10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2020

As I simply saw too many interesting birds during my short Delhi birding trip in 2019, I decided to cover the trip in two separate posts. There is no ornithological rationale for which birds are featured in part 1 and 2 – it is merely a question of following the alphabet wherever it led me. One of my favorite bird species.

Birds 180

Birds India Zoos 2019 180

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2024

Curlews are birds of serious conservation concern in the UK, with numbers falling sharply this century. Curlews are long-lived birds, so their decline is not always apparent, with pairs returning annually to their favoured nesting area, despite not having fledged any chicks for years. Males have noticeably shorter beaks.)

Fox 227

Fox Finland Badgers Eggs 227

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 226

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 226

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2019

Growing up birding in Western New York was also a time when the old woods of the Niagara Gorge were punctuated with the songs of hidden Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos and the lazy notes of Eastern Wood-Pewees. Seeing the uncommon birds is key to reaching a big total no matter where one goes birding.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Species Birds New York 203

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

The April arrival of the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition was a supremely happy moment in a very difficult, sad month. A companion regional guide, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America was published in 1941; its fifth edition will be coming out in early September.

North America 239

North America America Hawaii Birds 239

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2011

My 8-year old daughter got interested in birds from a VERY early stage. By age 2 she could identify over 10 species of birds in our Johannesburg, South Africa, yard by call alone. So I guess for some people birding skills come naturally but, for others, birding skills need to be learnt. And perhaps 20 others by sight.

Birds 279

Birds Game Wildlife Family 279

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 253

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 253

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2012

Namibia is politically stable and a safe country to visit offering spectacular scenery, untouched wildernesses, vast game reserves, superb wildlife and fascinating cultural experiences. Over 700 bird species occur in Namibia, many of them range-restricted and highly desirable southern arid zone species.

Namibia 268

Namibia Angola Lovebirds South Africa 268

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

I was laid out with a bad back last week, which didn’t really affect my birding as I wasn’t planning any at the time. And it did so in spectacular fashion, in the form of a mixed-species feeding flock, or a bird wave. Bird waves are a feature of birds all around the world. Cardinal Woodpecker. Blue Waxbill.

South Africa 145

South Africa Tortoises Woodpeckers Birds 145

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2023

Here goes: Paradise Flycatchers are a genus in the broader (and rather large) family of Monarchidae. A characteristic of most but not all Paradise Flycatchers is the long tail of the male bird (tail length is thought to be a criterion by which females select their partners – please insert your own pornographic joke here).

Japan 130

Japan China Guinea Germany 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2020

Having finally found a Black Vulture for my Queens list , an important tick both because it was long overdue and because it was the tenth bird since my last set of predictions, it is time, once again, to look at what might be coming to my Queens list. Black Vulture – The bird that has been reported the most in Queens that I have never seen.

2018 171

2018 2015 Birds 2019 171

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2014

Consequently my usual pre-travel excitement is a lot lower than usual, and I’m spending much less time than I’d like unproductively daydreaming about the birds I’ll see. Can you spot the African bird in this shot? Birding skimmers Uganda' There is a cool one! Skimmers are funny things. Euphorbias at sundown.

Uganda 213

Uganda Madagascar Buffalo Africa 213

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

I’ve never been one to be overly concerned about whether a bird “counts” People, and organisations, have complex and elaborate rules about whether a bird you saw or heard actually is a bird you saw or heard, which seems a very unnecessary way to add complexity to an already complex hobby. Red Lechwe.

Botswana 162

Botswana Birds Lesotho Elephants 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2021

“Gamebirds” to some, cool, cryptic understory birds to the birding people, grouse crouch protected as unfettered winds sway the top of the tall prairie grass. Then there are the ones that live in PA , the state bird, “the grouse” that a great many non-birders are aware of, my Uncle Fred was one of them.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Chickens Pennsylvania Litter 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Photos courtesy of Mosetlha Bush Camp A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg.

South Africa 248

South Africa Africa Game Elephants 248

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. Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge : Expand big game hunting.

Fish 147

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Last week, a good friend, Dan Weisz gave me a tip on the location of a family of Burrowing Owls that were extremely easy to access. Another friend recently commented that while she loved all forms of birds, owls were, well, just something special! I counted a total of 9 owls, with 4 being mature adults and 5 juvenile birds.

Owls 174

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 174

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 176

Uganda Africa Squirrels Tanzania 176

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2018

A successful birding adventure tends to include a fair bit of planning. It’s needed if “success” is synonymous with seeing a higher percentage of target birds (even if that just means any possible species), the trip being rather glitch free, and having abundant coffee available at all hours. Supposedly real but how?

Costa Rica 112

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Game 112

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2013

Mangrove Warblers, in particular, turn up in the ABA listing area with some regularity, particularly at the southern tip of Texas, where higgledy-piggledy is the name of the game. Chuk makes his quip about the Black-winged Yellow Bird; my friend Molly insists that everything is a duck, a pigeon, or an owl.

Connecticut 195

Connecticut Baltimore North America New York City 195

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2019

Birds are singing and migrating, freshets are running, and trees are budding – yes, it’s time for all those things. And given what these birds have been through, this caution is certainly warranted. At last, it’s spring in the northern half of the world. What’s in a name?

North America 113

North America Vermont America Farming 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2014

While you can easily find drab representatives of the pheasant family across most of the world – dull uninteresting birds like partridges, quail, francolins, grouse, or, God help you, turkeys, pheasants are usually found only in Asia. But still, had I not seen a pitta a few minutes later it might have been my bird of the year.

Congo 145

Congo Asia Chickens Turkey 145

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2012

Several years ago, I was asked to visit my nephew’s preschool class and talk about birds. Jake lives in southern Florida, so he and his friends had to be interested in learning about these birds, which they saw everyday, right? How old were the baby birds? I chalk it up to the original baby bird book, P.D.

Birds 236

Birds Owls Switzerland Lions 236

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

While much of the attention that Africa’s tourism industry gets is for its (deservedly) popular national parks and game reserves, a lot of wildlife viewing is possible away from the big name places. Red-crested Korhaans are attractive members of the bustard family. Southern White-faced Scops Owl or African Scops Owl? You decide.

Zimbabwe 101

Zimbabwe Botswana South Africa Endangered Species 101

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 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2015

By this I mean applying the term antelope to cover all of the family Bovidae, which would include the sheep, goats and ox. One of the spiral-horned antelope (the antelopes are a huge family and much sub-divided) it resembles an intermediate between a Lesser Kudu and a Bushbuck , albeit with much longer and more attractive hair on the males.

Africa 182

Africa Hunters Goats Wolves 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2019

While the hunting of game with trained birds of prey can be a controversial topic among birders , falconry was a valuable early source of information on birds, and its history, culture, and imagery continue to fascinate bird lovers, as we shall see. Good birding and happy drinking!

2016 140

2016 Portugal Falcons Japan 140

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2015

Is it fair her life was destroyed because hers was public and mine was among family a decade ago? For being a girl that beat a guy in a computer game. For being a feminist with an opinion on comic books, or games. Do I deserve to have my life destroyed because of that? You’re still not safe. For being trans.

Hunters 175

Hunters Hunting Animal Cruelty Game 175

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2017

The three young men returned to their friends, bragged about their exploits, and showed them trophies: metal banding tags, which members of the Pacific Rim Conservation had carefully placed on the albatrosses’ legs in order to keep track of individual birds. The young men had severed the birds’ legs in order to remove the tags.

Albatross 214

Albatross Honolulu Hawaii Killing 214

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2018

So, I think it is understandable that I have not done a whole lot of birding, well, until yesterday and today. We were able to find a very nice RV park, just a couple of miles from one of my all time favourite birding hotspots, Billy Frank Jr, Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. That is what birding weather should be.

New Zealand 125

New Zealand Seattle Qatar South Africa 125

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2018

After leaving Africa, I was fearing a real let down in my birding. Probably not on most birders Top Ten list, but it was a natural layover for us, we had some great friends living there, and there is a decent list of birds to be added to any year list. Speaking of Bank Swallows , here is one of those family groups.

Qatar 128

Qatar Sparrows South Africa Africa 128

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2016

The English language, or at least the adherents thereof with more time on their hands than sense, has bestowed us a great number of names to collective nouns for groups of birds. English has not been similarly encumbered with frivolous names for young birds of specific types. A Jackbird! Jackbirds are young South Island Saddlebacks.

New Zealand 108

New Zealand Parrots Rats Bats 108

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2017

While in Belize for my family vacation one of the birds I most wanted to see was a Jabiru. The massive, shoe-billed stork is an amazing bird to see even in the pages of a field guide; to see one in the field, for real, would be unbelievably awesome. So on our last full day in Belize we rented a cart and away we went!

Belize 105

Belize Trafficking Family Turkey 105

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2012

It can be reached by car or by bus, and parking is shared with a set of games fields that borders the park here (I once found a football on the path some way into the forest, so I took it back and threw it into the field!). The field overlooks the harbour, and I’ve seen White-bellied Sea-eagles here.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Game India Eagles 157

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

They are not necessarily the biggest African animals, but represented those that were considered a real hunter’s worthy prey or “game” – the African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Leopard and king of the jungle, the Lion (which of course doesn’t inhabit jungle but savanna!).

Buffalo 226

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 226

4 The Love Of Animals

AUGUST 20, 2012

Any type of pet is game, be it dog, cat, horse, ferret, rabbit, etc. Don’t forget pet portraits make the perfect gift for your friend or family member pet lover. I mostly paint dogs but I also do cats, horses, ferrets, and other small critters and birds.

Pets 100

Pets Ferrets Horses Rabbits 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2017

Desi was game and that convinced Daisy. Now, those of you familiar with my tendency to chase birds in New York and knowledgeable of the spate of Great Gray Owls we have had in 2017 might question why it took me to nearly the end of March to make a trip upstate to see one. The first shot of the bird I got. Family twitching?

New York 102

New York Owls Beavers Puerto Rico 102