10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Having grown up in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, I made the reasonable assumption that the Black Duck Porter made by Greenport Harbor Brewing Company was named for the American Black Duck , a locally common dabbler found throughout the East End’s many bays and saltmarshes. Or at least enough time for a quick tipple.

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Ducks San Francisco New York Legislation 120

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic. My name is Kalu Afasi, I am a birding guide from Ghana, a country in West Africa.

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Ghana Africa Birds Industry 222

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

I truly do hope I am not tiring 10,000 Birds’ readers too much with my obsession with Michoacán’s ongoing drought, the disappearance of Lake Cuitzeo (Mexico’s 2nd largest lake, in normal years), and our own micro-endemic Black-polled Yellowthroat. But obsessed I am. Had I thrown a rock, I would undoubtedly have hit one.

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Mexico Investigation Science Experience 214

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

Since then he has traveled the globe, his passion for birds growing with each new encounter. One reason that I can think of for subjecting myself to such a torturous experience is if I am going birdwatching. I had never been to Colombia before so didn’t know the best birding spots in the vicinity of the capital.

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Colombia Birds Raised Ecuador 218

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2021

During the second weekend of the year, even common birds still carry their luster. Still, I rarely get tired of seeing large flocks of Long-tailed Ducks in their striking plumage. Corey got out both mornings on the weekend looking for new birds for his Queens year list. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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Birds Ducks Fish Experience 159

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

And, sure enough, as the sun set birds came over in ones and twos and fours and fives, adding to what was already a pretty darn big flock of birds spread out on the West Pond. Mostly the ducks were Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup , the two most prevalent species on the pond, but there were a few other birds mixed in as well.

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Ducks 2011 Jamaica New York 170

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2020

January in Florida always delivers on tasty birds. I thought a sighting as range-restricted as Mottled Duck or flamboyant as Roseate Spoonbill would be my best bird of the weekend, but lifers always win, even weird ones like the hulking Gray-headed Swamphens observed at Wakadohatchee Wetlands. How about you?

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2020 Florida Birds Ducks 153

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? Mexican Ducks were also present; these are residents in the area, but not normally on this body of water. And the Black-polled Yellowthroat ?

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Ducks Mexico California Fish 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2023

Seriously though, we were walking our dog at the local park when out of the blue she said (and she is not into birding at all) “ You know what would be great. Imagine looking at birds through that.” There were rumours of cameras, some devices for bird ID, etc. Like binoculars have but with further reach. and Aaaah’s!

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Serbia Austria Elephants 2017 226

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2024

Then sometimes when you see these birds actively regaining their energy and getting ready for defending territories and breeding, they give the impression that their migration had just been a short jog around the block rather than a marathon across desert, mountains, and oceans.

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Soreing Owls Woodpeckers Eagles 174

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2014

and provides diverse nature experiences for visitors from around the world. Due to some erroneous numbers thrown about by Duck Stamp advocates, I feel that some explanations are in order. To be clear, Duck Stamp proceeds make up only a portion of the 3% of refuge land purchased by the MBCF. million, a 37% reduction 3.

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Ducks Wildlife Hunting Fish 218

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

Not all birds are created equal. These are the kinds of birds even those barely cognizant of nature recognize, appreciate, and aspire to. These are the kinds of birds even those barely cognizant of nature recognize, appreciate, and aspire to. Central Africa has one of those birds.

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Uganda Africa Birds Penguins 261

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

With longer and warmer days, we feel the urge to bird in the country, away from our local city patches. So, if you were coming into my neck of the woods – Belgrade, where would I suggest you go birding? Finally, when you finish birding, it’s time for a beer or some lunch. The downside is that weekends may get overcrowded.

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Serbia Woodpeckers Owls Eagles 260

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2013

Ring-necked Duck ( Aythya collaris ) photo by Larry Jordan. The Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act , which went into effect seventy-nine years ago on July 1, 1934, authorized the annual issuance of what is popularly known as the Duck Stamp. You don’t have to be a genius to see the folly in this approach to Duck Stamp sales.

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Ducks Wildlife Hunters Hunting 242

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2021

While Mike and Corey – fitting for being real celebrities in birding cycles – get invited to far-flung places such as Uganda, minor local birders sometimes at least get invited to places nearby. The birding life. But now back to birds … Little Ringed Plovers also seem to like to breed directly on the road.

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Birds Uganda Breeding Rats 213

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 23, 2023

As usual, my experience with such boardwalks was somewhat underwhelming, as was Eshowe as a whole, but there were still a few birds worth mentioning at the forest and in the area surrounding Eshowe. These two Hadada Ibis are reenacting the mirror scene from “Duck soup” (sort of). It must be frustrating.

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South Africa Africa Birds 2018 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Yesterday morning was simply one of those incredibly eventful birding sessions, about which I may expound upon in parts within the coming weeks. From genuine rarities to undocumented polymorphism – the magic of birding was truly in full swing. A concrete wall halving one of the ponds was a popular rest spot for several birds.

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Elephants Ducks Humane Family 269

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2011

When the American Ornithologists’ Union publishes its annual North American checklist update next month, many birders will be disappointed to see that a proposal to re-split Mexican Duck ( Anas diazi ) from Mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ) has failed. © David J. © David J.

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Ducks North America Texas Mexico 169

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?”

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Birds Compassion Eagles Science 259

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2016

But what about birds? One enterprising New Orleans-area bird rescuer is doing just that. As reported by the fine folks at The Dodo , after Hurricane Katrina forced Katrina “Kasia” Perkowska to evacuate, she started bringing her pet Wood Duck , Scooter, to her mother-in-law’s nursing home in Mississippi. Sounds like a win-win.

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Pets Rescue Mississippi Chickens 164

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.

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Blackbirds Shelters Ducks Mexico 219

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2022

If you think it is rather pretentious to start a birding blog post with a Kafka story, I fully agree with you. Anyway, the story is not quite how I remembered it, to be honest, but fitting enough to describe the almost claustrophobic birding experience in ever-shrinking Nanhui. I just want to point out it could be much worse.

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Raccoons Birds Oregon China 213

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2018

I will, of course, get over my weather woes and find a way to enjoy the unappreciated pleasures of winter birding. Because I hid out from the cold this weekend as much as possible, my birding was mainly done from my window. There are lots of nice ducks but none are as sexy as Redheads , Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend.

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2018 Birds Ducks Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2019

Luckily, for birds, I didn’t have to, as a skulky Winter Wren sought shelter right outside my dining room window, adding a highly improbable third wren species to my yard list. Corey was out birding on Saturday morning in Queens and early on Sunday morning he visited the tern colony at Nickerson Beach. How about you?

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2019 New York Shelters Birds 128

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

An expanse of habitat as vast as Murchison Falls NP in Uganda, as excessively generous in beauty and biodiversity, permits endless ways to experience both its birds and animals. The Masindi Hotel holds the distinction of being the oldest and most historic hotel in Uganda and has some terrific birds on premises.

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Uganda Senegal Africa Game 185

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2024

Mid-February is an early start for spring – even this far south – but spring is spring, and birds were waiting. There were birds singing everywhere. The ponds were full of birds as usual with abundant Common Snipe as well as Ruff , some Dunlin , Stilts and a few ducks, including Red-crested Pochards. Tunnel vision?

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Psychology Portugal Japan Eagles 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2019

Corey saw a bunch of birds on a mild Sunday morning though none of them were particularly spectacular. The birds that most caught his eye (and the focus of his digiscoping rig) were some Ruddy Ducks coming into breeding plumage at Brookville Park in Queens. They are his Best Bird of the Weekend. How about you?

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2019 Birds Ducks Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2019

These reports (called “ Banking on Nature “) are relevant to birders because they are among the few comprehensive analyses that relate to the economic impact of birders on national wildlife refuges, which are among the more popular birding locations. A number of these NWRs appear on my list of the Top 25 NWRs for Birding.).

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Wildlife Maryland San Francisco Minnesota 245

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2019

April has come and will soon be gone, hopefully carrying a bounty of bodacious birds in its wake for you. An unseemly April snowfall illuminated the capricious climate of the Great Lakes region as I encountered Caspian Terns , our harbinger of spring, flying over Long-tailed Ducks , our waterfowl of winter. How about you?

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2019 Kentucky Birds Ducks 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

To be precise, “Birding Shanghai from June 10 to June 30, 2022” – but that is even less of an exciting title than the one above. The reason for this post only covering the period from June 10 being that an earlier post, “Revenge Birding”, was about the first 9 days of June. You should try it too.

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Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 184

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2023

Most years, a day in January of serious birding around Lake Cuitzeo can give me around 85 species. So up north I go, always hoping for a good harvest of year birds. This past January, however, my experience was even better. As a result, we managed to see an even 100 bird species in one day — a record for both of us.

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Blackbirds 2020 Ducks Mexico 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In this post, we’ll share the most positive of the positives, at least for those who write for 10,000 Birds who decided to share. Of all the birds that make the list for a given year one of those birds must be the Best Bird of the Year. We are always content bird-watching around Broome anyway!

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2020 Birds Germany Costa Rica 230

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2022

A while back, I wrote several guest posts for 10,000 Birds and Mike and Corey asked if I wanted a regular monthly space. Nevertheless, five years seems a good time to reflect on the blogging experience. Nevertheless, five years seems a good time to reflect on the blogging experience. Bird researchers are good people!

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Puerto Rico California Condor Virgin Islands Laws 171

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2019

Remember way back to last year when a team named for a bird won the Super Bowl? Maybe next year… This weekend, I braved the soul-searing chill of the polar vortex to track down Canvasbacks palling around with other ducks in the open water of the Irondequoit Bay channel. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2019 Suffering Birds Ducks 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2022

I don’t know what the experience is like in other parts of the world – so do let me know – but at least here in T&T, some of the absolute best waterbirding can be done at sewage ponds. The birds were already out and about, and so were the mosquitoes! This immature bird made a close pass before submerging itself.

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Ducks Groups Experience Experiments 208

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

One small thing that made me happy this weekend was the return of Long-tailed Ducks to our lakeshore. Corey could have chosen his first Pine Siskins of the year in New York, a Red-headed Woodpecker , a late Osprey , or a Vesper Sparrow as his Best Bird of the Weekend this weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2016 New York Birds Woodpeckers 169

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2016

Of course it also means that there is only one week left of birding to top up your year list and I am not really expecting to add anything new to my year list over the next week unless the tropical low that is buffeting the north-west of Western Australia throws something our way. It is quintessentially a Christmas bird! Pintail Duck.

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