10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2012

The birders birding on a budget and doing a lower-48 big year, Renee Rubin and Michael Delesantro , are doing nicely at 614 species for the year, amazing considering how little money they have spent. At 56 mammals and 381 birds it seems that they will easily reach the original goal but the more ambitious idea of reaching 500 might be tough.

South Dakota 195

South Dakota Houston Mammals Birds 195

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2012

The first resurrection, or more properly resurfacing, of the black-footed ferret happened in 1964, in Mellette County, South Dakota. When the South Dakota ferret numbers began dropping, they captured nine animals in hopes of starting a captive breeding population.

Ferrets 180

Ferrets South Dakota Wyoming Captive Animal 180

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2011

I was looking out a car window the other day and noticed that of all the wildlife most of it was bird. A squirrel skittered by … a squirrel is not a bird. So the thought occurred to me that there is a lot of bird on the landscape, in terms of numbers of individuals as well as sheer biomass. Paul islands, studied by Darwin.

Mammals 172

Mammals Rodents Birds Reptiles 172

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2022

Apparently, there is a traditional Chinese saying that seeing one pheasant in the wild is better than seeing ten other birds. Of course, this is nonsense – pheasants are probably among the most overrated of all birds. The name of the bird apparently comes from the color of its tail feathers. North Dakota.

Rhode Island 147

Rhode Island Research South Dakota North Dakota 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2013

The birders who birded on a budget and did a Lower-48 Big Year, Renee Rubin and Michael Delesantro , managed to track down 654 species, amazing considering how little money they have spent. At 76 mammals and 431 birds they reached every single one of their goals! Anthony has the rundown on his big year here.

2012 151

2012 South Dakota Costa Rica Houston 151