10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2013

Our time on the island was spent looking at birds, exploring, picnicking, throwing rocks in the water, and admiring a very cooperative Santa Cruz Island Fox. Then the birds showed. Sooty Shearwaters and a Western Gull fly back the aftermath of a Humpback Whale breaching. Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae.

Whales 150

Whales Whaling Dolphins California 150

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2013

Today we take a brief reprieve from birder commentary to talk actual birds, specifically those of Santa Cruz Island, where my lowly-esteemed colleague Seagull Steve is currently doing field work on some of the nearshore seabirds there. The fundamental question is, where is it? is concerned.

California 160

California Birds Sea Lions Whales 160

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 137

Albatross Hawaii Alaska Puerto Rico 137

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!

South Africa 236

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 236

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2013

Clocking more than 50,000 miles per year, the birds appear to have cornered the market on the world’s longest annual migration. Some of those once-popular breeding spots now produce no chicks at all. And that’s just the birds–you can spy on everything from panda bear cubs to beluga whales.

Bald Eagle 177

Bald Eagle Pandas Puffins Bears 177

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2014

And one that I have written about before when I was pleased to find Blackburnian Warblers like the one above breeding.). Here a fledgling Chipping Sparrow , which is one of those confusing, streaky, brown birds, gets stuffed by an adult. And, of course, as I do sometimes, I managed to sneak in a bit of birding.

New York 174

New York Cooking Chipmunks Owls 174

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 233

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 233

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2013

Joseph Chiera is a Masters student in Animal Behavior and Conservation at Hunter College in NYC and a “somewhat newbie” to birding. After taking an ornithology course last year, he was hooked and spends most of his free time birding or reading birding blogs. Of course, birding was on the itinerary!

Iceland 182

Iceland Puffins Europe Birds 182

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2017

We have had a very poor breeding season for our resident shorebirds and in particular none of the 16 pairs of Pied Oystercatchers along the 23 kilometre/14 miles stretch of coast that we keep an eye on have successfully bred. All of the migratory shorebirds had started to leave Broome and it appeared it had also gone north.

Eggs 101

Eggs Whales Whaling Breeding 101

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Whereas much pelagic birding involves arduous trips out to continental shelves with nothing but gulls on the way, you pretty much start hitting albatrosses a few minutes out of the little harbour and they keep coming for the duration of the trip. This lovely bird is Westland Petrel. I wasn’t disappointed. Another Albatross!

Albatross 174

Albatross New Zealand Dolphins Whales 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2012

One of the really great things about living in the Arctic, and loving to watch and photograph birds, is that you can bird in the middle of the night if you so desire. I know you can bird in dark in New York and Newcastle, Weyburn and Walla Walla. I’m talking about full on, need sunglasses, no need for high ISO, birding.

Bald Eagle 170

Bald Eagle Breeding Raised Whales 170

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

If there is one thing that Kiwis care about, it’s birds. No, wait, not birds. One thing visitors love to see in New Zealand is Kiwi, the national (sort of) bird, and they also enjoy seeing some of the other birds the place has to offer. At sea there are also New Zealand Sea Lions and Southern Right Whales.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Birds 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

Birding has been an all-consuming interest for Patrick Cardwell since boyhood days spent in a wildlife-rich environment. In this epic post, Patrick depicts just how dynamic the pelagic birding is off Cape Point in South Africa.

Albatross 177

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 177

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

The birds that wear tuxedos and star in major motion pictures. People call them “flightless birds&# but they do in fact fly; They just do it underwater. The evolution of the living penguins is one of the best known cases among birds, or even vertebrates in general, mainly through the study of DNA, bio-geography, and anatomy.

Penguins 188

Penguins Seals Peru Science 188

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 176

Delaware New Jersey Research Eggs 176

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

The descriptions of the territory’s birds, seals, whales, introduced mammals, invertebrates, and plants are written within the framework of the conversationist, so it is more than a field guide, it is a record of endangered wildlife and the efforts being made to protect it. Who can resist penguins and whales?

Georgia 172

Georgia Penguins Wildlife Whales 172

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2017

It was a good birding year. Many sad and unfortunate things occurred in 2016, but the birding was good. I started the year in Florida, traveled to India with the ABA in February, combined family and birding in an August trip to California, and in-between saw very good birds in New York and New Jersey. 1) Dusky Eagle-Owl.

2016 108

2016 India Ducks Birds 108

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

A lot of folks, including this very blog, are using this as an occasion to memorialize not just the Passenger Pigeon but the extinct birds of the Holocene as a group. we are hosting Extinction Week here on 10,000 Birds from 7 September to 13 September. … Birding Extinction Week Great Auk' Good, I say. We could do it!

California Condor 193

California Condor United States Guam Whales 193

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

Over the next few days, the Alpine Accentors ( Prunella collaris ) will arrive on their high-Alpine breeding grounds – it is time to start singing, despite that the treeless Alpine landscape is still under metres of snow. all Alpine Accetor photos digiscoped (c) Dale Forbes. all Alpine Accetor photos digiscoped (c) Dale Forbes.

2011 203

2011 Breeders Breeding Deer 203

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2013

But there is one Cape bird that stands head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to character – the African Penguin. But their endangered status is belied by the fact that they are one of the easiest rare birds to find in Africa. A pair of birds nested at Boulders Beach for the first time.

Penguins 207

Penguins South Africa Africa Sharks 207

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

There is a very distinctive smell found on seabird colonies, where thousands upon thousands of birds come to breed and, coincidentally, deposit large quantities of waste. A waterproof raincoat is essential in even the hottest sunniest days of summer. This is done at night, over three nights, and is quite the operation.

Breeding 178

Breeding Stray Seals Whales 178