10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

Last week, I wrote about my recent trip from my current home of Morelia, Mexico to my childhood home of the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States, and how several species can be found in both places, in spite of how far apart they are, and yet look quite different in each place. California Towhee. Canyon Towhee.

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Mexico San Francisco California United States 242

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2022

Anytime I travel, I do what it takes to get in some birding. After all, the best way to find new birds is to look in new places. Birding being best in the early morning, I get up before they do, and try to be back by breakfast — their breakfast. My recent brief trip to California made this strategy especially easy.

San Francisco 147

San Francisco California Battery Ducks 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

Birders know that some of the finest birding locations in the country are on federal land , which include national parks , wildlife refuges , forests , monuments , and seashores , among others. These lands support countless birds, either year-round, as migratory stopovers, or as breeding grounds. But what else should birders know?

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Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 254

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

With fall migration well underway everywhere, it’s a good time to see what’s flying in bird news. Prothonotary Warblers (like the dapper bird above captured for posterity by Corey) should carry frequent-flier cards—a recent Audubon-led study found that one geolocator-toting individual racked up more than 5,000 miles in eight months.

California Condor 171

California Condor San Diego San Francisco Ghana 171

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2014

It was the bobbing action on the rocks that drew my attention to the bird. This was a family vacation and I had led my unsuspecting wife and son out onto the curving pier at Aquatic Park, overlooking San Francisco Bay, ostensibly to get a better look at Alcatraz and the bridge, but actually with half a mind to finding a Wandering Tattler.

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San Francisco United States California Breeding 165

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

At the Northwest corner of San Francisco is Point Lobos. Heermann’s Gulls form large breeding colonies on arid islands in the Gulf of California, Mexico, from March through July. These factors have caused the IUCN to rate this bird as “Near Threatened” 2. Click on photos for full sized images. v=FUBX_tlHySc.

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San Francisco North America Seals Sanctuary 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2013

Most of you would have been looking at much bigger birds last Thursday. The individuals above were seen at the top of the tide, pushed hard against the shore of San Francisco Bay. Corey gave us a 360° view of a juvenile Calaidris minutilla and some fantastic images of spring adult birds.

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San Francisco Sea Lions Lions California 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

California is big. I only had a few days in California while visiting my brother at Berkeley, but we couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to visit one of the most famous birding sites in the country: Point Reyes National Seashore. Trips Birding California lighthouse point reyes' Migrating Gray Whales.

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Seals Elephants Whales Whaling 219

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2015

In February of 2013, I wrote a piece outlining my thoughts on which exotic bird species should be added to the American Bird Association (ABA) checklist. Outside of Florida, there are also growing populations in Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Houston. Egyptian Goose parents watching over nearly fully grown goslings.

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Los Angeles Miami San Francisco Florida 154

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 152

San Francisco Portland Whales Whaling 152

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2012

Anna’s Hummingbird is resident in California, up through Oregon and into Washington and during the colder months will certainly be the most frequently seen hummer in the area. Depending on your aspect and the angle of the bird to the sun, the head can look very deep plum or even black.

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San Francisco Oregon Washington California 239

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

This bird was photographed a few years ago in Connecticut, by Corey Finger. Recently a Fork-tailed Flycatcher was reported from a park in San Francisco, a long ways away from its home in Central and South America. I know birders just as well as I know birds, and I was not ready to put all my faith in this fantastic sighting.

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San Francisco San Diego Connecticut South America 183

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

In a recent post, Corey listed five things to do when it is too cold to go birding and one of those things is planning birding travel. Here in Portland, Oregon, it is more frequently too rainy rather than too cold to go birding, at least comfortably. Thus, my “good birds” are likely the opposite of an eastern birder.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2015

So what does climate change mean for birds? Though all birds will be somehow impacted by climate change, I think it is important to note that not all will suffer. Though all birds will be somehow impacted by climate change, I think it is important to note that not all will suffer. Whats in it for birds?

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North America Birds San Francisco Suffering 251

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.

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Albatross Hawaii Alaska Puerto Rico 148

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns. In the past several years I’ve been developing an entirely new seabirding strategy based on something the birds do themselves… tracking your quarry by scent. We need these birds. Delicious autumn!

San Francisco 172

San Francisco North Dakota California Albatross 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2012

The water this Northern Pintail is in has human poo in it, which completely ruins the experience of seeing this bird. The majority of diehard birders do not care where they get their birds. There is a caste of birders, however, that do not subscribe to this way of birding…no. Oh wait, it doesn’t. Portland, Oregon.

San Francisco 245

San Francisco Birds North Dakota Oakland 245

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2012

One Seagull Steve was living in San Francisco, on a birding hiatus. He had not birded in months, due to constantly being drunk on strange and exotic birds from across the map earlier in the year. Ivory Gulls, for the unfamiliar, are the cream of the birding crop as far as North American birds go.

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San Francisco Sea Lions California Lions 166

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2024

Last week, I returned to Morelia, Mexico, my home for the past 30 years, from twelve days in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I spent my childhood and teenage years. While in California on this trip, I saw 75 species. Of the 112 species on my current California life list, 59 are also common around Morelia.

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San Francisco California Mexico Advocacy 215

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

Today’s post is written by Monte Merrick, wildlife rehabilitator and co-director of the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center/bird ally x in Arcata, CA. Less than 2000 grams – more sail, it seems, than bird. After going the through the “red tape” of the international border crossing, the bird was sent by jet to us in LA.

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Los Angeles Killing Wildlife Rehabilitation San Francisco 250

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

If you live north of the San Francisco Bay area in California like I do, or north of Delaware on the east coast, you would most likely be looking at a Greater Yellowlegs. I photographed this bird at Arcata Marsh , far north of the Lesser Yellowlegs’ normal range. Take a look at these range maps for the two species.

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San Francisco Delaware Jordan New York 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2012

A quick search in the archives here at 10,000 Birds found no mention of this beauty. This individual was seen during a recent visit to San Francisco while I was looking for a Great Horned Owl’s nest in Golden Gate Park. All the birds seen today were males. It was almost as if the species had been forgotten.

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San Francisco North America Owls America 245

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

As I always do on the way home, following a short visit to the San Francisco Bay Area, I take in at least one of the National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) found in the Sacramento Valley. California is blessed with 51 NWRs and Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), second only to North Dakota with 77.

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Wildlife San Francisco Sacramento North Dakota 161

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2017

I am sure that the most memorable first bird sightings have a way of sticking in your head. Since most of my birding world revolves around the art of photography, the first image is a little bit more solid, fixed as it were, even if it is never printed or display in some manner for public consumption.

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San Francisco Shelters Canada California 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2019

Paul Lewis moved from California to Mexico 36 years ago. But every Monday, he explores the wonderful habitats and birds found within an hour of his house. This is Paul’s first post for 10,000 Birds. My first birding period was over 40 years ago, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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San Francisco Mexico Turkey California 122

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2012

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is rich in bird feeders and the jays find rich pickings. Each morning the feeders arrive with bags of bread and pockets of nuts for the birds and soon find themselves surrounded by ducks, gulls and sparrows.

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San Francisco Sparrows Ducks Birds 209

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2014

as well as a rare mammal, the California fisher. See the website for a self-congratulatory description of their efforts to plant trees, but no mention of their slaughter of the birds who might want to land on them. Birds Conservation Barn Owl hawk raptors rat poison rats reckitt benckiser'

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Rats Barn Owls Rodents San Francisco 252

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

In this captivating book, Thompson explores the motivation behind hunters who shot birds to sell feathers for women’s hats at the turn of the nineteenth century. What compelled these men, beyond desire for money, to kill birds? I’ve just finished reading THE PLUME HUNTER (Torrey House Press, December 2011) by Renée Thompson.

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Hunters Oregon San Francisco Portland 229

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2016

And, let me tell you, it was an amazing trip with gorgeous scenery, lots of cool mammals, and, of course, a whole big bunch of birds! This Pine Grosbeak was just one of the cool birds that came in to take advantage of the feeder. The birds weren’t high on the agenda while we were in Wyoming but I still managed to see some.

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Idaho Colorado Wyoming San Francisco 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2013

Sagebrush and Bell’s Sparrows are the birds to talk about. The last thing you want to do is ignore certain subspecies just because you’ve seen another one; in other words, skip looking for a Northern Fulmar off Maine just because you’ve seen them off California. Photographed off Hatteras, NC.

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San Francisco Fox Sparrows California 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

In January 1971, two oil tankers collided under the Golden Gate Bridge, spilling more than 800,000 gallons of crude oil into the San Francisco Bay. Little was known about oiled bird care at that time and despite the courageous attempts of hundreds of volunteers, only 300 birds survived from the 7,000 collected.

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Bird Rescue Rescue San Francisco Birds 231

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2011

Please give a warm welcome to Walter Kitundu, the latest addition to the bevy of beat writers on 10,000 Birds. Walter first came to our attention on 10,000 Birds when he made a comment here – and are we ever glad he did! He is an excellent photographer and his blog, Bird Light Wind , is well worth a visit.

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San Francisco California Condor Coyotes Iceland 239

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For those of us with the great good fortune to bird in Latin America, or other less-studied biological regions, my experience suggests that we are much more likely to benefit from the new species created by such splits. I doubt that would be true if I still lived in California. The post Splitsville appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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San Diego San Francisco Mexico Baltimore 214

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Years ago, I became a wildlife volunteer and advocate because of a cat who caught a bird. 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. That was my first trip to California Wildlife Center. They simply helped me with my bird.

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Cats Stray Cat Stray Wildlife Rehabilitation 223

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2019

So, it just might be that pisco – the beloved South American grape brandy contentiously claimed by both Peru and Chile – is the only spirit named after birds. The etymology of the city name itself is debatable, but according to the Chilean linguist Rodolfo Lenz, it comes from the Quechua pishku , meaning “bird”.

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Peru San Francisco Parrots Chile 139

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2023

(My Shoebill photographs, incidentally, were digiscoped from a small boat, so they’re not as sharp as they could be, but they are great reminders of an encounter with an extraordinary bird). Tawny Owl , one of the first birds I remember seeing (at the age of five) Like most of us who watch birds, I enjoy listing.

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Sri Lanka Kenya San Francisco Greece 246

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

To get out to the deep water we have to cruise for hours which necessitates leaving late in the evening, trying to sleep on an uncomfortable, moving boat, and waking up in the predawn hours to spend not-enough-time amid amazing birds before suffering through the long, boring ride through the “dead zone” back to shore.

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Whales Whaling Albatross Dolphins 127