10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

With fall migration well underway everywhere, it’s a good time to see what’s flying in bird news. Prothonotary Warblers (like the dapper bird above captured for posterity by Corey) should carry frequent-flier cards—a recent Audubon-led study found that one geolocator-toting individual racked up more than 5,000 miles in eight months.

California Condor 168

California Condor San Diego San Francisco Ghana 168

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

Presumably, in the early days of ornithology, some scientists spent most of their time transcribing bird calls. The Black-faced Laughingthrush (Longcanggou, Sichuan) is a real beauty, though this photo does not fully do the bird justice. A beautiful bird though. This post shows some of them. It’s the eyes, I guess.

San Diego 235

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 235

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

range largely consists of valuable real estate along the Southern California coast and urban development around San Diego and Los Angeles has eliminated much of its habitat. As a result, the bird has a long history with the Endangered Species Act. But its U.S. What was once sage scrub is now suburbs and highways.

California 202

California District of Columbia Los Angeles San Diego 202

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2014

First, let’s start with the good: Scientific testing of drones near birding hotspot Cape May, NJ has been postponed to avoid messing with Red Knots and Piping Plovers (like the cutie above that Corey photographed there a few years back). (On Sea World San Diego just welcomed the world’s first “test-tube” penguin.

San Diego 196

San Diego Penguins Ohio Geese 196

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2018

At last count, there are 25 species of birds named for U.S. But only two states have more than one bird named for them: Hawaii and California, with nine and seven extant and eponymous species, respectively. While a lot of wineries put birds on their labels, Sand Point takes the environmental stewardship of their land very seriously.

2015 113

2015 San Diego Family California Condor 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2014

And when the bird is finally spotted and added to whatever list you care about at that time, it’s almost as if you feel resigned to this milestone. Get your bird. One cannot resist one more bird for the list, even if it’s one that’s technically not supposed to be there. Punch the clock.

San Diego 194

San Diego California Unwanted Texas 194

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2013

Not as much as many others, certainly, but enough that the birds of the Gulf Stream and pelagic “culture”, for lack of better word, are familiar to me. Birding the Gulf Stream requires patience. It requires long stretches of bird scarcity. I like it very much. You not only had to have a quick trigger with your IDs.

San Diego 166

San Diego Los Angeles California North America 166

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2016

His love for birds and photography started at a young age. They’ve been traveling and bird blogging the world ever since! My first experience with this bird was near the fishing village of San Evaristo, on the Sea of Cortez, 50 miles north of La Paz, Mexico. Tom Brown grew up in the high desert area of Central Oregon.

San Diego 108

San Diego Seattle Mexico Oregon 108

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 23, 2018

Please understand, my eyes are always trained in a downward angle, not only to assure that I stay on the dry portion of the dock, nearly but all of the birds to be seen, are in close approximation to the water. Maybe a pet macaw or similar bird….but I had run across it in my guides, but they just do not do this bird justice!

San Diego 100

San Diego Mexico Parrots Pets 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

As I have mentioned, the bird life there is relatively diverse and if you are lucky you can have an up close encounter with coyotes. Like most Cactus Wrens it was not a shy bird and one morning it moved from perch to perch, singing often, along what I assume was the edge of its territory as I made my way past.

San Diego 149

San Diego California Coyotes United States 149

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2013

Quite a few species are well-established and breeding from San Diego to Los Angeles and beyond. Red-crowned Parrot in Irvine Regional Park Despite the number of species involved only one, the Red-crowned Parrot , is considered countable by the California Bird Records Committee. Skylarks in Brooklyn , anyone?

Parrots 236

Parrots California Los Angeles San Diego 236

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2013

Sunshine and surfing, deserts and wildfires, Hollywood and San Diego. Yet, somehow, on 31 May one was discovered on Puddingstone Reservoir, the large man-made lake that is the center of Bonelli Park, a nearly 2,000 acre expanse in San Dimas, just east of Los Angeles. And even if you get there your odds of finding one are small.

Los Angeles 161

Los Angeles San Diego Alaska North America 161

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

This bird was photographed a few years ago in Connecticut, by Corey Finger. Recently a Fork-tailed Flycatcher was reported from a park in San Francisco, a long ways away from its home in Central and South America. I know birders just as well as I know birds, and I was not ready to put all my faith in this fantastic sighting.

San Francisco 177

San Francisco San Diego Connecticut South America 177

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2013

Some lingered to gaze at samples from the Field’s collection of bird specimens, such as perfectly preserved thrushes, warblers, and even a Rose-breasted Grosbeak under glass. Exhibitors ranged from book publishers to purveyors of telemetry equipment to local bird and wildlife groups. Shout-out to Chicago Bird Collision Monitors

San Diego 191

San Diego Ostriches Chicago Colorado 191

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2015

In February of 2013, I wrote a piece outlining my thoughts on which exotic bird species should be added to the American Bird Association (ABA) checklist. Outside of Florida, there are also growing populations in Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Houston. Birding California parakeets Florida parakeets Miami birding'

Los Angeles 154

Los Angeles Miami San Francisco Florida 154

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2013

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. Like so many trips this one is more about the journey than the destination which brings us to why they have a guest post (hopefully the first of several) on 10,000 Birds. We were ecstatic!

South America 202

South America San Diego Mexico America 202

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2012

I know it sounds strange, especially when the folks at Mission San Juan Capistrano are trying to coax them back by playing recordings of the bird’s mating calls. All swallows are included under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 as migratory insectivorous birds and as such are protected by state and federal regulations.

San Diego 165

San Diego illegal California South America 165

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2014

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. Like so many trips this one is more about the journey than the destination which brings us to why they have had a series of guest posts on 10,000 Birds. Their first contribution to 10,000 Birds is here.

San Diego 206

San Diego South America Costa Rica America 206

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2016

His love for birds and photography started at a young age. After collecting nearly 70K bird photos, he felt that it was time to share them, so he now has his bird blog in order to do just that! You see it was about now that the non-resident owner of the boat had decided to move his boat back to his home town of San Diego.

San Diego 186

San Diego Seattle Eggs California 186

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. Like so many trips this one is more about the journey than the destination which brings us to why they have a guest post (hopefully the first of several) on 10,000 Birds.

San Diego 168

San Diego Mexico South America Costa Rica 168

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 163

Las Vegas San Diego New Mexico Nevada 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Which, naturally, got me to thinking about the newly erected order Suliformes, a development I mentioned in my December column, 2010′s Top 10 Developments in Bird Taxonomy and Systematics , but which I thought deserved further examination, for it’s one of those stories that defines the era in which we are living and birding.

2011 159

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 159

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2014

They packed up in June of 2013 and headed south from San Diego with the southern tip of South America as their destination. Like so many trips this one is more about the journey than the destination which brings us to why they have a guest post (hopefully the first of several) on 10,000 Birds. Their second is here.

Guatemala 169

Guatemala Mexico San Diego South America 169

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2013

Hello my birding sons and daughters. Not since the advent of the field guide (thanks Roger) have we seen such rapid change in the world of birding. 1) Rare bird reporting has come a long way. I saw the bird the next day, where it was reported to other birders via text messages, cellular phone calls, and more listserv messages.

San Diego 180

San Diego California Condor California Bald Eagle 180

4 The Love Of Animals

MAY 8, 2011

Half a decade ago, in a little mountain town about 60 miles northeast of San Diego, a feral kitten dragged his front left leg uselessly. The dog-loving owners of the property in Julian where he sought refuge rushed him to the local veterinarian, who informed them that if his leg was amputated, he could live as an indoor cat.

San Diego 100

San Diego Kittens Emotional Cats 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2019

A higher tide than today might have ventured up the San Diego River, but not very far. Returning along the cycle track from San Joaquin Reserve, I happened upon a small mixed flock that were keeping their feet dry during high water and roosting on a narrow shelf at the water’s edge, just below the bridge.

San Diego 161

San Diego Fish Protection Birds 161

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

Empire Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) are the largest living penguin species, almost four feet tall (taller when they stretch), and the least likely to be seen on birding or nature trips. ” Well, apparently tourism, even birding tours, do not meet that criterion, which is why I will probably never see an Emperor Penguin.

Penguins 178

Penguins Seals Leopards Research 178

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For those of us with the great good fortune to bird in Latin America, or other less-studied biological regions, my experience suggests that we are much more likely to benefit from the new species created by such splits. This Western Grebe was from just north of San Diego. The post Splitsville appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

San Diego 198

San Diego San Francisco Mexico Baltimore 198

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2019

Apologies for the unintended three-weak break here at Birds and Booze. While I still have my Chilean condor wine to review, in addition to a bottle of Peruvian pisco with a condor on it I brought back with me as a souvenir, I think it’s prudent to stick with the penguins this week, considering my recent birding luck with this family.

India 113

India Penguins San Diego Peru 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

In North American birding, east versus west is the most basic geographic division of the continent. American White Pelicans have been making a bit of a splash in the northeast United States lately, with more and more birds straying into the region over the years. Good birding and happy drinking! Cheers again, Jason!

Pelicans 113

Pelicans India Vermont San Diego 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2014

The lawn seems bare of birds, except for a single female Flicker. It’s my first return to Prospect Park since my overwhelming San Diego adventure and things seem quiet, despite favorable overnight winds and gushing reports of a wild sparrow bonanza the previous day. Birding autumn migration sparrows warblers'

San Diego 182

San Diego Sparrows Breeders 2009 182

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 112

2013 Arizona Birds San Diego 112

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2014

The Emu is the second largest living bird in the world by height, second only to the Ostrich. It is also the largest bird native to Australia 1. As I was pulling up to park near the fence, I couldn’t help but notice that the birds that had been hundreds of yards away from me were now nearly at the fence!

San Diego 142

San Diego Ostriches Australia Zoos 142

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2018

In 1987, only 27 were left in the wild and drastic action was taken to save the species: all remaining birds were captured, the California Condor was declared extinct in the wild, and a captive breeding program was begun, initially carried out by the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo.

California Condor 108

California Condor Oregon California Zoos 108

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2012

Broad-winged Hawks are one of the most abundant northbound migrants at Swainson’s Hawk Bird Observatory, often with over 100,000 (and sometimes many more) being counted on their way north every spring. Bush had Dick Cheney, the birding community has Felonious Jive. He even writes a crappy blog about… birds.

San Diego 165

San Diego Mississippi Mexico Science 165

4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 14, 2012

Scientists at the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Reproductive Research Center in San Diego, Calif., Discovery Cove is an all-inclusive day resort experience where guests enjoy a one-of-a-kind opportunity to swim with dolphins, snorkel with rays and tropical fish, hand-feed exotic birds and relax on pristine beaches.

Dolphins 100

Dolphins San Diego Research Center Research 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

The population size of Storm’s Storkis frightfully small – according to Birdlife International, there are about 400 to 500 individuals, equating to about 260 to 330 mature birds. These few birds live on the Malaysian peninsula, on Sumatra, and on Borneo (the photos shown here were taken at Sukau, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia).

San Diego 205

San Diego Zoos Malaysia Eggs 205