10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2012

Listservs across the state suddenly lit up with posts about where and how many of these alcids were being seen, with records streaming in from such unlikely places as Dry Tortugas National Park, Key West, Fort de Soto, and as far west as Pensacola — there had been only one previous record of this species in the Gulf of Mexico before 2012.

Florida 209

Florida Cuba 2012 Bahamas 209

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

Soon we were out of the protected harbour and into choppier waters, and here I have to say I suffered for about two hours from the dreaded affliction known as sea-sickness. The final large petrel species is another gadfly petrel, albeit a much larger one than the Cook’s Petrel.

New Zealand 174

New Zealand Albatross 2011 Cooking 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2011

There are are presently thought to be five species of kiwi with a possible sixth extinct species, all of which have suffered varying degrees of range contraction since the arrival of humans. Both these tours are for the Little Spotted Kiwi , the smallest species and one now one mainly confined to offshore islands.

New Zealand 143

New Zealand 2011 Deer New York 143

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2011

But, as with so many other species, these birds have been left to do their own whistle blowing. West Indian Whistling Ducks are the largest of the eight different whistling duck species. They are found in the Bahamas, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos, Antigua, Barbuda and Jamaica.

Antigua and Barbuda 214

Antigua and Barbuda Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Jamaica 214