10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. These birds also invite one to sites that are unique within the United States – the climate, vegetation, and landscapes all add context and heighten the experience of seeing one’s first Elegant Trogon or Painted Bunting.

America 262

America Arizona North America Texas 262

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2018

Many were specifically established for migratory birds and are strategically positioned along one of the four major North American migration flyways. Others were established to protect specific bird species or subspecies. As a result, there are excellent birding hotspots in the system. Bosque del Apache NWR (New Mexico).

Wildlife 214

Wildlife Las Vegas Texas Minnesota 214

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

Birders know that some of the finest birding locations in the country are on federal land , which include national parks , wildlife refuges , forests , monuments , and seashores , among others. These lands support countless birds, either year-round, as migratory stopovers, or as breeding grounds. But what else should birders know?

Virgin Islands 208

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 208

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2014

From the American Bird Conservancy : The mayor of Albuquerque and the director of the city’s animal welfare department have been named in a lawsuit alleging that the officials have committed animal cruelty by allowing certain illegal and improper animal management practices to occur related to abandonment of stray cats. They do great work!

Albuquerque 186

Albuquerque Neutering Trap Neuter Return Stray Cat 186

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2020

One of the reasons Mexico is such a great birding area is that, while it shares all sorts of bird groups with the United States and Canada, it also is home to some of the northernmost representatives of neotropical and genera that do not (or just barely) reach that far north, such as Woodcreepers, Tityras, and Trogons.

South America 264

South America Mexico America United States 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

The full title of this exceptional book by Marie Read is Mastering Bird Photography: The Art, Craft, and Technique of Photographing Birds and Their Behavior. As a birder who photographs, rather than a bird photographer, this never occurred to me before and I find the idea intriguing.

Birds 191

Birds Ethics 2019 Experience 191

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2016

This guest blog was written by Mikal Deese, Wildlife Educator, Rehabilitator, and founder of On A Wing And A Prayer in Corrales, New Mexico. These can be either molted feathers, or in this case, donor feathers from another bird who had died from her injuries. It was time to try an old falconer’s trick called imping.

New Mexico 132

New Mexico Wounded Owls Mexico 132

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2016

I asked a group of wildlife rehabilitators: “What are some of the Worst Bird Myths? Had they been able to make the jawbone talk, no doubt its first words would be, “You can’t put a baby bird back in the nest, because the parents will smell your hands and abandon it.”. Songbirds eat bugs, and raptors eat whole birds/animals.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 177

Wildlife Rehabilitation Porcupines Raccoons Birds 177

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2018

The Juniper Titmouse ( Baeolophus ridgwayi ) is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. You can also see my 10000 Birds post on the Oak Titmouse here. Thanks to my friend Rebecca Carrier for penning this post for 10,000 Birds on my behalf. One of my favorite bird species living by my house is the Juniper Titmouse.

2017 152

2017 New Mexico Groups Abandon 152

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Colorado is unique in many respects, so it comes as no surprise that its residents went in a different direction when selecting their state bird. Unlike many other official birds, the Lark Bunting is not a year-round resident. Lark Buntings are prairie birds, and breed in open meadow, sagebrush, and plains.

Colorado 101

Colorado Legislature North America New Mexico 101

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2019

During the decade, I submitted 1,219 checklists and observed 555 bird species, all in the U.S. I started eBirding about the same time I started birding, and I made an early executive decision (a very good one) that any pre-eBird observations simply did not count. Thus, I can pinpoint my first pelagic trip, as it added 13 new species.

Puerto Rico 146

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Michigan Washington 146

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2017

Given the scavenger feeding habits of the Turkey Vultures , the small mammals and birds that are on the menu for the Zone-tailed hawks are lulled into complacency by the lack of threat from the vultures. The tail bands on the adult birds consist of three bands with the third, or lower band much wider and cleaner white.

Tail Banding 100

Tail Banding Turkey Paraguay Mexico 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2011

Gassett, replying to a letter questioning the hunt, opens thus: “ Sandhill cranes are considered to be one of the best tasting of all migratory birds. Their slow wing beat keeps the breast meat from being as dark and strong flavored as many other migratory birds. More than 10,000 people hunt cranes in North America each year.

Kentucky 257

Kentucky Hunting Tennessee Indiana 257

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2014

But be it a mouse, bird, bat, gecko, kitten … it’s a very bad way to go, and no creature should have to suffer death by torture. “My The grocery manager at a local store was using them to catch the birds that got in the building. Freeing birds from glue traps is not easy. “I We had to euthanize the poor bird immediately.”.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 279

Wildlife Rehabilitation Mice Rodents Rescue 279

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2012

This is no one’s fault but my own; had I partied a bit less hearty on New Year’s Eve, I would have stuck with my original plan of going birding on January 1, which in turn would have led me to check the rare bird alerts before I went outside. A state first, a beautiful bird, a significant addition to my life list?

Las Vegas 160

Las Vegas San Diego New Mexico Nevada 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

There are two Painted Bunting populations, one that breeds along the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to Florida and one that breeds in the interior United States and northern Mexico from southeastern New Mexico to western Mississippi. Birds AOU names Painted Bunting taxonomy and systematics' Stability, stability!

Mississippi 269

Mississippi Mexico Alabama North Carolina 269

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2011

How anyone can possibly resist a bird that has been called Whiskey Jack is beyond my comprehension. Others include Camp Robber , Lumberjack , and Moose-Bird. The bold gray-and-white birds know what humans are good for and that is as a source of food! There are at least eleven subspecies and the birds pictured here are all P.

Washington 171

Washington Wisconsin Minnesota Michigan 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2011

v=SeCKWKGhgR8 Currently, about 95 percent of all Ross’s Geese nest in the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary in the central Canadian Arctic. Map courtesy of Terry Sohl at South Dakota Birds and Birding. References: 1 Birds of North America Online a.

Geese 153

Geese South Dakota Sacramento Arkansas 153

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

A breeding bird atlas is a special kind of book. For birders, it’s the extremely large book, shelved in a place where it can’t crush the field guides, used to research the history of a bird in their area. Corey did just this in this 2011 posting about Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus in New York State.

Pennsylvania 227

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds Sparrows 227

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2018

Chaco Cultural National Historic Park, a World Heritage Site in New Mexico, teeters back and forth with ongoing lawsuits. Under fire for the last 30 years at varying degrees of effectiveness, the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is threatened again by salivating oil company execs and their political cronies.

Colorado 154

Colorado Protection Bears ALA 154

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2019

Author Sherrida Woodley thinks deeply about dearly departed birds. His parents moved where opportunity beckoned, taking him from San Angelo, Texas, to Columbus, New Mexico, then to Dallas, and finally on to California. such as California Condors and Passenger Pigeons.

Falcons 178

Falcons California Condor Alaska Texas 178

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2017

Crotty is a birder and lawyer living in Portland, Oregon who loves to share thoughtful , in-depth conservation pieces with 10,000 Birds readers. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), contain many of the nation’s most renowned birding locations, including Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico, Laguna Atascosa NWR in Texas, and J.N.

Factory 117

Factory Ducks North Dakota Nebraska 117

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

JUNE 23, 2011

Now, here in Colorado this is the season for the high-country birds. One of the birds I will focus on this summer is one of my favorites even though they can be difficult to reach. These birds capitalize on a quick breeding season and usually have young out by mid-July in most cases. Cheers and Good Birding!

Colorado 169

Colorado Breeders Wyoming Breeding 169

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2021

Still, again with the help of the guides from Alpinebirding , we managed to get to the right places to see birds. One of the easiest birds to see around the lake is the Bar-headed Goose , which somehow I am always afraid I will one day misname as Bar-coded Goose (though that name would also work as a decent description, I think).

China 217

China Birds Fish 2006 217

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2019

These reports (called “ Banking on Nature “) are relevant to birders because they are among the few comprehensive analyses that relate to the economic impact of birders on national wildlife refuges, which are among the more popular birding locations. A number of these NWRs appear on my list of the Top 25 NWRs for Birding.).

Wildlife 245

Wildlife Maryland San Francisco Minnesota 245

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Since 2016, writers at 10,000 Birds have been contributing checklists to a joint eBird account called the “10,000 Birds Collaborative.” The writers at 10,000 Birds span the globe, but I am particularly interested in the lists for the United States, as that is my “beat.” For the United States, there is also a state list.

Rhode Island 114

Rhode Island United States West Virginia Puerto Rico 114

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2021

I am sure this means millions of individual birds were displaced by this drought event. But it actually showed the extreme crowding, into the very small remaining area of water, of birds that should have been spread over many dozens of square miles. And are the birds returning with the water?

San Francisco 264

San Francisco 2018 Mexico Ducks 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

After our brief trip thru the great state of Texas, we were headed back into New Mexico, a state I was quite excited to explore. I have been all around the western states, here and there, but never spent any time in New Mexico. Our next stop was another mutually agreed upon stop, Albuquerque New Mexico.

Albuquerque 121

Albuquerque New Mexico Mexico Sparrows 121

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2013

Matt Daw just had the find of a lifetime at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. He was busy filming a Least Bittern , a pretty good bird to get video of to begin with, when, well, watch the video! For more on the bird check out the ABA Blog. For more on the bird check out the ABA Blog.

New Mexico 235

New Mexico Mexico Birds Wildlife 235

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2018

Trinidad Colorado is located just a few miles north of the Colorado – New Mexico border, and home to the Trinidad Reservoir. This area also is where I hope to fill in a few target birds, like the newly spilt Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay, Pinyon Jays and Prairie Falcons. This all mixed in with a very nice bunch of birds.

Colorado 113

Colorado Texas Trinidad Albuquerque 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2016

But, by December 2013, my eyes, and the eyes of birders across the country, were fixed on Neil and where he was headed next, and if—that huge if—he would see “The Bird.” L ost Among the Birds: Accidentally Finding Myself in One Very Big Year is Neil Hayward’s story of his Big Year, and it is well worth the read. Please—don’t do that!

2013 106

2013 Arizona Birds San Diego 106

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2012

That changed when I got on the computer and learned that a birder way up in northern New York, on the Tug Hill Plateau, had reported a heck of a bird coming to her feeder. Nancy Loomis had a Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch , New York’s second* record, and I was not going to miss this bird again. What a bird!

New York 178

New York New York City New Mexico Mexico 178

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2018

He roots the theft in the history of collecting bird skins, in the brief life history of Edwin Rist, in the secretive world of classic fly tying, and in his own efforts to follow up on a police investigation that got the man but not all of the loot. That’s pretty much the reaction of anybody hearing this for the first time.

Collecting 103

Collecting Iraq Ostriches Science 103

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2011

It’s clear we still have much to learn about these birds, and the AOU committee calls for “modern investigation of the nature of the contact zone between the two taxa.&# And while we’re at it, what’s your experience with Mexican Ducks and Mallards in Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas?

Ducks 169

Ducks North America Texas Mexico 169

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2012

Well, it is nesting season and being a nest box monitor with three Bluebird Trails, I thought I should rectify the blatant lack of coverage on 10000 Birds of one of the most iconic North American birds of our time. ” at the American Bird Conservancy’s website. Until next time, I leave you with the late Israel Ka?ano?i

Washington 183

Washington Eggs California 183

10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2022

A wind energy company recently pleaded guilty to multiple violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and agreed to pay approximately $8 million in fees and restitution. For the next five years, it must also implement an Eagle Management Plan.

Wyoming 168

Wyoming Eagles Wounded Birds 168