobody wants to admit that.

Birds 263

Birds North Carolina North America Owls 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2015

So what does climate change mean for birds? Though all birds will be somehow impacted by climate change, I think it is important to note that not all will suffer. As deserts expand, birds suited to arid climates may be just fine. Whats in it for birds? Well…it means everything.

North America 222

North America Birds San Francisco Suffering 222

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

New Year’s resolutions from birding friends are starting to trickle in as I write this review. It is the last day of 2015, time to select the bird of the year past and set goals for the bright open future, when everything is new again. The process is called “Wide-angle birding: Be the bird, see the bird.”.

Birds 190

Birds Groups 2015 North America 190

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2011

The Beat Writers at 10,000 Birds are perhaps the single greatest conglomeration of nature writers ever to be assembled in the history of the internet. We are pleased to announce that such a stellar crew of scribes has yet another impressively talented member interpreting the natural world for the readers of 10,o00 Birds.

Brazil 160

Brazil Venezuela Iowa Guatemala 160

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

Bird blogging in May always gives me the creeps. This ridiculous focus of the Birding Internet on North American wood-warblers is boring on a quiet day and highly annoying during peak migration. It visits bird feeders, making it a worthy spark bird to new birders as they may see it closely. And do they ever try so hard.

Sparrows 223

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 223

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

I recently asked whether Puerto Rico should be part of the American Birding Association’s ABA Area. Both Puerto Rico and the USVI have active birding communities that are currently excluded from full membership in the ABA family. Although different territories, they are nearby and share many of the same birds.

Puerto Rico 160

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Hawaii United States 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2013

Unlike the House Sparrow, there was only one successful introduction event for the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (sometimes called the German Sparrow to avoid confusion with the American Tree Sparrow). This event took place in April of 1870, in Lafayette Park in St. The birds were not in their appointed backyard.

Sparrows 167

Sparrows St. Louis Kansas City Kansas 167

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2012

Yes, the warbler formerly known as Dendroica kirtlandii , now Setophaga kirtlandii , is one of those birds that make birders’ hearts pulse quicker and their legs churn faster. Look what happened when the bird made the first of three appearances at the Biggest Week in American Birding at Magee Marsh! photo by Lynn C.

Michigan 236

Michigan Bahamas Endangered Species Research 236

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Some time after the Spanish encounter with the Turkey, birds were brought back to Europe where they were raised and became an important source of food and fancy feathers. The one case that could have been an actual Turkey was a bird spotted in Honduras, where they may or may not have been, by our friend Christopher Columbus.

Turkey 207

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 207

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

A short summary of events described in this former blog post of mine: We are talking about the thrush called Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula , not the American Icterids. This thrush is extremely common in urban and suburban Germany and one of the most conspicuous bird species here, comparable to the American Robin in North America.

Germany 161

Germany Blackbirds 2006 Denmark 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / The plovers of Estero Lagoon, Florida The plovers of Estero Lagoon, Florida By James • March 8, 2011 • 1 comment Tweet Share For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by shorebirds.

Florida 196

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 196

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

I spent the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in the usual post-hurricane activities—looking for storm birds, making sure my loved ones were o.k., trying to grasp the enormity of what had just happened, and reading this book, The Feathery Tribe: Robert Ridgway and the Modern Study of Birds by Daniel Lewis. And, draw birds.

Collecting 151

Collecting Illinois United States Science 151

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

This is in addition to the many articles and exhibits and even film devoted to the bird, one of the few species whose death was witnessed and noted down to the exact day, Tuesday, September 1, 1914 (though there is some question about the exact time). We have a lot of source material.

2014 161

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2014

The result is a nature lover’s paradise rich with mountains, beaches, and birds. Lots and lots of birds! Though my trip wasn’t dedicated exclusively to birding, that was part of my daily routine and sometimes the focus of my day. Birding Tai Po Kau/Mai Po/Long Valley. Victoria Peak/City tour/Kowloon Park.

2014 222

2014 Eagles Asia Groups 222

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2012

As an aside, I well remember the time that Binford came to our quaint little department at Harvard to meet with Isaac and his research team (us) to sort out this difference in understanding of human evolution. I did do some research on this topic, working with others. So, we want to build lots of them.

Humane 165

Humane Lions Buffalo Hunting 165