10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Bufflehead ( Bucephala albeola ) Female at Cavity Entrance photos by Larry Jordan “Some 85 species of North American birds excavate nesting holes, use cavities resulting from decay (natural cavities), or use holes created by other species in dead or deteriorating trees. Talk about cute! www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWDXIhy9oJA

North America 209

North America America Barn Owls Falcons 209

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Black-necked Stilt ( Himantopus mexicanus ) photos by Larry Jordan Click on photos for full sized images. The male of the species has the upper portion of the head, back of neck, back and wings all glossy black. References: 1 Birds of North America Online a. He also has longer legs than the female. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfSk54WICQ8

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South Dakota Jordan Sacramento North America 182

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2012

One of the more exciting birds this summer in this little corner of North Carolina is undoubtedly the King Rail s that have been regularly reported in a still-water back-arm of Jordan Lake in Chatham County, just south of where I live. For me, King Rail resides in life bird limbo.

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Jordan North Carolina Broker Woodpeckers 166

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2012

Lark Sparrow ( Chondestes grammacus ) photos by Larry Jordan Nearly two years ago I wrote my second post as the West Coast Beat Writer on Lema Ranch, a Northern California birding hot spot.

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Sparrows Mules Jordan California 126

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2012

Western Screech-Owl ( Megascops kennicottii ) photos by Larry Jordan It’s been an interesting winter in my neck of the woods. Birders in Northern California have been treated to rare sightings of several species, sending avid twitchers from all over the west in our direction. You can also try the new Birding Lists Digest.

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Owls California Jordan Sparrows 177

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

Being winter, this bird is in non-breeding plumage with more brown upper parts and lacking the white face it acquires in its aternate (breeding) plumage. • Explore These Related Posts Another California Bird? Larry wanted to share his passion for birds and conservation and hatched The Birders Report in September of 2007.

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Wildlife 2011 Sacramento Jordan 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2011

Greater Yellowlegs ( Tringa melanoleuca ) photos by Larry Jordan Shorebirds. Take a look at these range maps for the two species. I photographed this bird at Arcata Marsh , far north of the Lesser Yellowlegs’ normal range. ” Once you hear the calls of these two species, you will have no problem telling them apart.

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San Francisco Delaware Jordan New York 165

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

I realize that listing is a reviled in birding culture as it is celebrated, and more listing even more so, but hear me out here. I mean to make the argument that county listing is birding at its most pure, the ultimate combination of the two warring angels that sit upon each one of our shoulders. A fine bird for the county.

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McDonalds South Carolina North Carolina Jordan 165

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2011

Birds on their way north are on a mission, and the fear of waking up one morning having missed the entire parade is a real one that keeps birders up at night. A bird so electric yellow that viewing it without safety precautions can cause temporary blindness, or madness, or both. This is not a bird for cubicle farms!

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North Carolina Investigation Jordan United States 194

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2012

I vastly prefer the latter, particularly those species that don’t frequent this area during the warmer months. One beloved bird to keep an eye out for is the Bufflehead , a beauty in black and white. These birds have also been called buffel duck , spirit duck , and butterball. That’s a long list for a little bird.

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Buffalo Ducks Jordan 2006 114

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

We here at 10,000 Birds thought this would be a perfect time to look back and figure out what each of us considered our Best Bird of the Year, just like we did last year. Not only did we not expect to see this seabird this far inland, it was a life bird for me! We would like you to join in!

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2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 178

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Cinnamon Teal ( Anas cyanoptera ) pair by Larry Jordan (click on photos for full sized images) Winter is the time to visit the National Wildlife Refuges in California. Fish and Wildlife Service; they serve as resting and feeding areas for nearly half the migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway.” By 1985, approximately 3.2

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Sacramento Wildlife United States North America 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2013

That’s how the limbs of the Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus, were first described to me, and that’s what I’m going with for 10,000 Birds Pink Bird Weekend (or, as I call it, Think Pink Week). They make a bird that is quite watchable to begin with, totally irresistible. Bubble-gum pink legs.

North America 191

North America America 2011 Jordan 191

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2012

Northern Pintails ( Anas acuta ) photos by Larry Jordan (click on images for full size) It was a dark and stormy night … OK, it was a dark and stormy morning when I got to the photo blind (also known as a hide) an hour before dawn, as is required by the refuge rules. These two birds pictured below were obviously a pair.

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Sacramento Wildlife North America Ducks 103

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

My wife and I had the privilege of visiting Mexican friends in Jordan in early October. As it turns out, birding can also be slightly delicate in this country. Even upon our departure from Jordan, I was informed that my ever-so-dangerous binoculars could not go in my carry-on bag. So, would I go back to Jordan just to bird?

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Jordan Birds Turkey 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2023

I recently received a kind letter from a 10,000 Birds friend, who was worried that my recent irregularity in contributing to this website might indicate that something was wrong. First, we had our five-week trip to Spain, Turkey and Jordan in September and October. (My I assured him then, and assure you now, that I am fine.

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Jordan Mexico Birds Ohio 190

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

Eventually, the pigeons, as it were, may come home to roost and the waterfowl and other wildlife, as well as hunters and bird watchers, will be sitting ducks. And, of course, bird watchers are in a sense free-loading on the duck stamps as well. Would you, as a bird watcher, buy a stamp like this even if you were not required to?

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Ducks Hunters Hunting Wildlife 208

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

The birding world has been debating whether honorific common bird names ( e.g. , Clark’s Nutcracker or Baird’s Sandpiper ) should be changed. An op-ed in the Washington Post by Gabriel Foley and Jordan Rutter is a fine summary of the arguments, and there is a good background article at Birdwatching magazine.

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Birds Laws 2020 Jordan 232

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

I briefly entertained the idea that I had found a rare species never before seen in New York but quickly came to my senses and realized that I was dealing with a leucistic individual. This post has been submitted to Bird Photography Weekly #133. She was essentially cream-colored, much lighter than the typical female Ruddy Duck.

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Ducks 2011 Jamaica Deer 151

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

And, sure enough, as the sun set birds came over in ones and twos and fours and fives, adding to what was already a pretty darn big flock of birds spread out on the West Pond. Mostly the ducks were Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup , the two most prevalent species on the pond, but there were a few other birds mixed in as well.

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Ducks 2011 Jamaica New York 169

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2013

And now we enter into a family of birds more or less unknown to non-birders. To know a grebe is to take your bird awareness to another level. To cast your eyes to the cattails on the edges of the pond or the raft of birds at the lake’s center and to know what you are likely to find. Not enough for you?

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Jordan Guatemala Birds South America 189

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

For the last two decades, Europe and the greater Mediterranean have been covered by one of the best field guides anywhere: “Collins Bird Guide” by Lars Svensson et al., published in the US by Princeton as “Birds of Europe”. Unlike “Collins Bird Guide” (CBG) with 416 pages and 1.7 And my first impression is: Wow!

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Cyprus Saudi Arabia Europe Birds 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2013

There are few birds in the sprawl of suburbia or the sylvan ideal of semi-rural existence as appreciated as wrens. The name wren first entered language to refer to that bouncy bird we now call the Eurasian Wren in the 8th Century as the Old English wraenna. like a snake through grass. Carolina Wren, photo by Nate Swick.

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Jordan Birds North America Tenant 192

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2022

Our relatively-recent trip to Spain and the Middle East was, as expected, a great opportunity to see new birds. In the end, it gave me 44 lifers: 10 from Turkey and 8 from Jordan, which I had not visited before, and 26 from Spain, which I had visited previously, but in which we spent much more time. Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

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Spain Jordan Turkey Species 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

The smooth mass of bronze (photographed at right by Jordan Mann) was a stylized version of a Great Auk —a bird that no longer exists. These forlorn figures, I learned, are the work of The Lost Bird Project. Each bird has been placed at the spot associated with its extinction. the epicenter of U.S. and elsewhere.

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Birds Ducks DC Jordan 201

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

As 2013 draws to a close we here at 10,000 Birds thought that it would be a great idea if we, like we did in 2010 , 2011 , and 2012 , shared our Best Birds of the Year. We also want to know what YOUR Best Bird of the Year was. Now on to the Best Birds of the Year for those who write on 10,000 Birds! Sound good?

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2013 Birds Costa Rica India 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

What could motivate gunmen (I cannot call them hunters) in two states to deliberately kill North America’s tallest and most critically endangered bird? It may be as sick as deliberately targeting an endangered species for death. No one who witnesses a morning rise of sandhill cranes can fail to be moved by the magic of these birds.

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2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 240

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Tree Swallows Return, It Must Be Spring Tree Swallows Return, It Must Be Spring By Larry • March 16, 2011 • 8 comments Tweet Share Whenever I see Tree Swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ) I know that Spring is upon us.

2011 193

2011 Jordan Deer New York 193

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Lewis’s Woodpecker ( Melanerpes lewis ) In Flight, photos by Larry Jordan Driving home from work last week I finally saw my first Lewis’s Woodpecker ( Melanerpes lewis ) of the fall. I consider myself extremely blessed as some folks have to travel hundreds of miles to see a rare individual bird at someone else’s feeder.

Woodpeckers 197

Woodpeckers South Dakota Jordan United States 197

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2012

There’s really no more quintessentially southeastern bird than the Pine Warbler. In October our resident Pines are supplemented by birds from farther north resulting in actual factual flocks of Pine Warblers congregating in pine stands and parks anywhere in the Piedmont of North Carolina and undoubtedly across the entire region.

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North Carolina Jordan Raised North America 137

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2012

Birds in particular can become extremely preoccupied with superficialities. And it’s no wonder, considering how millions of years of evolution have bred species with the capacity to command a room well before they enter it, if you know what I mean! Some birds are just bigger than others. That’s beside the point.

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Pelicans Birds Jordan Asia 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2014

In trying to find further evidence of the warbler’s behaviour and the sapsucker’s lifestyle, I found numerous mentions of Rufous Hummingbirds and “other species” coming to feed from sap wells. My first internet search was an attempt to sex the bird. The trees around were dotted with grids of sap wells. (My

San Francisco 177

San Francisco Maryland Jordan Lifestyle 177

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2016

I have been back from Eilat, Israel for more than a week but still find myself dreaming about birding in the desert. Then I wake up, eventually realize that I am back in Costa Rica, and find myself thinking about birding here and birding there. During spring migration in Eilat, every day is like a birding dream.

Costa Rica 102

Costa Rica Birds Jordan 102

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

As 2012 draws to a close we here at 10,000 Birds thought that it would be a great idea if we, like we did in 2010 and 2011 , shared our Best Birds of the Year. We also want to know what YOUR Best Bird of the Year was. Now on to the Best Birds of the Year for those who write on 10,000 Birds! Sound good?

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2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

They are cryptically plumaged birds whose camouflage helps them to blend in with their often arid environments. In southern Africa, there are two species. The Water Thick-knee’s , Burhinus vermiculatus, preference for moist areas may contribute to the eroneous habit of considering them amongst the wading birds.

2011 161

2011 Deer Africa Peru 161

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2017

I wouldn’t mind watching birds through palm leaves forever! From my poolside viewpoint I can encompass four countries: Egypt where I am and, over the sea, Israel to the far left (there’s a birding mecca of Eilat), Jordan in the middle and finally the endless deserts of Saudi Arabia to the right.

Egypt 105

Egypt Saudi Arabia Compassion 105