10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2020

Faithful 10,000 Birds readers will remember Suzie as our wildlife rehabilitation beat writer. Suzie wrote about her experiences as a bird rehabber in Flyaway: How A Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings (2009) and used those experiences as the source for her fictional children’s book, Hawk Hill (1996).

Wildlife Rehabilitation 264

Wildlife Rehabilitation Bald Eagle Eagles Wildlife 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Well, they mainly feed on birds, which may explain their low popularity. For the White-throated Rock Thrush , Wikipedia gives the slightly puzzling statement “The bird’s population is unknown, but is not increasing or declining.” Even if they look as charming as this Northern Boobook. Unfortunately, it is true though.

Birds 204

Birds China Eggs Owls 204

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2016

But what about birds? One enterprising New Orleans-area bird rescuer is doing just that. The bird was such a hit with residents that Kasia, who went on to found the rescue organization Kasia’s Ark Bird Rescue , continued the effort once she returned to New Orleans. But that’s a whole ’nother rant.)

Pets 172

Pets Rescue Mississippi Chickens 172

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2019

Remember way back to last year when a team named for a bird won the Super Bowl? I’m not saying we suffered like our friends in the Upper Midwest, but taking off my glove to quickly snap the photo above induced pain I felt for hours. Lacking anything better, they are his Best Birds of the Weekend. How about you?

2019 114

2019 Suffering Birds Ducks 114

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2019

If you’re not finding mid-June birding all that exciting, you’re definitely not alone. Worry not, though, because you’ll find plenty of avian-themed excitement in our Bird Renaming Week extravaganza, which you’ll be pleased to know has already begun. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2019 113

2019 Virginia New York Birds 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 2, 2018

This first weekend of September is still in motion for many of us, which makes our review of best birds slightly premature. Keep in mind, though, that birders bird always, not just on Saturday and Sunday. Corey spent the weekend visiting his folks upstate and suffering from the symptoms of food poisoning. How about you?

2018 101

2018 Suffering Birds Fish 101

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2014

I am not dissatisfied with guides who do not manage to find the target bird, if they do try with all their heart. I will equally recommend a guide who finds the target bird and the one who does everything within birding ethics to find it and fails. What makes a good bird guide?

Birds 217

Birds Botswana Free Range Leopards 217

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Galápagos: A Natural History, Second Edition by John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin gives the traveling naturalist the tools needed to fully appreciate and experience the Galápagos Islands. There are changes in where to find the birds. I wish I had read this book. They complement Kricher’s text.,

2006 258

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Sea Turtles 258

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.

Birds 193

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 193

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2016

This calendar year is slipping away, but we still have plenty of time before the ball drops on December 31 to add more birds to our respective lists. I suffered a deficit of happiness this weekend when my scheduled birding time became subsumed by a rare work emergency. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 126

2016 New York Suffering Birds 126

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2014

Patrick’s Day by doing more than donning green didn’t “celebrate” so much this weekend that you’re suffering today. When I saw a Turkey Vulture soaring serenely over the frozen tundra of Rochester last month, I took the sighting as an example of how confused, in a potentially fatal way, some birds can get.

2014 186

2014 Geese Jamaica Turkey 186

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

In September, I had the fantastic opportunity to travel to an increasingly popular destination for birding: Honduras. Chris Lotz, the owner of the international bird tour company Birding Ecotours , invited me to join him on a familiarization trip that included several highland sites as well as Pico Bonito Lodge.

Honduras 222

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 222

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2017

Some of us have been suffering through the wettest weekend of our lives. However, the bird I was most surprised by was a Warbling Vireo that perched out in the open long enough for my young daughter to get a decent look. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was not an easy choice. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2017 101

2017 Suffering Birds Experience 101

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2013

Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park, which comprises the twin volcanoes Gede and Pangrango (with gunung meaning “mountain”), surely must rate as one of the birding highlights of Southeast Asia, and is arguably the most important and well-known birding site on the island of Java. Allow for at least three days if you can.

Suffering 159

Suffering Birds Indonesia 2013 159

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

Here in Western NY, we suffered a 40 point swing in temperature over two days; one moment, you’re enjoying drinks by the pool and the next finds you wrapped in a shawl sipping got cocoa. With birds on the wing all over the world, I imagine everyone who tried saw something interesting. Birding best bird weekend'

New York City 161

New York City 2013 Fox New York 161

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2013

Summer, the season that we in the Northern Hemisphere are currently enjoying or suffering depending on your latitude and state of mind, is a time when birds often take a backseat to other diversions. The birds I admired most this weekend were Barn Swallows swooping over strawberry fields. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2013 165

2013 Birds Suffering California 165

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

With enough observation and experience, we notice slight variations and how those aberrations sometimes ripple throughout ecosystems. But apples and those who love them definitely suffered most substantially. My Best Bird of the Weekend was probably a perched American Kestrel , a paltry predator I never tire of seeing.

2012 164

2012 New York Birds Suffering 164

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. The many small ponds and waterways attract quite a few ducks, though presumably due to their China experience, they are extremely wary of people.

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China Ducks Transported Game 167

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Did you see any birds that you particularly loved this weekend? Here in New York City we suffered through our coldest period of the winter with wind chill values dipping well below zero degrees Fahrenheit. That coupled with my preparations for a departure for Puerto Rico late on Sunday means that I didn’t get much birding done.

Puerto Rico 100

Puerto Rico New York City 2016 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

. “I am not bad-looking, I am just badly photographed”: A Bay Woodpecker (Fraser’s Hill, Malaysia) using a joke from “Roger Rabbit” The pinkish eyerings of the Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Tansa, India) make it look as if it is constantly suffering from a hangover.

Woodpeckers 241

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 241

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2012

If you’re suffering through a sweltering patch of record summer heat, you may feel much as Ralph Waldo Emerson did when he penned this line: “When summer opens, I see how fast it matures, and fear it will be short; but after the heats of July and August, I am reconciled, like one who has had his swing, to the cool of autumn.”

New York City 172

New York City 2012 Michigan New York 172

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

Not professionally – these people come in SUVs and probably never recapture their gas money from the fish they catch (though come to think of it, neither do I with my bird photos). This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway). One strange thing about Chongming is the inevitable presence of people fishing. End of side note.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2013

Forgetting how one feels in certain conditions and thus failing to prepare accordingly can lead to a lot of suffering. This deplorable lack of foresight landed me in an environment with plenty of resident birds that I was utterly unable to watch while being slowly drained of my lifeblood by swarms of ravenous bugs. How about you?

2013 142

2013 New York Birds Owls 142

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2015

So what does climate change mean for birds? Though all birds will be somehow impacted by climate change, I think it is important to note that not all will suffer. As deserts expand, birds suited to arid climates may be just fine. Whats in it for birds? Well…it means everything.

North America 222

North America Birds San Francisco Suffering 222

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2011

While the Rovio Angry Birds game franchise is hugely popular and has even led to a post here on 10,000 Birds that speculated on the identification of what the Angry Birds birds actually are , little attention has been paid to those that came before. Real Angry Birds? This bird has one simple reason to be angry.

Birds 241

Birds Owls Game Rodents 241

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2011

Those of you not living across a Great Lake from Canada may be suffering, but I’ve been absolutely loving this month! Now how about those birds… Corey has really beaten the summertime birding blues by focusing on the best of what the season of resident breeders has to offer: baby birds!

2011 157

2011 Breeders Suffering Birds 157

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

The white redtail couldn’t fly because she’d spent somewhere between 14 and 24 hours on the ground in freezing rain, encased in mud, and was suffering from capture myopathy, a sometimes-fatal condition induced by stress. She is a medicine bird. Birds Albino leghold traps leucistic Red-tailed Hawk wildlife rehabilitators'

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Wildlife Birds Delaware 201

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2016

Years ago, I became a wildlife volunteer and advocate because of a cat who caught a bird. Back then, I didn’t know enough about birds, but I knew a lot about cats. I surprised her and she dropped the bird before vaporizing again. They simply helped me with my bird. That was my first trip to California Wildlife Center.

Cats 216

Cats Stray Cat Stray Wildlife Rehabilitation 216

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

It turns out that Australia has no official national bird (but we do have an official gemstone), and this is exactly the type of issue that can unite the fractured nation. Not that there is anything wrong with robins, they are fine birds, even if I prefer Pied Wagtails. This awesome bird actually tried to kill me.

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Australia Chickens Birds Seals 181

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2012

It seems that my article last week on the dangers posed by birds struck a chord with the readers, many of whom posted their own stories of terror at the hand of this avian menace. One commenter actually said their were rooting for the birds, and, well, no offence but I’m not sure I want to go birding with you. Dum dum DUM!

New Zealand 154

New Zealand Birds Australia Kangaroos 154

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. It is the first bird field guide to every country of Central America (plus the islands governed by those countries).

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 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. This is a short series that brings attention to these incredible birds, and my various adventures to try and see them.

Brazil 221

Brazil California Condor Parrots Texas 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

My life experience allows for a generally calm and balanced demeanor. This is what I am able to conclude from my age-related immense treasure trove of experience, which makes it an indisputable truth. You will clearly see a nice bird, but you will see no legs whatsoever. Birds Indonesia nightjars' No, they are not.

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Goats Indonesia Science Experience 197

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2011

Of course, that is just my perspective and I have been known to think that birds that don’t show up until May are late if they aren’t here by mid-April. I tend to get angry when I have not seen the number of birds I think I should have and when I am angry I type fast and crazily. Besides, suffering brings birds, right?

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New York City New York Walruses Birds 165

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 23, 2019

Disappointment that I would miss the bird? The general mood was one of gratitude, and everyone passed camera lenses and binoculars back and forth to share the experience. Temperatures already dipped into single digits during the time the bird had been in Maine, far from conditions the species is normally adapted to.

Rescue 131

Rescue Portland Squirrels Deer 131

10,000 Birds

MAY 29, 2011

We three insane Swarovski Triathlon Hawks made our way back through downtown Cape May to our first post-kayak birding location, the 2nd Avenue Jetty, where we found bupkis. Neither bird cooperated so we made our way east and then north, over the Cape May Canal, hoping to get some woodland birds north of the canal.

Soreing 165

Soreing Birds Suffering Woodpeckers 165

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2014

Parrots captivate me more than any other bird family. In my experience, parrots form a visibly and numerically important component of the Brazilian bird fauna. In the northeast of Brazil, the dry thorn-scrub caatinga is the home of the endangered Lear’s Macaw with a total population of only 1,100 birds.

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Parrots Brazil Mauritius Dominica 168