10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2019

It was the sixth year in a row of the Queens County Bird Club Big Sit, my favorite event of the year. As always, I was the first to the platform and in the light northwest wind and under a full moon I sipped my coffee and willed birds to make some noise so I could start checking off species. and Lincoln’s Sparrow.

Pelicans 157

Pelicans New York Whales Whaling 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2013

I haven’t been birding yet in 2013. Oh, I’ve gotten my first bird of the year ( European Starling – yay?) and a handful more ( Rock Pigeon , House Sparrow , and my first native bird, White-Throated Sparrow ), but for the most part I’ve been sticking to indoor pursuits here in chilly New York City.

Arkansas 104

Arkansas Memphis Sparrows Geese 104

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2018

I hope everyone participated in at least one day of the four day Great Backyard Bird Count of 2018. As I walked out on my back porch on Friday morning, the first day of the count, it was a cool, clear day and the birds were very active at the feeders. Fun birding! Here is a male Lesser Goldfinch taking his turn.

2018 100

2018 Bald Eagle Woodpeckers Turkey 100

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 195

Canada Cuba Miami Florida 195

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

My Dark-eyed Juncos are trilling in preparation to retreat to quieter breeding grounds, the Black-Capped Chickadees sing their two notes, and the Song Sparrows absolutely will not shut up. Snow Geese overgrazing their breeding grounds, displacing other Arctic-breeding species and setting themselves up for a fall. The result?

Geese 199

Geese Montana Breeding Pelicans 199

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2013

Wastewater Treatment Plants are known to birders all over the country as great birding spots. But this post isn’t about Arcata Marsh, it’s about the leaders of our local Audubon Society chapter convincing the local wastewater treatment plant to reopen to the birding community. a Chipping Sparrow ( Spizella passerina ).

Sacramento 173

Sacramento Sparrows Sanctuary Geese 173

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

The other day I was exploring a new area for the first time, birding the national park that I’ve watched only in BBC documentaries, the place famous for the largest Dalmatian Pelican colony in the world – more than 1300 pairs! Greylag Geese. Checking the birds on the stork’s nest, I found both House and Spanish Sparrows.

Greece 252

Greece Pelicans Geese Breeding 252

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2014

Joseph Chiera is a Masters student in Animal Behavior and Conservation at Hunter College in NYC and a “somewhat newbie” to birding. After taking an ornithology course last year, he was hooked and spends most of his free time birding or reading birding blogs. Of course, birding was on the itinerary!

Finland 194

Finland Estonia Birds Europe 194

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2014

I have participated in something like twenty Christmas Bird Counts since I started birding in 2005. And now for two years I have been a compiler for the Queens County Christmas Bird Count, which is a whole other pile of headaches. So, who’s coming to participate in the Queens County Christmas Bird Count in 2015?

2005 154

2005 Birds Blackbirds Branding 154

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2017

There should be thousands of birds at this time of the year, Dimitris Michalakis from the Karla Lake management authority told me. In the northern section, the water was deep, interspersed by reed-islets, but the only birds were a few Little Egrets and Black-headed Gulls. Lesser Kestrel. These two were only the first of several I saw.

Greece 212

Greece Killing Pelicans Eagles 212

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2015

This time I was lucky enough to join a fam trip organised by Natural Greece, an ecotourism company from Athens, and spend a few days at my favourite Kerkini Lake, which you already birded through my bins ( April and September ). These cute little birds are common in the villages. Picture 10: Rock Sparrow – Petronia petronia.

Greece 257

Greece Woodpeckers Eagles Birds 257

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

The contest: Canada’s national bird. Sadly excluded were the Canada Warbler , and the White-throated Sparrow , with its melodic ode to Canada—or Sam Peabody, depending on your ear.). Sadly excluded were the Canada Warbler , and the White-throated Sparrow , with its melodic ode to Canada—or Sam Peabody, depending on your ear.).

Canada 156

Canada United States Owls Birds 156

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 136

Puerto Rico Geese Canada Porpoises 136

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2018

We were heading to the Djerdap (Iron Gates) Gorge National Park, stretching along the south bank of the Danube in eastern Serbia, to do the 400 km / 250 mi bird tour interconnecting possibly the very best sites around Belgrade reachable within a day. The deep beech forest of Djerdap was still full of birds. It shows again, flying back.

Serbia 129

Serbia Woodpeckers Birds Bears 129

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2016

We were constantly being asked locally if we had crossed the river yet to see the magnificent birding at North Cave Wetlands and so it was only a matter of time before we headed over the Humber Bridge to see what everybody was talking about! Our first stop was the area marked Wild Bird Cafe next to the car-park.

Geese 104

Geese Wildlife 2001 Woodpeckers 104

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

While at Jones Beach State Park on Saturday, co-leading the digiscoping field trip (with Clay Taylor from Swarovski Optik ), I had a couple of experiences that made me wonder exactly how it is that birders find birds. The bar was covered with shorebirds, gulls, geese, and cormorants. Most would get on the bird but some would not.

New York 171

New York Birds Sparrows Geese 171

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2012

On a good day the number of birds that one can spot is amazing, mostly because one traverses a variety of habitat, including two lakes, open ground, fields, scrubby and bushy habitat, several stands of pines, and some stands of hardwoods. Of course, other waterbirds more commonly seen at Meadow Lake were around as well.

Chickens 175

Chickens Birds Blackbirds 2010 175

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

While we have a bit of a travel plan, finding sites to stay in that provide me access to good birding locations, things are always a bit flexible. At daylight, this area, in just a short walk gave me 5 new birds for the list. Unfortunately, the birding there was bleak. Might be a theme here! The 11th of February.

Woodpeckers 100

Woodpeckers Oregon California Geese 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

It is commonly kept in captivity and has therefore established many feral populations world-wide originating from escaped / released cage birds. This is what happens when people choose their pet birds on visual factors alone without taking vocalizations into account. Very stupid thing to do.

Germany 255

Germany Netherlands Zoos Geese 255

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

This is not to say that there wasn’t a little birding time snuck in here and there. This wonderful piece of birding real estate can be found 8 miles east of Olympia, and an hour’s drive south of Seattle Washington, right along the I-5 corridor. Birds of prey took center stage out on the edge of the tidal flats.

Wildlife 115

Wildlife Seattle Bald Eagle Geese 115

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2017

On our recent visit to the UK we did a lot of walking and birding and Mum is very familiar with many of the good walks that can be done not too far from home offering a variety of environments. The area offers tidal sand and mudflats and of course plenty of bushes for birds to hide in when the weather turns bad! Nature reserve signage.

Geese 100

Geese 2017 Blackbirds Canada 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

And this goal has to do with birds, and I assume since your perusing this here blog, that’s something that might interest you. Granted, a flexible work schedule helps, but still, my birding has been about focusing on those birds I still need to meet my goal rather than going out an regularly working a patch. So read on.

2016 144

2016 North Carolina 2015 Raleigh 144

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

In a recent post, Corey listed five things to do when it is too cold to go birding and one of those things is planning birding travel. Here in Portland, Oregon, it is more frequently too rainy rather than too cold to go birding, at least comfortably. Thus, my “good birds” are likely the opposite of an eastern birder.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2014

What’s your best misidentification of a bird?”. Rehabbers are constantly receiving birds misidentified by their finders; and on occasion some of us even receive birds we misidentify ourselves. Such a curious-looking little bird,” said the man. This is a great topic. It even has two parts. Could you tell me what he is?”.

Wildlife 258

Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Falcons Pit Bulls 258

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 163

2011 New York Deer Birds 163

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2017

Like all of the esteemed writers and loyal followers of this site, I spend nearly every available moment out in the field birding. The highlight of this is that I get to keep learning, learning more and more about birds. New birds, new behaviors, new countries and even new continents. as well in my photographs.

Bolivia 100

Bolivia Ecuador Peru Washington 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2011

Northern Parula And what about the birds? Well, at first there wasn’t much around with a Song Sparrow , a Gray Catbird , and a Mourning Dove being the only three birds as we walked to the bridge from the parking area but things picked up with a couple flocks of Double-crested Cormorants and a flock of Canada Geese winging south.

Transported 157

Transported New York City New York Birds 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2012

This leaves me in search of places that I can bird for brief periods without getting dirty. Edgewater Commons, up against the Hudson River,seems ideal except for one thing – I never seem to find much there beyond Canada Geese , Mallards , Ring-billed Gulls , House Sparrows , and European Starlings. Canvasback !

New Jersey 167

New Jersey New York City Ducks New York 167

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2018

Therefore, I am jumping at every opportunity to explore a new area, and subsequent birds that might be there. My wife and I have had our boat up in that area many times, and I knew that there would be a good shot to add a few new birds from the far northwest end of the US. Our next stop was at Stewart Island, in Reid Harbor.

Oregon 100

Oregon Bald Eagle Owls Groups 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2012

Like several of my favorite NWRs, this one was established as a haven for migratory birds, most notably waterfowl, during the bad old days when uncontrolled hunting and habitat loss had put the future of even species we now think of as common in doubt. A second pond held not only more of the same, but some American Coots and Canada Geese.

Wildlife 185

Wildlife Montana Geese Bald Eagle 185

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2018

It is the end of January and my year list reached 110 birds. Without rarities and vagrants, Serbia has 333 regularly occurring species and my national list of 91 birds represent a good 27 per cent of local bird diversity. My January 2018 list (4 birds in bold are globally threatened): 1. It came by automatism.

Owls 115

Owls Greece Serbia Woodpeckers 115

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2018

Imagine waking up to the call of thousands of ducks, geese, and every kind of marsh bird you can imagine. By the time we left, I had recorded one new Lifer, 12 New Year Birds, and a total of 76 species. As I walked along the trails, and water control dikes, I got to enjoy birds just about everywhere. Now that is a first.

Blackbirds 134

Blackbirds Mules Beavers Wildlife 134

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2018

Let the full time birding begin. While we have a bit of a deadline to get to Seattle, approximately 3000 miles north of here, we plan on making each driving day a short one, with a stop in some of the Baja’s best birding hotspots. let’s go find some birds! Now that work problem is out of the way….let’s

Ducks 120

Ducks Blackbirds Sparrows California 120

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

OCTOBER 24, 2018

This 57,331 acre refuge was set aside as a critical wintering location for tens of thousands of Geese, Ducks and Sandhill Cranes. Nearly 30,000 of these acres is set aside as dry wilderness habitat for other birds, animals and other various living creatures. There was also a small raft of Ruddy Ducks. Here is one of the Western Grebes.

New Mexico 113

New Mexico Mexico Tucson Costa Rica 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2017

It has been renowned for rare birds for many years and during our visit in 1994 we were amazed at how far people would travel for a rarity. Spring and autumn migration is an incredible sight with “falls” of birds dropping into the location and every day brings new birds and another influx of birders. Meadow Pipit.

Blackbirds 100

Blackbirds 2016 2013 Sparrows 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2014

And did I mention Magnolia Warblers , Chestnut-sided Warblers , Common Yellowthroats , and Lincoln’s Sparrows ? 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 170

New York City New York Canada Woodpeckers 170