10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2022

In 2007 I was working in a university building that was just begging for bird feeders. This was where I set up my bird feeders, just one at first, then expanding as everyone expressed delight in seeing the Carolina Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Downy Woodpeckers. There were no dead birds for weeks. ©2012 Donna L.

New York City 258

New York City Birds Illinois Science 258

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2020

The birds we encountered up on the lake this weekend could only be described as mundane. Corey enjoyed a foul-weather seawatch on Saturday morning and birded a couple of locations Sunday morning before leading a walk for New York City Audubon in Forest Park. Don’t worry… we’ve got 11 months to go!

2020 167

2020 New York City New York Birds 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2017

Black Woodpeckers are usually easy to find in Germany. At least one birder will now likely grab his war hammer and check flight availabilities from New York to Frankfurt as well as average prison sentences in Germany for first degree murder. Black Woodpecker encounters usually are “heard-only”, to be fair.

Germany 100

Germany Woodpeckers Luxembourg North America 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

Growing up in western New York, February was one of the more tedious of winter months. On the birding side of life, winter birds were still around, there will still chances at finding some rare owl or getting binoculars on an undulating bunch of crossbills but mostly, I was tired of the cold and just counting the days until Spring.

Costa Rica 242

Costa Rica Birds Panama Woodpeckers 242

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Sure, they’re always a dependable, can’t-miss tick whenever you need them to be there, whether it’s the first day of the year, or the first few minutes of a Big Day or Christmas Bird Count. But there’s no getting around the fact that the starling is likely the most detested bird on the continent – as far as birders are concerned, anyway.

Farming 190

Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 190

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2019

We’re still driving towards the depths of winter here in New York, but I just noticed that our days are getting longer. Frigid temps and icy conditions couldn’t keep me from chasing down at least one of the Red-Headed Woodpeckers hanging around Durand Eastman Park. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2019 113

2019 New York City New York Birds 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

Corey could have chosen his first Pine Siskins of the year in New York, a Red-headed Woodpecker , a late Osprey , or a Vesper Sparrow as his Best Bird of the Weekend this weekend. But it was a common bird sitting in good light that he tapped for the honors, a Gray Catbird that cooperated wonderfully in Kissena Park.

2016 175

2016 New York Birds Woodpeckers 175

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2016

At least one weekend a year, bats–particularly the vampiric kind–command more attention than birds, at least from most people. I saw lots of different kinds of woodpeckers this weekend, but that big, honking Pileated always wins out over the others for Best Bird honors. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 156

2016 Cattle Bats New York 156

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2012

From that point on I was birding, except for a brief interlude on Saturday night when I ate dinner and spent the night at my folks’ house in Saugerties. Pacific Loon , Red Crossbill , Ruffed Grouse and a whole big bunch of other birds! Early on Saturday morning I dropped my family off at the airport. Not pictures? Not pictures?

New York 129

New York Deer Birds Woodpeckers 129

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 14, 2018

This crazy climate change must be wreaking havoc on birds. In between arctic blasts, I got up to the lake at Hamlin Beach State Park, where I found a very confused and noisy Red-Headed Woodpecker. Well, maybe I was confused at the appearance of this unexpected bird, but it was definitely noisy. How about you?

New York City 100

New York City 2018 New York Birds 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2021

Jim Wright is an author and birding columnist. Jim’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds was A Rare Caribbean Parrot on the Brink. He noted that this new bird had longer bills and “darker loral and auricular regions” than the mainland Brown-headed Nuthatch, and collected two of them for science.

Bahamas 344

Bahamas Philadelphia 2004 United States 344

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

At the end of 2022, let us celebrate the local field guide, a sub-genre that many of us feared would die, the victim of technology, development, and globalization, but which still shines bright, fewer in number but brilliant in quality, thanks to birders and birding organizations that believe in knowing your patch and your state.

Los Angeles 202

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 202

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2015

I enjoyed some late autumn hiking, but saw nothing out of the ordinary; among the common birds in my area, the Pileated Woodpecker always stands out as something special. Still though, a kittiwake from land in New York State is always welcome! Still though, a kittiwake from land in New York State is always welcome!

2015 100

2015 New York Birds Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

Some birds are leaving, making room for welcome new arrivals. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was either of a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers that he saw at the Ramshorn Livingston Sanctuary in Catskill, New York, while he was on a walk with his family. Don’t you love this time of year?

2016 100

2016 Sanctuary New York Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2018

Happy Second Day of the New Year, 10,000 Birds friends! I came late to bird feeding. Jim Carpenter is the founder of Wild Birds Unlimited, the popular bird feeder and seed franchise. There is a lot of information out there about feeding birds—web pages, pamphlets from bird feed retail stores and Audubon centers.

Birds 178

Birds New York City Squirrels New York 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Audubon guides to birds have been around since 1946. The first guide bearing the National Audubon Society imprint was Audubon Bird Guide; Eastern Land Birds , written by Richard Hooper Pough, and illustrated by Don Eckelberry. Plate 28 from Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds, by Richard H. Knopf, 1994/97.

North America 279

North America America Birds California Condor 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2012

The American Acclimatization Society was a group founded in New York City in 1871 dedicated to introducing European flora and fauna into North America for “both economic and cultural reasons. 1 ” By 1877 New York pharmacist Eugene Schieffelin, an avid admirer of Shakespeare, was the society’s driving force.

North America 195

North America United States New York City New York 195

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2019

It’s never too late or too early to buy a children’s book about birds. It’s been a few years since my last roundup of children’s bird books, and children’s book writers, illustrators and publishers continue to produce picture books that feature avian protagonists. First, the board books.

New York City 153

New York City Pelicans Birds New York 153

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 133

Pelicans New York Whales Whaling 133

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

The April arrival of the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition was a supremely happy moment in a very difficult, sad month. A companion regional guide, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America was published in 1941; its fifth edition will be coming out in early September.

North America 215

North America America Hawaii Birds 215

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2012

Two-thousand-and-eleven was a pretty darn good year for me, birding-wise. Sure, I didn’t leave the United States but my first trip to the Pacific Northwest allowed me to see lots of new birds and spending the beginning of the year in southern California didn’t hurt the ol’ year list either. What did I see?

2011 172

2011 Puffins United States New York 172

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2012

Disbelief probably seems like the proper response to the idea that there are woodpeckers in New York City. After all, woodpeckers peck on trees, not skyscrapers. But even birders might be surprised to learn that eight species of woodpecker have graced New York City’s five boroughs with their presence!

New York City 250

New York City New York Woodpeckers New Jersey 250

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2012

My weekend was devoted to a seemingly endless celebration of my son’s 8th birthday, which meant that my best bird was bound to be a backyard species. Watching a pristine Hairy Woodpecker working away at the tender core confirmed my decision. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2012 174

2012 Jamaica New York Birds 174

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

I first encountered Molly Hashimoto’s bird art in California. Hashimoto’s prints and water color bird portraits differ in materials and style from Harper, but she shares with him a talent for portraying common birds in a lively, accessible, yet new way that belies the artistic processes employed to create the finished image.

Birds 154

Birds Eggs Laws Woodpeckers 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2012

If you live in any of those places, I’d love to go birding with you! Of course, everything required to get away for a week has kept me extremely busy, so I don’t even have a best bird for this weekend. His Best Bird of the Weekend? What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2012 112

2012 New York Malaysia Singapore 112

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

Rick Wright is a well-known birding tour guide, author, blogger, and general wordsmith. He was a Beat Writer here on 10,000 Birds for awhile, contributing wonderful pieces, and we miss him a great deal. Our native bluebirds, woodpeckers, owls, and flycatchers have paid the price of bardophilia ever since.

New York City 196

New York City New York North America Species 196

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2013

I’ve seen Yellow Warblers in the low shrubs of Western New York pastures, the river valleys of Missoula, and the trees of abandoned industrial sites in New York City. Chuk makes his quip about the Black-winged Yellow Bird; my friend Molly insists that everything is a duck, a pigeon, or an owl.

Connecticut 178

Connecticut Baltimore North America New York City 178

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

Two-thousand-twelve was a pretty darn good year for me birding-wise and otherwise. Seeing 525 species was nice, as was the fact that I birded in four countries, nine of the fifty states in the United States, and fifty-one counties. A text message that let me know about a mega-rarity in New York ! Florida Scrub Jay ?

2012 144

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 144

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2014

Now that I live in New York City I rarely manage to make it that far north and when I do it tends to be winter, which is kind of odd. Montreal, while far to the north of New York City, is in Canada, which is certainly not the Adirondacks. Shows what I know about when birds breed. Wait, what?

New York City 162

New York City New York Canada Woodpeckers 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2013

When I was a child, the Pileated Woodpecker was a bird that loomed large — both literally, as the biggest surviving woodpecker in the United States, and figuratively, in that it was a bird on that happy borderland between humdrum and mythical, between everyday and nonexistent. A woodpecker. And I did.

Woodpeckers 163

Woodpeckers Bald Eagle New York City United States 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

Win a Copy of Hawks at a Distance Great Horned Owl Taking a Deer Leg Cats Are Still Public Enemy Number One, For Birds Crossley ID Guide Giveaway Winners.Or These Blasts From The Past Bald Eagles are Getting Spoiled… Help Save Migratory Birds! • Explore These Related Posts More Habitat for Snowy Plover? Thanks for visiting!

Experience 162

Experience Experiments Deer 2011 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Asides / Cats Are Still Public Enemy Number One, For Birds Cats Are Still Public Enemy Number One, For Birds By Corey • March 21, 2011 • No comments yet Tweet Share The New York Times and Tweety have it absolutely correct.

Cats 171

Cats 2011 Deer New York Times 171

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2016

On New Year’s Day 2016, our last day in California before heading back to New York, I was pleased for the chance to get out for a few hours in the morning to jump start the year list. Greater White-fronted Goose is a decent bird for Orange County but it lacks the panache of a Vermilion Flycatcher.

Sanctuary 101

Sanctuary Wildlife California Ducks 101

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2011

Melanerpes lewis is, to put it simply, a really cool bird. Second of all, Lewis’s Woodpeckers are birds of the west and they rarely stray to New York State. In fact, the bird is the fifth recorded in the history of the state,* and the first spotted in the Empire State since 2001. What a bird!

New York 198

New York Woodpeckers Jordan 2011 198

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2012

There are two species in the Old World woodpecker genus that sounds like birds that birders would never be able to see. They are literal jinx birds in that their genus name is “ Jynx.” Neither even makes their own nesting cavities; they use the abandoned holes of other woodpeckers.

Hungary 174

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2012

As I have done all too infrequently of late I spent almost an hour yesterday at Forest Park’s waterhole where intrepid Queens birders feed the birds all winter long. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius Regardless of if they missed me or not I had missed them and Desi and I had a great time watching the birds.

New York City 161

New York City New Jersey Woodpeckers New York 161

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2013

It had been a long time since I birded Central Park. Birders can chase and lure, scrutinize and organize, but we can’t control the weather, and so like all weather-dependent activities birding is a vital reminder of our lack of omnipotence, both humbling and liberating. Birding Central Park tatto'

Montana 164

Montana New York City New York Nashville 164