10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2011

It took long enough but I have finally seen an Eurasian Wigeon in my home borough, at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s East Pond to be exact. It was nice to add bird number 284 to my Queens life list , though it seems kind of absurd that it has taken so long to see one of the most common of the uncommon ducks in Queens.

Jamaica 178

Jamaica Ducks Geese Wildlife 178

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2012

At the end of a half-morning’s birding I stopped at the south end of the Cross Bay Bridge, just north of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York. Though they seem to be learning from other geese and often feed on plain old grass like a Canada Goose.) Want to see that? Check out this post !

New York 183

New York North America Geese Jamaica 183

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2012

After a long day at home on Monday with a two-year-old who did not want to spend the entire day inside I was relieved when I woke up on Tuesday morning and conditions seemed calm enough for a search for storm-tossed birds. Meadow Lake was high and there were hordes of gulls and geese to pick through.

New York 119

New York Birds New York City Jamaica 119

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2012

Queens, New York, May 2009 May is the month of migration in North America. Just take a look at some of the pictures I digiscoped in the first two days of May to get an idea of how great a month May is in the Borough of Queens, New York City.

New York City 156

New York City New York 2009 Litter 156

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

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 11, 2011

Now that I have added ten more birds to my Queens life list we must revisit the list and predict my next ten birds in Queens (and see how my last set of predictions turned out). Birds with asteriks are birds from the first list that I saw by the time I made the second list. Yes, it is that time again! Read on to find out!

Jamaica 156

Jamaica Owls 2010 New York City 156

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

JULY 30, 2018

That means it is time to look for shorebirds on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay. I saw no rarities but I did see lots of common shorebirds very well and despite the lack of rare birds I enjoyed myself immensely. There are swallows and terns, raptors and geese, ducks and gulls. It is summer and I live in Queens.

Jamaica 101

Jamaica Wildlife Birds Geese 101

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2018

This past Sunday I led a birding outing in Queens for New York City Audubon. Waterfowl is defined here as swans, geese, and ducks. That led me to wonder just how many species of waterfowl can be found in a day’s birding in Queens. Common Eider is always a nice bird in Queens. Stop 8 – Flocks of Geese.

Geese 109

Geese New York City Ducks Jamaica 109

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2011

In fact, yesterday when I spent the day birding the coast of Long Island and Queens with my frequent birding partner Seth, we both had to shed layers of clothes because it was so warm and sunny. The lack of cold and snow has not deterred snow birds from showing themselves this year. It was weird. That was nice.

United States 185

United States Jamaica Birds Owls 185

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2013

All winter long I birded the old Edgemere Landfill, especially after the surprising Le Conte’s Sparrow just before the Queens Christmas Bird Count. The site is just too interesting, too potentially good for vagrants, too underbirded, and too picturesque not to bird it as a Queens birder. Snow Geese at Edgemere in January.

Geese 188

Geese New York City New York Jamaica 188

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2019

There are few places in Queens that I like birding in winter more than Baisley Pond Park. When I go to Baisley, which is located in the neighborhood of South Jamaica, I know that I am, at the least, going to see at least ten species of waterfowl, a variety of gulls, some sparrows and other songbirds, and perhaps a raptor or two.

Ducks 114

Ducks New York City Geese Canada 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2012

Nassau County, New York, March 2009 After having fully explored the trail around the West Pond at Jamaica Bay , we four bird bloggers agreed to load up Patrick’s car and head over to Jones Beach to see what kind of birds we could find there and some other locations in Nassau County. And what a look at a life bird!

New York 160

New York Butcher Birds Geese 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

It was almost a month ago that I wondered how many species of ducks, geese, and swans could be found in my home borough of Queens in a single day this winter if I really put forth the effort. If I could just find all three scoters, an eider, and a couple good geese I could make it to twenty-nine species! Gadwall at Baisley Pond Park.

Geese 100

Geese Jamaica Ducks Barn Owls 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

Ducks, swans, and geese may initially appear easy to identify. I started out my birding life sitting on Benches 2 and 7 at the Jamaica Bay NWR West Pond, my Peterson’s in my lap, studying Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, and the occasional Pintail. Or, for an increasing number of birders, an “interesting hybrid.”.

North America 142

North America Asia Europe America 142

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

Moved by an unseasonable bout of optimism, I went owl-chasing this weekend and actually encountered what has been a true nemesis bird for me: Northern Saw-whet Owl ! For Corey, this was a weekend without a single standout species but with many birds that were pretty darn neat. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2011 133

2011 Deer Birds Owls 133

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2018

The only way these birds could be less fun is if there were an Intermediate Scaup. And even if such a bird existed and were endangered no one would want to see it. At least Barnacle Geese are named for an arthropod. Here on 10,000 Birds, where we love all birds, the paucity of posts about scaup stands out.

Ducks 206

Ducks New Zealand France Germany 206