10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2023

As mentioned in my previous post , we were hosted for an afternoon session at Jonathan ‘s farm. Coming off a high from our morning boat ride, excitement was high as we pulled into the farm compound. On the slow crawl into the farm, the first sighting was a small group of Green Ibis – a new species for me.

Farming 210

Farming Guyana Birds South America 210

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2016

Speaking of summer, the coolest birds I saw this weekend were on the festive curtains (pictured above) in my son’s new cabin at sleepaway camp in the Finger Lakes. But if I have to pick a living bird, American Kestrels hunting along farm roads always work for me. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 100

2016 Birds Farming Hunting 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

“Target birds” The term can foster excitement but is easily contentious. Aren’t all birds worth watching? There’s nothing wrong with appreciating and watching every bird but there’s also nothing wrong about going to great efforts to see lifers only found in dreams. Fiery-throated Hummingbird.

Costa Rica 201

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 201

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

The Christmas Bird Count was the answer. The IWC census starts from mid-January following the logic that it is the period when the birds have reached their wintering grounds and are rather static, so the chance of double-counting the same flock is minimal. But it is so frustrating to pass the birds by without IDing them!

Geese 139

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 139

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2017

We walked some of the trails at the reserve, and I had spotted a large bird hovering in mid-air, almost like a helicopter, just with more flapping. Peering through my binoculars, I saw a white bird with black spots on the undersides of the wings. Life-bird for me!

Research 101

Research Birds Virginia Protection 101

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2022

It is undoubtedly the most wonderful time of year – when we don our binoculars and boots and head off on a tradition spanning more than a hundred years – that of the Christmas Bird Count! We soon departed to our various locations, bellies full and eyes hungry for birds. Three of them in fact, rare visitors from the north.

Falcons 229

Falcons Trinidad Ducks Groups 229

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2020

Once in a while, there’s even that coveted Great Lakes bird intent on doing its own chickadee-like thing, the Golden-winged Warbler. Ranging across a large swath of the northern evergreen zone, they spend their summers hunting small birds from Canada to Scandinavia and on east to the shores of the Bering Sea.

Costa Rica 180

Costa Rica Falcons Farming Baltimore 180

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Slowly, the shapes of birds were beginning to materialise. We just needed to find somewhere that was less cluttered to allow us some chance of seeing birds! We observed as this bird methodically peeled off sizeable chunks of bark in search of breakfast. We opted to return to the vehicle, move on, and bird another trail.

Trinidad 162

Trinidad Eagles Bears Litter 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

What do you think makes for a good bird hide? I have asked myself that same question many times over the last six months, until last week, when I was involved in an opening ceremony of five new bird hides at the Palic Lake, by the town of Subotica in the very north of Serbia, along the border with Hungary (all photos are from that area).

Serbia 236

Serbia Birds Spain Hungary 236

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2019

The toughest thing for me, as a local birder, was to choose the most attractive birds because those that attract my attention are generally all too common in the northwest of Europe, from where most visiting birders are coming. In no particular order, here they are: Where to watch the top-20 birds of Belgrade.

Serbia 247

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Breeding 247

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

MAY 31, 2012

Do you toss the bird your leftovers? Do you feed the birds then? It seems like the people that run an awful lot of parks don’t want you feeding the birds. Regular feeding can cause: Unnatural Behavior – There is no doubt that feeding birds causes unnatural behavior. If so, please share it in the comments.

Birds 234

Birds New York City Fast Food Geese 234

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. es de altaner ía. ( The pursuit of love. is like falconry.).

2016 125

2016 Portugal Falcons Japan 125

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2014

I’m not going to rehash that war here, seeing as how it is a bird blog and not one about foreign policy, but it is perhaps appropriate to note the maelstrom of violence that has been pretty much ongoing since the neocons went in to make everything better. Unsustainable hunting leads to extinction. she’s Texan.

Rhinos 166

Rhinos Hunting New Zealand Science 166

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2019

Over-all there were almost 80,000 photos taken, nearly 50 story’s posted on this website, and 10 countries, all with some amazing birds. In the end, I truly did set out to reduce the number of birds that I feature here from 1302, my years total species, down to 10-12. So, there are 21 birds that make my top 10 for the year.

2018 153

2018 Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand 153

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2011

I’ve been to a lot of birding festivals—sometimes as a speaker, sometimes as a trip leader, and sometimes just because I love going to birding festivals. Last weekend I was in North Dakota attending The Potholes & Prairie Birding Festival in Carrington, ND. Carrington, North Dakota is farm and ranch country.

North Dakota 236

North Dakota West Virginia Farming Alaska 236

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2014

While there are some two dozen birding spots in Belgrade, Serbia, that stand out, in this guideblog I will focus on the river Danube and its floodplain, inside the Important Bird Area “Confluence of the Sava and the Danube Rivers”. The next winter bird spot lies some 4.5 In March and November, Common Cranes are a possibility.

Serbia 226

Serbia Birds Ducks Eagles 226

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2011

I travel for birding. I’m about to head out to the Hula Valley Bird Festival and as I’m packing, I thought I would share with you some essentials I think any birder should plan to have in their suitcase–no matter where they are visiting. I’ve never regretted any of these items being in my suitcase.

Birds 258

Birds North Dakota Florida Soreing 258

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

There is no better place to find grasspipers in New York State than the sod farms on eastern Long Island in autumn. This year is no different and the sod farms in Riverhead have been loaded with birds which means that the roads around them have been loaded with birders. What great little birds!

Farming 158

Farming Argentina South America United States 158

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

Sitting on a beach under a coconut tree (but not under the very crown, I know that), I am contemplating birding and the meaning of life… Salty breeze comes from the Caribbean, way saltier than any Mediterranean sea breeze. But why would someone look for that, an easy and common one among the 920+ bird species of Costa Rica?

Costa Rica 132

Costa Rica Reptiles Farming Mississippi 132

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2019

Owling on Christmas Bird Counts is a peculiar business. Some counters are unfailingly resolute in their dedication to this thankless graveyard shift of the birding world, marching headlong year after year into the bleak winter landscape in search of their heard-only, nocturnal quarry. There’s the whole role of chance in owling, too.

2017 136

2017 Owls Game California 136

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2020

While entering our double kayak I asked Andrew Hester, a local bird expert, if bilharzia is present in the shallows of the Ngotwane Dam, further down the river. nubicoides ) using them as a high viewpoint to hunt dragonflies. The lady living on a farm by the Gaborone Dam said ‘I saw a croc taking an egret.’. Grey Heron 4.

Botswana 181

Botswana Africa 2001 Fish 181

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

There were no mammals, little game, and not many birds either. The reasons for this perceived lack of birds are threefold. Secondly, New Zealand had already experienced on wave of extinction due to the introduction or rats and human hunting. The Eurasian Blackbird was not found in new Zealand before man, but it is now.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Possums Rabbits Ferrets 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2017

Actually, I am not waiting for them, but for the Eastern Imperial Eagle to come here to hunt Susliks – an eagle from one of the last two remaining nests in Serbia. But on modern farms, cattle are being kept indoors and if the pasture becomes overgrown, ground squirrels disappear. After a wakeup call at highly uncivilized 3.45

Eagles 103

Eagles Squirrels Cattle Serbia 103

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2013

It’s been a busy week in bird news–some of it bad, some of it good, and some of it just plain head-scratchin’ Let’s start with the odd stuff first. In a move that brings new meaning to the term “farm team,” one of the min0r-league affiliates of the Philadelphia Phillies has a new mascot.

Ostriches 136

Ostriches Penguins Ducks Arkansas 136

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2019

Author Sherrida Woodley thinks deeply about dearly departed birds. But for a while one constant in his life was his grandfather’s farm, a far-off stretch of land in Comanche County, Texas. But he tried, using the Craigheads’ techniques, and he learned from that young bird, and eventually many others along the way.

Falcons 171

Falcons California Condor Alaska Texas 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2015

But the fact is nature has little to do with most problems facing native birds. Casualties surrounding migration were limited to natural events such as weather – not wind generators, poisoned food and water from industry, farm run-off, or loss of traditional stopover areas due to habitat destruction. The difference seems obvious.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 189

Wildlife Rehabilitation Bald Eagle Rescue Wildlife 189

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2016

I am not entirely sure whether most birders outside Germany know or realize that Germany still has a decent population of one of Europe’s most attractive and desired bird species: the Great Bustard Otis tarda. Never mind the slight over-exposure: look at this bird!

Germany 101

Germany Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 101

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

In short, the accepted view used to be that a small breeding population of Egyptian Vultures inhabited Southern Africa, but has vanished facing the spread of towns, roads and farms. It was not the first note I have published, but was the only one about a bird I have never laid my eyes upon! Reasons for this situation are numerous.

Sudan 218

Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 218

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

The combination of over hunting, and the native animals susceptibility to diseases carried by domestic livestock that were allowed to graze there, completely eliminated these Bighorns by 1915. These younger rams were having a great time playing “king of the rock” So much for the history of the area, lets talk about the birds!

Sheep 111

Sheep Oregon Mules Livestock 111

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2012

The first was Lewis Binford, who noted, correctly, that if you look at actual animal bones from actual archaeological sites, you could not objectively see clear evidence that would distinguish hunting from scavenging, and if you compared these “food remains” to hyena food remains, they looked roughly the same.

Humane 165

Humane Lions Buffalo Hunting 165

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

I often poke fun at listers I perceive as being more interested in ticks than birds. But there is one kind of tick that I genuinely do enjoy, and as I do more and more birding it becomes harder and harder to get; new families. Getting entirely new families is easy when you start birding.

Family 162

Family Wombats Uganda Fiji 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2011

Note: This is an account, originally published in June 2006, of my quest to remove a jinx bird from my bird-watching soul. I am sharing it again here, at the request of Corey Finger, who takes some sort of sick pleasure in seeing other birders squirm and suffer under the weight of their obsession with life birds. But not me.

Connecticut 169

Connecticut North Dakota Ohio Owls 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2021

He writes “The Bird Watcher” column for the USA today newspapers in N.J. He is a deputy Marsh Warden for the Celery Farm Natural Area in Allendale, N.J. This is Jim’s first guest post on 10,000 Birds. Vincent Parrot as endangered — the result of “habitat loss, hunting, hurricanes and trade.”.

Parrots 330

Parrots Dominica Philadelphia illegal 330

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

But the method she advocates for reaching those goals—raising grass-eating, pasture-foraging farm animals—would appear to be notoriously difficult to reproduce on a scale large enough to harvest enough meat, at a reasonable cost, for all the people wanting to eat meat in this country, let alone the world. Contrary to Ms. Indeed, in Ms.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Meat San Antonio 40

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2014

Further north, we slow down by the ruins of an old farm… and yes, a Little Owl greets us with its ‘smiling’ face. We are going to the Sakule fish farm in the namesake village north of Belgrade – the very best wetland birdscape in the area. Can birding possibly compare? More of a hunt? Common Cranes.

Farming 229

Farming Serbia Europe India 229

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

Old cars, antique gas pumps, and neon lit motels, were just up Jeanne’s photographic alley, and Lake Tucumcari was sure to be a birding hot spot for me. Unfortunately, the lake was the victim of several years of draught, but the grassy areas held a few nice birds, and there were a few surprises along the way. This was a first!

Albuquerque 120

Albuquerque New Mexico Mexico Sparrows 120