10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

As I always do on the way home, following a short visit to the San Francisco Bay Area, I take in at least one of the National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) found in the Sacramento Valley. California is blessed with 51 NWRs and Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), second only to North Dakota with 77.

Wildlife 163

Wildlife San Francisco Sacramento North Dakota 163

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe today announced as part of Great Outdoors Month the agency is proposing to expand fishing and hunting opportunities on 21 refuges throughout the National Wildlife Refuge System. National wildlife refuges provide premier outdoor recreational opportunities across the Nation.

Fish 155

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 155

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2012

The water this Northern Pintail is in has human poo in it, which completely ruins the experience of seeing this bird. The majority of diehard birders do not care where they get their birds. There is a caste of birders, however, that do not subscribe to this way of birding…no. White Lake, North Dakota.

San Francisco 251

San Francisco Birds North Dakota Oakland 251

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2016

You don’t know how hard it is to see a common bird until you try to get someone else to see one. This is the lesson I learned at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival back in January when a young birder, Noah Kuck, let me know that he really wanted to see a Carolina Wren. The damned birds wouldn’t show.

North Dakota 161

North Dakota Birds Florida Wildlife 161

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 189

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Michigan Washington 189

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2013

I was reading Carrie’s post last month and got to thinking about car birding in general. Personally, I am a big fan of car birding, despite the necessary fossil fuel burning that is involved. For many birders, the thought of car birding is as natural as using a field guide. In many places (i.e.

LACS 139

LACS North Dakota Costa Rica Birds 139

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2011

I imagine these explorers had the same reaction as the Lewis and Clark expedition as they moved from the tallgrass prairies of North Dakota and Montana into the northern Rockies of western Montana. The different birds alone must have shocked these early explorers with curiosity as they moved through the mountains.

Colorado 142

Colorado North Dakota Montana Owls 142