10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

Not professionally – these people come in SUVs and probably never recapture their gas money from the fish they catch (though come to think of it, neither do I with my bird photos). This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway). One strange thing about Chongming is the inevitable presence of people fishing. End of side note.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

With the lockdown lasting until the end of May (ironically thus pretty much including the whole spring migration – the divine sense of humor is a rather malign one, I am afraid), June still had the freedom of birding anywhere in Shanghai, not just inside a smallish compound. Accessorizing for birds.

Singapore 147

Singapore Mountain Goats Birds Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2022

Admittedly this has never crossed my mind as being remotely interesting, young birds are generally awkward things, not yet fitting into the sleek and streamlined expectation of the dictionary definition of “bird” Furthermore, thrushes are often underappreciated creatures on their own. Wise creatures.

Trinidad 147

Trinidad Emotional Breeding Cats 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2022

Bird names say much about human perception, they can also give us insight into the people who invented names for official bird descriptions. Sunbittern also works because what else could that bizarre and ancient bird be called? Sunbittern also works because what else could that bizarre and ancient bird be called?

Costa Rica 257

Costa Rica Pennsylvania South America Panama 257

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

But, sometimes an appreciation of birds and birding requires more than a reference book with images of birds and facts about their identifying field marks. There are large avian handbooks and small ‘how-to bird’ guides, and quite a few excellent books of both types have been published.

Birds 114

Birds North America Breeding America 114

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Sure, they’re always a dependable, can’t-miss tick whenever you need them to be there, whether it’s the first day of the year, or the first few minutes of a Big Day or Christmas Bird Count. But there’s no getting around the fact that the starling is likely the most detested bird on the continent – as far as birders are concerned, anyway.

Farming 180

Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2023

After Jason recently asked ChatGPT for birding advice, the management consultant in me – constantly thriving for efficiency improvements – immediately thought of the next step. The Seasonal Spectacles: Shanghai’s birding scene comes alive during the spring and autumn migration seasons.

China 160

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Hannah Buschert was first exposed to birds and birding during a required ornithology course at Oregon State University and she quickly caught the birding bug. This is Hannah’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. Hannah and Erik ready to see some birds! I love to go on cruises.

South Africa 262

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 262

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 203

Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 203

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2015

We assume natural selection has shaped birds to avoid predators. Noticing predators, reacting to them perhaps with an alarm call, and escaping them, as well as other behaviors, keep the bird alive and thus allow it to reproduce. We would expect, then, that natural selection favors birds that are good at these things.

Birds 117

Birds Research Humane Pets 117

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Miami, Florida has a reputation among the birding community for being overrun with exotic bird species. However, the typical birding experience for someone down here also includes a large menagerie of other species such as Orange-winged Parrot , Mitred Parakeet , Egyptian Goose and Nutmeg Mannikin.

Miami 193

Miami Asia Florida Malaysia 193

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2015

The vast majority of you reading this accept it is happening, and for the time being it is caused by humans. So what does climate change mean for birds? Though all birds will be somehow impacted by climate change, I think it is important to note that not all will suffer. Whats in it for birds? Climate Change.

North America 210

North America Birds San Francisco Suffering 210

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

Wildlife centers depend heavily on the advice of veterinarians who work with wildlife, and who often exchange treatments and experiences with each other. Also providing advice were Dr. Jamie Lindstrom of the VCA Northview Animal Hospital in Pittsburgh, and Dr. Erica Miller, formerly of Tri-State Bird Rescue in Delaware.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 191

Wildlife Rehabilitation Wildlife Birds Delaware 191

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. She has contributed many pieces to 10,000 Birds and writes about her birding adventures on her blog, newbirder.tumblr.com. Lots and lots of birds.

Birds 175

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 175

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2013

Its amazing to me that there are still places on earth where wildlife is blissfully unafraid of humans. It was made a National Park in the 1980s and is a major breeding and nesting area for over 30,000 seabirds. The boat-trip over to the island is far from uneventful and the pelagic birding is very rewarding.

Whales 259

Whales Whaling Sharks Marine Life 259

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

I fully realize that my last post was not a bird post in the strictest sense. That’s why I won’t talk too much this time – just the birds. Judging by my experiences with the species, the Black-tailed Godwit’s behaviour is restricted to two aspects. Aspect one is feeding when humans are not around.

Germany 173

Germany Russia Iceland India 173

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2018

Happy Second Day of the New Year, 10,000 Birds friends! I came late to bird feeding. Jim Carpenter is the founder of Wild Birds Unlimited, the popular bird feeder and seed franchise. There is a lot of information out there about feeding birds—web pages, pamphlets from bird feed retail stores and Audubon centers.

Birds 168

Birds New York City Squirrels New York 168

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2014

It is also a good description of the birding in southernmost Florida. However, few realize how unique and how good the birding can be here. A cool climate on one side and wide expanses of water on the others creates isolation as many temperate land bird species seem unable to colonize areas south of Lake Okeechobee.

Florida 171

Florida Miami United States Stray 171

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2015

You (or your child/friend/etc) have just found a seemingly parentless baby bird. Here with the answer(s) is Maureen Eiger, a bird rehabilitator in Roanoke, VA: . Wild bird rehabilitators want bird parents to feed their own babies. Putting a baby bird back in its nest is not always the right thing to do.

Wounded 254

Wounded Rescue Medical Cats 254

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

2014 has been a good year for us at 10,000 Birds. We’ve traveled to lots of places, seen lots of great birds, and met lots of great birders. So, as we’ve done for the last several years we thought we would share our Best Birds of the Year with you. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours?

2014 184

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 184

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2019

Author Sherrida Woodley thinks deeply about dearly departed birds. That summer of 1938, when he was ten years old, Cade read of two brothers, Frank and John Craighead, who wrote of their experiences with falcons in National Geographic. such as California Condors and Passenger Pigeons. The concern possessed him. I knew no falconers.

Falcons 173

Falcons California Condor Alaska Texas 173

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2013

I teach human evolution, and at some point I use a chart showing reversals in the Earth’s magnetic field, which in turn relates to how we date some ancient sites. But also, birds certainly use multiple cues to get around. ” For years, my answer was this: “Well, maybe a lot of them do, nobody said life was fair.

Investigation 189

Investigation 2013 Research Humane 189

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 233

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 233

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2012

It is not the only Catharus thrush with spots and it is horribly disappointing that a bird with such an amazing singing voice would be given such an uninspiring scientific name. Fortunately, the common name nicely evokes a solitary bird in the wild, a fitting name for a bird that one must go out of one’s way to hear.

New York 173

New York United States Breeding Emotional 173

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 177

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. During breeding season, their white plumage turns a delicate pink color, a lovely sight indeed. The Saddle-billed Stork has a similar Africa-wide distribution as the Marabou.

Africa 235

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 235

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2017

For nearly a hundred years, after the eggers, meat-hunters, plume-hunters, and a human-influenced gull population boom, puffins were absent from the island. Though I had seen guillemots a couple of times before I had never seen one in breeding attire and I was smitten. Or perhaps it’s just a bird with cold feet?

Puffins 100

Puffins Eggs Hunters United States 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2011

Anyone who has gone bird watching in North America, however, knows another kind of phoebe, a bold little genus that turns up with remarkable frequency from the arctic circle to the equator. Of the more than 400 tyrannids, as birds in this family are sometimes called, only three belong to the genus Sayornis , the phoebes.

Argentina 218

Argentina United States North America America 218

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Brown Pelicans , and the northernmost Brown Booby breeding colony on this side of the Pacific. And, the birds are awesome. Ringer Anhingas and darters , cormorants and shags , frigatebirds , gannets and boobies , pelicans , and the tropicbirds all share a characteristic found in no other living bird: Their feet are totipalmate.

2011 151

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 151

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Come September most of the summer seabird people had left, but there were a small number of seabirds still breeding and so I stayed behind for three years to continue their monitoring and do the migrant landbird surveys, as well as the Great White Shark surveys. And there aren’t just cool birds rocking up, migratory bats do too.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2019

While the hunting of game with trained birds of prey can be a controversial topic among birders , falconry was a valuable early source of information on birds, and its history, culture, and imagery continue to fascinate bird lovers, as we shall see. Good birding and happy drinking! Three out of five feathers (Good).

2016 126

2016 Portugal Falcons Japan 126

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2013

Especially the bird breeding season, which passes by at the blink of an eye. Travis got to experience things he normally wouldn’t (like spending about 5 hours every day in a pool) and seeing the world famous Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic team (I can post a photo of them right? A Canadian Snowbird inaction.

Abandon 165

Abandon Abandoning Abandonment Eggs 165

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 223

Michigan Bahamas Endangered Species Research 223

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 203

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 203

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2014

Parrots captivate me more than any other bird family. In my experience, parrots form a visibly and numerically important component of the Brazilian bird fauna. In the northeast of Brazil, the dry thorn-scrub caatinga is the home of the endangered Lear’s Macaw with a total population of only 1,100 birds.

Parrots 167

Parrots Brazil Mauritius Dominica 167

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

There were three profound questions my birding group discussed while we birded Trinidad and Tobago, back in December 2012: (1) How many Bananaquits could fit on a banana? (2) 3) What was the best guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago? The bird guide question was a conundrum.

Trinidad 190

Trinidad Birds South America Research 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

Last week a mystery bird from New Jersey rightly caused a fair bit of confusion among birders of the Garden State and beyond. The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into. New Jersey mystery sparrow.

New Jersey 216

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 216