10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

I truly do hope I am not tiring 10,000 Birds’ readers too much with my obsession with Michoacán’s ongoing drought, the disappearance of Lake Cuitzeo (Mexico’s 2nd largest lake, in normal years), and our own micro-endemic Black-polled Yellowthroat. But obsessed I am. Had I thrown a rock, I would undoubtedly have hit one.

Mexico 229

Mexico Investigation Science Experience 229

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2020

In the era of digital cameras and social media, images of birds are easy to come by. Even photos of the rarest of birds can be found, even heart-wrenching images of bird species that are no longer with us. Species like the Gyrfalcon , the aerial powerhouse of the tundra, of stunning, breeding-plumaged May warblers.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Birds Species Woodpeckers 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

But it seems the birds like this habitat, probably as this is a rare more open area on these otherwise mostly heavily forested hills. The monastery is quite large compared to a bird guide (Bella from Alpinebirding on the left-hand side). And compared to birds, for that matter. So nice they named it twice, anyone?).

Birds 227

Birds Germany India 2018 227

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

For several years I lived and birded in the south of Africa , and still have my battered second edition (1997) of the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, the most trusted local field guide. This region is so far from the northern breeding grounds that there are no migratory corridors to show.

Africa 264

Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2023

The area is one of the most important in Greece for birds, comprising more than 270 species. The best birding season here is the winter when waterbirds come to overwinter in those lagoons, followed by migratory seasons and, to a lesser extent, breeding season. Previous stage: Birding Lake Kerkini Now, I am done.

Greece 198

Greece Pelicans Birds Otters 198

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2020

That still leaves 11 Warblers that breed in Michoacán. But my experience suggests there is a fair amount of geographical overlap between the two ranges in my area. Like the Common Yellowthroat , the Yellow Warbler breeds no further south than the central Mexican highlands. It does breed in the U.S. But do they warble?

Mexico 349

Mexico Honduras South America America 349

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

MAY 28, 2015

What do you think makes for a good bird hide? I have asked myself that same question many times over the last six months, until last week, when I was involved in an opening ceremony of five new bird hides at the Palic Lake, by the town of Subotica in the very north of Serbia, along the border with Hungary (all photos are from that area).

Serbia 254

Serbia Birds Spain Hungary 254

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 1, 2024

Most serious bird photographers dislike taking pictures of birds wearing rings (or what on the other side of the Atlantic you call bands). I can sympathise, as a shiny new ring, clamped to a bird’s leg, rarely enhances its portrait. The information I received didn’t indicate the age of the bird.

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Iceland Morocco Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Can you remember any birding movie before Schrodinger’s Cat? For me, the only “birding” movie that I knew of were the Dogs of War (1980). I knew about the movie since my early birding days although it was more than ten years later before I saw it. He may have been looking for the best way to sabotage a power supply, right?

Belize 241

Belize Birds Africa Dogs 241

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 Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2024

And if you like birding, it’s a good place to spend time before or after meetings and explore. Late autumn 2022, I decided flying in a day early to do some weekend birding. It was David’s first time birding. Now it was a bit lighter, diurnal birds became vocal. A weekday would be better for timid birds.

Parrots 167

Parrots Woodpeckers Industry Fast Food 167

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

If you like birds on posts, if seeing “little brown jobs” posing nicely in the distance as you drive or walk along a dirt road only to have it fly away as you approach makes you deliriously happy, then North Dakota is the place for you. I wanted to see prairie birds and I wanted to experience a new state.

North Dakota 147

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 147

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 226

Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 226

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2017

June may be the gateway to summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but the birding still delivers the thrills of spring migration when you have access to the right birds’ breeding grounds. I visited Letchworth State Park this weekend, renowned for a ridiculous density of breeding wood warblers. How about you?

2017 101

2017 Louisiana Birds Breeding 101

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2018

Ready for some contrarian birding commentary? The end of June may be superior in many ways to other times of year, or at least that’s what millions of schoolkids are thinking right about now. But no week is so good that we at 10,000 Birds can’t improve it. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2018 100

2018 Sparrows Birds Breeding 100

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 202

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 202

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2018

And, there are 300+ species of birds in this breathtaking region of the northern Rockies. What surprised me was the availability of birds, birds, birds on the ground – a cure for that chronic birding condition that I call ‘binocular neck.’. All of the neck-strain-free birds below breed in Montana.

Montana 164

Montana Bald Eagle Birds Bears 164

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 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2020

Little Tobago, formerly known as Bird-of-Paradise Island (long story) is home to important colonies of numerous seabirds. Soaring on seven-and-a-half-foot wings, covered in feathers that aren’t waterproof while carving a niche as birds of the ocean – they haven’t survived this long by chance. Brown Noddy.

Fish 229

Fish Rights Species Birds 229

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

At the end of 2022, let us celebrate the local field guide, a sub-genre that many of us feared would die, the victim of technology, development, and globalization, but which still shines bright, fewer in number but brilliant in quality, thanks to birders and birding organizations that believe in knowing your patch and your state.

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Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 211

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 177

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 177

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2017

You believe in birthday birds , right? If you haven’t yet embraced the theory or practice of birthday birds, I recommend that, next time your special day rolls around, you make it a point to pursue a seasonally appropriate species you don’t regularly see. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

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Los Angeles 2017 Coyotes Birds 100

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 226

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 226

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 185

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 185

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2021

“That bird! That bird, chase it! Shearwaters scattered at our approach and the wind howled in our ears but it couldn’t dampen Wilfredo’s focus, nor his vocal insistence to “follow those birds”! As the prop motor revved and ocean spray flew by, I wondered, “Which birds”?

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2011

Up to that point, I’d offered Great Reasons to Become A Bird Watcher in an effort to encourage the uninitiated to try bird watching. The next logical step was to explain the right way to get started. With luck, you’ll hit the right ones and sway someone to your side. Get serious… birds are everywhere.

Birds 208

Birds United States 2006 Breeders 208

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

This place is such an epic birding location that one cannot possibly do the city and its surrounds justice in one post. These birds, and their closely-related counterparts, the Drakensberg Rockjumper, constantly find themselves on the most-wanted list of pretty much every visiting birder. And rightly so. But by George is it worth it!

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South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 250

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2013

But why on earth would you want to go to some sewage ponds when there are so many ways to experience debauchery and dissolution in Las Vegas itself? Birds, of course! ( Avocets, Black-necked Stilts , and Spotted Sandpipers breed at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. As Clare well knows! ) One lifer down and one to go.

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Las Vegas Nevada Birds Blackbirds 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2014

That’s right, I, along with my family and some really good friends, was camping. And one that I have written about before when I was pleased to find Blackburnian Warblers like the one above breeding.). It was big, private, right next to the lake, and well-maintained. How cute is this? Mom has a bug! Nom nom nom nom nom.

New York 176

New York Cooking Chipmunks Owls 176

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

JULY 9, 2019

Getting to actually see four species, in the last two weeks, and to hear two more is almost unheard of in my experience. The Great Horned Owls that live in the palm trees right above our RV have returned and brought with them a pair of fledglings. I counted a total of 9 owls, with 4 being mature adults and 5 juvenile birds.

Owls 161

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 161

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2015

I started birding in what must have been 1978. Each new bird has been and still is a major personal achievement, another goal made, and always cause for unquestionable personal celebration. That’s how important the lifer experience is and I suspect most other birders who started out young feel the same.

Costa Rica 150

Costa Rica Birds Pennsylvania North America 150

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 197

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 197

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2018

Angela Minor has lived, traveled, and birded from the southern U.S. As a freelance travel writer, she authors the state park birding series at Bird Watcher’s Digest, writes for several travel publications including Blue Ridge Country, Smoky Mountain Living, World of Cruising, and serves as a field editor for Birds & Blooms.

Texas 188

Texas North America Alaska America 188

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 192

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 192