10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

I often poke fun at listers I perceive as being more interested in ticks than birds. Not that I don’t enjoy seeing new species myself, it’s just that they are an easy target and I am nothing if not lazy and mean spirited. Getting entirely new families is easy when you start birding.

Family 166

Family Wombats Uganda Fiji 166

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2022

Every place has its common birds, the species that do very well in a given habitat. As we like to say, these are species that are “hard to miss”, birds that, if you are watching, will be seen. As one might expect, signature birds take many forms. Birding in a local park? What about urban sites?

Costa Rica 147

Costa Rica San Jose Asia Geese 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2015

Midsummer birding can become boring if you focus solely on species counts. The general lack of longitudinal movement among birds limits most areas to the same restricted pool of resident breeders every year. Canada Geese are never as interesting as when escorting those adorable goslings! How about you?

2015 160

2015 Breeders Geese Canada 160

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

APRIL 13, 2013

Always bringing her camera along, Erika is building her life-list by trying to check off at least one new species each week in her field guide. I wanted to bird among the blossoms. To really see the birds and the basin, I visited the blossoms at three different times of day, early morning, early afternoon, and evening.

DC 214

DC Washington Birds Geese 214

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2015

At the request of blog management, I’m embarking on a series of posts on the names of birds. Since we’ve covered some generalities already, once a month I’ll be exploring how a species, genus, or family of birds got its name, and how those names fit in with our larger understanding of, and relationship with, birds.

Falcons 260

Falcons Eagles Meat Geese 260

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2020

He has been an avid lover of the natural world since he was a kid, with a strong love for paleontology when he was younger, but he only took up birding in his last year of high school and hasn’t looked back since. This is Luis’s first guest post on 10,000 Birds but hopefully not his last! And something different I got!

Canada 182

Canada Cuba Miami Florida 182

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Despite all this red tape stuff, I am still making some time for birding. This location is great as it is close to Jeanne’s Family, as well as a very short drive to the Billy Frank Jr. Over 200 species of birds can be found on the refuge, depending on the time of year. Nisqually NWR.

Fox 146

Fox Washington Geese Sparrows 146

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Feeding birds is generally regarded as a harmless past-time, a wholesome way for people to share nature and enjoy wildlife with the family. However, more and more news stories are popping up this year of communities cracking down on bird feeding. How do you know when you are a little too involved with feeding birds?

Bald Eagle 259

Bald Eagle Birds Deer Minnesota 259

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

Back on Friday, 12 February, I was dismayed when I read the weekly New York City Rare Bird Alert email. Why would a bird like that being reported in Queens dismay me? Despite my best efforts and despite seeing around 200 Canada Geese , I had no luck with the Specklebelly. The locale where I found the bird.

Puerto Rico 129

Puerto Rico Geese Canada Porpoises 129

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

JUNE 1, 2011

It’s a common call/email/text that most bird watchers get this time of year: “HELP! I just saved a baby bird! Both of those sites allow you to enter your zip code or state and find someone nearby who has the state and federal permits that allows them to treat wild birds. Do not worry about touching the baby birds.

Birds 266

Birds Fox Raised Ducks 266

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

Two-thousand-twelve was a pretty darn good year for me birding-wise and otherwise. Seeing 525 species was nice, as was the fact that I birded in four countries, nine of the fifty states in the United States, and fifty-one counties. Finally, my 2012 Year List easily exceeded the 500 species I had hoped to see.

2012 147

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

The last weekend of January found me in the frosty Pacific Northwest, meeting some long over due work and family obligations. This is not to say that there wasn’t a little birding time snuck in here and there. The cold was quickly forgotten once I was away from the car, and started seeing the number of birds all around me.

Wildlife 110

Wildlife Seattle Bald Eagle Geese 110

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

While we have been living in Palmerston in the Northern Territory I do miss our garden at home in Broome and all of our daily visiting birds. However I am able to visit Marlow Lagoon in town regularly and cycle there most days to observe the changing bird-life as the different trees flower. Straw-necked Ibis and Green Pygmy-geese.

Geese 167

Geese Australia Parrots Dogs 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2018

Access to the local ephemeral lakes remains closed to vehicles, which means the only access is on foot and as such we are discovering the bird life to be particularly good when we do good bush walking into these areas. It was very hard to try and capture the evidence and not have other birds or dragonflies in the way, but I got evidence!

Ducks 100

Ducks Australia Geese 2009 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2017

The 118 th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) began yesterday and I’m sure many of you have at least one count scheduled in the next few weeks. And I think it’s safe to say the other two North American crow species aren’t showing up in New York any time soon. Here’s to uncommon crows, happy drinking and good Christmas bird counting!

New York 124

New York Portland Washington Geese 124

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2017

After a very good Wet Season with substantially more rain than normal over the first few months of 2017 the land was flooded and a huge variety of birds arrived in the Broome area to take advantage of the ideal conditions for breeding. Two birds on the right and one on the left-note the bills! Australian Painted Snipe nest.

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Raised 2017 100

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. Jackbirds are young South Island Saddlebacks.

New Zealand 108

New Zealand Parrots Rats Bats 108

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Which, naturally, got me to thinking about the newly erected order Suliformes, a development I mentioned in my December column, 2010′s Top 10 Developments in Bird Taxonomy and Systematics , but which I thought deserved further examination, for it’s one of those stories that defines the era in which we are living and birding.

2011 159

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 159

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

Over the past few months there have been a lot of birds breeding around Broome with the excellent rain events that we have been having and the vegetation is at long last revived. The grass is green, the wildflowers are spectacular and now we have numerous species of dragonfly to enjoy as the season starts to change.

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Protection Cows 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

Located about 20 miles from Lakeview, Oregon, and sitting at an elevation of 5100 feet, this 208 acre lake is home to many species of fish, including Largemouth Bass, Crappie and Bluegill. With shore side access limited to the northern end of the lake, that protection allows for a large population of water based birds.

Dogs 107

Dogs Mules Deer Oregon 107

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2016

One of the most camouflaged birds in Australia is the Tawny Frogmouth and we often hear them at night when we are camping in the bush, but the chance of seeing them is less likely. Tawny Frogmouths are actually more closely related to the Nightjar family. The dam was very full and there were numerous species of birds present.

Shelters 100

Shelters Geese Australia 2010 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

After a successful morning’s birding and a very fine lunch, Peter and I made our way to our next site, Bang Poo. In fact the area where the pier hit the mangroves was crammed with birds, including Pied Fantails, a very vocal Oriental Magpie Robin, Green Herons and Little Egrets. This piece follows on from Part One.

Thailand 105

Thailand New Zealand Family Bats 105

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2011

All the local avian characters have been extra-antsy despite the weather, all contending for best bird of the weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. Where Are You Birding This First Weekend of March 2011?

2011 159

2011 New York Deer Birds 159

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2014

My string of winter-only visits to the Adirondacks is over now, happily, because of a three-day weekend with the family in Montreal. But one of the species I most wanted to track down because they are one of my favorite boreal birds, Olive-sided Flycatchers, were absent. Shows what I know about when birds breed.

New York City 166

New York City New York Canada Woodpeckers 166

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2012

The Daintree River is popular with tourists for river cruises to look for saltwater crocodiles, and for birders to look for a few choice rarities in this tidal river (not to mention crocodiles if no birds are present). Smaller birds were present too, including Brown-backed Honeyeaters and White-breasted Woodswallows. Very early.

Australia 162

Australia Asia Geese Eagles 162

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

For the many birds that depend on the saltings for their food, high tide is a time for roosting and waiting. If you are a birdwatcher or bird photographer, there’s no finer place to be than an estuary when the tide is falling. As the tide fell, it exposed sand banks that attracted small parties of garrulous Brent Geese.

Geese 215

Geese Russia Breeding Unwanted 215

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

(Boring bureaucratic note to dissuade casual readers: This post covers birds seen in Shanghai in January 2023, except for those seen at Tianmashan – these are shown in a separate post. End of note) Probably the most interesting bird in Shanghai this month was a Barred Cuckoo-Dove choosing a small downtown park to feed on berries.

Birds 147

Birds Geese Fish Industry 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2023

I recently received a kind letter from a 10,000 Birds friend, who was worried that my recent irregularity in contributing to this website might indicate that something was wrong. Then we threw together a semi-planned family-related trip to the States in early December. I assured him then, and assure you now, that I am fine.

Jordan 225

Jordan Mexico Birds Ohio 225

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert).

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

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 !

Fish 147

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2023

The floodwaters continue to recede across the plains near Broome and the bird-life continues to enjoy the environment. The whole area has been a breeding ground for many species and depending on the time of day you can expect a wide variety of species.

Geese 130

Geese Birds Ducks Rights 130

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2018

Last year was the first year since we moved to Broome permanently at the end of 1999 that we encountered significant numbers of Magpie Geese to the area. The areas where the Magpie Geese have been breeding around Broome the past two years have been mostly inaccessible until recently due to the flooded land. Magpie Geese.

Geese 100

Geese 2017 Ducks Breeding 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2016

I dipped a bird recently – possibly a lifer. First I noticed a red cap – a male, then striped flanks and pale-red undertail, but couldn’t see its wing because some part of the bird remained hidden by a branch at any given time. I opt for the bird richest section of the lake, visible from the eastern dyke. What to say?

Greece 258

Greece Woodpeckers Boars Eagles 258

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2016

On my recent short family vacation to Miami, I was granted a single day to get out and really bird like a madman. The reason the location is remaining undisclosed is that reliable Mangrove Cuckoos are difficult to find in the American Birding Association area and are a very sought after species. Come on, Carlos!

Florida 133

Florida Miami Birds Owls 133

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2023

There are plenty of birds along the edge of the highway still and also on the highway. Black-winged Stilt near and on the highway There are still over forty species of birds to be found along the highway across Roebuck Plains, but the tall vegetation can be problematic. All three species of Ibis are now present.

Pelicans 147

Pelicans Australia Fish 2019 147