10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It feels good to start a post with some truly attractive birds – such as two species of broadbills. If you like cute birds, you will probably like the Black-and-yellow Broadbill. Homework assignment: Is the bird in this video a male or a female? Strangely, there do not seem to be many papers on this species.

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Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 222

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2024

This is not a birding trip; we are trying to deal with many logistical life issues that have accumulated over the past several years. But will I bird? My only other experience with an Audubon Club field trip anywhere, on a cold October morning in the American Midwest, was frankly kind of a bust. Of course I will!

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San Francisco California Woodpeckers Experience 214

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

And if you take this phrase, “stamps in weathered passports,” my interpretation is that the experiences from travel are the “stamps” as sights, sounds, tastes, smells, textures, on your “passport,” or soul. Hannah overlooking a valley Traveling into Lesotho from the Sani Pass is an experience more than just the journey to the top.

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Lesotho Sheep South Africa Africa 232

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.

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Mexico Investigation Science Experience 225

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

Chinese Penduline T**s are not particularly woke birds. White’s Thrush is described as “burly” on eBird – not entirely unjustified, I guess, but this description fails to capture the way the intricate patterns of the bird make for great camouflage and also for its own kind of beauty. Maybe the grandparents help.

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Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 206

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2023

In many ways, birding Wawushan is a nightmare for a solitary and crowd-hating birder like me. An unnamed bird guide called them “avoidless tourists”, which sums it up rather nicely. So, all this makes birding this place an occasionally less than pleasant experience. Never fails to startle them.

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Pandas Birds Eggs China 213

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. Lesser Striped Swallow.

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Uganda Africa Birds Penguins 272

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2021

When you bird afar and wander wide, you carry a field guide to the birds of the region you are exploring, a pair of binoculars, likely a camera, perhaps a spotting scope and a tripod too, plus clothing, medicines, toiletries, electronics, money and documents… Did you notice the missing item? Yet, those bird guides are hefty.

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Madagascar Mammals Lemurs Seychelles 250

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.

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North America Research Birds Groups 279

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

When I got back into birding about six years ago, I would not have predicted the personal bonds a birder can form with certain species. While all birds bring us joy, and we certainly want to see as many as we can, some species just seem more… special. They are especially beautiful, rare, or hard to find.

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Mexico Birds South America Turkey 159

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

It was apparently all the way back in 2012, when I was first getting back into birding after a 30 year hiatus, that I took a sad little picture, with my sad little camera, of a cute little bird that seemed to not show up anywhere at all in my field guide. What I didn’t know was that this is a very special species.

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Birds Mexico California Spain 170

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2023

I recently asked ChatGPT some questions about the best birding locations in the United States and the results were decidedly mixed. Here are the queries and the ChatGPT responses are below: What is birding? What is a “nemesis bird” in birding? What is a “big year” in birding?

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United States North America Birds America 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

As it turns out, birding can also be slightly delicate in this country. And I have lots of experience with my long lens drawing attention. I have constantly mentioned over the past several weeks that our trip to the Old World was not about birding, and that was even more true about our time in Jordan. Birders, be forewarned.

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Jordan Birds Turkey 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

Thank you, goddess of birding luck and text group people).* My inner self felt stuck in an area between disbelief and total joy and the voices near me were echoing this state of mind: “Oh My God,” “I never thought I would see this bird,” “Look at that bill!” “How did that bird get here?”

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Birds Compassion Eagles Science 262

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

If you followed Dorian’s adventures on his Big Year blog, Biking for Birds , you are familiar with many of these stories, but not the major one, the internal journey that was going on inside Dorian’s mind as he pedaled and birded: his history and multi-year struggle with alcoholism and related addictions.

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Birds Los Angeles Massachusetts New York City 223

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.

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Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 193

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2022

In retrospect, this weekend at Wuyuan was not exactly my finest hour as a bird photographer – hopefully, I could do better now, and perhaps one day I will, should normal traveling ever be possible again in China. I’d rather see yellow birds than yellow plants. Such a cute bird deserves a better representation.

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China Birds Breeders Species 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2024

I saw 32 species here in my first 24 hours, some of them exciting ones. So I was delighted when the Seminary grounds turned out to host at least 6 of these beautiful birds. The Wood-Rails like to move around in a very visible group. We were happy to experience three birds of prey on this jaunt.

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Barn Owls Mexico Parrots ALA 218

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2020

It’s the festive season and I am holding the new Lynx Edicions’s Birds of Japan, thinking what a perfect gift to any international birder this book represents. Its waterproof fold-able covers bring back childhood memories… I must have had some illustrated children book with similar covers – my fingertips remember the experience.

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Japan Asia Birds 2000 231

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2020

In the era of digital cameras and social media, images of birds are easy to come by. Even photos of the rarest of birds can be found, even heart-wrenching images of bird species that are no longer with us. Species like the Gyrfalcon , the aerial powerhouse of the tundra, of stunning, breeding-plumaged May warblers.

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Costa Rica Birds Species Woodpeckers 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2024

Given how far Hokkaido is from Europe, it seems a bit surprising how many bird species wintering on this Japanese island have a name starting with “Eurasian” Or how many of these species I have also seen in my parents’ garden in Germany. Like the Eurasian Nuthatch.

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Research Germany Iran Humane 130

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Birding in the Caribbean is about islands, beautiful beaches, extra special endemics, rum, and smiles. It could also be much more, maybe less, it all depends on how you want to rock an international birding trip. Go to Costa Rica and you will be looking at other birds but you can still get in some Caribbean slope birding.

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Costa Rica Puerto Rico Birds Owls 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2023

I visited Tengchong in late 2020 and wrote about it – but I also went there earlier, in 2017, and this post shows some photos I took during that trip, along with the usual comments that seem to be much more about ridiculing my fellow humans (especially ornithologists and the like) than providing useful information on birds.

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China 2017 Birds Indonesia 189

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2021

The adult males sport that look; a bird created with crayons and an imaginative mind. The female isn’t quite so unreal but is still a cool little bird in her own right. She also makes a mark with her small size, one of the smallest birds in Costa Rica. A Garden Planted for Birds.

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Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

Birders head to Costa Rica to see stunners like Resplendent Quetzal , Three-wattled Bellbird , Orange-collared Manakin , fancy hummingbirds , tanagers, and literally hundreds of other birds. These and several other species might end up being armchair ticks if and when we take a closer look at their evolutionary history.

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Costa Rica Species South America America 219

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

This, 2022, has been a curious year for books about birds and birding. Dragan]: Europe’s Birds: An Identification Guide , by Hume, Still, Swash, and Harrop is a photographic guide. The artwork of “Europe’s Birds” is dazzling, the text condensed and comprehensive, and the layout and design are without peer.

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Sri Lanka Malaysia Birds Suriname 236

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2023

Considering Broome often experiences cyclones and strong winds it does make sense for the birds to build a more substantial nest to survive the extreme weather. Although Crested Pigeons are quite a common bird Australia-wide you don’t always find a nest, so that you are able to observe the family grow.

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Breeding Australia Eggs Family 205

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2023

I see myself as an old school birder, which means that I do remember the times when good bird photos were rare and far in between, and the times when bird paintings were getting ever more impressive. Yet, there is one group of birds where even I prefer photographs: gulls. The colder – the better. I hate the cold.

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Europe Africa Greece Groups 239

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2020

If you read my last post, you will know that my last three weekly outings were not overly productive, as far as birds are concerned. But any birder can tell you that a bad day birding is better than a good day almost anywhere else. For me, that has a lot to do with all the beautiful places I get to be, while looking for birds.

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Turkey Birds Elephants Eggs 263

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? That is how I feel.

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Uganda Bolivia Ecuador Indonesia 255

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.

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Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 220

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?

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Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2022

In 2007 I was working in a university building that was just begging for bird feeders. This was where I set up my bird feeders, just one at first, then expanding as everyone expressed delight in seeing the Carolina Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Downy Woodpeckers. There were no dead birds for weeks. I hoped it was an anomaly.

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New York City Birds Illinois Science 259

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.

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Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

The consultant also suggested increasing readership by catering to highly specific niche interest groups. Well, they mainly feed on birds, which may explain their low popularity. The male is easily recognized by the characteristic white throat spot that gave the bird its name. I don’t think I will stoop that low.

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Birds China Eggs Owls 204

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2019

In birding circles, certain stretches of road or trail attain mythical status, eliciting knowing smiles and satisfied grins when mentioned. Aficionados of American birding know all too well the wonders of Panama’s Pipeline Road. But this type of singular experience can be enjoyed in the Old World as well.

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Uganda Africa Monkeys Birds 218

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Like any birder visiting a new place, I had a target species list I was hoping to seek out during the one day I had available between business commitments. The experience was marvelous — but it also weighed heavily on me. Birds are finely tuned to the climatic conditions that support them.

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Species Science Los Angeles Birds 177