10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2011

During the filming of this production, I got to experience “dirt hawking&#. There are many examples in the animal world of pack behavior. I have never been one to advocate the needless killing of animals for whatever purpose. Raptors are wild animals that are driven by their instinct to find food.

League Against Cruel Sports 270

League Against Cruel Sports Rabbits Falcons Hunting 270

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2018

This is why the Yellow Warblers and Baltimore Orioles of summer don’t linger to experience October 31st, and even late fall migrants like kinglets and sparrows move to slightly warmer regions. Lacking the benefit of heated shelters, birds must heed that warning or perish. Hummingbirds.

Costa Rica 172

Costa Rica Bats Birds Falcons 172

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2012

But the experience I had this morning put my previous sightings in the shade. The rising sun was behind me, the wind was blowing towards me from the direction of the coyotes and I had been moving quietly because I was stalking a flock of White-crowned Sparrows in which I hoped to find a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

Coyotes 101

Coyotes California Mammals Sparrows 101

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Growing up in central Oregon, allowed me to experience such a diverse amount of habitat, and the wildlife that resides there. Pronghorn Antelope populations once exceeded 30 million animals, but by the turn of the century, was down to just a few small bands. A White-crowned Sparrow is always a beautiful subject!

Sheep 119

Sheep Oregon Mules Livestock 119

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2013

Even people with no other interest in wildlife, who couldn’t tell a sparrow from an ostrich (or even a dolphin from a fish) love dolphins. I had my first swim with Inshore Bottlenose Dolphins in Northland’s Bay of Islands back in 2000, and it was a tripy experience. Which has always mystified me slightly.

Dolphins 157

Dolphins New Zealand Sharks Albatross 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2017

While birders up north are pishing up sparrows, digging the Autumn weekend at Cape May, or twitching vagrants, we are busy with kingbird flocks during our height of migration. Camera traps deep in the forest have recorded Jaguar, Puma, Ocelots, and other animals. I wonder what else is back there?

Costa Rica 170

Costa Rica Birds Parrots Farming 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2015

Conversely, parts of the world that have traditionally been quite dry may experience more rainfall. As the climate warms and snowpack decreases on mountain peaks, habitats (and their plant and animal communities) downslope will inevitably shift higher and higher in altitude to keep up with changing temperatures and precipitation.

North America 227

North America Birds Suffering San Francisco 227

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

A range of animals come to satisfy their need for salt or the soothing effects of the clay along the river banks of the region. The experience is one of the ornithological highlights in the world.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 South America 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

The experience also inspired my column this month at 10,000 Birds, so check that out when you’re done: Meet Suliformes, one of the newest orders of birds.) [.] Another, hands against the animal’s vast side, said… March On Into Spring – I and The Bird #146 Mar 17th, 2011 at 12:37 am [.]

2011 155

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 155

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2018

While some people never overcome this vestigial aversion to sour and bitter sensations, this innate prejudice can be overturned with experience, becoming acquired tastes we learn to enjoy just as much as the more dependable, uncomplicated pleasures of sweetness, salt, and fat. Your move, Budweiser.).

Collecting 100

Collecting St. Louis Dogs Sparrows 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

In some cases someone was blown away by the scenery and thought “this needs saving” In some cases someone thought “there seems to be a lot of animals here, let’s keep things that way” Still others happen because no one had done anything with the land yet and no one wanted the land anyway.

South Africa 160

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

While the jays did catch our attention by way of a smart crest and different shades of blue and gray punctuated by a black necklace and mascara, they were part of our common natural experience, their existence was taken for granted. That’s how we knew toucans in the pre-tablet, pre-smart phone days and who could blame us?

Costa Rica 186

Costa Rica Panama Eating Eggs South America 186

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

For 9 months of the year, this great, bellowing herd can be found in the Serengeti and watching the long lines of grunting wildebeest moving across the plains is truly a remarkable experience. Day upon day can be spent in this vast and productive wilderness of epic proportions without ever feeling that the limits have been reached!

Tanzania 228

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 228

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2011

These bird songs have two aspects, and I oversimplify but not excessively so: A genetically inherited template, usually specific to the song-producing sex, and a learned song that consists of the template shaped by experience as a developing bird hears the adult version of its own song. The top two are individuals with normal song.

Zebras 261

Zebras Birds Humane Raised 261

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? One of the established ways to evaluate self-cognition in animals (including humans) is the mirror test. In the classic test, an animal is anesthetized and then marked on an area of the body the animal cannot normally see.

Birds 197

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 197

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2013

Not a House Sparrow or Common Myna common, common everywhere common, but common here and not really so much so everywhere else common. Honestly, the view is to die for before you’ve even seen an animal or a sip of drink. In fact they behaved like sparrows do elsewhere, coming up to the breakfast tables at the lodge.

Uganda 150

Uganda Congo Birds Africa 150