10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

Today is the United Nations World Wildlife Day, a time to celebrate and raise awareness of the living world around us. I remember, several times while motionlessly surveying birds, I found myself being investigated by Striped Field Mice , who would dare to come to sniff me. No, birds are way too smart for that stupid trick.

Wildlife 185

Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 185

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2016

It’s a bang-up breeding year for super-endangered birds! First, wildlife officials in Louisiana announced the first successful wild Whooping Crane nest in that state since 1939. The species, which migrates from the Russian Arctic to Southeast Asia, is down to about 200 breeding pairs in the wild, due to habitat loss and poaching.

Eggs 190

Eggs Louisiana Breeding Asia 190

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2013

Normally she would be living somewhere in Europe or Asia, but she was born and raised in captivity in the United States. She lives with her handler, wildlife rehabilitator Lisa Acton, in upstate New York. But raising an ed bird means you can coochy-coochy them to your heart’s content. Do I love her?” Absolutely.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 174

Wildlife Rehabilitation Raised Eagles Owls 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. This grim scenario is a fact of life for millions of migrating songbirds, raptors, and other birds each year. There aren’t many solutions proferred—the article is really about consciousness-raising—but it’s well worth a read.

Cambodia 145

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 145

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2013

You may not realize it when you look at those bizarre looking waders with the massive bills and the vacant expression, but you’re looking at a group of birds that has inspired humankind for literal centuries. It’s hard not to be taken in with the green-glossy plumage of these highly migratory and social birds.

Birds 223

Birds North America Charlotte New Jersey 223

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

And where all those birds are? This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. And it raises a question: if all the birds are having a party over there, am I in the wrong spot? I am talking 600 or 700+ bird species.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. It’s also about human-owl interaction on an individual level and a wider sociocultural level, and ultimately how we can use all this for habitat and bird conservation.

Owls 224

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 224