10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2021

May is a time for birding. We have the slow weeks and months for reading, writing, and dreaming about the birds we’d rather be seeing. Corey enjoyed getting out early and birding both days this weekend, and has the lists to back him up. After that, what else could be his Best Bird of the Weekend? How about you?

New York 264

New York Sparrows Birds Breeding 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2021

Fortunately, we have birds to look at, so let’s focus on them right now. Fortunately, we have an expansive view of weekends here at 10,000 Birds so I can choose one of the birds I saw in California on Friday before I flew out as my Best Bird of the Weekend. So that will be my Best Bird of the Weekend.

Alaska 250

Alaska California Birds New York 250

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2020

With hope, this was a memorable one for you, even if the birds weren’t particularly rare. However, many of the bird’s field marks were obscured because it flew far below me as I walked across the bridge I’ll always know as the Tappan Zee. What was your best bird of the weekend? Another weekend is in the books.

2020 257

2020 New York City Whales Whaling 257

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

The end of September doesn’t necessarily mean the end of what you might enjoy about September birding but it definitely signals the beginning of what you love about October. I was shocked to still find a number of shorebird species up at Braddock Bay, perhaps because of how much productive mud the dropping lake levels have exposed.

2020 230

2020 Connecticut Virginia New York 230

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Whiskey Month at Birds and Booze: After going on hiatus last year, Birds and Booze’s Whiskey Month at 10,000 Birds is back and setting its sights on whiskeys all month long this February. Illustration of a Short-eared Owl from The Birds of Great Britain (1873) by English ornithologist John Gould (1804-1881).

Owls 235

Owls New York New York City Cuba 235

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2021

I knocked down several first birds of spring this weekend (not literally) but will always give Best Bird honors to a Saw-whet Owl , especially one showing as well as the one Ivy and I located at Owl Woods on Easter. Corey was extremely pleased to finally get out and about birding again after his family all caught COVID and recovered.

Texas 187

Texas New York Birds Owls 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

This past weekend was both Global Big Day and World Migratory Bird Day, and yet I had to deal with snow and freezing cold. Suffice to say, migrants were having no part of the Arctic chill enveloping Western New York, which means we’re still mired in the first wave of spring arrivals. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2020 185

2020 New York Birds Experience 185

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Birds of Belize by Steve N. Howell and Dale Dyer and Birds of Costa Rica by Dale Dyer and Steve N. Howell joined the field guide roster this spring, very welcome in a year sadly sparse in new titles. An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell.

Costa Rica 236

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 236

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.

Birds 237

Birds Los Angeles Massachusetts New York City 237

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2020

The birds we encountered up on the lake this weekend could only be described as mundane. Corey enjoyed a foul-weather seawatch on Saturday morning and birded a couple of locations Sunday morning before leading a walk for New York City Audubon in Forest Park. Don’t worry… we’ve got 11 months to go!

2020 178

2020 New York City New York Birds 178

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Sure, they’re always a dependable, can’t-miss tick whenever you need them to be there, whether it’s the first day of the year, or the first few minutes of a Big Day or Christmas Bird Count. But there’s no getting around the fact that the starling is likely the most detested bird on the continent – as far as birders are concerned, anyway.

Farming 209

Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 209

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

“This beautiful and singular bird, although a constant resident in the southern extremities of the peninsula of Florida, seldom extends its journeys in an eastern direction beyond the State of North Carolina.

New York 264

New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2024

Bird Day is a lovely, little jewel of a book. The idea is to portray one bird for each hour of the day in words and art, presenting the diversity, beauty, and wonder of avian life. Angell’s black-and-white illustrations bring sparks of energy and visual clarity to the fascinating bird behaviors described by Huber.

Chicago 206

Chicago Barn Owls Penguins New Zealand 206

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.

New York City 263

New York City Birds Illinois Science 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

Richard Fried spent 2011 doing a New York State Big Year and managed to top the record of 350 species which was only set in 2008 by Scott Whittle. Richard totaled 352 species, an impressive number, by seeing almost all of the regularly occurring New York birds and the vast majority of the rarities that showed up in 2011.

New York 185

New York Puerto Rico 2011 Japan 185

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

This, 2022, has been a curious year for books about birds and birding. Despite the absence of two major publishers—Lynx and HMH–from the new title publishing scene (hopefully not permanently), we were happily surprised to read and peruse many excellent books. But this is more than a coffee table book. Highly recommended.

Sri Lanka 251

Sri Lanka Malaysia Birds Suriname 251

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2011

Of course, that is just my perspective and I have been known to think that birds that don’t show up until May are late if they aren’t here by mid-April. I tend to get angry when I have not seen the number of birds I think I should have and when I am angry I type fast and crazily. Besides, suffering brings birds, right?

New York City 169

New York City New York Walruses Birds 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2021

I didn’t plan on taking such a long break away from the Birds and Booze beat, but life got in the way the last several weeks, mostly on account of moving into a new home. And what could be better than a new bird-themed brewery opening up less than two miles down the road from me? Good birding and happy drinking!

New York 264

New York Boston 2019 Collecting 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 14, 2019

July birding in the Northern Hemisphere may be slow, but you’ve got to love those adorable baby birds! i got my fill of cygnets and goslings this weekend, but the best sighting was an adult Cattle Egret that apparently didn’t realize how far Upstate New York was from wherever it should be. How about you?

2019 144

2019 New York Cattle Birds 144

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?”

Birds 264

Birds Compassion Eagles Science 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2019

A hot weekend doesn’t necessarily make for hot birding, but things may be warming up on that front. One truth you learn in the birding business is that birds are always moving in one direction or another. I definitely didn’t see much, but sometimes the usual species satisfy well enough. How about you?

2019 150

2019 New York City Virginia New York 150

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2018

Without any real birding or outdoor activity during what was a gorgeous New York weekend, I still observed plenty of birds. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. Did your weekend feature any fall migrants?

2018 124

2018 New York City New York Birds 124

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

I definitely learned something this weekend, particularly regarding how best to see interesting birds. Consequently, I observed no birds more interesting than Gray Catbirds this weekend, and those birds stand out only because the sudden chill enveloping Upstate New York reminds me of how soon catbirds will be leaving.

2019 139

2019 Philadelphia New York Birds 139

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2019

This month may have brought uncommon cold and rain to Upstate New York, but June went out on an exceedingly high note for us. Luckily, for birds, I didn’t have to, as a skulky Winter Wren sought shelter right outside my dining room window, adding a highly improbable third wren species to my yard list. How about you?

2019 140

2019 New York Shelters Birds 140

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

This shouldn’t have to be stated, especially in a book on bird evolution by an evolutionary biologist with a Ph.D. How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity by Douglas J. Futuyma is a synthesis of theory and research about evolution and birds. that’s three birds).

Science 237

Science Albatross Research Birds 237

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2019

We’re still driving towards the depths of winter here in New York, but I just noticed that our days are getting longer. Fortunately, I was able to spot one extremely quiet and still bird… I think it was frozen! Fortunately, I was able to spot one extremely quiet and still bird… I think it was frozen!

2019 113

2019 New York City New York Birds 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2014

Imagine for a moment that you are a bird. The trees are of one species and nearly devoid of insect life, the only plants are ornamental or lawn, and the amount of cover at ground level is virtually nil. Sometimes they are a very surprising species. It was a fun time even though, as usual, the species count was relatively low.

New York City 235

New York City New York Birds Sparrows 235

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

At the end of 2022, let us celebrate the local field guide, a sub-genre that many of us feared would die, the victim of technology, development, and globalization, but which still shines bright, fewer in number but brilliant in quality, thanks to birders and birding organizations that believe in knowing your patch and your state.

Los Angeles 223

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 223

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2018

Many birders have places they return to year after year, special pilgrimages promising scenes and species they see nowhere else. Enjoying these locations over time allows us to experience our beloved birding sites in all their multifaceted glory, even when those facets aren’t exactly glorious. How about you?

2018 124

2018 Ponies New York City Tennessee 124

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.

North America 279

North America Research Birds Groups 279

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2019

If you don’t have a superb bird to report after the first weekend of May, you’re definitely not trying. We encounter all sorts of exciting FOY species, including a particularly gorgeous Black-throated Green Warbler. What was your best bird of the weekend? Don’t worry: the month of migration has just begun.

2019 116

2019 New York Birds Experience 116

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2015

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a new bird in New York State for him, a difficult feat when approaching 400 species checked off the checklist. But New York’s first chaseable Crested Caracara was well worth the effort, even though it took two visits to Orange County to see it!

2015 169

2015 New York Birds Florida 169

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2014

It’s all over but the year bird counting, so take stock of any species you’ve added this weekend. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was New York State’s first Couch’s Kingbird in the incongruous location of the West Village in Manhattan. What a way to end 2014’s birding.

2014 185

2014 New York Falcons Birds 185

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2016

For those who track avian migration, each new week may bring a fresh arrival or herald a new departure. Of course, birds only represent a sliver of the near-infinite flora and fauna that, collectively, grows, blooms, dies back, and lapses into dormancy over the course of a year. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 154

2016 New York Birds Collecting 154

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

With this weekend consumed by Halloween excitement, bats were more easily encountered than birds. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a relatively common species though it was uncommonly cooperative. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend' How did you fare? How about you?

2014 174

2014 Bats New York Birds 174

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2015

Our travels this weekend took us on the New York State Thruway, which passes through Montezuma NWR. 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. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2015 199

2015 Jamaica New York Birds 199

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2014

Assuming that your over-worked eyes are as blurry as mine at the moment, we should get right down to business and talk birds… The best of the many warblers I uncovered at Cobbs Hill this weekend was an entirely improbable Kentucky Warbler. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

New York City 208

New York City 2014 Kentucky New York 208