10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2021

When it comes to tropical birding, field guides regularly deal with well over a 1000 birds and tend to be on the hefty side. Travel guides are mostly lighter, but this “where to watch birds guide” is truly lightweight and traveller friendly. Each site gets from 2 to 5 pages (but mostly 3-4).

Kenya 257

Kenya Africa South Africa Penguins 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2022

In 2007 I was working in a university building that was just begging for bird feeders. This was where I set up my bird feeders, just one at first, then expanding as everyone expressed delight in seeing the Carolina Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Downy Woodpeckers. There were no dead birds for weeks. I hoped it was an anomaly.

New York City 246

New York City Birds Illinois Science 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

And if you take this phrase, “stamps in weathered passports,” my interpretation is that the experiences from travel are the “stamps” as sights, sounds, tastes, smells, textures, on your “passport,” or soul. Hannah overlooking a valley Traveling into Lesotho from the Sani Pass is an experience more than just the journey to the top.

Lesotho 214

Lesotho Sheep South Africa Africa 214

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2020

Rather than belabor the obvious, I’ll just point out that the global pandemic may have spawned a new wave of birders, but collectively we’ve seen far fewer species of birds. As I’m not traveling these days, I’ve been spending lots of time with my local birds. It was easily his Best Bird of the Weekend.

2020 153

2020 Birds Industry 2011 153

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

The chapter titles of Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds represent both ends of the spectrum: “A World Full of Poisons,” “Malaria,” “Forest Intruders,” “Lead Shock,” “Shot.” Conservation. It’s not easy.

California Condor 168

California Condor Falcons California Birds 168

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

Thank you, goddess of birding luck and text group people).* My inner self felt stuck in an area between disbelief and total joy and the voices near me were echoing this state of mind: “Oh My God,” “I never thought I would see this bird,” “Look at that bill!” “How did that bird get here?”

Birds 254

Birds Compassion Eagles Science 254

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

This, 2022, has been a curious year for books about birds and birding. Dragan]: Europe’s Birds: An Identification Guide , by Hume, Still, Swash, and Harrop is a photographic guide. The artwork of “Europe’s Birds” is dazzling, the text condensed and comprehensive, and the layout and design are without peer.

Sri Lanka 215

Sri Lanka Malaysia Birds Suriname 215

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Galápagos: A Natural History, Second Edition by John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin gives the traveling naturalist the tools needed to fully appreciate and experience the Galápagos Islands. There are changes in where to find the birds. I wish I had read this book. They complement Kricher’s text.,

2006 238

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Sea Turtles 238

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2023

The Collared Finchbill is not a rare bird, and it is not endangered, but it is a particular favorite of mine. So, in order to show a few more photos of the bird than the usual two or three had I included this bird in a post of birds seen around Wolongshan, Sichuan), here is one dedicated to the species.

Vegan 168

Vegan Cats Animal Friendly Eggs 168

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2020

And I love making my little garden (some 1400 square feet) more attractive to birds. But I would never have imagined how important it would be to my emotional well-being to have a bird-friendly garden during lockdown. In recent years, I have moved much more in the direction of plants that attract birds.

Birds 154

Birds Woodpeckers Madagascar Nashville 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

One good thing about birding during a pandemic–the forced restrictions on place and time translate into more time to observe what birds do. Bird behavior–endlessly fascinating, but so much still hidden and unknown. Extreme behaviors also push scientists to look at birds in new ways.

Research 211

Research Birds Science Costa Rica 211

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

There’s something wonderfully primeval about the Northern Bald Ibis: it has the look of a bird that really ought to be extinct. The fact that it’s not is quite surprising, as this curious bird has come very close to the brink. Sadly, they no longer breed in Algeria, while in Turkey no free-flying birds remain. (In

Morocco 213

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 213

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2022

Jeff Gordon resigned as president of the American Birding Association, effective November 30, 2021. In my view, the ABA faces other questions too, including its role in today’s birding community. There are countless field guides and other birding books, websites, blogs, tour companies, and podcasts. That is essentially my view.

2019 274

2019 Legislation 2017 2018 274

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2021

I didn’t plan on taking such a long break away from the Birds and Booze beat, but life got in the way the last several weeks, mostly on account of moving into a new home. And what could be better than a new bird-themed brewery opening up less than two miles down the road from me? Good birding and happy drinking!

New York 260

New York Boston 2019 Collecting 260

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016

Of course, birds only represent a sliver of the near-infinite flora and fauna that, collectively, grows, blooms, dies back, and lapses into dormancy over the course of a year. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his favorite species, a Green Heron , at the Great Vly in his hometown of Saugerties, New York. How about you?

2016 154

2016 New York Birds Collecting 154

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2018

With March in our collective rear view mirror, a certain madness subsides. Of the several FOY birds encountered this weekend, I was most pleased with American Kestrels , which we spotted on power lines along much of our journey while traveling on Easter. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2018 101

2018 United States Birds Collecting 101

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2023

Perhaps those people have never had to personally experience increasingly erratic climate patterns. So when there is no Lake Cuitzeo on which to winter, where do all these birds go? There were plenty of other birds in the area, with 72 species around the reservoir for the day. And the Black-polled Yellowthroat ?

Ducks 130

Ducks Mexico California Fish 130

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2017

Birders derive “value” from birding. But does the value of a particular trip come from the number of birds seen, viewing a particular species, seeing an endangered species, catching a glimpse of a rarity, adding a lifer, or something else? How much do birders value a birding experience?

Oregon 169

Oregon Washington Birds Chad 169

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

You know how you plan your regular Monday birding outing in spite of a category 2 hurricane making landfall on the coast, 135 miles away, because the rain bands are supposed to finish impacting your area at around 7:00 a.m.? And then the hurricane stalls, and the rain continues until noon, but you go birding anyway? Which I did.

Blackbirds 209

Blackbirds Shelters Ducks Mexico 209

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

An unfortunate side effect of birding in the developing world, is the amount of habitat destruction you are likely to see. The neighbors had advised me, from experience, that planting trees without excluding the local free-ranging livestock would be an exercise in futility: first challenge overcome.) Alas, this is what I must trim.

ALA 183

ALA 2016 Free Range Livestock 183

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2013

I am back home and recovered from the Birding Rally Challenge in Northern Peru (Rally). Well, I will start by saying I am not new to non-stop birding; some friends and I tried to break the 24-hour record number of birds in Florida (Big day). Photo: Peru Birding Rally. Photo: Peru Birding Rally.

Peru 256

Peru South Africa Birds United Kingdom 256

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2016

The dog days of summer are upon us though here at 10,000 Birds we call them bird days. This despite the heat and humidity sometimes making it seem that there are no birds to see. Both Mike and I saw birds more or less far from our homes this weekend. How about you?

New York City 100

New York City 2016 Michigan New York 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2014

Birding in the Amazon Rainforest has its pros and cons. However, rainforest birds live in specific microhabitats and are often much easier to hear than to see in the dense multilayered rainforest. This Birding Rally’s competitors were companies that specialize in birding and nature tours.

Peru 180

Peru Birds United Kingdom South Africa 180

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

The Durango Highway is arguably one of North America’s great birding roads due to the great variety of habitats, the spectacular mountain scenery of the Sierra Madre Occidental, and the numerous Mexican endemics one can target. There are many dusty side roads in this area, many of which offer productive birding.

Mexico 185

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 185

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

I was wishing I had a birding buddy with me as a mixed flock overwhelmed my abilities. Suddenly, a large bird, which seemed to have a bright yellow breast and black head, flew overhead to a point behind multiple branches. And then the bird was gone. There are many reasons to take bird photos. They may even fear you.

Mexico 175

Mexico Guatemala South America United States 175

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2014

The Long-tailed Tit , Aegithalos Caudatus , is one of the most endearing of British birds. My normal experience of them is brief as they are always moving and they have always resisted my attempts to portray them by means of millions of tiny dots. Birding Long-tailed Tit' In Japan, it is represented by the A.c. japonicus race.

Japan 196

Japan Collecting Europe Groups 196

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2021

Louisiana is a magical place to bird. At the same time I was ogling Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Upland Sandpipers, Marybeth Lima was also birding Louisiana. Chapter Two is a potpourri of stories about nemesis birds, birding by ear, birding for science, under the rubric of birding ‘for the love of it.’

Louisiana 264

Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2014

Continued from: Calilegua National Park Birding Trip Report. This is a very hot and dry region known as El Chaco where many interesting bird species can be found. Gonzales the greater the size of soybean farming fields and our expectations to see birds on this road trip had quickly died and turned into a boring flat-land ride.

Argentina 178

Argentina Farming Chile Birds 178

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2020

Last week I wrote about my first experience with a new site that a friend thought looked promising when he saw it on Google Maps. This time I got to see Pied-billed and Least Grebes at the reservoir, along with last week’s collection of Egrets. And E-Bird only listed a couple of high-quality sites back then.

San Francisco 163

San Francisco 2020 Experience Experiments 163

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 114

Birds North America Breeding America 114

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2015

As a result, some of the most popular and exciting birding destinations in the world run on Tico time. Having visited quite a few outstanding ecolodges in my blessed life, I’ve learned that exceptional birding destinations must first and foremost harbor exceptional, accessible birds. A handsome Crimson-collared Tanager.

Costa Rica 247

Costa Rica Birds Farming 2014 247

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It took me a while to wrap my mind around the concept of Birds and People , Mark Cocker and David Tipling’s book that, in 592 pages, explores the intersection of just that—birds and us. Nor have I overlooked “sightings” of birds in movies mouthing other birds’ calls. I’m not sure why.

Birds 204

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 204

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

They were commenting where they felt most at home – on their favourite FB pages (predominantly American Birding Association). I found those comments insightful and inspiring, valuable experiences and opinions worthy of sharing to a wider audience than the FB groups where they were initially posted. A teacher.”.

Greece 197

Greece Birds Zambia Experience 197

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.

San Francisco 202

San Francisco Birds North Dakota Oakland 202

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2014

There were opportunities to go to far flung places like the islands of the Pacific or the coast of Canada or the Yorkshire Dales… Anyway, as I was obsessed by Africa at the time, I leapt at the opportunity to go to Namibia to collect samples of bat DNA for a biogeography project. And the guano from a million Wrinkle-lipped Bats.

Bats 154

Bats Birds Vanuatu Namibia 154

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2014

Among birders, wildlife photographers, and nature enthusiasts, it is renowned for its incredible concentrations of birds at the end of the dry season. The star of such huge concentrations is the massive Jabiru , towering over a diverse collection of South American waterbirds such as Sunbittern , Plumbeous Ibis , and Southern Screamer.

Brazil 165

Brazil Birds Blackbirds Paraguay 165

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2019

They vary in construction and there is also a wide variation in the items that they collect. Traditionally the Great Bowerbirds collect mostly white and green items, but this varies by location. Around the township of Broome the Great Bowerbirds collect both white and green items , which are both natural and man-made.

Collecting 113

Collecting Horses Humane Experience 113