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 231

America Industry Squirrels Birds 231

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2015

There is GISS and there is Birding by Impression and they are not the same. GISS—general impression, size, shape—is intuitive, the result of an unconscious cognitive process derived from experience in the field. Experienced birders can identify birds using GISS; all birders can identify birds if they adopt the BBI approach.

Birds 170

Birds New Jersey Science Groups 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

But, sometimes an appreciation of birds and birding requires more than a reference book with images of birds and facts about their identifying field marks. There are large avian handbooks and small ‘how-to bird’ guides, and quite a few excellent books of both types have been published.

Birds 115

Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Hannah Buschert was first exposed to birds and birding during a required ornithology course at Oregon State University and she quickly caught the birding bug. This is Hannah’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. Hannah and Erik ready to see some birds! I love to go on cruises.

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South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Birding for the Curious: The Easiest Way for Anyone to Explore the Incredible World of Birds by Nate Swick brings birding back to its roots—a simple, joyous way to enjoy nature using our eyes, ears, hands (for sketching), and brain. There are now no excuses except a lack of curiosity. And, nobody wants to admit that.

Birds 263

Birds North Carolina North America Science 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2021

Louisiana is a magical place to bird. At the same time I was ogling Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Upland Sandpipers, Marybeth Lima was also birding Louisiana. Chapter Two is a potpourri of stories about nemesis birds, birding by ear, birding for science, under the rubric of birding ‘for the love of it.’

Louisiana 264

Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It took me a while to wrap my mind around the concept of Birds and People , Mark Cocker and David Tipling’s book that, in 592 pages, explores the intersection of just that—birds and us. Nor have I overlooked “sightings” of birds in movies mouthing other birds’ calls. I’m not sure why.

Birds 215

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 215

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

I bring this up not to boast (well, not much) but because I think that this approach to wildlife travel is somewhat neglected in birding circles. Read most accounts of how birders see birds outside their patch and one way or another, they’re tourists. Volunteering provides a very different experience to tourism though.

Uganda 161

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 161

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. I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read.

Owls 213

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2019

It’s never too late or too early to buy a children’s book about birds. It’s been a few years since my last roundup of children’s bird books, and children’s book writers, illustrators and publishers continue to produce picture books that feature avian protagonists. First, the board books.

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New York City Pelicans Birds New York 150

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Sure, they’re always a dependable, can’t-miss tick whenever you need them to be there, whether it’s the first day of the year, or the first few minutes of a Big Day or Christmas Bird Count. But there’s no getting around the fact that the starling is likely the most detested bird on the continent – as far as birders are concerned, anyway.

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Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

Birds are a subset of dinosaurs (See: Honey, I Shrunk the Dinosaurs. Prior to the extinction of all of the other dinosaurs, resulting from a cosmic impact event about 65 million years ago, the ancestors of modern birds were different from modern birds in many ways, but also similar in many ways. So how did beaks evolve?

Alligators 214

Alligators Chickens Research Birds 214

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2018

In a little less than two weeks my family and I will be enjoying a long weekend on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Having never birded in Mexico at all I was initially concerned about identifying the myriad species that can be seen. I’m using the relatively new quiz feature on eBird ! The concept is simple.

Mexico 106

Mexico Belize Honduras Science 106

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

Few people can imagine (or even take seriously) the life of a birding guide at a lodge in the tropics, so I thought it would be a nice exercise to outline what an average day for me was like at Cristalino Lodge. While setting up my scope, I immediately start to call out birds. “ Scarlet Macaws to the left about 300 feet out.”

Otters 160

Otters Parrots Birds Brazil 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

Last week a mystery bird from New Jersey rightly caused a fair bit of confusion among birders of the Garden State and beyond. The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into. New Jersey mystery sparrow.

New Jersey 224

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 224

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. About six-and-a-half years ago I had the privilege of watching a young Waved Albatross on the Galapagos island of Española learning how to fly.

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2023

Christian Cooper comes on screen about two-and-a-half minutes into The Central Park Effect , appreciating a Prothonotary Warbler at ‘the Point’ while telephoning a friend with the news (this is pre-text group), a nice hint of the collegial networks that underlie Central Park birding. Memoirs are rare in the birding world.

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Emotional Birds Minneapolis Nepal 224

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. Open Jarvis et al.’s

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Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

They looked out their windows and across their patios and up from their apartment terraces and saw–birds. This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives.

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2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

I happen to be particularly fond of turtles because my family has taken care of a small box turtle for 30 years (beware–turtles are extremely low-maintenance pets but will outlast your child’s youth and probably your life). Or that tortoises and terrapins are considered part of the turtle family. Lovich and Whit Gibbons.

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Turtles Tortoises Family Terrapins 199

Animal Person

JUNE 8, 2009

For those who didn't read the five-part Slate series " Pepper, the stolen dog who changed American science " by Daniel Engber , I recommend it for the history, but also for the misconceptions and assumptions that you might want to discuss on the Facebook discussion about the series. Let's deconstruct: Part I: Where's Pepper? Maybe on paper.

Animal Welfare 100

Animal Welfare Monkeys Animal Welfare Act Vivisection 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Found throughout South America in ever-dwindling numbers these extremely beautiful birds – threatened by habitat destruction and collection for the wild bird trade – are often difficult to see and hard to find. The experience is one of the ornithological highlights in the world. That’s right – birds eating clay.

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Peru Parrots 2011 Research Center 255

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).

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Bald Eagle Eagles Wildlife 258

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2011

Quiz 1 Hint: This bird is larger than a Least Sandpiper. It brings me great pleasure to announce that I was recently paid an exorbitant sum of money to join 10,000 Birds. 10,000 Birds will be exposed to, for the first time ever, The Truth About Birding. International birds of the world. Countrymen.

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Inhumane United States Science Birds 183

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2024

I was thinking of inventing a background story about a Chinese poet mentioning starlings (and other bird species) in one of his poems, and a rich Chinese fan of these poems pursuing the ambition of introducing all bird species mentioned therein to China, explaining the occasional occurrence of the starling in Shanghai.

Birds 192

Birds Research Science Europe 192

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2021

If you haven’t been to Costa Rica, or if you’ve birded Costa Rica but somehow missed their damselflies and dragonflies (not a problem! I know how intense some birders can be), I can tell you from experience that there are some exquisite, stunning odonates flying around there. First page (p. 131) and last page (p.

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Costa Rica North America Family America 261

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

Science and Conservation , the second section, presents two-page summaries of the diverse research being done around the world about penguins. There is also a great deal of biological and ecological information encapsulated within De Roy’s experiences. That’s a lot of books about a bird family that cannot fly.

Penguins 200

Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 200

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

Another paper on Taiwanese birds found that “the urban Crested Goshawk bred 34 days earlier on average than the rural population with significantly higher nesting success”, concluding that “the urban Crested Goshawk population benefits from high food supply and low predation risk.”

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147