10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2014

The Woodpeckers are one of the more popular of the avian families. What’s not to like about woodpeckers? Those woodpeckers are some smart-looking birds, and Costa Rica has her fair share with 16 species that head-bang from the dry forests of the northwest to the high-elevation rainforests of the mountains.

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Costa Rica Woodpeckers Honduras Panama 191

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

On a high after waking up in Guyana’s wild interior for the first time – with a spectacular morning of birding already under our belts – we resumed our southerly journey with full bellies. The birds must have been anxious for the rain, but this Greater Yellow-headed Vulture didn’t seem to be too impressed.

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Guyana Woodpeckers Industry Shelters 207

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2024

I admit this is not quite on the level of fellow writers’ posts describing birding as an extreme sport. The bird has now started using its scientific name, Hemipus picatus , as it is substantially shorter. Perhaps the middle section of blog posts should be relatively boring in order to get rid of the more casual readers.

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Myanmar Sri Lanka Nepal Birds 168

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2015

Well, I never did see a Black-backed Woodpecker on my trip, but they were on my mind… What could be more straightforward than the naming of woodpeckers? The name woodpecker itself is a basic behavioral description. Here are birds that peck at wood. The exceptions are still mighty prosaic.

North America 155

North America Woodpeckers America Family 155

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2013

This is a Green-barred Woodpecker , common and widespread throughout South America to the south of the Amazon River and to the east of the Andes. This form is thought to be a different species and the name Golden-bellied Woodpecker has been adopted by some.

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Woodpeckers Argentina South America Adoptable 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2022

They can’t provide the same ecosystem value as natural forest and woodland but in places intensely modifed by people, hedges are vital sanctuaries for birds and other wildlife. In keeping with the depauperate biodiversity of open fields, such scraggly hedgerows host very few birds. Hoffmann’s Woodpecker.

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Costa Rica Birds Sparrows Woodpeckers 250

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2024

By Hannah Buschert Hannah Buschert started birding in college thanks to a required Biology of Birds course and a professor who included Sir David Attenborough’s Life of Birds to punctuate lessons. Next step: find a bird guide. It was on a whim that our most recent adventure took us to Oaxaca.

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Mexico Birds Oregon Groups 177

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2023

It is home to four diverse forest ecosystems (deciduous, mixed, boreal, and lowlands), experiences seasonal weather systems ranging from cold dry Arctic winters to humid, thunder-storm filled summers, and, according to the latest official checklist, hosts four professional sports teams with bird names.* state and Canadian provinces.

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North America Birds Owls Canada 199

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2022

Not just to bird, but equally to rest, reset and restart. And also, to bird. Three years ago I asked American birders which foreign countries they dream of birding, and with more than one fifth of all answers, Costa Rica turned to hold a very strong first place. I was literally awake at 3 a.m., even 1 a.m.,

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Costa Rica San Jose Nepal Europe 233

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2011

Short answer: The woodpecker is most likely not crazy and noshing on the house is not what the woodpecker has in mind. Woodpeckers could be pecking on homes for a variety of reasons, all of which can drive a non birder a bit batty. So, why do woodpeckers peck on human made structures?

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Woodpeckers Owls Blackbirds Raised 260

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2021

Volunteer Moya Kinnealy reached in nearly to her elbow and removed four tiny Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Cutting one tree down displaced two very different wildlife families,” said Michele. The birds were living like city apartment dwellers … the upstairs neighbors were the woodpeckers, downstairs were the screech owls.

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Wildlife Philadelphia Wildlife Rehabilitation Woodpeckers 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2021

Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning “land of many waters” but it could just as easily mean “land of many birds”. Before I delve into some of these avian treasures let me give you a few non-birding reasons to visit this gem of South America. Not a great look for a middle-aged birding dude. Wilderness. Guyana is WILD.

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Guyana Otters South America Colombia 277

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Why would I call these beautiful woodpeckers the “clowns of the avian world?” ” Besides the facial features of the Acorn Woodpecker ( Melanerpes formicivorus ) appearing somewhat clown-like, they are a joy to watch and some of their antics are sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face. www.youtube.com/watch?

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Woodpeckers Breeders Groups North America 183

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2014

I had taken the short drive to the park to search for a family of American Dippers sighted near the visitor center by a fellow birder a few days before. As I got out of my car, about fifty feet from Manzanita Lake, I heard the loud drumming of a woodpecker. Range map courtesy of South Dakota Birds and Birding.

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Woodpeckers California South Dakota Chad 169

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

Fortunately, China still has lots of interesting birding locations left for me. But of course, it is also nice to remember past birding trips. One in November 2018 included a one-day birding trip in the Drakensberg area, a mountain range in the border area between South Africa and Lesotho. That does not make much sense, I know.

South Africa 221

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 221

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Early August is a bit of a dead time for birding in Shanghai unless you like your birds as little white spots at the far end of a telescope. So, I asked around and was told that Qinghai is the place to go to for birds in China in August. Going to Qinghai usually starts with a flight to Xining, the capital. But it is not.

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Birds North Korea China Woodpeckers 227

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2021

Birding in Costa Rica wouldn’t be complete without a fine cup of coffee (or two). It’s why, before any birding jaunt, I brew fresh coffee in the pauraque calling pre-dawn hour, and why I bring that coffee with me. Venturing further into the forest, we did a bit of birding on a trail that leads to a waterfall.

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Costa Rica Birds Farming Woodpeckers 262

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2020

At least I didn’t have to travel far for great birds; my whole family thrilled to the sight of an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk chowing down on an unspecified rodent in our yard. Corey enjoyed his weekend at his parents’ house in the Hudson Valley though he didn’t see too many birds. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2020 New York City Rodents New York 164

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

The main attraction for birders here are the hornbills – I have written about them before , so this post will be more on the other birds I saw there in 2017. Anyway, it is a very cute-looking bird if you are big enough not to be among its prey of (mostly) insects. I have written about the hornbills of this area before.

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Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic. In 2008, with my family decided to build the Limneo Lodge , a small accommodation with only 9 rooms.

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Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 262

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2022

Partly due to the paucity of birding missions within the past fortnight, but more so because T&T is one of the few countries within which there are several birds bearing the national colours. I was on the fence about including it here, but it is a difficult bird to say no to. So too does the Crimson-crested Woodpecker.

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Trinidad Woodpeckers Bears Family 161

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2023

I believe that I have birded in a pretty wide range of places: ten countries, on three continents, and counting. And, having birded now in such western Mexican coastal cities as Acapulco, Ixtapa, Lázaro Cárdenas, and Puerto Vallarta, I have spent my fair share of time in dry tropical forests. And not many of my wishes were denied.

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Mexico Woodpeckers South America Species 160

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Birding in the Caribbean is about islands, beautiful beaches, extra special endemics, rum, and smiles. It could also be much more, maybe less, it all depends on how you want to rock an international birding trip. Go to Costa Rica and you will be looking at other birds but you can still get in some Caribbean slope birding.

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Costa Rica Puerto Rico Birds Owls 262

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2022

All birding is essentially good. Time spent watching any birds is time spent connecting with our natural surroundings, a time that can act as a relaxed escape as well as one of meditative focus. Such rare and special birding times can also include days when the birding doesn’t stop, when one finds one rare bird after another.

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Costa Rica Birds Owls Geese 244

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2020

In the era of digital cameras and social media, images of birds are easy to come by. Even photos of the rarest of birds can be found, even heart-wrenching images of bird species that are no longer with us. In Costa Rica, lately, I have been enjoying the class and elegance of bird poster art produced by CaraCara.

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Costa Rica Birds Species Woodpeckers 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2020

But here is the truly tragic part: I was not birding during those years! The third weekend of January, I travelled to the coastal city of Acapulco to give a seminar on family finances at a church there. These turkey-sized birds, named for their raucous calls, can muster an impressive level of volume.

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Birds 2006 Mexico Morocco 158

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.

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North America America Hawaii Birds 198

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

Memorable encounters with Mammals: Part I Most birdwatchers enjoy seeing mammals, but the trouble with mammals is that they tend to be much more challenging to see than birds. I remember the guide on my first Kenyan birding safari remarking that “birding groups always see far more mammals than those who come just to see animals.

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Fur Bulgaria Otters Estonia 175

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Audubon guides to birds have been around since 1946. The first guide bearing the National Audubon Society imprint was Audubon Bird Guide; Eastern Land Birds , written by Richard Hooper Pough, and illustrated by Don Eckelberry. Plate 28 from Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds, by Richard H. Knopf, 1994/97.

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North America America Birds California Condor 278

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. These birds also invite one to sites that are unique within the United States – the climate, vegetation, and landscapes all add context and heighten the experience of seeing one’s first Elegant Trogon or Painted Bunting.

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America Arizona North America Texas 260

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

In Costa Rica, our July birding news usually consists of interesting sightings during the mid-summer tours. These and other important birding related questions come to mind and during a normal July, I would be personally and actively helping answer them. Which tours saw the most roosting owls?

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Costa Rica Birds Thailand Family 202

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2022

Paso Ancho is a wonderful site for seeing all sorts of Mexican endemics, and it’s tropical climate seems to favor birds with colorful plumage. Look in any guidebook or birding app, and you will see male Lucifers sporting a beautiful purple gorget. Like many birds, males and females of this species have different plumage.

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Woodpeckers Mexico Species Family 157

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.

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Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 184

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.

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South Africa Tortoises Woodpeckers Birds 145

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2019

Lots of birds, a lot of really cool birds! Some local populations of birds and animals couldn’t adapt to the radical ecosystem-wide changes and just died out but a fair percentage did survive and continue to persist where green space lingers. This is one heck of a sweet urban bird. Hoffmann’s Woodpecker.

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Costa Rica Birds Parrots Sparrows 189

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

Within 140 ac / 60 ha of Rancho Naturalista’s Reserve, there are 500 bird species – or 55% of the nation’s total! While I already visited Costa Rica once, I do not feel overly-confident with its birds. And Verbena attracts another specialty bird and a regional endemic (from Honduras to Panama), the Snowcap.

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Costa Rica Rats Parrots Raccoons 237

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

I often find myself discussing this subject with my birder friends in other regions of Mexico, when they excitedly comment on seeing a bird that I could see any day, anywhere — or vice versa. The Groove-billed Ani is an odd-looking member of the Cuckoo family. As I commented above, these are dime-a-dozen birds down here.

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Woodpeckers Mexico Cattle Species 316