10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2019

2018 proved to be one of my best birding years ever. In addition to spotting exciting new species in Florida, including the rare Snail Kite, travel across the country brought me into contact with birds in Oregon, California, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alabama, and more. I did not fall into that category.

Bald Eagle 153

Bald Eagle Alabama Kansas Florida 153

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe today announced as part of Great Outdoors Month the agency is proposing to expand fishing and hunting opportunities on 21 refuges throughout the National Wildlife Refuge System. National wildlife refuges provide premier outdoor recreational opportunities across the Nation.

Fish 145

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 145

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017

Lakeview Oregon is located in central Oregon, just north of the California border, and is the highest altitude city in the state. This is the area that fostered my lifelong interest in birds. I imagine I have a pretty good idea of what this does to the human inhabitants of the area, but what does it do to the birds?

Oregon 100

Oregon Birds Montana California 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

The North American Tundra Swan ( Cygnus columbianus columbianus ) migrates in flocks of family groups… leaving their Arctic breeding grounds in late September and arriving in their wintering grounds in November and December 1 (click on photos for full sized images). Range map courtesy of Terri Sohl of South Dakota Birds and Birding.

California 109

California South Dakota Sacramento North America 109

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

The full title of this exceptional book by Marie Read is Mastering Bird Photography: The Art, Craft, and Technique of Photographing Birds and Their Behavior. In this new book, she puts everything she has learned in over 30 years of wildlife photography down in writing. I found that there were surprises in each chapter.

Birds 199

Birds Ethics 2019 Experience 199

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

This time I’ll be working with Wildlife ACT in Zululand, helping that NGO monitor wildlife in a range of reserves and parks in the east of South Africa. 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.

Uganda 162

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

Two-thousand-twelve was a pretty darn good year for me birding-wise and otherwise. Seeing 525 species was nice, as was the fact that I birded in four countries, nine of the fifty states in the United States, and fifty-one counties. I went to the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida.

2012 145

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 145

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2019

Paul Lewis moved from California to Mexico 36 years ago. He is the author of an internationally distributed book in Spanish about family finances and has recorded four albums in Spanish of his own songs. But every Monday, he explores the wonderful habitats and birds found within an hour of his house. But hey… Aztec Thrushes!

San Francisco 117

San Francisco Mexico Turkey California 117

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Which, naturally, got me to thinking about the newly erected order Suliformes, a development I mentioned in my December column, 2010′s Top 10 Developments in Bird Taxonomy and Systematics , but which I thought deserved further examination, for it’s one of those stories that defines the era in which we are living and birding.

2011 155

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 155

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2014

When I was a small kid I lived in Southern California, and my parents used to take me to Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth(TM). The lodge is unusual in having a raised walkway behind the lodge, allowing those of us keen to bird or watch wildlife when most normal people are resting in the middle of the day. What a bird!

Rhinoceros 171

Rhinoceros Apes Elephants Monkeys 171

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2011

The order Suliformes holds a lot of special birds from anhingas and darters to cormorants and shags as well as frigatebirds, pelicans, and tropicbirds. But the sleekest of the sulids may be found in the family Sulidae. While this bird shares the Galápagos with two other boobies, the Red-footed Booby ( S.

Ecuador 190

Ecuador Peru Hunters Pelicans 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Asides / Nine-legged Plover? Win a Copy of Hawks at a Distance Great Horned Owl Taking a Deer Leg Cats Are Still Public Enemy Number One, For Birds Crossley ID Guide Giveaway Winners.Or Nine-legged Plover?

2011 160

2011 Deer New York Cats 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2014

As New Zealand’s beat writer I think I’ve done an okay job of discussing the birding of an entirely different island for most of the year, so it’s only fair that I keep that winning streak going by talking about my target for the trip. I have been to 11 countries to watch wildlife that this species lives in.

Sharks 177

Sharks Leopards Whales Whaling 177

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2011

The Brown Booby is a bird that helps explain why birders don’t always want to share what they are doing with non-birders. What a bird! ABA-area lifer number 476 , world lifer number 1,047 , and year bird number 368. Others will crack ribald jokes, mock you, or accuse you of being crass. … a.

New Jersey 199

New Jersey Ohio Fish California 199

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2011

There are a few birds up here that, while we may find as just part of the fauna, others would foam at the mouth for a chance to see. v=w4r575oOJ8I But birds get lost, or driven out of their way by storms, and just like the Ivory Gull that shows up on a California beach, we have birds that end up here, well out of their way.

Canada 184

Canada Sparrows California Birds 184

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Stalking a Kiwi Icon Stalking a Kiwi Icon By Duncan • March 16, 2011 • 1 comment Tweet Share Most people, if asked, would confidently name what they thought the National Bird of New Zealand was.

New Zealand 149

New Zealand 2011 Deer New York 149

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

The trend at this time of year is a downturn in shared lists and birds reported, nevertheless, 12 (is this a record?) Our two newest contributors have shared from Mexico and China, bringing the countries birded this month (also including; Costa Rica, Greece, Serbia, USA, UK, India, UAE and New Zealand) to 10. 02 Jun 2019. 02 Jun 2019.

2019 122

2019 Jamaica Eggs Woodpeckers 122

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. It is the first bird field guide to every country of Central America (plus the islands governed by those countries).

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Years ago, I became a wildlife volunteer and advocate because of a cat who caught a bird. The wildlife center was an hour away if I was lucky. Back then, I didn’t know enough about birds, but I knew a lot about cats. I surprised her and she dropped the bird before vaporizing again. I scrambled for a box.

Cats 218

Cats Stray Cat Stray Wildlife Rehabilitation 218

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2016

I opened the year in California and even though I flew out in the evening on New Year’s Day I did see some species out there that I would otherwise not have seen for the year. Winter birding around New York City was just so-so but I did add one species to my Queens list. The year 2016 has been a pretty good year. Aaaarrrgghhhh!

2016 139

2016 Puerto Rico New York City New York 139

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2011

The first obstacle was getting to the general range of the species, which is the west coast from northern California to Alaska and across to Russia.* Having flown to Washington State on a family vacation the first obstacle was easily out of the way, which you knew already if you ever read this blog. It’s not too expensive, is it?&#

Washington 174

Washington Protection Puffins Rhinoceros 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

As 2013 draws to a close we here at 10,000 Birds thought that it would be a great idea if we, like we did in 2010 , 2011 , and 2012 , shared our Best Birds of the Year. We also want to know what YOUR Best Bird of the Year was. Now on to the Best Birds of the Year for those who write on 10,000 Birds! Sound good?

2013 168

2013 Birds Costa Rica India 168

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2011

Melanerpes lewis is, to put it simply, a really cool bird. Second of all, Lewis’s Woodpeckers are birds of the west and they rarely stray to New York State. In fact, the bird is the fifth recorded in the history of the state,* and the first spotted in the Empire State since 2001. What a bird! Really well.

New York 204

New York Woodpeckers Jordan 2011 204

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2011

I have hope that in the next couple of weeks I will be able to get enough decent shots to share a gallery of birds in transitional plumage and then another of birds in alternate plumage. Until then, enjoy these basic-plumaged birds* and make sure to check back between now and mid-April for further galleries of Oxyura jamaicansis.

Ducks 144

Ducks 2011 New York New York City 144

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2019

Happy New Year, 10,000 Birds readers and writers, listers and photographers, friends and fellow travelers near and far! Writing a post scheduled for January 1st for a birding blog is a big responsibility. On the first of the year, every bird is a new bird! It was a United States lower-48 birding year for me.

2018 167

2018 New Jersey Michigan North Dakota 167

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

As 2012 draws to a close we here at 10,000 Birds thought that it would be a great idea if we, like we did in 2010 and 2011 , shared our Best Birds of the Year. We also want to know what YOUR Best Bird of the Year was. Now on to the Best Birds of the Year for those who write on 10,000 Birds! Sound good?

2012 155

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 155

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

But for those seeking wildlife there is plenty to see without ever leaving the city, and most itineries at least allow one day of birdwatching within and immediately around this coastal resort city. Today the interests of tourists are met by an artificial sea pool near the city centre, and the muddy beach is left mostly for the birds.

Alligators 169

Alligators Guinea 2012 Australia 169

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2021

As sad as I am to say it, I must: 2021 was one of my worst years for birding since I started looking at feathered creatures with intent in 2006. COVID kept me from traveling internationally, and my only major domestic trip of the year was to California where I have birded quite a bit already. Let’s jump right in, shall we?

New York 262

New York Birds California Owls 262

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Is it wrong of me to go birding to get away from the kids now that they are at home all day? Can the whole family live together in harmony during the school holidays? Happy birding if you suddenly find yourself single. 458 birds were seen by 7 beats in 8 countries. 458 birds were seen by 7 beats in 8 countries.

2018 100

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 100