10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

Last week, I received an email from an American couple that has recently moved to Morelia; they found me right here on 10,000 Birds. Many studies have shown that a life rich in new experiences, and especially learning a new language late in life, can help stave off the onset of dementia. Fame suits me, I must humbly admit.)

Mexico 232

Mexico Birds Costa Rica Alabama 232

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Yet they also bring up questions, which I’m going to talk about right now before diving into the specifics of the guides themselves. Dale Dyer put in years working on his paintings for Birds of Central America , both in the field and in the museum. Two issues came to mind immediately when I examined my reviewer copies.

Costa Rica 227

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 227

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2021

I birded savannas of Southern Africa, I birded India and Central America, and I always missed having a local mammal guide with me. And birders spend a lot of their time watching the tree-crowns and, in the right place, spotting many other tree-dwellers. Yet, those bird guides are hefty.

Madagascar 253

Madagascar Mammals Lemurs Seychelles 253

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2023

What are the best field guides for birds in North America? Many birders keep personal birding lists or life lists, documenting the species they have seen throughout their birding experiences. Analysis : The first and third paragraphs seem right to me, but the second is weaker, in my view.

United States 147

United States North America Birds America 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2019

It’s a rush any new birder experiences: that of every species being a lifer. Once you’ve been around the birding block a few years, your appreciation for the lifer experience deepens greatly. Which is why we all eventually turn to the one way to combine old-birder experience with new-birder opportunities: travel.

Spain 204

Spain Europe Sparrows Mexico 204

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2017

The latest from his pen is Birds of Prey , a hybrid between an identification guide and an essay collection, a book of lore that provides a comprehensive overview of the raptors of North America. Birds of Prey: Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, and Vultures of North America by Pete Dunne with Kevin T. Karlson, $26.00, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

North America 103

North America Falcons America Eagles 103

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

Each chapter focuses on a specific geographic area of penguin population: (1) Antarctica, (2) South Georgia, (3) Falkland Islands, (4) South Africa and Tristan de Cunha, (5) New Zealand and Australia, (6) South America and Galapagos. It is not always easy to get the right color in printed photographs. Press, 2011).

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2020

And while it was to be a work (ministry) trip, I had still managed to schedule it right during the migratory peak along these two major corridors. My one sighting of the little-known Sinaloa Martin outside of summer had occurred on a 29th of February, and I hoped to repeat that experience.

Species 164

Species Mexico Jordan Turkey 164

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2023

I knew he was also a former Marvel comic book writer and editor, but did not know that he also, unsurprisingly, had a history of involvement in LGBTQ and Black rights advocacy. Because being a birder means you experience life through that framework. And, as he did a decade ago, the joys and benefits of birding.

Emotional 228

Emotional Birds Minneapolis Nepal 228

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Algeciras, Spain, to be specific — right around the bay from Gibraltar. More and more people arrived — from all over western Europe, although I seemed to be the only one present from the Americas. The first to turn up were Egyptian Vultures , majestic birds in their own right. This Cisticola was indeed Zitting.

Spain 147

Spain Birds Mexico Eagles 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

.” They conclude that many non-vocalizing Empidonax flycatchers can be identified in the field, but only “when several field characters are used in combination–and after one has gained experience in looking at these characters on singing/calling and captive birds (i.e., known-identity).”**

Los Angeles 225

Los Angeles North America America Species 225

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Galápagos: A Natural History, Second Edition by John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin gives the traveling naturalist the tools needed to fully appreciate and experience the Galápagos Islands. I wish I had read this book. They complement Kricher’s text.,

2006 262

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Sea Turtles 262

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

But I am afraid to post my photos of these with IDs, since I am never quite sure I got them right.). Birders throughout the Americas can experience the chalenges of Gull, Tern, New World Warbler, and Tyrant Flycatcher identification. Not to mention the four Myiarchus flycatchers present in the same area. As is this one.

Mexico 144

Mexico Argentina Experience Experiments 144

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2012

Fortunately, Alan Tilmouth, a beat writer with pelagic experience, expressed an interest in the book as well. 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.

North America 159

North America Albatross America Species 159

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2023

It’s hawk migration time again in North America, time to once again school ourselves in the art of identifying distant silhouettes and remembering the difference between a glide and a soar and a glide-wing flap-glide. Many of the full-page photographs are lovely in their own right, not only as teaching tools.)

2011 100

2011 North America 2005 Eagles 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

In this first installment, I will focus on my impressions and experiences in the highlands portion of our tour. Before finally connecting to the South American continent about three million years ago, Central America consisted of a series of volcanic islands. In short, the mountain birding in Honduras promised a slew of cool new birds.

Honduras 226

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 226

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2021

The female isn’t quite so unreal but is still a cool little bird in her own right. Plumaged like various other small female hummingbirds from North America, the lady Snowcap is pale gray below, pale glittering green above, and with a tail that flashes bits of white.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

The Durango Highway is arguably one of North America’s great birding roads due to the great variety of habitats, the spectacular mountain scenery of the Sierra Madre Occidental, and the numerous Mexican endemics one can target. The birds we observed were nesting right into the cliff face. Photo by Andrew Spencer.

Mexico 201

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 201

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

“ So wrote John James Audubon of the Roseate Spoonbill ( Platalea ajaja ) in The Birds of America , his epochal printed and pictorial account of North American birdlife published in serial form between 1827 and 1838.

New York 264

New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

Oddly enough, it is the Western Bluebird that bears the taxonomic name of Sialia mexicana ; but in my experience, the Eastern Bluebird ( Sialia sialia ) is much more common in most of Mexico. While Michoacán doesn’t offer the spectacular tropical tanagers of Central and South America, those we have are also very colorful.

South America 206

South America Sparrows Mexico Bears 206

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

But in 2020 I personally saw thousands of Waxwings in a dozen or so sites, and every one of my birder friends across the country had a similar experience. And, gee, I do hope I am right. Most years, there are no more than a few dozen reports of this species across the region. This year, the sightings are less, so far. (I

Mexico 147

Mexico 2020 2012 Parrots 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

It is also fascinating to see how similar Old World trogons look to their New World relatives, right down to the same flamboyant color patterns. The Elegant Trogon prefers drier habitats, with a predominance of oaks rather than conifers, and in my experience is much harder to find.

Mexico 194

Mexico Indonesia North America Arizona 194

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2017

North America is aflame with eclipse fever right now, which provides yet another opportunity to wonder what life would be like if the average citizen felt a fraction as much passion for birding as is devoted to countless sports, media, celebrities, fashion, or even the rare astronomical phenomenon.

2017 100

2017 North America Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2018

Of the 300 hummingbird species across the globe, North America only sees fewer than two dozen of them. Many fly through these Texas hotspots, transforming physics into magic right before our eyes! Then, I learned that over 400 species of birds have been identified in and around these islands. Rufous hummingbird, Photo © Robin L.

Texas 187

Texas North America Alaska America 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2020

Kroodsma waited for years for the right opportunity to record its different songs, a “cascade of sweet and liquid notes,” one naturalist said, “like the spray of a waterfall and sunshine.”. Good field guides to bird sounds are certainly available, particularly Nathan Pieplow’s for eastern and western North America.)

Virginia 254

Virginia Boston North America 2020 254

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2021

A nice bird for sure, a bird with an evocative name and one that would be a lifer for many birders from North America, but not the bird we had hoped it to be. And yet there it was, shining white as soft atoll sand, my much wanted lifer White Tern foraging in front of us, foraging next to the boat, even flying right over the boat.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

Here’s a video of Ted Cruz agreeing with the ultra right-wing crazies and promising to grant them their wish. The goals of these national right wing groups seek the handover of federal land to private ownership. What has been the Republican response to this illegal occupation ? www.youtube.com/watch?v=flLFQnW7CUc. v=flLFQnW7CUc.

Hunters 136

Hunters Utah Extremist Agenda 136

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2022

With nine years of experience using it and birding with beginning birders, I would like to update that opinion. This is, in a way, no surprise since it was designed by birders who have used their own experiences in the field to determine what warbler seekers really need. This is a guide for all birders.

United States 229

United States North America Species 2013 229

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

Do you really need to have Kai’s birding experience further detailed not just by month but a level below? In an experiment conducted by renowned ornithologists, they sent out applications for a position as a bird model. This one seems to wonder about whether eating flies is the right lifestyle choice though.

Birds 197

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 197

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

If you are not familiar with the story, it’s about an Anglo-Irish mercenary, Jamie Shannon (played by Christopher Walken), hired to overthrow the regime in a fictional Western African country (it was actually filmed in Belize, Central America) and prior to the real thing, he was doing a reconnaissance trip posing as a “rare birds photographer”.

Belize 241

Belize Birds Africa Dogs 241

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2015

Excellent 10,000 Birds posts have been written about Pico Bonito and Honduras by Corey and Carlos , so I’m going to focus on some of my most memorable experiences. I would have known this right away if I was up to date on my Alexander Skutch. Which is why seeing them was such a great experience. We may have been wrong.

Honduras 256

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 256

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2015

Florida is perhaps the one place in the United States where you can rack up a pretty great list of birds, including some of North America’s most impressive species, simply by walking down the sidewalk for an hour or so. That was largely due to the vagaries of a single rental car and two young children, but it wasn’t so bad.

Florida 184

Florida North America Neglecting South America 184

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

A professional hawkwatcher for many seasons, his passion and knowledge saw him invited to join the board of the Hawk Migration Association of North America in 2013. In my experience non-birders connect with the travel, visiting beautiful places and spectacle of birding and hawkwatching often entails all three.

Bald Eagle 246

Bald Eagle Los Angeles Connecticut Eagles 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

There is a Chinese proverb stating “Laws control a lesser person, right conduct controls a greater one.” However, if out of courtesy one of the other woodpeckers switches the talk to another favorite topic, ants, the Ground Woodpecker is happy to share its experience.

Woodpeckers 245

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 245

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Sure, this is my first trip to North America, but still, who could find fault with 20+ wood warblers in a day? And so when we heard that there were Woodcocks displaying in the Maumee Bay State Park, we naturally jumped on the opportunity to get out there and experience the action live in person. Unsatisfying.

Ohio 193

Ohio North America Birds Owls 193

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2012

The dichotomous republic of Trinidad and Tobago may be something of a cipher to anyone unfamiliar with the point where the Caribbean ends and South America begins. I’ve been privileged to travel somewhat extensively through the Americas, but I still pulled a ton of lifers from the veranda before my first breakfast.

Trinidad 249

Trinidad South America America Ecuador 249

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

Audubon Associate Naturalist, have led this tour many times, through tornados, droughts, questionable restaurants, and, sadly, the advent of fracking, and every one of my friends who has participated over the years has raved about the experience and the birds (in fact, one member of our group was on his third or fourth trip, I lost count).

North Dakota 147

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 147