10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2018

Last week I mentioned the steady increase of Plumed Whistling-Ducks to the Broome Poo Ponds and that they now number in the thousands. As the land starts to dry out the Plumed Whistling-Ducks head for remaining fresh water around Broome and the ephemeral lakes are good locations for them to move to, but the Poo Ponds are also ideal.

Ducks 100

Ducks Species Rights Birds 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Torrent Ducks are the thrill-seekers of the avian world. 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.

Ducks 240

Ducks Colombia South America Squirrels 240

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

The only bird-related activity I can think of is looking at bird photos I took in Singapore in 2015, and adding some irrelevant comments to them. Presumably, birds living in Singapore do not understand German. Lesser Whistling Ducks are “not threatened by hunting as they are not considered good to eat” ( Wikipedia ).

Singapore 218

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 218

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

It has been more than 5 years since I last went to Australia, and I was even less of a qualified bird photographer then than I am now. So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. The female looks a bit duller but I was assured it has a beautiful soul.

Australia 185

Australia Birds Koalas Parrots 185

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2023

How much time do you devote to birding? How high is birding on your list of activities – is it the very first or merely one of? These are the types I recognise: Coffee Break Birding – 10-15 minutes, usually not planned ahead but squeezed out of your schedule. It is a good option if you know that there is that one special bird.

India 174

India Birds Africa Serbia 174

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Yes, cute little Skylarks were all well and good, but what Kiwis really wanted were birds they could shoot and fish they could, uh, fish. New Zealand had, once upon a time, some fairly spectacular game birds, including massive flightless geese, massive flightles rails, and really enormous moa. Female Mallard, photo by Corey.

Species 166

Species New Zealand Ducks Game 166

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2017

However, for a local birder who can’t help but take part in a permanent hustle to boost the year list, you gotta look for more than the resident eye candy species. The up-side to that is a new, four lane stretch of quick road for at least some kilometers along with a chance at rare ducks. 5 species on my year list.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica Ducks Morals Species 100

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 Hadada Ibis were right in the garden of the place where we stayed. But the same species was never found again.

South Africa 147

South Africa Africa Birds 2018 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Not too many highlights, not too many species … hard to say whether this is just the usual nostalgia for a better but probably nonexistent past or a real phenomenon. The latter is possible, as the undisturbed areas of Nanhui keep shrinking, leaving less and less space for birds. Somehow, for this bird it is ok.

Birds 232

Birds Humane Japan Ducks 232

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2014

From a European blogger, you therefore probably expect to see posts on species that you know as European vagrants from your field guides and long to find on your local patch. Like … the Tufted Duck ! See how it went… Arriving at the scene, it was easy to spot a few Tufted Ducks, but hard to get decent views at them.

Germany 170

Germany Ducks North America America 170

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.

Mexico 214

Mexico Investigation Science Experience 214

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

When it comes to one’s most exciting bird sightings, of course, it all comes down to context. I wouldn’t change my central Mexican endemics for any other region’s birds. So my favorites for 2019 includes a good number of birds that are rather common elsewhere, but were firsts for me.

Austria 146

Austria Spain 2019 Birds 146

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Manky Muscovy Ducks Manky Muscovy Ducks By Mike • March 2, 2011 • 6 comments Tweet Share The Muscovy Duck ( Cairina moschata ) attracts more attention than most ducks, at least in North America.

Ducks 216

Ducks 2011 Deer New York 216

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 170

Ducks 2011 Jamaica New York 170

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2015

The wet season is still in full effect and that translates to dynamic birding in every habitat. Sometimes, you gotta travel to find the breaks in the rain but when you do, the toucans are calling, and parrots, raptors, and other large birds are trying to dry out in the treetops. Each year, I hope to identify at least 600 species.

Costa Rica 154

Costa Rica 2015 Species West Virginia 154

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2016

In 2015 a Federal Duck Stamp Task Force was convened under the auspices of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) consisting of seventeen individuals. b) Recommendation : Work with all groups to identify synergistic opportunities for promoting broad conservation benefits of the Duck Stamp. 1) Action : U.S.

Ducks 100

Ducks Hunters Hunting Wildlife 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2022

Necessity being the mother of invention, and all that, the almost-total disappearance of Mexico’s second-largest lake in the spring of 2021 forced me to try a new birding route last May. As it turned out, the remaining water was too shallow for ducks, except a few Northern Shovelers. Spoiler alert: I did not see any Canvasbacks.

Ducks 211

Ducks Mexico Fish Species 211

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.

Uganda 261

Uganda Africa Birds Penguins 261

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2022

At the beginning it was so big that I was afraid, I kept running and running, and I was glad when I saw walls far away to the right and left, but these long walls have narrowed so quickly that I am in the last chamber already, and there in the corner stands the trap that I must run into.” So, still room for improvement. Depressing.

Raccoons 213

Raccoons Birds Oregon China 213

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2020

LABUDOVO OKNO Ramsar Site and an Important Bird Area represents a section of the Danube floodplain downriver from Belgrade, Serbia, and situated in the south of the Deliblato Sands Special Nature Reserve. For the eastern section, follow the first (potholed) or the second dirt track right (better), after the Dubovac village.

Turtles 168

Turtles 2002 Serbia Eagles 168

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2023

The birding delights of the estuary are a 30-minute drive from the Lisbon international airport. So close, you would think there’s nothing one can do to improve the location of this fantastic birding spot. I like to close the year with a visit as birds are like English pensioners in Benidorm – they flock in winter.

Portugal 181

Portugal Geese Suffering Farming 181

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2021

This past Saturday, 09 October 2021, was the Eighth Annual Queens County Bird Club Big Sit. As regular readers of 10,000 Birds know, the Big Sit is my favorite birding event of the year, narrowly edging out the Christmas Bird Count. Sadly, on Saturday the winds weren’t right. What kind of question is that?

Woodpeckers 232

Woodpeckers Battery Birds Species 232

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Audubon guides to birds have been around since 1946. The first guide bearing the National Audubon Society imprint was Audubon Bird Guide; Eastern Land Birds , written by Richard Hooper Pough, and illustrated by Don Eckelberry. Plate 28 from Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds, by Richard H. Knopf, 1994/97.

North America 279

North America America Birds California Condor 279

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

In late July, I travelled a half hour north of Morelia to Lake Cuitzeo (kweet-SAY-oh) to see if our two inevitable first migratory species from up north, Baird’s Sandpiper and Wilson’s Phalarope, had begun arriving. At that point, neither species was yet present, and there wasn’t much of a lake, either.

Ducks 253

Ducks 2020 Eggs California 253

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Located right where the Yangtze River enters the sea (and dividing it into two parts), it is mostly flat farmland. 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. Again, very shy birds.

China 163

China Ducks Transported Game 163

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 194

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 194

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.

2019 128

2019 New York Shelters Birds 128

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2018

Maybe it’s because the American Coot ( Fulica americana ) is the most abundant and widely distributed species of rail in North America that it gets no respect? But I think the adult Coot is a cool bird in its own right. Just look at that cool red iris… and the very cool lobed green feet!

North America 113

North America America Ducks Industry 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

What I am getting at here is that I have seen lots and lots of Ruddy Ducks at Jamaica Bay but never one that looked like this particular individual. What I am getting at here is that I have seen lots and lots of Ruddy Ducks at Jamaica Bay but never one that looked like this particular individual. Go check it out! Get yours today!

Ducks 151

Ducks 2011 Jamaica Deer 151

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2022

On that glorious day, I observed ten critically endangered birds, representing 8% of their Costa Rican, or 2% of their global population!! In my previous post , I dealt with Rancho Naturalista Lodge itself and birding within their private reserve. But, let’s start at the beginning. A group (maybe 4-5 ex.)

Costa Rica 233

Costa Rica Nicaragua 2019 Farming 233

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 219

Blackbirds Shelters Ducks Mexico 219

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Checking my annual list, I am where I usually am at this time of year: several species short of 200. Still, this way or another, the year is ending with some glorious species, e.g. a rare Greater Spotted Eagle. Usually only several birds overwinter in Serbia – the biggest count ever was less than 10. Their claim to fame?

Moldova 118

Moldova Birds Serbia Greece 118

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

The April arrival of the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition was a supremely happy moment in a very difficult, sad month. A companion regional guide, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America was published in 1941; its fifth edition will be coming out in early September.

North America 207

North America America Hawaii Birds 207

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2020

Where do you go to bird, when you know you might not be able to go anywhere else? Perhaps one of my reasons for going to the lake was that it guarantees more species in one day than any of my other sites. So off to the lake I went, to see which ducks and shorebirds were still here, and which had already left.

Mexico 164

Mexico Breeding Ducks North America 164

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2019

Was it Shakespeare who asserted that a bird by any other name would sing as sweet? Perhaps he didn’t write those exact words, but this enduring sentiment may be as close to bird naming conventions as the immortal Bard would willingly tread. Far too many bird names have confusing, misleading, or just plain dumb common names.

Birds 113

Birds Woodpeckers Ducks Suffering 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2014

While there are some two dozen birding spots in Belgrade, Serbia, that stand out, in this guideblog I will focus on the river Danube and its floodplain, inside the Important Bird Area “Confluence of the Sava and the Danube Rivers”. The next winter bird spot lies some 4.5 In March and November, Common Cranes are a possibility.

Serbia 232

Serbia Birds Ducks Eagles 232

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