10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2018

Those Eagles you’re hearing everyone talk about right now aren’t the ones you typically seek while birding, but rather the ones from Philadelphia that just won Super Bowl LII. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was the Red Crossbill that plopped down in front of him to grit on Oregon Plains Road in the Adirondacks.

Bald Eagle 100

Bald Eagle 2018 Philadelphia Game 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2022

A recent episode of the American Birding Podcast featured an interview with Virginia Rose (Founder and President) and Freya McGregor (Coordinator) of the non-profit Birdability. The mission of Birdability is to “share the joys of birding with people who have disabilities, and to ensure that birding is accessible to everybody.”

Portland 190

Portland Oregon Laws Experience 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2019

One of the things I love about birding around Morelia, in central Mexico, is the wide variety of habitats I have nearby. Specifically, the coastal temperate rainforest of Oregon and Washington. For birders from colder climes, there are still plenty of exotic birds to find.

Mexico 127

Mexico Washington Birds United States 127

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.

South Africa 263

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

I’ve taken tours out of Monterey Bay (with pelagic legend Debi Shearwater , now retired) and Half Moon Bay, California ; Newport, Oregon ; and Hatteras, North Carolina. The boat is called the Legacy and it is an 80 foot whale watching vessel that generally seats 115, but takes about 70 for birding trips. This was much larger.

San Diego 147

San Diego Los Angeles Cooking North Carolina 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2022

For those plugged into birding social media, it has been hard to miss the non-profit Birdability. The mission of Birdability is to “share the joys of birding with people who have disabilities, and to ensure that birding is accessible to everybody.”. Q: How has the birding community responded to Birdability?

Virginia 231

Virginia Portland Oregon Branding 231

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

I first encountered Molly Hashimoto’s bird art in California. Hashimoto’s prints and water color bird portraits differ in materials and style from Harper, but she shares with him a talent for portraying common birds in a lively, accessible, yet new way that belies the artistic processes employed to create the finished image.

Birds 148

Birds Eggs Laws Woodpeckers 148

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. Portland, Oregon.

San Francisco 208

San Francisco Birds North Dakota Oakland 208

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

DECEMBER 29, 2014

Many readers of 10,000 Birds are more than the casual birdwatcher…they are hopeless bird junkies. Truly depraved birding addicts. The question for the addict is, how does one keep birding fresh? Tired of birding the same polluted parks? Tired of birding the same polluted parks? Patch birding.

Birds 201

Birds Portland Oregon 2015 201

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 146

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Michigan Washington 146

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2016

By the time this post publishes, I’ll be on an airplane heading back to the United States following a truly remarkable two week visit to Uganda as part of a group of western birders visiting there to promote the inaugural African Birding Expo. The enigmatic Shoebill is perhaps Uganda’s most famous bird.

Uganda 161

Uganda Africa Squirrels Tanzania 161

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2016

Tom Brown grew up in the high desert area of Central Oregon. His love for birds and photography started at a young age. They’ve been traveling and bird blogging the world ever since! My first experience with this bird was near the fishing village of San Evaristo, on the Sea of Cortez, 50 miles north of La Paz, Mexico.

San Diego 104

San Diego Seattle Mexico Oregon 104

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

2014 has been a good year for us at 10,000 Birds. We’ve traveled to lots of places, seen lots of great birds, and met lots of great birders. So, as we’ve done for the last several years we thought we would share our Best Birds of the Year with you. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours?

2014 187

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 187

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. A robot that feeds baby birds so I can take a nap,” wrote Jodi in Massachusetts. “A That more rehab centers would accept non-natives, like pigeons house sparrows, and starlings,” wrote Charis in Oregon.

Wildlife 245

Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Oklahoma New York 245

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Growing up in central Oregon, allowed me to experience such a diverse amount of habitat, and the wildlife that resides there. For me, the real jewel of central Oregon is Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. With water, comes birds, so I set off in search. This is also one of the best birding hot spots on the mountain.

Sheep 113

Sheep Oregon Mules Livestock 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2018

The countrysides were incredible, the people were as hospitable as anywhere we went, and there are some fantastic birds. The last week found us start off in Hull, at the Spurn Bird Observatory. It was an all around quality experience. So, you can imagine the excitement when one of the birds was sporting a few colored bands!

South Africa 100

South Africa New Zealand Costa Rica Qatar 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2012

It is not the only Catharus thrush with spots and it is horribly disappointing that a bird with such an amazing singing voice would be given such an uninspiring scientific name. Fortunately, the common name nicely evokes a solitary bird in the wild, a fitting name for a bird that one must go out of one’s way to hear.

New York 175

New York United States Breeding Emotional 175

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2024

There are a few spectacles in the birding community that are high energy, happen quickly, and is worth any effort to experience it. One such experience is a bird grounding event, sometimes called a fallout. However, if the wind blows in from the north, then these poor little birds have much more of a struggle.

Texas 206

Texas Alabama Alligators Nashville 206

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

Birds of California , the new volume in the ABA series, arrived the day I returned. Every bird book seems to be about the west coast this month!) With the boat speed what it was, and being the only birder on board, to stop watching meant I might miss an interesting bird. This is also where a photograph came in very handy.

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Whales Whaling Porpoises 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

All twitchers will experience it at some stage or another. For those that might not fully comprehend, the birding slang-term to “dip” or to “dip out on” a bird is to go looking for a particular species and not find it. That bird can then be referred to as a”dip”, the noun version of the word.

Norway 229

Norway Delaware Pennsylvania Philadelphia 229

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge : Open to migratory bird hunting (youth only). The Refuge is now home to nearly 200 species of birds, over 50 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles and amphibians, and a wide variety of insects, fish and plants. This is an Urban Refuge ! Why would you open it up to hunting?

Fish 143

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 143

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

My review copy (well, actually a contributor’s copy—more on that later) was waiting for me when I returned from the ABA birding tour of Thailand and Malaysia (more on that in a separate post) in early March. The book does not include House Sparrow, an Old World sparrow that belongs to a completely different bird family. Mexico border.

North America 147

North America Sparrows America United States 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2019

These reports (called “ Banking on Nature “) are relevant to birders because they are among the few comprehensive analyses that relate to the economic impact of birders on national wildlife refuges, which are among the more popular birding locations. A number of these NWRs appear on my list of the Top 25 NWRs for Birding.).

Wildlife 245

Wildlife Maryland San Francisco Minnesota 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2023

An American photographic activist (I would have said photo-journalist, but he preferred “activist”), named Steve, had asked me to take him birding in late June. And for the first time, I saw a Bronzed Cowbird (which lays its eggs in other birds’ nests) checking out one of these nests. Seeing one?

Mexico 147

Mexico Oregon Squirrels Science 147

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?

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2017

BIRDING WITHOUT BORDERS: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World. The most impressive photograph in Noah Strycker’s new book is not one of a bird, but of the author. He’s standing next to a pile of several dozen birding guidebooks — the stack is fully as tall as the 5’9” Strycker himself.

Sri Lanka 133

Sri Lanka Birds Cleveland 2014 133

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Grief, friendship, gratitude, wonder, and other things we animals experience. After publishing my stories I got emails from people all over the world who had seen similar behavior in various birds and mammals. Waterfall Dances: Do animals have spiritual experiences? by Marc Bekoff. Empathy Among Elephants.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

Daisy and I took advantage of her spring break and one of my precious vacation days to spend the day birding in the Adirondacks. The sun was shining and the birds were most definitely out. Well, a new bird on my life list anyway, as I have vague memories of seeing these brilliant big-beaked birds as a boy.

Oregon 164

Oregon Birds 2007 Protection 164

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2011

The Beat Writers at 10,000 Birds are perhaps the single greatest conglomeration of nature writers ever to be assembled in the history of the internet. We are pleased to announce that such a stellar crew of scribes has yet another impressively talented member interpreting the natural world for the readers of 10,o00 Birds.

Brazil 160

Brazil Venezuela Iowa Guatemala 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2012

Day two of the Epic Birding Weekend that was my weekend last weekend (Was that enough weekends?) The ride north in the dark saw us catching up on birding world gossip, discussing our plans for the day, and seeing how fast my Ford Focus could go on the nearly empty Northway. Part 1 is here. began at 3:55 AM in Saugerties, New York.

New York 101

New York Deer Birds Woodpeckers 101

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2012

It seems that my article last week on the dangers posed by birds struck a chord with the readers, many of whom posted their own stories of terror at the hand of this avian menace. One commenter actually said their were rooting for the birds, and, well, no offence but I’m not sure I want to go birding with you. Dum dum DUM!

New Zealand 150

New Zealand Birds Australia Kangaroos 150

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

The unique American experiment in balancing the public freedom and good with private interests will be forever shattered, while a new kind of inequality soars, not just inequality of economics and economic opportunity, but of life experience, the chance to experience liberty itself. References: 1 $3.3

Hunters 127

Hunters Utah Extremist Agenda 127