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. There are many dusty side roads in this area, many of which offer productive birding.

Mexico 207

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 207

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

I was wishing I had a birding buddy with me as a mixed flock overwhelmed my abilities. Suddenly, a large bird, which seemed to have a bright yellow breast and black head, flew overhead to a point behind multiple branches. And then the bird was gone. But it wasn’t the day’s first FOY species.

Mexico 200

Mexico Guatemala South America United States 200

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

Memorable encounters with Mammals: Part I Most birdwatchers enjoy seeing mammals, but the trouble with mammals is that they tend to be much more challenging to see than birds. I remember the guide on my first Kenyan birding safari remarking that “birding groups always see far more mammals than those who come just to see animals.

Fur 207

Fur Bulgaria Otters Estonia 207

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

And this doesn’t mean you are obsessed or a little bit too much into birds because keeping track of a year list actually comes with some side benefits. Yeah, many of us living the birding life do so anyways because we can’t help it. Lifers are in caps and the most outstanding species are in bold. Go birding!

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

An expanse of habitat as vast as Murchison Falls NP in Uganda, as excessively generous in beauty and biodiversity, permits endless ways to experience both its birds and animals. The Masindi Hotel holds the distinction of being the oldest and most historic hotel in Uganda and has some terrific birds on premises. Mind boggling, I answer!

Uganda 209

Uganda Senegal Africa Game 209

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2021

2021 is already well underway, are you birding? During anxious times, birding is therapeutic, it brings us back to center, can wipe away the worries and act as a source of mental fortitude. Watch some birds today and see where it takes you. Watch some birds all year long and enjoy the journey, keep a list.

Costa Rica 169

Costa Rica Birds Parrots Woodpeckers 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2020

Going birding is even more of a no-brainer now than before. Many moons ago, when I used to work in the (supposedly) booming petrochemical industry in Trinidad, most of my time was actually spent birding. I racked up a staggering number of life birds in the surprisingly rich surroundings during my four-odd years slaving for The Man.

Trinidad 240

Trinidad Battery Industry Bats 240

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2015

Following some bird call, I walk across the hanging deck bridge. Little by little, that woodpecker-like voice takes me ever further and yet, I see no bird. It is swimming with its body half-submerged (typical for the species and yet, so strange for songbirds) and often diving. The Common Firecrest, (c) Goran Gligorijevic.

Bats 232

Bats Woodpeckers Squirrels Game 232

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

In September, I had the fantastic opportunity to travel to an increasingly popular destination for birding: Honduras. Chris Lotz, the owner of the international bird tour company Birding Ecotours , invited me to join him on a familiarization trip that included several highland sites as well as Pico Bonito Lodge.

Honduras 232

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 232

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

Last weekend, I guided a trip to Laguna del Lagarto for the Birding Club of Costa Rica. Since all sorts of rare species are possible at this remote lowland rainforest site, I was looking forward to this trip for a while. Canopy birds like Blue Dacnis came down for a bite along with a dozen other species.

Costa Rica 142

Costa Rica Nicaragua Eagles Parrots 142

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2017

Birds with white on them are much more likely to take the form of goodies like the Snowy Cotinga , or two species of tityras. Masked Tityra – the most frequently encountered small bird in Costa Rica with white plumage. The Caribbean slope of Costa Rica also differs from the islands in having a lot more bird species.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Bats 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2017

Members of the genus Pachycereus , there are a couple of species which are quite prevalent here on the southern Baja. The Elephant Cactus , puts out a white tubular flower that open from late March, until early, June, and are visited by nectar feeding bats at night and many birds during the day. First the Gila Woodpecker.

Elephants 110

Elephants Woodpeckers Squirrels Shelters 110

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2018

I have my bird books, field guides and reference material out where they can be gotten to in a moment’s notice. I even have something of a back yard, which I have already made very “Bird” friendly with hummingbird feeders, suet block holders, wild bird seed dispensers, and a bird bath.

Tucson 113

Tucson Costa Rica Arizona Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2022

8 of them sent 153 lists, noting 645 species of bird across 7 countries (Mexico, UK, USA, Serbia, Australia, Costa Rica, Colombia). It has not resulted in extraordinary numbers of sightings personally, but the beats have been busy on their respective patches and have sent me their lists to collate. The year list finishes at 1628.

Sparrows 251

Sparrows Woodpeckers Parrots Owls 251

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2017

Good choice, the birding is fantastic! If not, I hope the following tips will convince you to come on down to this easy birding paradise: 100s of bird species are closer than you think. Given all that apparent awesome habitat, we can’t help but wonder where the heck all those birds are (!)…

Costa Rica 124

Costa Rica 2017 Birds West Virginia 124

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

They birded 7 countries during August and recorded 542 species. The year list remains sluggish at 1489 , but the life list received a boost from the eBird taxonomy reshuffle and now includes 4076 species. Stay vigilant and safe. 10 of the beats have submitted 124 checklists which are collated below for your perusal.

Woodpeckers 221

Woodpeckers Sparrows Blackbirds California 221

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

11 beats have been out this month and have submitted 136 checklists from 7 countries ticking 634 species. 8 Lineated Woodpecker – Dryocopus lineatus. 76 Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus. 115 Eurasian Green Woodpecker – Picus viridis. 207 Rufous-winged Woodpecker – Piculus simplex.

Woodpeckers 226

Woodpeckers Sparrows Parrots Blackbirds 226

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

Last weekend, I went on a birding binge. I spent two full days where the birding was near constant, and, just to keep the binoculars from being neglected, topped it off with another half day of birding on our drive back from Cano Negro, Costa Rica. Like most of my birding weekends, this one began somewhere in the Central Valley.

Costa Rica 133

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 133

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2018

The pressure is on if you can only get certain species during the first month of the year but if you just want to add any old birds to the year list, everything is fresh! Since I’m in no big hurry to reach any number of species in 2018, my year birding is going to be a fresh one hopefully touched with a good dose of Zen.

Costa Rica 173

Costa Rica Birds Parrots Woodpeckers 173

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2021

Lock downs and restrictions have curbed our birding, so if you can summon any blessings to mind, count them instead. December’s beats found 609 birds after submitting 116 checklists from 8 countries (USA, UK, Costa Rica, China, Mexico, Serbia and Australia). Corey was far and away the most regular contributor.

2020 244

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Parrots 244

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2014

Especially if you can fit in some birding? But others actually do some birding, and they paved the way for this Great Ornithologist to do a little bit on a recent vacation to Todos Santos. Of course, the town also boasts some very fun birding. What better way to start the year than with a visit to Mexico?

California 237

California San Jose Birds Mexico 237

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

The majority are clearly Mallards , followed by Garganeys , with one and possibly more Green-winged Teals , also Ferruginous Ducks … Surprises among them are one Common Shelduck , a species that most likely breeds some 15 mi from here (and my first shelduck of the year) and an even greater surprise: two Eurasian Wigeons. and one ad.).

Serbia 181

Serbia Protection Eagles Ducks 181

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2021

9 beats from 8 countries (Australia, USA, UK, Serbia, Costa Rica, China, Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico), shared 138 checklists for 703 species. The year list to date is 1015 species and 7 have been added to the life list ( 4059 ) from Costa Rica, China and Trinidad and Tobago. 273 Acorn Woodpecker – Melanerpes formicivorus.

Woodpeckers 200

Woodpeckers Sparrows Ducks Parrots 200

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 251

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 251

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2021

Our brave beats have been putting themselves at risk for your vicarious listing pleasure and 10 of them submitted 151 checklists for 692 species, 2 of which made it onto the life list. Please be careful, Corvid is still out there. Marsh Grassbird and Rufous-faced Warbler come to you all the way from China and bring the life list to 4061.

Sparrows 163

Sparrows Woodpeckers Blackbirds Ducks 163

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2019

A new year begins and last year’s bird list gets archived. It’s a fresh start, a time when we can start counting once again to see how many birds we can find over the next 12 months. To surpass a challenging number of species, the planning, the conniving for major birding should have begun back in the past, in 2018.

Costa Rica 113

Costa Rica 2019 Parrots Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Which, naturally, got me to thinking about the newly erected order Suliformes, a development I mentioned in my December column, 2010′s Top 10 Developments in Bird Taxonomy and Systematics , but which I thought deserved further examination, for it’s one of those stories that defines the era in which we are living and birding.

2011 157

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

My first birding trip ever was to Arizona. I saw a lot of birds, learned a lot about birding (including the fact that I had lousy binoculars), and gained good birder friends. I had a list of birds I had missed and a list of birds I needed to see again—second lifers I call them. At least for birders.

Arizona 104

Arizona Lovebirds Phoenix New Jersey 104

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2015

You may not have heard about the Florida Bonneted Bat (Eumops floridanus) , and that is fine, not many know this bat even existed. This bat is rare and range-restricted in South Florida, which are some of the reasons it was recently listed as an endangered under the Endangered Species Act. ounces, a body length of 6.5

Bats 167

Bats Florida Endangered Species Cuba 167

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2018

We strike up a conversation, and find out that his name is Abner , and he just so happens to be the son of the owner, and is very interested in birds. He quickly starts pointing our different species that are all around us, with exceptional and obvious knowledge. Finally at about 2:30 we packed it in, and headed back down the mountain.

Costa Rica 113

Costa Rica Falcons Mexico Groups 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2020

They contributed 150 lists accounting for 1032 species and more than 36,000 individual birds. Thus 100 species were missed by the time he woke up and noticed that eBird had reset the counters at midnight(do you guys have nothing better to do?). Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve.

2019 186

2019 Chile Texas Sanctuary 186

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2022

Over the past couple of weeks I have spent some time exploring this section of my home island and have come to realize its tremendous potential in terms of birding. There aren’t many places in the world where one can observe rainforest-dependent species against the stunning blue backdrop of the ocean. Crimson-crested Woodpecker.

Trinidad 264

Trinidad Woodpeckers Bats Venezuela 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2023

When you have birded a single area as much and for as long as I have birded Michoacán, it becomes progressively harder to find first-time species (“lifers”) there. I had seen several species turn up in new and unexpected places there, but none of them were birds that I had never seen before.

Bats 130

Bats Mexico ALA 2020 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

The trend at this time of year is a downturn in shared lists and birds reported, nevertheless, 12 (is this a record?) beats have still managed to share 82 checklists and accounted for 737 species. Black-cheeked Woodpecker – Melanerpes pucherani. Red-bellied Woodpecker – Melanerpes carolinus. 01 Jun 2019.

2019 124

2019 Jamaica Eggs Woodpeckers 124

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

During July, 11 beats birded 11 countries (USA, UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Japan, UAE, Mexico, China and Saudi Arabia) and submitted 82 checklists. They accounted for 562 species at this sluggish time of year. Acorn Woodpecker – Melanerpes formicivorus. Pygmy Woodpecker – Yungipicus kizuki. ????–???

2019 122

2019 Sparrows Woodpeckers Idaho 122

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

14 countries were birded this month by 13 beats; a record participative effort! 172 lists were shared and 1004 species were seen, both records for October, so well done beats! Bearded Woodpecker – Chloropicus namaquus. Chestnut-colored Woodpecker – Celeus castaneus. Lake Panic Bird Hide. has reached 54.

2019 124

2019 China Battery Jamaica 124

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2021

Whether it is birding tourism or simply spreading awareness about biodiversity, it is always with the aim of getting us humanoids to treat nature a little (ideally, a lot) better. As a rule, any tree which sprung up at the fenceline was left alone – as it was highly likely it was planted there by bird droppings.

Opossums 264

Opossums Barn Owls Hunting Reptiles 264