10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2022

It stops those thousands of migrating birds flying across the Gulf of Mexico and directs them right onto the trees, fields, sanctuaries, beaches along the Bolivar Peninsula, where they hopefully find food and fresh water. And us, the birders who travel here from March to May to worship the birds as they seek to survive.

Houston 213

Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 213

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2019

I couldn’t help thinking this–me, the anthropomorphism hater– as I watched a pair of Philippine Eagles tend their nest, raise a chick, and tear monkeys apart in Bird of Prey: The Story of the Rarest Eagle on Earth , a well-crafted, beautifully filmed documentary with a mission. 1980’s Filmstrip, photo by Eric Liner.

Eagles 203

Eagles Philippines Eggs Birds 203

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2014

Among birds the Egyptian Vulture uses rocks to crack Ostrich eggs, the New Caledonian Crow and Woodpecker Finch (one of several Darwin Finches of the Galapagos Islands), uses sticks to extract grubs from inside a branch. This is similar to the fact that all birds, even first time breeders within a species build identical nests.

Fish 163

Fish Woodpeckers Ostriches Eggs 163

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes, Bonkro, Ghana.

Sierra Leone 268

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 268

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2013

Once again Pied Oystercatcher breeding season is fast approaching in Broome and we can expect the first batch of eggs to be laid within the next few weeks. Where the beach has a reef alongside it on the northern section of the beach the pairs stay together throughout the non-breeding season. It is a spectacular and noisy sight.

Eggs 173

Eggs Breeding Australia Raised 173

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

OCTOBER 4, 2016

British birders are very serious about birding and their birds. This is a very good thing; it means they publish a lot of books about birds (probably more at this point than U.S. This is a very good thing; it means they publish a lot of books about birds (probably more at this point than U.S.

Ireland 145

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 145

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

We here at 10,000 Birds thought this would be a perfect time to look back and figure out what each of us considered our Best Bird of the Year, just like we did last year. Not only did we not expect to see this seabird this far inland, it was a life bird for me! We would like you to join in!

2011 183

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 183

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2019

Author Sherrida Woodley thinks deeply about dearly departed birds. Raised in and around the West Texas steppe country where temperatures reached 100 degrees with regularity, he began life as the Dust Bowl and Great Depression converged. such as California Condors and Passenger Pigeons. He came for the hawks.

Falcons 181

Falcons California Condor Alaska Texas 181

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

This is particularly poignant if the bird has disappeared during the course of my birding days or “on my watch” as I like to think of it. Islands, for various reasons, experience more extinctions than continents (with Africa being the only continent not suffering a bird extinction!).

Madagascar 240

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 240

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2024

So Eduardo set aside the afternoon to show me some of the city, and take me birding in two city parks. Being a westerner — raised in California, and now living in western Mexico — I was perhaps most excited about the migratory birds that breed in eastern North America. Then, around 4:00 p.m.,

Mexico 197

Mexico Birds Raccoons Baltimore 197

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Thus, the cattle we raise for meat and dairy are sometimes called Bos taurus while the extinct wild form is always called Bos primigenius. Some time after the Spanish encounter with the Turkey, birds were brought back to Europe where they were raised and became an important source of food and fancy feathers.

Turkey 203

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 203

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2012

Yes, the warbler formerly known as Dendroica kirtlandii , now Setophaga kirtlandii , is one of those birds that make birders’ hearts pulse quicker and their legs churn faster. Look what happened when the bird made the first of three appearances at the Biggest Week in American Birding at Magee Marsh!

Michigan 230

Michigan Bahamas Endangered Species Research 230

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2023

I recently asked ChatGPT some questions about the best birding locations in the United States and the results were decidedly mixed. Here are the queries and the ChatGPT responses are below: What is birding? What is a “nemesis bird” in birding? What is a “big year” in birding?

United States 147

United States North America Birds America 147

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. I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read.

Owls 213

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 213

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2021

The slate of birds available to the ardent birder in a particular place is a constant cycle of regulars, not-so-regulars, visitors, rarities, and vagrants. I chased birds for a few years when I first got started, but my laziness eventually took over. For the traveling birder, almost every bird is guaranteed to be a new bird.

Birds 240

Birds Falcons Raised Species 240

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2021

While Mike and Corey – fitting for being real celebrities in birding cycles – get invited to far-flung places such as Uganda, minor local birders sometimes at least get invited to places nearby. The birding life. But now back to birds … Little Ringed Plovers also seem to like to breed directly on the road.

Birds 217

Birds Uganda Breeding Rats 217

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

Of course, I jest a bit in the above paragraph because as a sometime New Jersey birder I have birded the Delaware Bay and seen sights such as the memorable image below, in which thousands of Red Knots, Dunlins, and Short-billed Dowitchers fly up as if connected telepathically. You simply cannot bird the Delaware Bay and walk away unaffected.

Delaware 179

Delaware New Jersey Research Eggs 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

They looked out their windows and across their patios and up from their apartment terraces and saw–birds. This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives.

2020 264

2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2020

Field guides listed two subspecies – delicata (which would eventually become the highly migratory Wilson’s Snipe ) and paraguaiae (breeding resident South American Snipe ) – which were extremely difficult to discern from one another in the field. A rehabber friend of mine sent me a photo of the bird asking for an ID.

Trinidad 269

Trinidad Welfare North America Emotional 269

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Well, they mainly feed on birds, which may explain their low popularity. For the White-throated Rock Thrush , Wikipedia gives the slightly puzzling statement “The bird’s population is unknown, but is not increasing or declining.” Even if they look as charming as this Northern Boobook. Unfortunately, it is true though.

Birds 199

Birds China Eggs Owls 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

The experience was marvelous — but it also weighed heavily on me. That’s because I’d already seen the conclusions contained in a study that Audubon (my employer) was preparing to release, a study about birds and climate change. Birds are finely tuned to the climatic conditions that support them.

Species 175

Species Science Los Angeles 2000 175

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Sitta canadensis isn’t just irrupting out of its far northern home but exploding southward, with reports in every southern state except for Florida, including birds on the outer banks of North Carolina, on Grand Isle, Louisiana, in a suburb of Atlanta, and on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Bird bloggers from Wisconsin to Massachusetts.

United States 267

United States Owls Atlanta New York 267

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Beautiful Blue Backyard Bird Beautiful Blue Backyard Bird By Jochen • March 10, 2011 • 9 comments Tweet Share There is a lot of whining associated with colours and Europe’s birds.

2011 162

2011 Birds Deer Europe 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

For those who happen to be faithful followers of posts about birding in Costa Rica, no, you haven’t accidentally browsed to the wrong place. Today, I am writing about another very birdy place and an event that I was very fortunate to have experienced, the Champions of the Flyway Bird Race in Eilat, Israel. Nope, not one bit.

Costa Rica 175

Costa Rica Eagles Birds 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2012

Corey was lucky enough to meet Carlos while birding in Ecuador , where Carlos was dragooned into accompanying the horde of Queens birders for the day, an encounter that somehow didn’t turn him off of all things New York. If you have been out birding in southeast Florida there is a good chance that you have run into him in the field.

Florida 158

Florida Miami Cuba Bahamas 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2011

Each year 120,000 birds visit the island to breed from March through August in burrows that riddle the landscape. A pair of birds in a nesting burrow share the parental responsiblities and change shifts under the cover of darkness. While one bird sits, its mate feeds out at sea for a week or so.

United Kingdom 160

United Kingdom Brazil Eggs Abandon 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2012

It’s that time of year again and birds are flying north in anticipation of summer romance. Not everybody will find love this season so 10,000 Birds have started a special initiative to help birds to shape up and become the best that they can be. Can you help please? What’s that smell?

New York 188

New York Game Birds Raised 188

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

As suggested before, it might be time to get somebody with at least a vague interest in birds involved in working on the online edition of the HBW. Of course, the White-cheeked Starling is even more common in Shanghai and can sometimes be seen in flocks of 20 or more birds. I am sure you are as excited about it as I am.

Birds 130

Birds Tigers Humane Ecuador 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2023

And now for something completely different – birds. That keeps away about 80% of the pesky bird photographers away from the males (though probably also a fair share of the female birds – can’t have it both ways). Mind you, no long tails in this season. Here is a mugshot of a Long-tailed Shrike.

Birds 130

Birds China Taiwan Raised 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Some people read cookbooks though they have no intention of whipping up a mushroom risotto, some people read bird guide books, even when the likelihood of actually seeing the creatures in those guides is remote. It covers 434 species across 9 orders and 18 families of birds. SCOPE & SPECIES ORGANIZATION.

Albatross 279

Albatross Penguins Groups Family 279

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

Any hummingbird in December in stoney Manhattan is a remarkable sight — after all, hummingbirds are such tropical-looking birds… Wait. More than any other member of their tribe, they are equipped to survive the getting-lost experience. What does that even mean, tropical-looking?

South America 157

South America New York Alaska America 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Birds fascinate us for many reasons. The migration stories of many of those birds is another. Or at stories of a bird like Red Knot B95, twenty-one years old and logging miles that could take it to the moon, and half way back. It is a 15,000 km round trip, for a bird that only typically weighs in at about 28 grams, or an ounce.

Africa 197

Africa Somalia North America Nigeria 197

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2011

Mallards , of course, bring new meaning to the term dabbling duck , what with all those wild mallard hybrids and domestic cross-breeds running around. Actually, she didn’t necessarily want to tap my ID skills, such as they are, but the aggregated ornithological genius of the 10,000 Birds readership. Consider the teals.

Ducks 231

Ducks North America Denmark America 231

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2022

In addition, it has over 450 bird species and more than 30 in-country endemics, of which it is possible to see every single species! Where to look for the birds? Birding agencies seem to stick to their announced plans and no news of cancelled tours had reached the bird tourism market.

Sri Lanka 147

Sri Lanka Ghana Uganda Eagles 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

Penguins are also bellweathers of climate change; dwellers of remote areas you’ve (probably) never heard of; creatures who have developed unique, innovative ways of adapting to the harsh environments where they breed and rear chicks and the water environments in which they feed and swim.

Penguins 200

Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

To be precise, “Birding Shanghai from June 10 to June 30, 2022” – but that is even less of an exciting title than the one above. The reason for this post only covering the period from June 10 being that an earlier post, “Revenge Birding”, was about the first 9 days of June. You should try it too.

Birds 187

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 187