10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2021

One bird species that we occasionally observe around Broome is the Yellow-billed Spoonbill, but we had not seen one for a few years until recently. The river level is low this time of year and the bird-life was very good. We soon observed several bird species and then a Yellow-billed Spoonbill flew overhead.

Breeding 238

Breeding Australia Cattle Family 238

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.

North America 279

North America America Birds California Condor 279

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

It is near a river, attracting some birds that like to eat wet food. As the national bird of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the African Fish Eagle is usually very busy whenever it stays in these countries, giving speeches, opening shopping centers, etc. The birds I asked about this pretended not to be related to anyone though.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. Bird communication is a complex and evolving science.

North America 278

North America Research Birds Groups 278

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

This shouldn’t have to be stated, especially in a book on bird evolution by an evolutionary biologist with a Ph.D. How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity by Douglas J. Futuyma is a synthesis of theory and research about evolution and birds. that’s three birds).

Science 213

Science Albatross Research Birds 213

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2015

That was the first thing we–our New Jersey Audubon group of 11 birders, led by Scott Barnes–noted as we exited the airport. This photo is actually of a TK seen a few days later, but it was at our favorite birding gas station pit stop that we also stopped at on our first day. There was no snow. And lots of greenery.

Honduras 248

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 248

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Watching birds, birding, is inexorably tied to autonomous motivation. Maybe that’s why birders just might be obsessive about it or at least, very much into the hobby, the birding way of life. We get serious about quality optics and spend hours studying field guides about birds because we really really want to.

Costa Rica 204

Costa Rica Cooking Birds Chickens 204

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

The Juniper Titmouse ( Baeolophus ridgwayi ) is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. You can also see my 10000 Birds post on the Oak Titmouse here. Thanks to my friend Rebecca Carrier for penning this post for 10,000 Birds on my behalf. One of my favorite bird species living by my house is the Juniper Titmouse.

2017 152

2017 New Mexico Groups Abandon 152

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2017

In early 2014 the rainfall was good and flooded the main highway south from Broome and made for some excellent birding from your car. The area remained flooded for several months in 2014 and there was significant road damage, but over the months the birding improved as more and more birds arrived in the area.

Geese 100

Geese Breeding 2014 Eggs 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2014

When you monitor a species of birds over many years you learn a lot from your observations and you soon become aware of the fact that some birds are just better at parenting than others. There is egg predation, chick loss and sometimes possibly just some “bad parenting”!

Eggs 165

Eggs Raised Breeding Family 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2016

That’s what a group of researchers suggest in a paper recently published in Behavioral Ecology. The scientists, who studied bird populations in Europe and China , speculate that urban areas may have some appeal for passerines that rural areas otherwise lack. Smaller birds are much more likely to tolerate a human presence.

China 101

China Europe Research Falcons 101

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2015

I came late to bird feeding, and when I was finally able to put out a “thistle” sock and a seed feeder (or two or six), I was amazed by the learning curve. There is a long list of articles and books on how to feed birds in your yard. Feeding Wild Birds in America: Culture, Commerce & Conservation by Paul J. And conservation.

America 228

America Industry Squirrels Birds 228

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

We have recently come across several Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles families around Broome. They generally lay four eggs, but we have only seen a maximum of three surviving chicks after a few days. A good indication that they have eggs or young is the extreme noise that they make.

Breeding 144

Breeding Cows Eggs 2012 144

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2013

The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae is Australia’s largest bird standing at up to 2 metres (6 foot 6 inches) tall. They will only breed if the conditions are good and the male will be responsible for nest building and incubating the 6-12 eggs for approximately 60 days. Emu family on the other side of the fence.

Australia 179

Australia Investigation Family Groups 179

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2011

It’s a common call/email/text that most bird watchers get this time of year: “HELP! I just saved a baby bird! Both of those sites allow you to enter your zip code or state and find someone nearby who has the state and federal permits that allows them to treat wild birds. Do not worry about touching the baby birds.

Birds 265

Birds Fox Raised Ducks 265

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2012

Whilst leading a birding tour to Sri Lanka, I spotted a flash of bright white in a lily-choked wetland near Ambalantota in the south-east of this verdant island. Our excitement at finding these avian gems soon turned to amazement as the entire tour group became enraptured by the fascinating behavior that we were fortunate enough to observe.

Sri Lanka 187

Sri Lanka Eggs Raised Investigation 187

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Shortly after the first bird leaves the feeder, the remaining woodpecker peaks around the edge of the feeder. These birds inhabit foothill and mountain woodlands and are closely associated with oaks and usually found in pine-oak woodlands. Acorn Woodpeckers are obviously very handsome birds and a load of fun to watch.

Woodpeckers 184

Woodpeckers Breeders Groups North America 184

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 24, 2016

After getting to spend some time with a few of these birds recently, I decided to feature them in my story this week. Like many birders, ever since I was a child, these wonderful, shy birds have been known as the Common Moorhen. That and the fact that I have barely been able to get out in the field for the last three weeks.

Chile 100

Chile Breeders Asia Mexico 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2012

It seems strange that I’ll miss the return of the Sun this year, as I leave this week for a trade show and then a short trip out west to see my family. I smashed the High Arctic Christmas Bird Count record this January 2nd by managing to find all three species here in town. I’ve family to raise and no time for modeling.”

South America 160

South America Eggs Family Raised 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

The danger of reviewing a field guide to the birds of an exotic country you’ve never been to is that you become obsessed with visiting that country, no matter how far away and how expensive it may be. I’m already looking up birding tours of Borneo and pricing airfares. Borneo, the authors say, is under-birded.

Brunei 174

Brunei Birds Asia China 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2017

After a very good Wet Season with substantially more rain than normal over the first few months of 2017 the land was flooded and a huge variety of birds arrived in the Broome area to take advantage of the ideal conditions for breeding. Australian Painted Snipe nest with four eggs. Four eggs in the Australian Painted Snipe nest.

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Raised 2017 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

There were three profound questions my birding group discussed while we birded Trinidad and Tobago, back in December 2012: (1) How many Bananaquits could fit on a banana? (2) 3) What was the best guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago? The bird guide question was a conundrum.

Trinidad 194

Trinidad Birds South America Research 194

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2016

One of the birding highlights of our trip was not only having two Pallid Cuckoos feeding around our tent, but that they were quite cooperative at landing in an open area with a nice blue sky background! Pheasant Coucals are also a member of the cuckoo family, but are unique because they do actually raise their own young. Pallid Cuckoo.

United Kingdom 100

United Kingdom Raised 2013 Africa 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

My review copy (well, actually a contributor’s copy—more on that later) was waiting for me when I returned from the ABA birding tour of Thailand and Malaysia (more on that in a separate post) in early March. The book does not include House Sparrow, an Old World sparrow that belongs to a completely different bird family.

North America 147

North America Sparrows America United States 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2018

The sight of the large bird, so awkward on the ground, trying to launch itself with the coaching of an indefatigable parent, was funny, charming, and amazing in its uniqueness. Where does the female Emperor Penguin go after she has produced that one egg and handed it over to the male for incubation? Technology to the rescue!

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. This bird is represented in an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph. Can’t say that it is a particularly obvious name from seeing the bird.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

These were the sounds I heard as I walked around a small pond in Amherst, Massachusetts last week, looking for dragonflies, listening for birds. But, within the frog group there is a tremendous range of diversity. There is a large family of frogs, Bufonidae, that includes most of the warty, hoppy creatures we think of as toads.

Reptiles 184

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 184

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

It depicted a Common Loon ( Gavia immer ) sitting on eggs on a seemingly crude nest. It seemed to draw you in and I could easily imagine standing beside him, staring as he did at the bird, watching it curve its neck downwards. The title read “Birds of the Northern Forest”, paintings by J.F. He died on July 27, 2008.

Birds 214

Birds Woodpeckers Canada Collecting 214

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2011

As the evenings darken and night draws in, some of us are forced to spend more time at home with our families instead of out in the field. Who amongst you, and I want a show of hands here, has never used the clone tool to move objects around in pictures for a more pleasant grouping, or filled out a flock to make it more impressive?

Unwanted 188

Unwanted Eggs Neglecting Rights 188

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The cahow is one wild and crazy bird. And, all the while it vocalizes with the strange-sounding, weird cries that give the bird its name, cries so bizarre sounding that they once kept Spanish explorers from settling the island. Try Bermuda Petrel, Pterodroma cahow , one of the group of seabirds called gadfly petrels.

Birds 167

Birds Rats Breeding 2012 167

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Birders are always happy to see a turtle or tortoise, and there are times of the year when my social media feeds are sprinkled with photos of turtles beings removed from roads or crawling to land to lay eggs. Or that tortoises and terrapins are considered part of the turtle family. Lovich and Whit Gibbons. ©2021 text by Jeffrey E.

Turtles 196

Turtles Tortoises Family Terrapins 196

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2014

I enjoy collecting children’s books about birds and nature that I come across in the expected (book stores) and unexpected (academic library conference reports) places. The Taínos named the birds Iguacas, after their call. Spanish settlers arrived in 1493 and called the birds Coterras. The birds thrive.

Puerto Rico 232

Puerto Rico Parrots New York City 2013 232

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. It’s also about human-owl interaction on an individual level and a wider sociocultural level, and ultimately how we can use all this for habitat and bird conservation.

Owls 209

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 209

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2022

Strangely, one of the easiest birds to see on Chongming recently is the non-native Black Swan. According to an article in the Guardian , “nearly a quarter of black swan families are parented by homosexual couples, the males sometimes mating with a female simply to have a chick. Homophobia? I thought I needed to mention this.

Birds 205

Birds China Pythons Breeding 205

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

The proprietor of our ecolodge guides my small group of birders up a steep slope where we see, just at the point where a scope view deteriorates into pixels, a huge bird—a Chaco Eagle, also known as a Crowned Eagle—on a huge nest. McWilliam realizes he’s dealing someone special, a career falcon egg-thief.

Falcons 208

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 208

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2011

The California Quail ( Callipepla californica ) is the California state bird, inhabiting scrub, broken chaparral and woodland edges primarily in California, Oregon, Washington and Baja California. In California, coveys break up and pairs begin forming in February or March, followed by nest building and egg laying in May or June.

California 218

California Eggs Gophers Rattlesnake 218

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

There are few bird names that will elicit great big smiles and Penguin is one of them. Other contenders are Kookaburra, Shoebill, and Umbrellabird, but people smile when they hear these names because they know a song or because they can’t believe these are real names of real birds. <pause> Do I have your attention now?

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278