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 227

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 227

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

New Year’s resolutions from birding friends are starting to trickle in as I write this review. It is the last day of 2015, time to select the bird of the year past and set goals for the bright open future, when everything is new again. The process is called “Wide-angle birding: Be the bird, see the bird.”.

Birds 190

Birds Groups 2015 North America 190

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?

Birds 206

Birds Portland Oregon 2015 206

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2013

The recent American Ornithological Union (AOU) decisions to split Sage Sparrow (RIP) into Sagebrush Sparrow and Bell’s Sparrow has the Birdosphere buzzing on everything from field marks, vocalizations, status and distribution to historical records and hypothetical patterns of vagrancy. Photographed off Hatteras, NC.

San Francisco 178

San Francisco Fox Sparrows California 178

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2019

It’s never too late or too early to buy a children’s book about birds. It’s been a few years since my last roundup of children’s bird books, and children’s book writers, illustrators and publishers continue to produce picture books that feature avian protagonists. First, the board books.

New York City 153

New York City Pelicans Birds New York 153

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

They looked out their windows and across their patios and up from their apartment terraces and saw–birds. This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives.

2020 264

2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Found throughout South America in ever-dwindling numbers these extremely beautiful birds – threatened by habitat destruction and collection for the wild bird trade – are often difficult to see and hard to find. The experience is one of the ornithological highlights in the world. That’s right – birds eating clay.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 Research Center 255

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 151

Mexico Oregon Squirrels Science 151

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Well, they mainly feed on birds, which may explain their low popularity. For the White-throated Rock Thrush , Wikipedia gives the slightly puzzling statement “The bird’s population is unknown, but is not increasing or declining.” Even if they look as charming as this Northern Boobook. Unfortunately, it is true though.

Birds 202

Birds China Eggs Owls 202

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

The experience was marvelous — but it also weighed heavily on me. That’s because I’d already seen the conclusions contained in a study that Audubon (my employer) was preparing to release, a study about birds and climate change. Birds are finely tuned to the climatic conditions that support them.

Species 176

Species Science Los Angeles 2000 176

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

The second thing to note is that this is an excellent and courageous book that tackles a group of birds whose field identification has stumped the most skilled birders. ” This builds and expands on a classic series of articles by Bret Whitney and Kenn Kaufman that appeared Birding magazine between 1985 and 1987.* known-identity).”**

Los Angeles 217

Los Angeles North America America Species 217

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2012

NARITA, JAPAN, DECEMBER 2012 – The art and science of layover birding deserves more rigorous study and perhaps a federal grant. While planning a much-needed escape from the Western Hemisphere to Singapore, I had to explore the layover birding potential of Narita International Airport, one of two airports serving Tokyo.

Japan 121

Japan Birds Stud Ducks 121

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2018

While some people never overcome this vestigial aversion to sour and bitter sensations, this innate prejudice can be overturned with experience, becoming acquired tastes we learn to enjoy just as much as the more dependable, uncomplicated pleasures of sweetness, salt, and fat. Good birding and happy drinking! Your move, Budweiser.).

Collecting 100

Collecting St. Louis Dogs Sparrows 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2012

Nick Lund , formerly at birdDC and then the Birdist , should be no stranger to readers of 10,000 Birds. He’s previously shared his surprisingly strong feelings about the bird logos of NFL and MLB teams. Like any obsessive birder, of course, I’ve found a way to make birding part of the job.

Birds 173

Birds Mississippi Vermont Texas 173

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2012

At the recent Swarovski Social Media Summit in Arizona, Nate proselytized passionately for the program that both manages your sightings and contributes them to science. In fact, experience proved that the process is actually way more cumbersome and time-consuming than it should be. Importing locations is even more ridiculous.

Arizona 176

Arizona Belize Adoptable ALA 176

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2019

This year, on the 21st of December, 2019, Michoacán had its second Christmas Bird Count. Back when I rediscovered birding, about seven years ago, there didn’t seem to be anyone doing serious birding in my corner of Mexico. And… we have an annual Christmas Bird Count! One of those Song Sparrows.

2019 148

2019 Birds Blackbirds Sparrows 148

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Phenology is a vital science. Cultures that experience it generally put a holiday of some sort at the end to motivate people to even bother living through it. Black-capped Chickadees , Song Sparrows , and Dark-eyed Juncos start testing their breeding songs as well, though they have a longer wait before things get serious.

Bald Eagle 157

Bald Eagle Montana Owls Dogs 157