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 ?

Ducks 130

Ducks Mexico California Fish 130

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2021

During the second weekend of the year, even common birds still carry their luster. While I sought rarities on the western edge of Rochester this weekend, I came up with entirely common species. Still, I rarely get tired of seeing large flocks of Long-tailed Ducks in their striking plumage. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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Birds Ducks Fish Experience 180

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 279

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. Lesser Striped Swallow.

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Uganda Africa Birds Penguins 296

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

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.

Ducks 188

Ducks 2011 Jamaica New York 188

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 264

Birds Compassion Eagles Science 264

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 257

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

At the end of 2022, let us celebrate the local field guide, a sub-genre that many of us feared would die, the victim of technology, development, and globalization, but which still shines bright, fewer in number but brilliant in quality, thanks to birders and birding organizations that believe in knowing your patch and your state.

Los Angeles 238

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 238

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?

2019 152

2019 New York Shelters Birds 152

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 259

Blackbirds Shelters Ducks Mexico 259

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2021

The survey also sought to identify “the key attributes important to birding experiences” and learn more about “decisions to participate in birdwatching and level of identity as birdwatcher.”. For example, the survey (of eBirders) found: “Nearly all respondents (99%) indicated they participate in birdwatching or birding.”.

Minnesota 264

Minnesota Research Pennsylvania Ohio 264

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?

2019 113

2019 Kentucky Birds Ducks 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

I am still tired from the long drive, but it was great to play with the very best toys for birders, to be able to share experiences and to ask the factory staff all sorts of silly questions. At the end of the workshop we all went birding, to further test the glasses of our choice. impressive for Central Europe.

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Austria Factory Asia Battery 299

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 210

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Population density is far lower than in most parts of the city, and public transportation is limited – probably bad news for the people living on the island, but good news for the birds. A number of species use Chongming as a wintering spot, not just the Cinereous Vultures I already mentioned in a previous post. Eurasian Kestrel.

China 190

China Ducks Transported Game 190

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2020

Just under a fortnight ago, I saw a report on the local bird alert of a sighting of a group of approximately 20 Nacunda Nighthawks at a wetland not more than 20 minutes from where I live. Especially as we were at the time about to experience a rapidly advancing tropical storm. Such is birding, such is life. Great Blue Heron.

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Livestock Ducks ALA illegal 256

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 232

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

And this doesn’t mean you are obsessed or a little bit too much into birds because keeping track of a year list actually comes with some side benefits. Yeah, many of us living the birding life do so anyways because we can’t help it. I strongly suggest the experience of sharing Turquoise-browed Motmots. Go birding!

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2013

A Carolina Wren hopped cheerfully around my front lawn this weekend, establishing that species’ half-hardy credentials. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend wasn’t one bird, or even one species, but the hordes of ducks he saw at Baisley Pond Park in Queens. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2013 162

2013 Ducks Birds Experience 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2018

July often means travel, which sometimes means tourist attractions, which occasionally means exotic or introduced bird species. We may know these birds well, but should we love them? Turacos, hornbills, and diverse ducks were far more interesting than the robins and catbirds scrounging around the exhibits. How about you?

2018 100

2018 Zoos Birds Raised 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2017

The year 2016 is done and gone and 2017 beckons us onward, bright and new and shiny, hopefully full of birds. Here’s hoping everyone has a wonderful 2017, full of amazing birds and experiences. As for Mike, well…at the beginning of a new year, every bird commands attention. How about you?

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2017 2016 New York Birds 124

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

If you like birds on posts, if seeing “little brown jobs” posing nicely in the distance as you drive or walk along a dirt road only to have it fly away as you approach makes you deliriously happy, then North Dakota is the place for you. I wanted to see prairie birds and I wanted to experience a new state.

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North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 171

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2018

Weekends are much like birds, in that some are more prosaic than others. Were we to ascribe to weekends the taxonomy of birds, our days would likely resemble our lists: for every resplendent songbird or wild raptor would be ten ordinary gulls or pigeons, interesting in their own rights but hardly worth raving about. How about you?

2018 113

2018 Iceland Geese Birds 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2017

No, what scares me is the idea that migration will be ending soon… Nonetheless, this time of year introduces a suite of seasonal birds. Some lakewatching at the Irondequot Bay Outlet was rewarded by my FOY Purple Sandpiper , a rather brown bird feeding on the rocks of the jetty. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2017 100

2017 Nashville Birds Ducks 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2018

Corey had a wonderful weekend of birding, hitting a variety of spots across Queens on Saturday and then leading a New York City Audubon field trip looking for ducks in central Queens on Sunday. It was his first in Queens in two years and easily his Best Bird of the Weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2018 100

2018 New York City New York Birds 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

What do you think makes for a good bird hide? I have asked myself that same question many times over the last six months, until last week, when I was involved in an opening ceremony of five new bird hides at the Palic Lake, by the town of Subotica in the very north of Serbia, along the border with Hungary (all photos are from that area).

Serbia 266

Serbia Birds Spain Hungary 266

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

As much as I love hearing about and sharing Best Birds of the Weekend, sometimes I have cause to ponder just what that term means. Obviously, the birds themselves are not jockeying for recognition. Rather, we designate best birds according to our priorities and perceptions of value. BBOTW speaks volumes about birders, not birds.

2014 219

2014 Feral Asia China 219

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2017

I know I neglected to ask you where you were birding this weekend, but don’t ever think that means I don’t want to know. Any good bird sighting deserves to be shared and enjoyed. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed.

2017 100

2017 Neglecting Jamaica Birds 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Birding tends to be an extremely freeform activity, demanding only we pursue our bliss to the best of our means and ability. This, the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count , is one of those times: tell us how you contributed to citizen science. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2013 174

2013 Science Ducks Birds 174

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.

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San Francisco Portland Whales Whaling 152

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

Not only that, but the university retains on faculty a bona fide authority on the region’s avifauna: Professor Oliver Komar is the co-author of the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America and as brilliant a field birder as I’ve ever met in the Neotropics. Zamorano happens to be incredibly birdy. than we had time to attempt.

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Honduras Birds Kentucky Research 166

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2021

My readers are already familiar with Beljarica Backwaters, as described in half a dozen posts here at 10,000 Birds. It all started well three decades ago, when I intensively birded the Danube Backwaters by kayak. Now, I have mixed feelings: cautious and by experience mistrustful, but happy. White-tailed Eagles in Beljarica.

Serbia 279

Serbia Protection Deer Boars 279

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

“This beautiful and singular bird, although a constant resident in the southern extremities of the peninsula of Florida, seldom extends its journeys in an eastern direction beyond the State of North Carolina. I picked up a few bottles and we were off on our way home to Albany.

New York 264

New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2011

It concerns how I watch birds. While plowing through my computer-hard-drive-clogging downloads of recent bird photographs from my various cameras and trying to delete the crummy and enhance (or even just keep track of) the keepers, I noticed that I had a long series of images of a displaying male Ruddy Duck. I think it is!

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Birds Ducks Experience Experiments 191

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2014

That will be the opening day of the 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. Who knows what great birds 2015 will bring? Like this past January, I will be leading field trips and spending the rest of my time birding. So, basically, I’ll be birding all the time.

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2015 Wildlife Florida Birds 229

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2013

To all you hardy naturalists who have already logged Christmas Bird Count hours in service to citizen science, I salute you! Those of you willing to eschew creature comforts to tally birds across your ice-rimed count circles are my heroes. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2013 177

2013 Shelters Birds Science 177