10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2015

That place is the fabled home of shorebirds, both common and rare, the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. This year, what with family plans and other commitments, I didn’t get out on the pond until later than usual but it was worth the wait. American Avocet on Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond.

Jamaica 162

Jamaica New York City Wildlife New York 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2014

Saturday morning, 30 August 2014, was a perfect time for shorebirding at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond. While frustrating, it wasn’t too bad enjoying the birds that were there! The white rump would have worked too but this bird had no interest in flushing. Despite all my efforts I could not refind the bird.

Jamaica 203

Jamaica Bald Eagle Eagles South America 203

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

As one season begins to shade ever so slightly–or perhaps heavily, depending on your latitude–new birding opportunities open up. If you focus on first of year (FOY) birds, February always has something fresh and fun to offer. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

2020 151

2020 Jamaica New York Owls 151

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2015

He yelled a relatively unintelligible explanation as he ran to the car, abandoning his family, and sped to Jamaica Bay where he parked and ran out to the breach of the West Pond where he relied upon the kindness of other birders, who let him use their scopes while he got his breath back. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2015 162

2015 Jamaica Canada Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2019

This last year of the twenty-teens was a monumental birding year for me. I saw 863 species of birds, bringing my life list to 1,820. I birded Uganda, which was my first time on the continent of Africa. Such travel brings a lot of birds and the 863 species I saw this year is the most species I have ever seen.

2019 137

2019 Barbados Uganda Costa Rica 137

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2019

While some birding runs work well solo, most are greatly improved by good company. I haven’t always acted in accordance with this philosophy, but those avian observation excursions undertaken with friends or family loom larger in mind than the ones I took alone. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2019 118

2019 Jamaica Birds Eggs 118

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2018

Car troubles keep shutting my birding plans down, but at least I got out with the family to cut down our Christmas tree. Lacking any other worthy candidate, any one of the six is his Best Bird of the Weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend? We skipped that tree, however, in favor of a shaggy Austrian Pine.

2018 113

2018 Jamaica Birds Wildlife 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2015

I took my family on Sunday to explore a stretch of the flat but fancy Lehigh Valley Railroad Trail. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Gull-billed Tern of the year at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2015 165

2015 Jamaica Birds Hunting 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2015

Actually, signs that winter won’t release its icy grip so readily are also apparent… my traditional Easter family hike was canceled on account of snow. 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?

2015 179

2015 Jamaica New York Birds 179

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

I am shocked to be writing this post already, and doubly shocked that I’ve seen six new species for Queens since I guessed what my next five Queens birds would be just eight months ago, back in March. It’s been a good year for birding in Queens! Fortunately, there are birds to help. I really, really hope.

New York City 150

New York City Birds New York Blackbirds 150

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

Those of you who visit this blog on more than the rare occasion are probably aware that I live in Queens and love living and birding here. You are also probably aware that Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, one of the best urban birding sites in the world, is on my regular list of spots that I like to stop by and visit. Sign it now!

Jamaica 162

Jamaica New York City United States Wildlife 162

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 157

2018 2015 Birds 2019 157

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2014

We know that Corey and his family came through the ordeal safely, but what of the warblers? Damage to New York included floods caused by the storm surge, power cuts and disruption to transport, including the loss of the railway line that crosses Jamaica Bay. Birds Yellow-rumped Warblers'

New Jersey 199

New Jersey New York Jamaica Transported 199

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2012

Thus, I was surprised and a little saddened to learn from my Kentucky family that kids in the Bluegrass State go back to school next week. I’ll be driving from one Great Lake to another this weekend and will have to settle for highway birds. Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? How about you?

Kentucky 159

Kentucky 2012 Michigan United States 159

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2011

Besides the avian attributes of flight, feathers and laying eggs, potoos are quite possibly the most unbird-like birds in the world. Sometimes called “Poor-me-ones&# on account of their haunting calls, these bizarre denizens of the night come in 7 different flavors from the family Nyctibiidae within the order Caprimulgiformes.

Costa Rica 232

Costa Rica Jamaica Eggs Cooking 232

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

The trend at this time of year is a downturn in shared lists and birds reported, nevertheless, 12 (is this a record?) Our two newest contributors have shared from Mexico and China, bringing the countries birded this month (also including; Costa Rica, Greece, Serbia, USA, UK, India, UAE and New Zealand) to 10. Laguna Lagarto Lodge.

2019 118

2019 Jamaica Eggs Woodpeckers 118

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. I went to the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. Mottled Duck ?

2012 142

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 142

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2019

For many North American birders, wood warblers represent everything exciting, compelling, and immediate about birding. That fallacious family name seems to have encouraged all manner of knaves, dunderheads, and miscreants when time came to label species. Consider some examples: NAMED FOR OTHER BIRDS. NAMED FOR PEOPLE.

Rights 113

Rights Connecticut Tennessee Nashville 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

And, sure enough, as the sun set birds came over in ones and twos and fours and fives, adding to what was already a pretty darn big flock of birds spread out on the West Pond. Mostly the ducks were Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup , the two most prevalent species on the pond, but there were a few other birds mixed in as well.

Ducks 168

Ducks 2011 Jamaica New York 168

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2011

The Cape May Warbler is an outstanding bird and an outing that includes one is almost undoubtedly considered successful. I was fortunate enough to spot the individual in this post at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge where it was foraging in bushes and small trees between four and fifteen off of the ground.

Tigers 158

Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 158

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 153

2011 New York Deer Birds 153

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 162

New York City New York Walruses Birds 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

The little stiff-tails are almost year-round at Jamaica Bay though almost all leave to breed in the summer and in the depths of winter, when the ponds are almost completely frozen, they tend to head for open water. This post has been submitted to Bird Photography Weekly #133. Go check it out! Get yours today! Thanks, Corey!

Ducks 150

Ducks 2011 Jamaica Deer 150

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 151

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 151

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birding / Where Are You Birding This Third Weekend of March 2011? Where Are You Birding This Third Weekend of March 2011? Mama mia, no birding for me! Share your plans in the comments below.

2011 150

2011 Deer Birds South Dakota 150

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2012

With a family renowned for its strong flight and capability to colonize far flung locations (such as the Imperial-Pigeons and Fruit-Doves of the Tropical Pacific, Blue Pigeons of the Indian Ocean, or endemic pigeons of the Canary Islands), this fact comes to no surprise.

Florida 155

Florida Miami Bahamas Mexico 155

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Bufflehead in Flight Bufflehead in Flight By Corey • March 13, 2011 • 8 comments Tweet Share Bufflehead are one of our most amusing ducks. There is something for everyone at 10,000 Clicks !

2011 150

2011 Ducks Deer New York 150

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2013

If I had my druthers I would be birding the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge pretty much every day from July until September. Can you tell which of the birds in the two photos above is the Long-billed Dowitcher ? If you can’t figure it out you have to turn your binoculars in and give up birding.

Jamaica 169

Jamaica Wildlife Falcons Family 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

This one is a doozy and your clue is that all of the shots were taken this year in Queens, NY, so a knowledge of what birds can be seen in my fine borough will be of great assistance to you if you have that knowledge. Remember to identify each bird by its full common name in the comment section below. Get yours today!

2011 176

2011 Bald Eagle Sparrows Parrots 176

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

But it wasn’t all that diabolical when you consider that it was the Queens Zoo that served as the setting and I also left this clue: “a knowledge of what birds can be seen in my fine borough will be of great assistance to you.&# Those who are really familiar with Queens should know what birds are in the zoo named for our borough.

Bald Eagle 113

Bald Eagle Zoos 2011 Parrots 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Way back on 16 May I managed to see my 312 bird species in Queens to add to my Queens list. Whimbrel – Undoubtedly this is the easiest bird left for me to find in Queens. Sedge Wren – This is a bird that rarely shows up on the coast in fall migration. Sooty Shearwater – This will take some more dedicated seawatching.

2013 160

2013 2010 2012 2011 160

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2015

I spent the early morning hours the last two days on the beach in the eastern Rockaways, taking advantage of slanted light and cooperative birds. Semipalmated Plovers , like this young bird, were all over the beach. Double-crested Cormorants are one of those birds I usually ignore. I appreciated that.

Birds 182

Birds Goats Falcons Jamaica 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2013

In fact, the last one was back on 15 May 2012 when my Queens list stood at 289 and I guessed what my next eleven birds would be that would get me to 300. Note that starred birds are birds that have since been seen and are not indicative of how well I predicted each time.). John’s the Divine Cemetery.

2012 158

2012 2013 New York City Jamaica 158

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2012

Other than my overall life list it is the one to which I most like to add a bird. This explains why when I was upstate celebrating my parents’ fortieth anniversary on Sunday I was not to happy to learn that a Ruff was found at Jamaica Bay. As you already know I am a big fan of my Queens list.

Jamaica 158

Jamaica New York City Abandon Abandoning 158

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2011

Back when we used to run the 10,000 Birds ID Clinic (as opposed to just answering lots of e-mails about bird identification!), we received an inquiry about a bird “about the size of a small duck, much bigger than a jay… a crest similar to a jay or a roadrunner and it has a remarkably long neck.&#

Jamaica 251

Jamaica Fish Adoptable Ducks 251

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2011

I have hope that in the next couple of weeks I will be able to get enough decent shots to share a gallery of birds in transitional plumage and then another of birds in alternate plumage. Until then, enjoy these basic-plumaged birds* and make sure to check back between now and mid-April for further galleries of Oxyura jamaicansis.

Ducks 142

Ducks 2011 New York New York City 142

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2012

But Gotham’s many parks have some very suitable habitat for birds from the family Picidae and a birder in any borough of New York will generally find at least a couple of species during an average morning’s birding. Otherwise, their coloration is a simple black-and-white like in the female bird above this paragraph.

New York City 238

New York City New York Woodpeckers New Jersey 238