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 191

Costa Rica Species Belize New Jersey 191

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

An unfortunate side effect of birding in the developing world, is the amount of habitat destruction you are likely to see. But one tree isn’t going to reverse the damage occuring in Latin America. I now protect the lots Huizaches, which shelter self-sown fruiting plants such as Granjenos and Prickly Pears.

ALA 205

ALA 2016 Free Range Livestock 205

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

For most avian migrants heading south towards Mexico, Central and South America, crossing thru the Arizona desert areas can provide very few water, food and resting areas. The layout of the lake has many small fingers that provide shelter, shallow water and many dense areas of Willow and Cottonwood trees.

Mexico 135

Mexico Tucson Arizona Ducks 135

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2016

The largest hawk in North America weighs about four pounds, so leaving the ground carrying three – let alone twelve – would be aerodynamically (not to mention logically) impossible. All birds of prey are protected by state and federal law,” says Eileen Wicker. “If No hawk can carry off a 12-pound pet.

Pets 240

Pets Barn Owls Kentucky Bald Eagle 240

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2019

Birders know that the pairing of farms and birds represents more than mere bucolic romance – it’s a match borne out of a real avian dependence on these man-made landscapes. Note the two birds flying over the wheatfield on the lefthand side. By the early twentieth century, however, saison was sliding into obscurity.

Vermont 121

Vermont Belgium Farming Europe 121

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

Even if we couldn’t find time to raise the bins at a favorite patch, it only takes momentary glances into the sky and hearing chip notes from the trees to remind us that birds are on the move. A passage of so many birds is always incredible and yet, since many of them fly way up there near the clouds, they are easily overlooked.

Costa Rica 158

Costa Rica South America Tennessee 2019 158

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2012

I know it sounds strange, especially when the folks at Mission San Juan Capistrano are trying to coax them back by playing recordings of the bird’s mating calls. Because I am a local Audubon board member, I was recently contacted by a bird lover who witnessed Cliff Swallow nests being destroyed at the marina where they dock their boat.

San Diego 165

San Diego illegal California South America 165

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

These vociferous little birds can usually be heard throughout the freshwater and saltwater marshes in North America. According to Birds of North America Online , there may be several reasons. References: 1 Birds of North America Online , 2 National Wildlife Refuge Association , 3 Defenders of Wildlife.

Sacramento 162

Sacramento North America Wildlife Defenders Of Wildlife 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

Sitting on a beach under a coconut tree (but not under the very crown, I know that), I am contemplating birding and the meaning of life… Salty breeze comes from the Caribbean, way saltier than any Mediterranean sea breeze. Sergio and I continue to a sloth shelter, where, waiting for the tour, I sit in a café. Or a mammal.

Costa Rica 149

Costa Rica Reptiles Farming Mississippi 149

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

Though I had a couple in mind I never knew that it would be so easy to find such great quotes about such ugly birds. Huddled on their perches, wrapped in shabby vestments, the birds look like a group of balding monks gathered in prayer. They bird. But enough with this intro: on to the quotes! How cool is that?

Turkey 187

Turkey Apes Wolves North America 187

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2012

The Northern Range serves to stabilize the country’s freshwater supply and shelters a terrific diversity of both Caribbean and South American flora and fauna. The latter reason explains why I joined a group of North American birders in an early morning assault on the birds of the Northern Range.

Trinidad 163

Trinidad Stud Turkey Shelters 163

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

The problem of free-roaming cats — and their predation on birds and other wildlife — is hotly contested in communities across the country, and it triggered a lively exchange in the hearing room. And she has a North American bird book that has so far taught her how to recognize a sparrow. … “I understand the objection,” she said.

Feral Cats 219

Feral Cats Feral Cats Minneapolis 219

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

Amongst the assortment of southern hemisphere petrels and shearwaters that travel up to America’s coasts during the northern summer, sometimes in monumental numbers, are one particularly distinctive species. Fortunately we stopped for lunch in a sheltered bay and I recovered in time for my next dive.

New Zealand 186

New Zealand Belize Vanuatu Fish 186

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2013

The species must be listed as a separate, full species by both of the most widely used ornithological bird lists, Sibley/Monroe and Clements. And lastly, I felt it important to consider this final question when deciding on the remotest endemic birds: How likely is it that the species can wander outside of its normal range?

Birds 215

Birds South Africa South America Feral Cats 215

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

That’s because I’d already seen the conclusions contained in a study that Audubon (my employer) was preparing to release, a study about birds and climate change. And this bird won’t be able to expand into new areas either — its expansion potential totals only 1 percent of its current range.

Species 178

Species Science Los Angeles Birds 178

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Birds fascinate us for many reasons. The migration stories of many of those birds is another. Or at stories of a bird like Red Knot B95, twenty-one years old and logging miles that could take it to the moon, and half way back. Typically, at least here in North America, we think of migration as a north-south affair.

Africa 204

Africa Somalia North America Nigeria 204