10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

San Francisco averages two-tenths of an inch for the month, while San Jose only averages half that much. I had set aside the morning of Sunday, June 10th to cross the San Francisco Peninsula to the Pacific Ocean town of Half Moon Bay, a mere 25 minute drive away, for a few hours of birding.

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San Francisco San Jose California Battery 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 16, 2015

I didn’t get a shot of the Marbled Godwit near Seal Rocks in flight but I wanted you to be able to see the bird with wings outstretched so Mia came to my rescue. This bird was one I found near Seal Rock when scouting the Heermann’s Gulls back in October. References: 1 Birds of North America Online ,

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San Francisco Seals United States North America 102

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2011

Perhaps the Giants should have stuck with Candlestick Park because AT&T Park has been beset by birds , gulls to be exact. The team is considering bringing in a falcon to drive away the unwanted visitors that pester patrons for food and drop, um, things, from above onto the heads of folks who just want to see a game.

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San Francisco Unwanted Game Falcons 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2014

As bird lovers, we’re happy that laws exist to protect birds, and that people are especially looking after protected species. But sometimes, what’s best for the birds and what’s best for the humans collide. The birds nest in the span, which is being replaced by a new bridge.

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San Francisco Oakland Massachusetts United States 163

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?

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Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 199

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.

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California Condor San Diego San Francisco Ghana 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2014

It was the bobbing action on the rocks that drew my attention to the bird. This was a family vacation and I had led my unsuspecting wife and son out onto the curving pier at Aquatic Park, overlooking San Francisco Bay, ostensibly to get a better look at Alcatraz and the bridge, but actually with half a mind to finding a Wandering Tattler.

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San Francisco United States California Breeding 165

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2014

This week in birding news has it all covered. To wit: As if beach-nesting birds don’t have enough problems , along comes a new scourge: nudists. Disregard what Mary Poppins advises ; in Swansea, UK, feeding the birds will cost you (and a whole lot more than tuppence). Birding in the Bronx? Er, sort of.

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San Francisco Wisconsin Sanctuary Birds 175

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

At the Northwest corner of San Francisco is Point Lobos. These factors have caused the IUCN to rate this bird as “Near Threatened” 2. You know what one of my favorite things is about bird blogging? It’s all of the things I learn about different birds from researching to write posts. v=FUBX_tlHySc.

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San Francisco North America Seals Sanctuary 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2012

I know it’s dangerous to title a post “Birds From Behind” during “Bird Love Week” but I have to admit… it’s kind of the point. Just because a bird passes you by doesn’t mean you lose the shot. Some lovely things can happen when you take [photos of] birds from behind.

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San Francisco Birds Falcons Ducks 221

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2011

Or so says a study by San Francisco State researchers using data collected from over forty years of measurements taken during bird banding. Here’s hoping that this means that some birds, at least, might be able to adapt as climate change continues.

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San Francisco Collecting Birds Research 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2022

Perhaps the star bird here is the Nonggang Babbler , which was first observed by professional ornithologists only in 2005. The birds are not closely related. The location not being Algiers but rather Nonggang in Guangxi province, China, close to the border to Vietnam. The similarities are a product of convergent evolution.

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China Birds Vietnam Asia 196

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

Last week, I wrote about my recent trip from my current home of Morelia, Mexico to my childhood home of the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States, and how several species can be found in both places, in spite of how far apart they are, and yet look quite different in each place. They are, in effect, the same, but different.

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Mexico San Francisco California United States 186

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2022

Anytime I travel, I do what it takes to get in some birding. After all, the best way to find new birds is to look in new places. Birding being best in the early morning, I get up before they do, and try to be back by breakfast — their breakfast. Morelia time), and still start birding at 6 a.m. San Mateo time).

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San Francisco California Battery Ducks 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2013

Most of you would have been looking at much bigger birds last Thursday. The individuals above were seen at the top of the tide, pushed hard against the shore of San Francisco Bay. Corey gave us a 360° view of a juvenile Calaidris minutilla and some fantastic images of spring adult birds.

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San Francisco Sea Lions Lions California 156

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2017

We here at 10,000 Birds are excited to announce a new beat writer who will have his first post go live tomorrow. Please give a warm welcome to Jason Crotty, who will be writing about “General Birding and the Law” on the second Tuesday of each month. Welcome aboard, Jason! We look forward to reading your blog posts!

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Puerto Rico San Francisco Portland Laws 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2019

I was poking around my eBird checklists recently and came across one from one of my more intriguing days birding. Like many birders, I’ve had “patches” where I routinely go birding. Patch birding is rewarding because the birds become familiar, as do the changes across the seasons. There is satisfaction in the everyday.

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San Francisco Portland Whales Whaling 125

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2016

For the most part, there is little question about the appearance of the bird, for identification purposes. Here on the Baja, the only bird that can possibly be confused with the Long-billed Curlew , might be the Whimbrel. It is easily identified by not only by its overall size, but the extremely long bill.

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San Francisco Pelicans Mexico Groups 124

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2013

A couple of days in San Francisco over the New Year caused me to reflect on how much information we actually need to identify a bird. They were all taken in San Francisco at the end of December. Don’t look at them for too long or your eyes will go funny. Best of luck. How did you get on?

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San Francisco Birds 107

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2011

The Red-tailed Hawk that was found in San Francisco with a nail through its head has been successfully rehabilitated and released. Hat-tip to Seagull Steve.

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San Francisco 158

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2011

The juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in San Francisco that was observed to have a nail shot through its head was finally caught by rehabbers and is being rehabilitated. There is a $10,000 to find the person or persons responsible for this stupid and callous act so get your sleuthing shoes on!

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San Francisco 172

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2012

Continuing the celebration of commonplace birds we now hail the ubiquitous Great Blue Heron. We have at least 3 nesting locations here in San Francisco and that number seems to be climbing slowly. There are too many images to share so I’ll keep the captions brief and let the pictures do the squawking, er, I mean talking.

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San Francisco Gophers Reptiles Hunters 228

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2012

Riffing off my last post about places… here is a series of birds in their environments. If you’re ever caught out with a short lens or the birds are just too far away, you can still get good shots that tell the wider story. A Western Meadowlark floats near San Francisco Bay.

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San Francisco Owls Birds 179

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2012

A quick search in the archives here at 10,000 Birds found no mention of this beauty. This individual was seen during a recent visit to San Francisco while I was looking for a Great Horned Owl’s nest in Golden Gate Park. All the birds seen today were males. It was almost as if the species had been forgotten.

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San Francisco North America Owls America 202

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.

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San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

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.

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San Francisco San Diego Connecticut South America 170

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2012

Looking for birds means we go where the birds are. Every once in a while, when it gets quiet, I look around and marvel at the places birds have dragged me out into. in the comments, please share links to any photos you’ve taken of the wonderful places birds have led you) Light blooms at dusk near Mono Lake.

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San Francisco Tennessee Falcons Owls 179

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'

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Los Angeles Miami San Francisco Florida 154

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2012

Depending on your aspect and the angle of the bird to the sun, the head can look very deep plum or even black. This individual was seen at close quarters in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park during a recent visit.

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San Francisco Oregon Washington California 196

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2012

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is rich in bird feeders and the jays find rich pickings. Each morning the feeders arrive with bags of bread and pockets of nuts for the birds and soon find themselves surrounded by ducks, gulls and sparrows.

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San Francisco Sparrows Ducks Birds 171

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2019

Credit for the style appears to go to brewer Kim Sturdevant of Social Kitchen & Brewery in San Francisco, who created it after some inspired experimentation with enzymatic brewing on a day off. Good birding and happy drinking! The post Pelican Brewing Company: Brut India Pale Ale appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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Pelicans India San Francisco Oregon 117

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2011

It is one thing to read the scribblings of a birding celebrity, a field guide author, the birderati. It is another thing entirely that is happening here, now, on 10,000 Birds. You see, we have scored the most incredible coup ever in the history of the bird blogging world. Ladies, keep your underwear and optics on tight.

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San Francisco Birds Pelicans Woodpeckers 203

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2017

I still use the term “bird watching” rather than “birding” This is the term that I grew up with and it more accurately describes the way that I derive my simple pleasures. Pools of water collected on leaves and the bird smeared itself against them. Can a tiny system afford to lose that much heat?

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San Francisco Collecting Birds 101

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2020

And E-Bird only listed a couple of high-quality sites back then. Following rare-bird alerts, or visiting urban parks, are not the wisest choice for our socially distanced times. That leaves me lots of options for pandemic birding! The post You Can Go Your Own Way appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Find some new ones!

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San Francisco 2020 Experience Experiments 163

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

I only had a few days in California while visiting my brother at Berkeley, but we couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to visit one of the most famous birding sites in the country: Point Reyes National Seashore. Add those life mammals to the life birds I already expected to see, and I was practically vibrating with excitement.

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Seals Elephants Whales Whaling 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2012

The water this Northern Pintail is in has human poo in it, which completely ruins the experience of seeing this bird. The majority of diehard birders do not care where they get their birds. There is a caste of birders, however, that do not subscribe to this way of birding…no. Oh wait, it doesn’t. Portland, Oregon.

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San Francisco Birds North Dakota Oakland 202

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns. In the past several years I’ve been developing an entirely new seabirding strategy based on something the birds do themselves… tracking your quarry by scent. We need these birds. Delicious autumn!

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San Francisco North Dakota California Albatross 159