10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2020

Whether your weekend is still rolling or you are already preparing for the next one, you probably saw some excellent birds during the first weekend of September. His wonderful family agreed to drive straight there before going home and Corey got a new Queens bird! Now that’s a Best Bird of the Weekend! How about you?

2020 159

2020 Jamaica Birds Family 159

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Don’t give up on the next season of birding just yet. That said, I gave up birding this weekend, not just because of work but in preparation for a MASSIVE trip Corey and I are embarking at the end of this week. Until Mute Swans took over Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, gallinules bred there. Stay tuned for details!

2019 170

2019 Breeders Jamaica Birds 170

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

The chapter titles of Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds represent both ends of the spectrum: “A World Full of Poisons,” “Malaria,” “Forest Intruders,” “Lead Shock,” “Shot.” Conservation. It’s not easy.

California Condor 190

California Condor Falcons California Birds 190

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2014

That will be the opening day of the 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. Who knows what great birds 2015 will bring? Like this past January, I will be leading field trips and spending the rest of my time birding. So, basically, I’ll be birding all the time.

2015 205

2015 Wildlife Florida Birds 205

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2018

Corey enjoyed shorebirds on the beach in the Rockaways, in the mud at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Wildlife, and on pavement at Floyd Bennett Field this weekend. But of all the shorebirds he saw he appreciated none so much as the Hudsonian Godwit he spotted on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2018 100

2018 Jamaica Emotional Owls 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2019

Now that we’ve entered the third month of the calendar year, take stock: did your birding March come in like a lion or a lamb? My birding was positively sheepish during this busy weekend. He didn’t see a ton of birds but he did appreciate the number of Snow Geese flocking up at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

2019 114

2019 Lamb Lions Jamaica 114

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2019

Even the birding is decent. Corey only birded for a bit on Saturday afternoon and didn’t see much that was terribly exciting. Of what he did see, a pair of Bald Eagles at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge was the highlight, a species that didn’t used to be around in June in Queens at all. How about you?

2019 115

2019 Bald Eagle Jamaica Eagles 115

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2015

Not everyone experiences a dip in bird activity during the nonmigratory months, but those of us who do are ready to see some new birds NOW! Corey will be out and about in the NYC area this weekend; if you are too, you’d be crazy to miss the 10th Annual Shorebird Festival at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

Jamaica 157

Jamaica 2015 Birds Wildlife 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2019

If you’re devoting as many free hours to birding as we are this month, you have no time for preamble. i saw plenty of new birds this weekend, some of them in the process of making future new birds. Though I spied quite a few warblers, my best looks were of Scarlet Tanager , a bell-ringer of a bird any day.

2019 113

2019 Jamaica New York Birds 113

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2018

Car troubles keep shutting my birding plans down, but at least I got out with the family to cut down our Christmas tree. Lacking any other worthy candidate, any one of the six is his Best Bird of the Weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend? We skipped that tree, however, in favor of a shaggy Austrian Pine. How about you?

2018 113

2018 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2014

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a bird that has frustrated him for quite some time now. There has been a Black-billed Cuckoo repeatedly reported from Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge since May and it had studiously avoided Corey until Sunday morning, when he heard it calling in the South Garden. How about you?

Bald Eagle 213

Bald Eagle 2014 Jamaica 2008 213

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

The fact that this hour falls in the middle of the night means that most people sleep right through it, but I wonder what would happen if you observes a nocturnal bird like an owl during the hour that gets reset. I found myself in a beautiful part of New York that was so remote that birds apparently couldn’t find it.

2018 114

2018 New York City New York Jamaica 114

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2018

Countless flocks of frigid, sodden birds must be wondering whether they took a wrong turn somewhere. Corey had a large variety of birds to choose his Best Bird of the Weekend from this week and had a hard time making his selection. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2018 113

2018 Jamaica Sparrows Bears 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2018

Either way, birders gotta bird, so make the most of whatever the season offers. Corey spent time on both Saturday and Sunday morning looking at shorebirds on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. What was your best bird of the weekend? There are more than one in the photo above: can you find them all?

2018 102

2018 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 102

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2015

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Gull-billed Tern of the year at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. How about you?

2015 166

2015 Jamaica Birds Hunting 166

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2015

Corey had quite a few species to choose from this weekend but decided that his Best Bird of the Weekend was the simple Tree Swallow. In particular, he picked one of the many that has already staked out a claim to a nest box at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. What was your best bird of the weekend? Spring is here!

2015 191

2015 Jamaica New York Birds 191

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2017

More migrants means more birding fun. Corey’s Beat Bird of the Weekend was a singing male Mourning Warbler at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge that was chosen despite it giving a brief awful look. What was your best bird of the weekend? How did y’all make out? Still though, Mourning Warbler! How about you?

2017 100

2017 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2015

He yelled a relatively unintelligible explanation as he ran to the car, abandoning his family, and sped to Jamaica Bay where he parked and ran out to the breach of the West Pond where he relied upon the kindness of other birders, who let him use their scopes while he got his breath back. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2015 162

2015 Jamaica Canada Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2017

But any time of year is the right time to pay attention to uncommon avian behavior, even from common birds. For example, I saw all kinds of special species this weekend, but nothing impressed me more than displays of the tyranny of tiny birds. Any of those dowitchers, gorgeous in the juvenile plumage, was his Best Bird of the Weekend.

2017 113

2017 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2018

Of course I saw tons of Bald Eagles chilling on the ice at Irondequoit Bay, but the bird that thrilled me most this weekend was my second Northern Shrike for the year. Corey had some good birding in Queens this weekend but nothing topped his third-ever sighting of a Tundra Swan in his home borough. How about you?

2018 100

2018 Bald Eagle Philadelphia Eagles 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

The good news for those of us who like both birds and sports is that a team with an avian avatar looks likely to make it to the Super Bowl again. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend is one he considered long overdue, his first Buff-breasted Sandpiper in Queens ever! What was your best bird of the weekend? Number 305!

2014 177

2014 Arizona Jamaica Birds 177

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2014

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. Still, the poor bird may be in for some frigid nights ere warm weather settles in. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2014 188

2014 Geese Jamaica Turkey 188

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 30, 2015

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend could have been any of a multitude of species spotted on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. How about you?

2015 145

2015 Baltimore Jamaica New York 145

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2019

This last year of the twenty-teens was a monumental birding year for me. I saw 863 species of birds, bringing my life list to 1,820. I birded Uganda, which was my first time on the continent of Africa. Such travel brings a lot of birds and the 863 species I saw this year is the most species I have ever seen.

2019 142

2019 Barbados Uganda Costa Rica 142

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2013

The birds I was most amused by this weekend were an inquisitive pair of Carolina Wrens ; everything else kept pretty well hidden. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a cooperative Lesser Yellowlegs on the famed East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2013 162

2013 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2017

I know I neglected to ask you where you were birding this weekend, but don’t ever think that means I don’t want to know. Any good bird sighting deserves to be shared and enjoyed. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed.

2017 100

2017 Neglecting Jamaica Birds 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2018

The question isn’t whether you went birding this weekend, because everyone who wasn’t part of the Royal Wedding was out chasing birds. Not only did I bag the beautiful bird I expected, but I also encountered a tasty species I never expect there until I see it every year: Olive-sided Flycatcher. How about you?

New York City 100

New York City 2018 Jamaica New York 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2013

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a total surprise. He was walking along a trail at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge when he saw a flash of yellow up ahead. You can imagine Corey’s shock when he got a better look at the bird and it was, indeed, a Yellow-breasted Chat. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2013 200

2013 United States Jamaica Birds 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2014

If we could only find good ways to get beach-goers interested in birds instead of irritated by them. While others were enjoying the beach this weekend I was enjoying the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge where I reacquainted myself with the mud and the shorebirds. What was his best bird? Ideas anyone?

2014 165

2014 North America Jamaica Birds 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2016

I don’t know which legislative branch to appeal to, but there ought to be a law that mandates life birds on a birder’s birthday. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a cooperative Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge that contentedly foraged while Corey digiscoped. Sure beats cake!

2016 100

2016 Legislation Jamaica Laws 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2016

These seasons of transition make for exciting birding. Best of all, your birds next weekend may be even better than what this weekend offered. Corey could have chosen any of several new birds for the year for him in New York for his Best Bird of the Weekend this weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 101

2016 Jamaica New York Laws 101

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2013

The best birds of my weekend, believe it or not, were American Robins mobbing a crow. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a Long-billed Dowitcher at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens on Sunday morning, his first of the year. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2013 156

2013 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 156

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2016

And some of the rest of us went birding! But whether you’re questing for Pokémon or birds, at least you got outside. My week on the shores of Lake Michigan resulted in the same birds I enjoy on the shores of Lake Ontario. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2016 100

2016 Michigan Jamaica Birds 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2013

I’m wondering if Best Bird of the Weekend is too restrictive a way to consider the avians we encounter from Friday to Sunday. Of course we should seek reasons to celebrate every bird species we share our weekends with, but is the species that delights us most always the most memorable? Birding best bird weekend'

2013 175

2013 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 175

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2015

By the second weekend of December, you may not know what you’re getting for the holidays, but you probably know which Christmas Bird Counts you’re participating in. That’s right… the 116th Christmas Bird Count begins today ! What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica 2015 Jamaica Birds 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2016

All my favorite birders were out at festivals, doing Big Days, or just racking up scores of awesome birds in the field. Corey had a host of birds to choose from this weekend what with it being the middle of May, the peak of spring migration in New York. What was your best bird of the weekend? What a weekend, right?

2016 100

2016 Jamaica New York Birds 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2012

My weekend was devoted to a seemingly endless celebration of my son’s 8th birthday, which meant that my best bird was bound to be a backyard species. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Osprey in New York State this year, seen perched on a nesting platform at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in early morning fog on Saturday.

2012 176

2012 Jamaica New York Birds 176