10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

This is the last post covering my time birding the Kruger Park in November 2018. A study on the diet of the African Harrier-Hawk starts rather pompously: “Feeding is an indispensable activity in the life of birds. The babblers have a sentinel system – individual birds take turns scanning for predators and warning the group.

South Africa 147

South Africa Niger Birds Mice 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2020

The coronavirus has locked us all in, literally, doing something that was totally unthinkable only a few months ago: it has prevented us from birding abroad! I am talking of the very heart of the Balkans and the final birding frontier of Europe: Serbia. Birding overview. Belgrade – weekend birding break. Top-20 birds.

Serbia 317

Serbia Sanctuary Birds Bosnia 317

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2019

In the birding world, May is the beautiful time. With birds bedecked in their breeding best and filling the air with song, this is migration at its loveliest. A wonderful variety of bird species are waiting to be seen and among them are many a birder’s favorite avian group, the wood-warblers.

Costa Rica 191

Costa Rica Species Belize New Jersey 191

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2023

We all hope that they were able to breed successfully in the Northern Hemisphere and that they can find food throughout the Flyway to return to our shores. Our resident shorebirds have started to breed in the last few weeks and there are numerous Pied Oystercatcher nests along our shores right now.

Eggs 186

Eggs 2011 Breeding Protection 186

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

This is Liz’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. The rise in drone popularity over the past few years has been meteoric — and in our typical human arrogance, we’ve once again ignored the fact that for the past 150 million years, the sky has belonged to the birds.

Birds 188

Birds Protection Idaho Bears 188

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2022

Habitats: Check Birds… well, more presumed what the possibilities are, than actually checked… Sleeping: Check Getting around: Check I will come back to these topics in a while. Nevertheless, I left gifts behind, two dozen copies of a common bird guide (which I wrote and published) for local wardens. It sounded birdy and I was game.

Serbia 254

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Romania 254

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2019

The striking Golden-cheeked Warbler nests only in the hills of central Texas near Austin but a substantial part of those breeding grounds have leveled in favor of development. Although it breeds in areas as small as 25 acres, Golden-cheeked Warblers are much more successful in larger un-fragmented patches. 1:17-cv-00538-SS (W.D.

Austin 183

Austin Texas Endangered Species Birds 183

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 225

Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 225

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

It is near a river, attracting some birds that like to eat wet food. As the national bird of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the African Fish Eagle is usually very busy whenever it stays in these countries, giving speeches, opening shopping centers, etc. The birds I asked about this pretended not to be related to anyone though.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 28, 2020

A month ago, I was helping fellow birders see their first Emerald Tanagers , their lifer Sunbittern , and wondering where Mary and I could go next, which birds we could chase during the upcoming weekends. As always, they remind me of “winter finches” from birding days back in western New York and southern Ontario.

Costa Rica 239

Costa Rica Birds Spain New York 239

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2016

There is bird version of this in the Everglades. For example, years ago, Eiton Tchenrov postulated that the wild progenitor of the domestic dog, some subspecies or another of wolf, could benefit from overlapping its breeding territory with human hunters.

Alligators 122

Alligators Protection Leopards Birds 122

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2019

Although sometimes thought of a bird of the Southwest, the condor’s historical range reaches as far north as British Columbia. But this potential population of California Condors will be a “nonessential experimental” group. But that does not necessarily mean there are no protections. What does that mean?

California Condor 233

California Condor California Endangered Species Oregon 233

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

The islands of the Caribbean are home to 176 species of endemic birds unevenly distributed across the region. Fortunately for this species (and people like me who wish to see them) this level of awareness has resulted in protection for both the bird and its habitat, which in turn has led to some increases in its population.

Grenada 130

Grenada Parrots Trinidad 2010 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2015

Worried by the lack of appropriate action by the authorities (as described in the previous post ), this year I invited two more wildlife protection organisations to take part in the annual census of Pygmy Cormorants in Belgrade. “The Pygmy Cormorant is a strictly protected bird species in Serbia, as well as in the European Union.

Serbia 187

Serbia Protection Europe 2015 187

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. Scott Barnes, N.J.

North Dakota 147

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 147

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

JULY 3, 2014

I was happy to read that the wood stork ( Mycteria Americana ), a bird near and dear to me, was down-sited from the status of endangered to threatened species. The wood stork occurs and breeds in Central and South America. However, birds in the U.S. Wood storks primarily breed in Central and South Florida. Photo: U.S.

North Carolina 206

North Carolina Bald Eagle South Carolina Florida 206

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Colorado is unique in many respects, so it comes as no surprise that its residents went in a different direction when selecting their state bird. Unlike many other official birds, the Lark Bunting is not a year-round resident. Lark Buntings are prairie birds, and breed in open meadow, sagebrush, and plains.

Colorado 102

Colorado Legislature North America New Mexico 102

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

We’re particularly interested in recognizing bird species that were of significant conservation interest in 2013, but that also had a compelling story and rallied the public around it.” If this bird doesn’t deserve this conservation award, I don’t know what species does. How does that sound for a headline?

California 219

California Owls 2013 Factory 219

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 176

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 176

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2016

This is Jason’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds: Birders were rightly alarmed by the armed occupation of the Malheur NWR in Oregon. One of the nation’s premier birding locations had been overrun by an armed militia and the occupation unexpectedly endured for weeks. Individually, many NWRs protect crucial bird habitat.

Wildlife 189

Wildlife Grizzly Bear Puerto Rico United States 189

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2017

Controversies about federal public lands, including the 2016 occupation of Malheur NWR in Oregon and proposed bills in Congress to dispose of certain land, has focused attention on the value of federal lands to birds and birders. But if one focuses on specific types of birds, the results can be both illuminating and surprising.

Albatross 140

Albatross Hawaii Alaska Puerto Rico 140

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 115

Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

Egg harvesting to sell as food was intensive then, with thousands taken annually from the breeding colonies in Chile. The Andean Flamingo is now protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Because the Andean Flamingo’s recent addition to the endangered species list, there have been few implemented plans to protect it.

Chile 155

Chile Endangered Species Eggs Argentina 155

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2016

But this breeding and social arrangement has its risks. And for wild pheasants ( Common , in Europe; or Ring-necked , stateside), a bigger group may actually present an existential danger. female birds for every male. female birds for every male. Having a harem sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

Game 100

Game Europe Groups Breeding 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2015

I’ve seen Forster’s Terns and Common Terns , but one particular species was fast becoming a nemesis bird: the Black Tern. Black Tern in Breeding Plumage. Black Terns do not breed or over-winter in Florida, they merely migrate through on their way to Central and South America. Black Tern in Non-Breeding Plumage.

Breeding 160

Breeding South America Florida Protection 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2013

The Pygmy Nuthatch ( Sitta pygmaea ) is a non-migratory bird that lives primarily in Ponderosa and Jeffrey Pine forests in western North America. They are one of the few cooperatively breeding passerines in North America and a third of the breeding pairs have 1–3 male helpers, usually progeny or other relatives.

North America 166

North America America Collecting California 166

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 150

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 150

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2014

and Canadian birders needed another reason to pull ourselves out of the winter doldrums, how about birding for a good cause? To help scientists determine how best to keep the bird and its “squeaky hinge” song from disappearing for good, the Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz is now officially underway.

Blackbirds 220

Blackbirds Vermont Collecting Research 220

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

And Flamingos and Hornbills and a Secretarybird and birds with names like Hamerkop and Thick-knee and Eremomela (which I know is a scientific term, but which, when pronounced correctly, reminds me of a Yiddish term of endearment my grandmother used). And so, I went on the American Birding Association Safari to South Africa.

South Africa 254

South Africa Africa Leopards Penguins 254

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

One of these days, Jeopardy will feature a category called “Field Guides” and the first clue will be: “This landlocked South American country finally got its own bird field guide in 2016, but it wasn’t available in the United State until 2019.” Bolivia doesn’t come up much in discussions of birding travel.

Bolivia 181

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 181

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

However, in this post, I’d like to lay out the basic numbers as we pretend to know them about overall bird mortality, human related causes of mortality, and somewhere in there I’ll note that the number of birds that are killed by windmills is so small that it says “zero” on my pie chart. So keep that in mind.

Killing 274

Killing Cats Fish Birds 274

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2019

In mid-December, I was birding along the Beljarica levee (Beh-LYAH-ritza), my local patch north of Belgrade, when something other than birds attracted my attention: three wild boars , appearing all black because they had just swam through the swamp to reach the bottom of the levee. I barely started when some sulphur (a.k.a.

Serbia 246

Serbia Otters Boars Eagles 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2019

That is because Lago de Cuitzeo receives a huge number of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, with smaller numbers of sparrows, buntings, and other migratory birds in the areas around the lake’s shore. Not only are the species numbers good, but the spectacle of so, so many individual birds can be thrilling.

Ducks 116

Ducks Blackbirds United States Pelicans 116

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2016

Consequently, the Ross Sea has become a focus of numerous environmental groups who have campaigned for a world marine reserve. In July 2013, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources held a meeting in Bremerhaven in Germany, to decide whether to turn the Ross Sea into a marine protected area.

Russia 181

Russia Penguins Whales Whaling 181

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2017

Small, delicate, graceful, the Least Tern embodies all we love about birds and then some. Deep in a walking reverie, I was startled out of my daydream by a group of tiny terns perched at the edge of a sand embankment, looking over at me as I looked at them. Have you seen their chicks? For me, that moment came last week.

South America 103

South America United States Protection Pelicans 103

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2015

Birds included common species such as Black Drongos , Jungle Babblers and a Hoopoe. Even in protected areas of north-east India, prey densities are very low. Only in protected areas in southern and central India (e.g. Maharashtra), prey densities are high and Dhole numbers stable (source: IUCN).

Tigers 245

Tigers Dogs India Snow Leopard 245