10,000 Birds

AUGUST 30, 2015

In the past, I’ve been fairly hesitant about taking my two young children with me on longer birding excursions. I don’t want to burn them out on long car rides to less than exciting locations, but mostly i don’t want to have to deal with crabby kids begging me to go home when I’m busy seeking out a new state bird.

North Carolina 145

North Carolina Mountain Lions Otters Lions 145

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

A couple weekends ago I headed out to the Carolina Bird Club’s winter meeting in Nags Head, North Carolina, on the cusp of the Outer Banks. As such, it’s generally one of the best attended meetings and boasts the best bird list with field trips that range inland as well as up and down the barrier islands.

North Carolina 171

North Carolina Owls Geese Alligators 171

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 Owls 263

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2018

My own birding experience in upstate New York this week was much more mundane, with dwindling numbers of Blackpoll Warblers signaling the end of spring migration and prompting my return to a normal sleep schedule. With Surf Wax, he depicts three birds hovering menacingly in front of a moon rising over a rotting surf board.

India 100

India North Carolina Columbus New York 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2013

The birding in North Carolina, for reasons both of my own making and the vagaries of southern “winter” weather, has been a bit slow. As many of you may know, in addition to holding down the southeast/IATB fort here at 10,000 Birds, I also do some work for the American Birding Association.

Florida 154

Florida North Carolina Birds Branding 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2019

During the decade, I submitted 1,219 checklists and observed 555 bird species, all in the U.S. I started eBirding about the same time I started birding, and I made an early executive decision (a very good one) that any pre-eBird observations simply did not count. Birding trips to Florida , New Mexico , and Texas are obvious too.

Puerto Rico 147

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Michigan Washington 147

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 223

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 223

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2012

The Delmarva Peninsula juts southward towards North Carolina like the appendix of the eastern seaboard. And it’s on this marvel of engineering that I arrived for the recent American Birding Association Rally held at Kiptopeke State Park, on the very southern tip of the appendix.

Virginia 144

Virginia North Carolina DC Louisiana 144

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. She has contributed many pieces to 10,000 Birds and writes about her birding adventures on her blog, newbirder.tumblr.com. Lots and lots of birds.

Birds 178

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 178

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2014

I had some friends in the Anchorage area who were generous enough to offer to put me up, and I made plans to arrive a day early so I could take in at least 24 hours on on-land boreal birding. What an incredible experience. I understand that Spruce Grouse have a reputation for this sort of behavior, being unwary birds generally.

Alaska 167

Alaska Bears Grizzly Bear North Carolina 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

That’s interesting from a weather point of view, but not so good when it coincided with my graduation birding trip. Yes, I had officially graduated from the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment, and I was not going to let a little rain keep me from birding! Still, we were in for another birding surprise.

North Carolina 172

North Carolina Alligators Wildlife Woodpeckers 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2016

The other day, Redgannet, when sharing the 10,000 Birds combined bird list for 2016 , mentioned that I had made some sort of notable contribution by submitting 25 checklists in one day. The reasons for this protocol are as unique as this unique type of birding. That sounds exciting, like there’s some sort of story there.

Whales 100

Whales Whaling North Carolina Mammals 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2012

I sort of feel it’s sort of my duty, as the 10,000 Birds beat writer covering the southern tier of the continent, to be the bellwether of goodies to come, the sherpa of spring, if you will (please don’t). Nothing says “real” spring like the first burst of piercing slurry whistles from down a North Carolina stream.

North Carolina 154

North Carolina Breeders Rights Experience 154

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

In a recent post, Corey listed five things to do when it is too cold to go birding and one of those things is planning birding travel. Here in Portland, Oregon, it is more frequently too rainy rather than too cold to go birding, at least comfortably. Thus, my “good birds” are likely the opposite of an eastern birder.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

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. This bunch of possible Costa Rican crypto birds can be grouped into four main categories: (1). Bird species that require further research.

Costa Rica 212

Costa Rica Species South America America 212

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2013

The general public is out and about, birds and animals are raising their young, and human/wildlife interaction is at its peak. Got to finish browsing for the fawns and collecting chiggers,” wrote Becky, from an island off North Carolina. A robot that feeds baby birds so I can take a nap,” wrote Jodi in Massachusetts. “A

Wildlife 247

Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Oklahoma New York 247

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

I realize that listing is a reviled in birding culture as it is celebrated, and more listing even more so, but hear me out here. I mean to make the argument that county listing is birding at its most pure, the ultimate combination of the two warring angels that sit upon each one of our shoulders. A fine bird for the county.

McDonalds 166

McDonalds South Carolina North Carolina Jordan 166

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2014

We took in a bit of the Disney experience this time down – it’s hard to avoid it with young children and doting grandparents – and even I cannot deny the skill at which the Disney corporation packages and sells nostalgia. As with most watery, natury, places in Florida, the birding is always good and often spectacular.

Florida 175

Florida Rattlesnake North Carolina Ducks 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

Of course, I jest a bit in the above paragraph because as a sometime New Jersey birder I have birded the Delaware Bay and seen sights such as the memorable image below, in which thousands of Red Knots, Dunlins, and Short-billed Dowitchers fly up as if connected telepathically.

Delaware 179

Delaware New Jersey Research Eggs 179

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2012

The bird came first, just in case you were wondering. The name has always seemed to apply to a rather motley group of birds, from the exquisite Scissor-tailed Kite of east Africa, to the grotesque Hook-billed Kite of Central America, and various and sundry examples in between. This is a bird that does not mess around.

Mississippi 158

Mississippi North Carolina Raleigh Groups 158

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Sitta canadensis isn’t just irrupting out of its far northern home but exploding southward, with reports in every southern state except for Florida, including birds on the outer banks of North Carolina, on Grand Isle, Louisiana, in a suburb of Atlanta, and on the Gulf Coast of Texas. No lemmings left in the north?

United States 267

United States Owls Atlanta New York 267

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Take, for instance, the word “ruddy” Outside of birding, when was the last time you used it? I realize this beat of mine is supposed to have a southeastern bent, and the Ruddy Turnstone is a fairly common seaside dweller on both sides of the North American continent.

Agenda 158

Agenda North Carolina Ducks Groups 158

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

This, I am told, is seawatching , a birding activity in which one stands in one place, sometimes for hours, and watches for birds of the sea and lake and river. It is acceptable to point out other sea creatures–dolphins or whales or dragonflies–but the main goal is the observation and identification of the birds.

Ducks 233

Ducks Groups Species North America 233

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2013

Christmas Bird Count season is right around the corner, and if you’re anything like me you’re pretty excited about it. This year I get to start from scratch, having moved to a new part of the state filled with new birds and birders. North Carolina’s 2nd inland Pacific Loon was on Lake Townsend in 2008.

North Carolina 171

North Carolina Massachusetts 2008 Suffering 171