10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2019

I was poking around my eBird checklists recently and came across one from one of my more intriguing days birding. Like many birders, I’ve had “patches” where I routinely go birding. Patch birding is rewarding because the birds become familiar, as do the changes across the seasons. There is satisfaction in the everyday.

San Francisco 134

San Francisco Portland Whales Whaling 134

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

I’ve taken tours out of Monterey Bay (with pelagic legend Debi Shearwater , now retired) and Half Moon Bay, California ; Newport, Oregon ; and Hatteras, North Carolina. The boat is called the Legacy and it is an 80 foot whale watching vessel that generally seats 115, but takes about 70 for birding trips.

San Diego 147

San Diego Los Angeles Cooking North Carolina 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

For whatever reason, however, yesterday on my way to work my mind wasn’t with our upcoming spring, but with September’s in California. Visiting this area for the first time after seeing it for month was a crazy experience. I saw a wagtail there once, which was exceptionally cool for California (I’m told).

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2013

The one thing I really wanted to do on this most recent trip to southern California was visit Santa Cruz Island again. 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. It was amazing.

Whales 151

Whales Whaling Dolphins California 151

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

Sullivan, in collaboration with Todd McGrath and Tom Johnson, arrived at my door the day before I was leaving for southern California. Birds of California , the new volume in the ABA series, arrived the day I returned. Every bird book seems to be about the west coast this month!)

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Whales Whaling Porpoises 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

I bring this up not to boast (well, not much) but because I think that this approach to wildlife travel is somewhat neglected in birding circles. Read most accounts of how birders see birds outside their patch and one way or another, they’re tourists. Volunteering provides a very different experience to tourism though.

Uganda 162

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 162

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.

2016 113

2016 India Ducks Birds 113