10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

I bring this up not to boast (well, not much) but because I think that this approach to wildlife travel is somewhat neglected in birding circles. Read most accounts of how birders see birds outside their patch and one way or another, they’re tourists. Nothing forms bonds like rolling around in bird…uh… waste.

Uganda 161

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 161

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

Of course, I jest a bit in the above paragraph because as a sometime New Jersey birder I have birded the Delaware Bay and seen sights such as the memorable image below, in which thousands of Red Knots, Dunlins, and Short-billed Dowitchers fly up as if connected telepathically.

Delaware 179

Delaware New Jersey Research Eggs 179

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2011

I discovered that they nest on Protection Island, which is off the northeastern coast of the Olympic Peninsula, just west of Port Townsend, in the Juan de Fuca Strait near where it meets Puget Sound. But then came the biggest obstacle of all… …would Daisy agree to a boat ride that had a bird as its goal?

Washington 170

Washington Protection Puffins Rhinoceros 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2020

Faithful 10,000 Birds readers will remember Suzie as our wildlife rehabilitation beat writer. Suzie wrote about her experiences as a bird rehabber in Flyaway: How A Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings (2009) and used those experiences as the source for her fictional children’s book, Hawk Hill (1996).

Wildlife Rehabilitation 256

Wildlife Rehabilitation Bald Eagle Eagles Wildlife 256

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2013

After checking with a docent to make sure that the bird wasn’t a hazard to the collection I watched it for some time – I even tried to take its picture, but the lighting was less than optimal and the camera in my phone somewhat potato-like. But in the end, being dead doesn’t protect an animal from mortality.

Elephants 157

Elephants Mammals Buffalo Gorillas 157

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

There is a very distinctive smell found on seabird colonies, where thousands upon thousands of birds come to breed and, coincidentally, deposit large quantities of waste. Arriving at the colony the head lights go off and we move into position below the birds (trying not to fall over the cliffs and into the sea) coordinating everyone by radio.

Breeding 181

Breeding Seals Stray Whales 181