10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

What happens when you visit one of the best birdwatching sites in the region with the highest number of endemic bird species in the Americas in the world’s birdiest country? How else can I describe two days at Cerro Montezuma in Colombia. Hope that you’re as fortunate to go birding with Leo!

Colombia 263

Colombia Birds South America America 263

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2022

Most of the usual birds seem present, a frog or two call from a small wetland, and a few other expected animals are there too. Even so, in the short term, it can be hard to accept that hundreds of species are close to being extinguished from this irreplaceble tapestry of life, that hundreds more are headed for the same eventual abysmal stop.

Costa Rica 256

Costa Rica Parrots Albatross Birds 256

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

Birders head to Costa Rica to see stunners like Resplendent Quetzal , Three-wattled Bellbird , Orange-collared Manakin , fancy hummingbirds , tanagers, and literally hundreds of other birds. These and several other species might end up being armchair ticks if and when we take a closer look at their evolutionary history.

Costa Rica 210

Costa Rica Species South America America 210

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2018

Birders follow different patterns of bird migration and their local activities and travel accordingly. It illustrates the bird richness per country. It divides countries into categories, where the next category has 200 more species. Shown as a list, it looks like this: Less than 200 bird species: Antarctica; oceanic islands.

Equatorial Guinea 194

Equatorial Guinea Costa Rica Guyana Central African Republic 194

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

My latest posts have tended to the thematic, rather than offering up lots of photos of the cool birds I am seeing. That is not due to a lack of birding; I am still going out every Monday. But very rainy weather during August made it harder to see exciting birds, and often resulted in poor photos of those I did see. and Canada.

Colombia 222

Colombia ALA Canada Mexico 222

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2014

Tropical birding demands tropical birds, those families and genera unique to their latitudes rather than shared via migration across various climate zones. Sometimes, they even have the same species… I’m looking at you, House Wren ! So why is this bird called the Red-ruffed Fruitcrow? It eats fruit.

Colombia 191

Colombia South America Argentina Ecuador 191

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2012

Colombia is not only home to nearly 20% of all avian life on the planet but this birding mecca also accommodates an incredibly high percentage of highly sought after species. Nearly 80 species are endemic and found nowhere else in the world. But we just could not ignore the plentiful antpitta species too.

Colombia 245

Colombia Ecuador South America North America 245

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2022

The first title of the ‘official’ series (there were two ‘prequels’) was “ Birds of Thailand “, published in 2018. The most recent was the ninth one, “ Birds of Colombia ” in 2021. One thing I deeply respect is the addition of common bird names in a local language.

Thailand 147

Thailand Colombia 2018 Groups 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2020

On the northern birding calendar, October is a time for sparrows, cool weather, and tired fall leaves. In Costa Rica, the tenth month is when birds pass through in droves. but there are other birds, many stopping to stay, many others moving to South America. In Costa Rica, a lot of those birds fly right overhead.

Costa Rica 267

Costa Rica South America Colombia Paraguay 267

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2019

However, no matter how one enjoys or takes in interest in the avian side of life, an official list of the birds for a given area is of vital importance. With the rise in birding tourism, bird lists for entire countries have also become increasingly important. Not every list has Great Tinamou on it. Juvenile Gray Hawk.

Costa Rica 199

Costa Rica Birds Owls South America 199

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

We all have invasive species on our minds this week, which should serve as an inspiration to those of us interested in expanding our personal range. Thanks to my new best friends at Proexport Colombia, I’ll be birding this weekend in the birdiest country on Earth. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding?

Colombia 160

Colombia 2014 Breeders Birds 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Very few birds – or animals for that matter – would plunge head-first into the churning cauldrons of some of South America’s most treacherous rivers. Otun Quimbaya remains a very good place to view this highly enigmatic and entertaining species. Torrent Ducks are the thrill-seekers of the avian world.

Ducks 240

Ducks Colombia South America Squirrels 240

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

One of these days, Jeopardy will feature a category called “Field Guides” and the first clue will be: “This landlocked South American country finally got its own bird field guide in 2016, but it wasn’t available in the United State until 2019.” Bolivia doesn’t come up much in discussions of birding travel.

Bolivia 172

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 172

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2021

Birds are arriving in North America, flying from places far to the south. When birding in parks and woodlots of Ohio, Virginia, and Toronto, places with groves of maples and old craggy oaks, it can be hard to imagine that the Red-eyed Vireos of constant song were foraging for caterpillar larvae in rainforest just a few months earlier.

Costa Rica 261

Costa Rica Nicaragua Ohio Honduras 261

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 16, 2021

Have you ever birded a place so young that birds still have no names? At first we followed one trail, without success, then we followed the other one – the same happened – and when we were ready to enter the boat, to cross the river arm behind the sandbank, there it was, the bird with no name.” Thamnophilus sp. Thamnophilus sp.

Colombia 277

Colombia Birds Fish Venezuela 277

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

This week I find myself writing about Colombia again. But this should not come as a surprise as the country really is almost fathomless when it comes to delicious bird content. In fact, of the 30 or so species of piculet found worldwide, only four are found outside the continent, three in Asia and one in Africa.

Colombia 172

Colombia Woodpeckers South America Family 172

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2016

I remember the very first time I saw the national bird of Venezuela. The Venezuelan Troupial has a large range, and can be found in Venezuela (obviously), Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and a number of Caribbean Islands. In addition to striking feather patterns, the troupial is set apart from other oriole species in a variety of ways.

Venezuela 101

Venezuela Puerto Rico Colombia Trinidad 101

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2011

Founded by Roberto Chavarro and his family in the early eighties, this little reserve has been dropped slap-bang into the birding spotlight by the recent claims of the rediscovery of the Bogota Sunangel Heliangelus zusii , a species that is known from one record – a skin from 1909! returned to the USA. An amateur at best.

Colombia 234

Colombia Family 2011 Species 234

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2019

Barbets are odd, chunky birds with large beaks. There’s so much more that can be said about this group of birds but that’s the first description that comes to mind. Like many other barbets, both are clownish birds in terms of plumage and song; the Red-headed Barbet. and the Prong-billed Barbet.

Costa Rica 166

Costa Rica Colombia South America Ecuador 166

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Fortunately, at this time of year there are also a good number of high-quality migratory species: Least Flycatcher. Hey, even the common species give good photos in Paso Ancho! Good local guides are important for more reasons than just finding the best birds. Is it safe to bird in Mexico? V irginia’s Warbler.

Mexico 160

Mexico Colombia Africa Experience 160

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2014

Birding in the Amazon Rainforest has its pros and cons. The lure of an staggering number of species at a particular location is a draw for many people. However, rainforest birds live in specific microhabitats and are often much easier to hear than to see in the dense multilayered rainforest.

Peru 184

Peru Birds United Kingdom South Africa 184

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2012

One of the defining characteristics of birds, besides the obvious features of wings and feathers, is their bills. From toucans to curlews and from hummingbirds to flamingos, birds display an almost otherworldly diversity in these body-parts. Bills are instrumental in defining three of the senses in birds – taste, touch and smell.

Birds 214

Birds Mammals Mozambique New Zealand 214

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2021

Have you ever birded a place so young that birds still have no names ? … – part 2 – Once I finish this writing, with a strange mix of emotions I will put the Lynx field guide Birds of Colombia to the bookshelf for the first time, more than half a year after I received it. He had his Zeiss glasses in his hand. ‘I

Dolphins 260

Dolphins Colombia Otters Birds 260

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2018

When it comes to initiatives that promote birding, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is hard to beat. Numerous projects take place that monitor bird populations and help educate people of all ages about birds. Those who did so on May 5th automatically became part of the biggest day of collective birding in 2018; Global Big Day !

Costa Rica 162

Costa Rica 2018 Colombia Collecting 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

2014 has been a good year for us at 10,000 Birds. We’ve traveled to lots of places, seen lots of great birds, and met lots of great birders. So, as we’ve done for the last several years we thought we would share our Best Birds of the Year with you. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours?

2014 187

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 187

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2015

Mountains are a boon for birding. Although marching up and down and up and down can be a literal pain, the feathered rewards come in the form of super cool local species that rarely or never make it down to lower elevations. Bird the high elevation habitats of the Talamancan Mountain Range and the regional endemics rule.

Costa Rica 150

Costa Rica Panama Nicaragua Honduras 150

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2011

Here are the clues: 1. Some references indicate that this country has nearly 900 different species of birds. 2. It is at the top of my list of countries to visit specifically for birding. 3. Corey has written about one of the species, which I will most likely see when I go. No plans yet, sigh.

2011 150

2011 Myanmar Bolivia Venezuela 150

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2017

If you are a birder and can’t help but put most or all of your results into eBird , then you are no doubt birding somewhere today, May 13th. In South America, some countries have organized their birding ranks to try and catch the coveted top spot for bird species identified on Global Big Day.

Costa Rica 124

Costa Rica Colombia Owls South America 124

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

We now have a much better idea of which birds belong in the bombycillid clade, thanks to a paper called Clarifying the systematics of an enigmatic avian lineage: What is a bombycillid? First, we turn to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, where dwells a dusky, streaky, sociable bird called the Palmchat ( Dulus dominicus ). Hypocolius.

Saudi Arabia 214

Saudi Arabia 2008 Indonesia Groups 214

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2013

The birds were observed crashing into the rocks high in the Andean mountains near a hydroelectric power plant. Other birds were seen crash landing. As Chilean officials and volunteers rescued 17 birds they noticed the birds were foaming from the beak. It is estimated that only a few thousand birds remain in the wild.

Livestock 175

Livestock Chile Colombia Ecuador 175

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

We here at 10,000 Birds thought this would be a perfect time to look back and figure out what each of us considered our Best Bird of the Year, just like we did last year. Not only did we not expect to see this seabird this far inland, it was a life bird for me! We would like you to join in!

2011 181

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 181

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2011

These are just a few of the questions that come to mind when watching these bizarre little birds. On a recent filming trip with Tropical Birding in Ecuador I had the awesome experience of getting up close and personal with two bizarre manakin species. The Club-winged Manakin is a bird with a pair of violins built into its wings.

Ecuador 230

Ecuador Colombia Research Birds 230

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2024

I recently found out that on this planet of ours there exist people, actual living, walking, breathing people, who claim that birds are robotic drones used by the governments around the world for the purpose of espionage. Birds were basically everywhere around me. Which is exactly what I did. It was so easy, no neck straining!

Ecuador 172

Ecuador Colombia Birds Panama 172

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birding / Where Are You Birding This First Weekend of March 2011? Where Are You Birding This First Weekend of March 2011? No wonder I have no idea if or where I’ll be birding this weekend.

2011 145

2011 Los Angeles Deer Birds 145

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2022

8 of them sent 153 lists, noting 645 species of bird across 7 countries (Mexico, UK, USA, Serbia, Australia, Costa Rica, Colombia). Dragan has caught up from his adventures in Colombia and the life list has reached 4103. Dragan has caught up from his adventures in Colombia and the life list has reached 4103.

Sparrows 230

Sparrows Woodpeckers Parrots Owls 230

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2023

A rather small black bird moved about, making short hops to and fro until finally it stopped for a couple of seconds, lowering its head to the side watching us inquisitively. That’s how it is with most smaller Amazonian birds. I mean, we as a species are today basically everywhere. But still new species are found.

Solomon Islands 215

Solomon Islands Ecuador Colombia Brazil 215

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Instead of going on about zip lines and other modern, adventure tourism attractions, the birding crowd talks about taking photos of Resplendent Quetzals , seeing dozens of hummingbird species, and the seemingly odd absence of raptors in Costa Rica but nope, we don’t really talk about extinction. Resplendence.

Costa Rica 217

Costa Rica Species Panama Birds 217