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? The area is known for a military base, the legendary Montezuma Lodge, and a boatload of birds. Your mind gets blown.

Colombia 264

Colombia Birds South America America 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2011

Bird watching Recinto 23 de Junio is always a great experience. There are not many places in Ecuador, or for that matter in the world, where you can see these all these birds in the same area. On my latest visit we encounter the Moss-backed Tanager and the Gray Hawk next to the road that leads to the community.

Ecuador 166

Ecuador Birds Industry Farming 166

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

“Target birds” The term can foster excitement but is easily contentious. It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? Aren’t all birds worth watching? Looking for Bare-necked Umbrellabird ?

Costa Rica 202

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 202

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2011

I enjoy fishing almost as much as I enjoy birding. For me there are few experiences more satisfying than releasing a fish that has put up a great fight. The one exception would be the thrill that birding brings. You see for me, birding is all about the quest. But most antpitta species are a severe birding challenge.

Ecuador 150

Ecuador South Africa United States Hunting 150

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2015

” these brown, long-tailed, noisy birds are small enough to hitch rides on backs of the real deal. This spectacular, turkey-like bird roams the floor of tropical forests from eastern Mexico south to northwestern Ecuador. It also ranges widely from Mexico south to western Ecuador. Ain’t I great?

Costa Rica 171

Costa Rica Turkey Ecuador Hunting 171

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

And where all those birds are? This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. And it raises a question: if all the birds are having a party over there, am I in the wrong spot? I am talking 600 or 700+ bird species.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

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. Take the Club-winged Manakin for example.

Ecuador 231

Ecuador Colombia Research Birds 231

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2011

Birding the High Andes is no joke. So, having been to Ecuador before, I knew that a few days in Quito and surrounds would be good for the old lungs before embarking on our quest for Seedsnipe. The upper Andes is stupendously beautiful Seedsnipes are some of the world’s oddest birds. Their exact taxonomy is uncertain.

Ecuador 206

Ecuador Florida Australia Birds 206

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 182

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 182

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2017

In 2009, I traveled from New York City to the tropical rainforest of Ecuador. The American Birding Association translated it into Spanish as part of its Birders Exchange Program, distributing copies to students and scientists in Central and South America and also making it available free in PDF format.

South America 151

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 151

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

These will be a series of shorter posts that will be scheduled while I’m traveling and filming for Nikon’s Birding Adventures TV. On the contrary, if you are a traveling birder, you might just find your next birding destination right here on 10,000 Birds. And this place has birds to boot!

Portugal 172

Portugal 2011 Deer Birds 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2012

A cherished handful of Central and South American locations enjoy international renown as absolutely mandatory destinations for adventurous bird watchers and nature lovers. T&T is a country any birding beach-lover can gladly visit without feeling deprived or compromised. And English is the national language!

Trinidad 245

Trinidad South America America Ecuador 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Which, naturally, got me to thinking about the newly erected order Suliformes, a development I mentioned in my December column, 2010′s Top 10 Developments in Bird Taxonomy and Systematics , but which I thought deserved further examination, for it’s one of those stories that defines the era in which we are living and birding.

2011 152

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 152

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

Collins Birds of the World is “ a must for the travelling birder ,” as the BBC Wildlife Magazine reviewer has put it. When I moved to Botswana, to learn my birds I got myself the thickest local field guide. It is not a concept for a total beginner, more of a reminder to someone with some experience. And I cannot agree more.

Birds 245

Birds Botswana Africa Ecuador 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Spring is for Wheatears Spring is for Wheatears By Dan • March 18, 2011 • 3 comments Tweet Share What is true in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US holds true for Cyprus as well: Spring is prime-time for Passerines.

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

If you had your choice of one bird family to pursue, to seek out and observe and photograph and kvell over, which one would you choose? A passion for one bird family is also very useful. It provides goals and a definite direction for your birding travels and thoughts; sometimes it even becomes the basis of a book!

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2019

Ecuador or Botswana, respectively). 17%: Ecuador, Peru. Interestingly, the respondents felt no need to further elaborate why, presuming that everyone knows why they should bird Costa Rica. Australia is understandable: good infrastructure, moderate prices and easiness of finding birds, combined with 350 endemics.

Papua New Guinea 214

Papua New Guinea America Costa Rica Sri Lanka 214

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2013

How many times have you been out in the field, failing to find the bird you were looking for, a bird you were certain was there? In this situation, you might have reached for your smartphone to broadcast a call to which you know your target bird would respond. They may experience undue stress and/or needlessly expend energy.

Ecuador 194

Ecuador Research Birds Endangered Species 194

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2013

After over a year of planning and preparation (and after a quick trip to the Pantanal and Chapada dos Guimaraes), I finally arrived at Cristalino Jungle Lodge on the afternoon of August 1st, 2013 to begin my nearly three month long guiding experience here. From a birders perspective, Cristalino Jungle Lodge is situated in a birding paradise.

Parrots 172

Parrots Brazil Eagles Birds 172

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2015

There are many charismatic endangered birds that capture people’s hearts and imaginations: the colossal California Condor , the evocative Red-crowned Crane , and the adorable Spoon-billed Sandpiper come to mind. Regardless of their popularity, these species and the threatened ecosystems they inhabit are equally spectacular.

Ecuador 196

Ecuador California Condor Blackbirds Parrots 196

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

If you know only a little bit about Charles Darwin, you know that he figured out Evolution via his study of the finches (and other birds) of the Galapagos. Today we view the Galapagos birds, including some finches and some mocking birds, as a great example of evolution. ground vs. in bushes, etc.)

Tortoises 199

Tortoises South America Panama Culling 199

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2012

Corey was lucky enough to meet Carlos while birding in Ecuador , where Carlos was dragooned into accompanying the horde of Queens birders for the day, an encounter that somehow didn’t turn him off of all things New York. Carlos Sanchez is an excellent birder, a Miami resident, and a polyglot. That’s right.

Florida 158

Florida Miami Cuba Bahamas 158

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2024

One night while camping in the Himalayas, the birding friend hears a Satyr Tragopan calling. He leaves the camp to look for the bird, and has never been seen again. Birders will ask: did he see the bird? Is birding a dangerous sport, an extreme sport even? She died in a car accident during a birding trip.

Mozambique 218

Mozambique Birds Ghana Namibia 218

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

I guess you cannot be too choosy while traveling, as I have learned when on trips in Ecuador and other places. The White-shouldered Starling is not very common in Shanghai or even in China in general, despite its species name sinensis. It is still worth the effort for very occasionally seeing one of these birds.

Birds 130

Birds Tigers Humane Ecuador 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2020

Will bird tour agencies, guides, eco-lodges survive? Will the threatened species make it through if there are no birding tourists to make those birds and their habitats valuable to local people just the way they are (as opposed to tropical timber)? What will be left of birding tourism? Ecuador 1690 6.

Uganda 248

Uganda Bolivia Ecuador Indonesia 248