10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

This is my best place to pick up species that inhabit, or visit, the border between the Hot Country thorn forest and highland pine-oak forest habitats. It wasn’t the most colorful species of the day. And how am I doing on my species race for the year? But its rump was somewhat bright, I suppose.

South America 252

South America Sparrows Mexico Bears 252

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. One of those shy antbirds. Raptors, Tanagers, and More.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 264

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. Where once there were 13 species of “Darwin’s finches,” there are now 17. I wish I had read this book.

2006 278

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Sea Turtles 278

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

Most years, there are no more than a few dozen reports of this species across the region. 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 Canada, Waxwings are clearly an irruptive species for Mexico.

Mexico 147

Mexico 2020 2012 Parrots 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

(Someday I will get up the nerve to write about the ten, yes, TEN Empidonax species I believe I have seen in my little corner of Mexico. But I am afraid to post my photos of these with IDs, since I am never quite sure I got them right.). Many of these species are common and widespread, making them just that much more challenging.

Mexico 172

Mexico Argentina Experience Experiments 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

Or would be, had I encountered more of them – so far, I have seen only a very small share of the approximately 233 woodpecker species, and got decent photos of an even smaller number – not much more than 10% of all of them. So, writing a post about them is easy.

Woodpeckers 264

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 264

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. the species suffering most from deforestation).

Honduras 253

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 253

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. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Texas 213

Texas North America Alaska America 213

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 237

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 237

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. Pelagic waters being a sort of unexplored unique goldmine with potential to produce sea wanderers from far and away, some of those other birds could also be rare species.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 264

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

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. It is the first bird field guide to every country of Central America (plus the islands governed by those countries).

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

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 264

Virginia Boston North America 2020 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2018

Since he first started walking his property, he’s located a slew of species so exciting that birders are starting to turn up at his doorstep. Nonetheless, a birder’s initial experience in Honduras sets him or her on an inexorable course towards the only species currently named for this gem of a country.

Honduras 182

Honduras Birds Farming America 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 12, 2014

Lovely Cotinga is the flagship species at Pico Bonito, where it is perhaps easier to see than anywhere else within its range. More than 400 species have been recorded at the lodge to date. Central American Pygmy-Owl is another key species at the lodge. However, for me, there were birds to be seen. Photo by James Adams.

Honduras 172

Honduras Monkeys Birds America 172

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 252

Bald Eagle Los Angeles Connecticut Eagles 252

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2014

For one, they are remarkably diverse with a little over 380 species spread over every continent except Europe (only introduced) and Antarctica. Brazil, in particular, is the country with the largest number of parrot species in the world with approximately 84 species. Parrots captivate me more than any other bird family.

Parrots 177

Parrots Brazil Mauritius Dominica 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2011

We will have posts on a variety of individual species of wood-warblers, wood-warbler taxonomy, searches for difficult-to-find wood-warblers, and a host of other topics. Many other non-migratory wood-warbler species are living their lives across the neotropics, doing their best to survive and pass on their genes.

United States 225

United States South America Cooking Family 225

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Larry starts us off right with an owl that makes birders drool: I was able to see and photograph many great birds in 2014 but my Best Bird of the Year would have to be the Great Gray Owl , the largest Strix in North America. The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY. What was yours?

2014 233

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 233

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 183

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 183

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

What species is shown? Though wood-warblers, the mostly brightly colored birds of the family Parulidae, are only found in the New World we felt that birders the world over would be pleased to see a plethora of posts about these striking and sought after species. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

United States 160

United States South America 2011 2012 160

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2017

In a time of little published information about the rainforests of Central and South America aside from scientific journal articles and the works of 19th-century naturalists, the “little green book,” as it was called, became a must-read amongst nature-oriented travelers and researchers.

South America 188

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 188

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2014

Nearly every country or region has an area on its periphery that regularly attracts a tantalizing assortment of vagrants or a set of species that just barely make it over an international border. For others, it is the desire to have a different birding experience from home without needing a passport.

Thailand 171

Thailand Birds 2013 China 171

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I used to live in Botswana, where there are about 450 bird species in an area a few dozen miles from the capital; then somewhat naively moved back to Serbia with mere 250 species around the capital.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

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 263

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 263

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 250

Trinidad South America America Ecuador 250

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2015

That’s how important the lifer experience is and I suspect most other birders who started out young feel the same. Costa Rica has more than 900 birds on the country list but the small size of the territory and easy access to good habitat eventually results in sightings of most resident species. My lifer Arctic Tern !

Costa Rica 150

Costa Rica Birds Pennsylvania North America 150

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2013

I’ve spent a fair bit of time on the ocean on right side of North America. Where the skilled spotter finds needles in haystacks and picks out rarities from more plentiful species. It’s pass was brief and fortunate only for those few who happened to be in the right place at the right time.

San Diego 179

San Diego Los Angeles California North America 179

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2011

The sighting was easily the best I have ever had of the species, and it was in and out of view for about twenty minutes, foraging in small circuits but always coming back to the stand of thick brush where I had first spotted it. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

Tigers 163

Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 163

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Navarro’s exceptional drawings illustrate the species accounts. Forty-eight species. Compare, for example, the species account illustration of the Cuban Trogon with the photo that opens up the introductory chapter. The luxury of space means that each species can be shown from various angles and in distinctive poses.

Cuba 244

Cuba Birds United States 2000 244

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2011

On a trip to Suriname to find and film some of these spectacular species I was blown away by the birding. Suriname has approximately 735 recorded species, with many more to still be added to its total list. From there we embarked on the short hour-long journey to Bergendal Resort , situated right on the banks of the Suriname River.

Suriname 252

Suriname Birds Guyana South America 252

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2013

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel: Pictured above, it is rumored that Band-rumped Storm-Petrel may actually consist of multiple cryptic species. Cory’s Shearwater : There has been much speculation over whether or not Cory’s Shearwater consists of two species; C. An excellent synopsis of the situation is right here at 10,000 Birds.

San Francisco 211

San Francisco Fox Sparrows California 211

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Experiments in the field (the famed Asa Wright Nature Center veranda) involving Bananaquits and bananas came up with numbers ranging from 7 to 16, but a tanager always came along to interfere with Bananaquits’ noisy appreciation of their namesake fruit. (2) Which hummingbird was more beautiful—Tufted Coquette or Ruby-topaz Hummingbird? (3)

Trinidad 240

Trinidad Birds South America Research 240

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2012

Birding the Dry Tortugas in late April has always been high on my bucket-list of the best birding experiences in North America. Day-trips to the Dry Tortugas are of course possible but the best way to experience the islands is on an extended 3-day guided tour. That means I used to be very young. Almost infantile.

Florida 250

Florida Kentucky France North America 250

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Storks are typically viewed as wetland species and whilst some storks are restricted to aquatic habitats, others are not. Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork.

Africa 250

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 250

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2013

Based on The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America , published in 2010, the New Stokes regional guides aim for more portability and ease of use in the field. The Eastern guide covers 545 species and the Western guide covers 636 species. King Eider to the left, Common Eider to the right. Now, on to the books.

Birds 204

Birds North America Groups Falcons 204

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2011

Costa Rica enjoys an international reputation as an iconic birding location, bursting with epic Neotropical species and breathtaking natural attractions. Over 144 different bird species have been spotted on the grounds, including crackers like Lesser Ground-Cuckoo and Spectacled Owl.

Costa Rica 197

Costa Rica San Jose Sanctuary Protection 197