10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2015

New York, I can say with certainty that you have chosen the perfect bird to represent your state. Though it took you until 1970 to designate your state bird – the last in the United States to do so – the Eastern Bluebird is beautiful, has a distinctive song, and is a great example of an environmental success story.

New York 160

New York New York City United States Birds 160

10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2019

We enjoyed their Universale Pale Ale nearly four months ago to the day, a date which hardly qualifies as spring by either astronomical or meteorological standards, but tends to be good enough for optimistic birders in the northeast United States looking for their first grackle or vulture of the year. Good birding and happy drinking!

United States 113

United States Washington Seattle 2014 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

Though many people joke that the mosquito is the Alaskan state bird, in fact it is the much more pleasant Willow Ptarmigan. In 1955 – before Alaska was a state – the Territory’s leaders in charge of drafting a constitution allowed schoolchildren to choose what would eventually become the state bird.

Alaska 102

Alaska Finland Indiana Russia 102

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2016

It’s a good day to be a Double-crested Cormorant —at least for those living in the eastern United States. Birds in the 24 states east of the Mississippi River are now protected from mass culls by a recent court ruling. The ruling also only covers eastern states; it remains to be seen whether the U.S. So the U.S.

Culling 100

Culling Mississippi United States Fish 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2011

Bird races, as anyone who’s competed in one knows, can be big fun. The addition of a competitive component adds a thrilling edge of urgency to the normally relaxed act of chasing birds. Even sitting around watching birds can be charged with adrenaline when team pride is on the line.

Texas 158

Texas United States Houston Birds 158

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2013

Duck hunting is big business in the United States. Well, inspired by the success of this program, 10,000 Birds contributor Larry Jordan is part of an effort to create a Wildlife Conservation Stamp that would share some of the same goals as the duck stamp, but perhaps be a little more palatable to people who don’t hunt birds.

Wildlife 177

Wildlife Jordan Ducks United States 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2013

Normally she would be living somewhere in Europe or Asia, but she was born and raised in captivity in the United States. The great thing about raising an education bird,” says Lisa, “is that you can do everything you’re never allowed to do with the wild ones.” Xena’s specialty is raising funds for pediatric cancer.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 163

Wildlife Rehabilitation Raised Eagles Owls 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

One of these days, Jeopardy will feature a category called “Field Guides” and the first clue will be: “This landlocked South American country finally got its own bird field guide in 2016, but it wasn’t available in the United State until 2019.” Clearly, this is an under-birded country. . ″ x 9.5″x

Bolivia 168

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 168

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2020

Luis Gonzalez is a Miami resident and IT major who was originally born and raised in Cuba. He has been an avid lover of the natural world since he was a kid, with a strong love for paleontology when he was younger, but he only took up birding in his last year of high school and hasn’t looked back since.

Canada 162

Canada Cuba Miami Florida 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2011

My 8-year old daughter got interested in birds from a VERY early stage. By age 2 she could identify over 10 species of birds in our Johannesburg, South Africa, yard by call alone. So I guess for some people birding skills come naturally but, for others, birding skills need to be learnt. And perhaps 20 others by sight.

Birds 276

Birds Game Wildlife Family 276

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2014

One of the two sub-species of Red Knot occurring in North America, the Rufa subspecies breeds in the Canadian Artic Region and migrates along the east or Atlantic coast of the United States. Birds in Delaware Bay. The current status of the Rufa Red Knot under the ESA is “threatened”. Photo: Gregory Breese-USFWS.

Endangered Species 160

Endangered Species Protection Delaware Species 160

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2013

The Mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans 1.

Ducks 174

Ducks Wildlife Hunters Hunting 174

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

If the home birding patch is in Canada or the United States of America, it’s not really that far. Since good stuff can wander in from that national park (by that, I mean rare, fancy birds you don’t see all that often), it’s always exciting to bring the binos to that site. Coming to Costa Rica?

Costa Rica 119

Costa Rica Falcons Birds North Carolina 119

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2013

Follow his adventures at Greg and Birds. I’m not at all sure what his goal is other than seeing lots of birds but Canada is a big country so I bet he succeeds! Laura Erickson is doing a “Conservation Big Year” seeking to see, photograph, and highlight conservation stories around the United States in 2013.

2013 191

2013 New Jersey Los Angeles North Carolina 191

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. The owlet looking up to the parent bird is the one currently being fed.

North America 207

North America America Barn Owls Falcons 207

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2023

I recently asked ChatGPT some questions about the best birding locations in the United States and the results were decidedly mixed. Here are the queries and the ChatGPT responses are below: What is birding? What is a “nemesis bird” in birding? What is a “big year” in birding?

United States 147

United States North America Birds America 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Hardly the elegant, natural picture deserving of some seriously stunning birds! And what I found made me take a step back in time and reflect upon how truly special these birds are. Whooping Cranes occurred naturally in the eastern United States until the late 1940s, and there are records of Whooping Cranes in Florida until the 1930s.

Florida 217

Florida Buffalo Louisiana 2004 217

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2013

European Starlings count as much as any other bird on a big year. Now seems like a good time to look in on the birding big years happening in 2013 to see how folks are doing as they tear around their county or region or state or province or country trying to see as many birds as possible before 1 January 2014.

2013 180

2013 New Jersey North Carolina Canada 180

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Mountain Plover and many other grassland birds have populations in steep decline. That gives me an elevated platform of expertise in most bird-related topics, but not all. Rich in life, rich in birds, yes…but a birder billionaire I am not. If we birders get so much from birds, we should try to give something back.

United States 156

United States Protection Endangered Species North America 156

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. Federal funding for conservation is dependent on the revenue raised by selling the duck stamps, a unique dynamic for wildlife managers in the United States.

Ducks 205

Ducks Hunters Hunting Wildlife 205

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2019

Author Sherrida Woodley thinks deeply about dearly departed birds. Raised in and around the West Texas steppe country where temperatures reached 100 degrees with regularity, he began life as the Dust Bowl and Great Depression converged. such as California Condors and Passenger Pigeons. He came for the hawks.

Falcons 171

Falcons California Condor Alaska Texas 171

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

Producing a book about birds and nesting is a dangerous business. The truth is that there are few images cuter than baby birds in the nest opening their mouths and begging for food, but there are curmudgeons amongst us, myself included, who don’t like to admit this. And of birds courting and mating. We simply refuse to squee.

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2013

This week, a new study was published about Sparrows in Nebraska, that in some ways resembles the study by Bumpus and may well be a better example of Natural Selection in birds. House Sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) are introduced birds over most of their very large range. As you know, a lot of birds are killed in the U.S.

Killing 189

Killing South Africa Nebraska Collecting 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. It’s also about human-owl interaction on an individual level and a wider sociocultural level, and ultimately how we can use all this for habitat and bird conservation.

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2020

No, I am not going to tell you about some blood-sucking bird with hypnotic powers. But when raised, they seem to have a sort of weird cape. But the bird is cool, and I need the photos to prove my points. In other words, they never raise their own young. I hope you will forgive my rather lurid title.

Birds 153

Birds Blackbirds Mexico Cattle 153

Animal Ethics

JULY 15, 2009

Woodard goes on to note: MRSA is so common in the United States that it accounts for more than half of all soft-tissue and skin infections in ERs. Factory farms are concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) where animals are raised intensively and permanently confined in warehouses and sheds.

Vegetarian 40

Vegetarian Factory Farm Factory Farming Factory 40

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Sitta canadensis isn’t just irrupting out of its far northern home but exploding southward, with reports in every southern state except for Florida, including birds on the outer banks of North Carolina, on Grand Isle, Louisiana, in a suburb of Atlanta, and on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Bird bloggers from Wisconsin to Massachusetts.

United States 261

United States Owls Atlanta New York 261

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2015

In the United States and other countries where people love their mothers, we devote the second Sunday in May to celebrating the women that birthed us, raised us, or just plain mothered us. The second Sunday in May is also an awesome time in most places to spot migratory birds. How about you? How about you?

2015 154

2015 United States Birds Raised 154

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

Regardless of what we choose to eat, doing so will reduce our dietary carbon footprint by half because “about half of the food produced in the United States is thrown away.” Yet the turkey she raises is a much smaller factor in advancing global warming than the cattle on her ranch because they produce meat much more efficiently.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Meat San Antonio 40

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. American Flamingo photo by Dick Culbert).

Family 279

Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

That’s because I’d already seen the conclusions contained in a study that Audubon (my employer) was preparing to release, a study about birds and climate change. And this bird won’t be able to expand into new areas either — its expansion potential totals only 1 percent of its current range.

Species 173

Species Science Los Angeles 2000 173

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

A lot of folks, including this very blog, are using this as an occasion to memorialize not just the Passenger Pigeon but the extinct birds of the Holocene as a group. In 1952, the continental United States was looking pretty good actually on the extinction front. … Birding Extinction Week Great Auk' Good, I say.

California Condor 193

California Condor United States Guam Whales 193

Animal Ethics

FEBRUARY 6, 2007

The proposition outlaws raising pregnant sows in gestation crates and raising calves in veal crates , making Arizona the first state in the Union to ban veal crates. To learn more about Arizona's precedent-setting victory for farm animals, see here. Doublespeak at its worst. ii) reasons for banning horse slaughter in the U.S.,

Factory 40

Factory Factory Farm Factory Farming Gestation Crates 40

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Rightly or wrongly, there’s an hierarchy of extinct birds in North America, in the United States in particular. And a warbler from the Southeast United States who came on the scene and left again so rapidly that it’s near to unknown in the ornithological record. A weird mussel-eating duck.

South Carolina 177

South Carolina Cuba Missouri Mississippi 177

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2017

The Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America by Nathan Pieplow is innovative, fascinating, and challenging. The guide covers 520 species of birds regularly found in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, including, interestingly, a number of exotic species. But, first the basics.

North America 161

North America America Birds New York 161

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

We now interrupt all talk about birds and migration to consider dragonflies. Together they comprise Ondonata, an order of insects that, like birds, are beautiful in flight and challenging in identification. Unlike birds, they do not vocalize; unlike butterflies, they are totally predatory, not a vegetarian amongst them.

United States 225

United States Costa Rica Massachusetts North America 225

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2011

There are three species of waterfowl that birders in most of the eastern United States are going to encounter on almost any birding outing that includes a pond, lake, or other body of water – The Usual Waterfowl. Two of them are loathed by large portions of the population for their droppings and their aggression.

Canada 165

Canada Geese United States Abandon 165