10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

This was actually the place where the late Richard ffrench spent much of his time as a music teacher, amassing countless observations of birds that would later form the basis of one of the essential birding guides for Trinidad and Tobago. The subtle white edging to the gape of this bird indicates it is near breeding time.

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Trinidad Birds Parrots Falcons 202

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. The Blue Whistling Thrush is presumably named for its loud human-like whistling, and possibly for being blue.

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Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

sq mi), which contradict the conservation significance of the bird it was founded for, some three decades ago – the Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard. My guide, Chirag Solanki, told me he had once been searching here for five days, before he managed to locate the birds. Indeed, I say. And why are they parked? Males reach 1.2

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Gazelles India 2012 Pakistan 255

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe today announced as part of Great Outdoors Month the agency is proposing to expand fishing and hunting opportunities on 21 refuges throughout the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Service is committed to strengthening and expanding hunting and fishing opportunities,” said Ashe. “The

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Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 143

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

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Dissection Birds Research Europe 218

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2022

While preparing an article this week for a local newspaper on the nighttime denizens of Tobago, it crossed my mind that I never considered owls as a group, far less target species for any particular outing (except for a select few, upon which I shall expound here). Some of my earliest bird-related memories (what other memories even exist?)

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Trinidad Owls Barn Owls Abandon 273

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

The islands of the Caribbean are home to 176 species of endemic birds unevenly distributed across the region. Some islands host one or two species, others more than twenty. For some species, conservation actions are well underway and we are seeing some measure of positive impact as a result. Vincent Parrot !

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Grenada Parrots Trinidad 2010 130

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! Cocoa Woodcreepers are the largest species of woodcreeper in T&T, and they have a proportionately massive bill. And so, we continued.

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Trinidad Eagles Bears Litter 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2011

Dirt hawking is a form of falconry that involves hunting rabbits and other small game with Harris Hawks (other hawk species also qualify). One of the primary reasons that these hawks make such excellent falconry birds is because they are one of only two raptor species (the other is the Galapagos Hawk ) that hunt cooperatively.

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League Against Cruel Sports Rabbits Falcons Hunting 270

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2015

Ah Hawaii, land of beautiful beaches, surfing, warm weather, and unique birds. Because of its distance to the mainland, Hawaii is home to over 60 species of endemic birds. Few are as unique (or rare) as the Nene , or Hawaiian Goose , Hawaii’s state bird. Nenes can only be found in Hawaii, and used to be plentiful.

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Hawaii Feral Cats Mongoose Geese 156

Critter News

AUGUST 22, 2010

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper, one of the world's most threatened birds, is rapidly heading towards extinction because young birds are being targeted for human consumption. Now an international team of scientists has discovered the apparent reason behind the dramatic decline and why young birds are particularly at risk.In

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Species Myanmar Endangered Species Russia 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

Re-evaluate the songs Double-pack with a photograph Extra track (and a tacky badge) So sing The Smiths in “ Paint a vulgar picture “ As you can probably guess, the main purpose of my posts not centered on a specific location (e.g., “Birds of Shanghai”) is to reuse photos I have already used in such location-specific posts.

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South Africa Africa India China 204

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2021

And it prohibits human infrastructure, e.g. , roads, buildings, dams, and pipelines, etc. For example, hunting is not permitted in most NPS wilderness areas, but it is often allowed in wilderness areas managed by the other agencies. The post A Birder’s Guide to The Wilderness Act appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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Puerto Rico Alaska Protection Research 251

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2015

This is what we need for birds, whose rights as government-protected species are violated every day by free-roaming cats. What birds need is their own SWAT team. Neighbor B tells her that his cats wouldn’t be happy indoors, that cats’ hunting is “natural,” and that he has no intention of keeping his cats inside.

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Feral Cats Feral Cats Wildlife Rehabilitation 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2015

Dominic Couzens is a prolific writer who has published tens of books on birds and birding in addition to his magazine work, but Tales of Remarkable Birds is the first of his titles that I have read. Tales of Remarkable Birds is available now from Bloomsbury Publishing. Reviews Bird Behavior book review cassowary'

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Birds Morals Hunting Sparrows 187

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2023

In the human psyche, owls can be cuddly signs of good luck and benificence (as they are in Japan, and Harry Potter movies) and, at the same time, eerie and unsettling. Either way, they are perhaps more central to our stories and lore than other birds, a familiar example, as Darlington reminds us, being Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

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Barn Owls Owls Serbia Finland 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2016

They get a bad rap due to their dependence on carrion to survive, but I look at it a different way: these species do not have to kill in order to thrive! Most humans cannot say that. Columbia has chosen one of the world’s most massive flying species as its national bird: the Andean Condor.

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California Condor Livestock Endangered Species Killing 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It took me a while to wrap my mind around the concept of Birds and People , Mark Cocker and David Tipling’s book that, in 592 pages, explores the intersection of just that—birds and us. Nor have I overlooked “sightings” of birds in movies mouthing other birds’ calls. I’m not sure why.

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Birds Egypt Family Eagles 212

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

My initial reaction was, “Really, dude, of all the birds that you’re allowed to have in Wisconsin, you choose the bird that is going to make birders who don’t understand falconry angry?” They’re not known to be the easiest birds to work with , especially when the temperatures are high. Go home now!”

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Wisconsin Falcons Owls Hunting 241

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. That means passing over the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East, where you’re liable to get shot, trapped, or otherwise hunted.

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Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 143

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2015

We assume natural selection has shaped birds to avoid predators. Noticing predators, reacting to them perhaps with an alarm call, and escaping them, as well as other behaviors, keep the bird alive and thus allow it to reproduce. We would expect, then, that natural selection favors birds that are good at these things.

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Birds Research Humane Pets 119

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2014

Developed in the post-frontier era, the NAMWC helped put a stop to wanton wildlife destruction in an era where many species were being hunted and trapped ruthlessly to the brink of extinction. George Wuerthner, an ecologist and former hunting guide with a degree in wildlife biology, takes the debate a step further.

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Wildlife Coyotes Hunters Wolves 238

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2012

One of the defining characteristics of birds, besides the obvious features of wings and feathers, is their bills. From toucans to curlews and from hummingbirds to flamingos, birds display an almost otherworldly diversity in these body-parts. Bills are instrumental in defining three of the senses in birds – taste, touch and smell.

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Birds Mammals Mozambique New Zealand 214

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2015

We call it a “mouse gradation year” I was not able to find a catchy English term for “gradation year” – it’s what happens when a certain species showing population cycles reaches a peak year. In German, if you are a rodent and you are smaller than – say – a human hand, you’re a mouse.

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Fox Rodents Gophers Germany 164

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

However, ongoing research at Sia Essential Species Repository (see below) reveals this is not always the case, and that there are actually five phases between albino and leucistic. Jamie Lindstrom of the VCA Northview Animal Hospital in Pittsburgh, and Dr. Erica Miller, formerly of Tri-State Bird Rescue in Delaware.

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Wildlife Birds Delaware 194

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2019

And yet, on the bridge the birds are relatively protected from the dogs, beach-goers, and predators that frequent their traditional habitats along dunes. Though the terns actively feed throughout the day, the skimmers wait until dawn and evening to hunt for prey in small flocks, flying low and fast across the water.

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Protection Florida Eggs Hunting 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

Happy New Year, 10,000 Birds readers and writers! Everyone is looking back on their best birds of 2019, so I thought it would be a good idea to look at a book that looks back a little further: Urban Ornithology: 150 Years of Birds in New York City , by P. The Bronx also has a special place in birding history.

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New York City New York Birds Breeding 149

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

I was going to have something for you this month about the dinosaur-bird thing, but I never got to it. The potpourri covers some interesting bird related science of the last few weeks, and the promise is this: I’ll get to that other stuff soon, I promise! One of the birds most affected by this is Cassin’s Auklets.

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Science Iraq Research Birds 151

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2015

But the fact is nature has little to do with most problems facing native birds. Consider this: ninety percent of birds treated at wildlife centers are admitted as a result of human interactions that have nothing to do with “nature.” A personal encounter with a wild species changes one’s perspective.

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Bald Eagle Rescue Wildlife 189

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2014

I am not anti-hunting. The “Crow Down” is a “hunting contest” where both adults and children slaughter as many crows as they possibly can in two days. It also brings to mind the uncontested link between animal abuse and violent behavior toward fellow humans. So how do you classify these contests?

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Killing Slaughter Slaughtered Animal Abuse 272

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2013

You may not realize it when you look at those bizarre looking waders with the massive bills and the vacant expression, but you’re looking at a group of birds that has inspired humankind for literal centuries. It’s clear that ibis have been part of human civilization for as long as there has been civilization of which to be part.

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Birds North America Charlotte New Jersey 211

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2016

Among the most critically endangered birds on the planet is the Northern Bald Ibis. With wild populations in the Middle East estimated in the mere hundreds, any and every threat can have devastating results to the species’ long-term survival. Add to hunting, poisoning, and habitat loss and disturbance yet another man-made danger: war.

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Syria Turkey Hunting Breeding 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2011

It’s a common call/email/text that most bird watchers get this time of year: “HELP! I just saved a baby bird! Both of those sites allow you to enter your zip code or state and find someone nearby who has the state and federal permits that allows them to treat wild birds. Do not worry about touching the baby birds.

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Birds Fox Raised Ducks 265

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

Robert Gallardo is well-known to many readers of 10,000 Birds as an outstanding Neotropical nature guide, author, and manager of La Chorcha Lodge. Everyone talks about human rights and there exists so many groups that are either governmental or non-governmental who work toward that cause. How many institutions exist who speak for them?

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Honduras illegal Parrots Birds 187

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2014

It is also known for the 500 exotic species of animals and plants that now call the Sunshine State home. Exotic species are animals that did not historically occur in Florida. Most were introduced, meaning they were brought to Florida by humans. One such species is the familiar mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).

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Florida Ducks New Zealand Feral 204

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

2014 has been a good year for us at 10,000 Birds. We’ve traveled to lots of places, seen lots of great birds, and met lots of great birders. So, as we’ve done for the last several years we thought we would share our Best Birds of the Year with you. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours?

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2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 187

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

Most of the books about extinction, including Fuller’s Extinct Birds (now, ironically, out of print), describe what was lost and look for explanations, scientifically and historically. The idea of Lost Animals was conceived after the publication of Extinct Birds (2001), a 400-page, four-pound book on 75 extinct species.

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Animal Mammals Hawaii Dolphins 267