10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2014

“Here’s an idea for a blog,” wrote Donna Osburn, a wildlife rehabilitator from Kentucky. What’s your best misidentification of a bird?”. Rehabbers are constantly receiving birds misidentified by their finders; and on occasion some of us even receive birds we misidentify ourselves. This is a great topic. I have no idea!

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Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Falcons Pit Bulls 244

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2013

Since it’s really hard to type in a splint, here is a blast from the past: specifically from the beginning of this long, strange trip, my cross-country journey from New York to Montana: I have to confess, I had forgotten all about the Eurasian Tree Sparrow. I wasn’t thinking about the Eurasian Tree Sparrow at all, though.

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Sparrows St. Louis Kansas City Kansas 164

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2018

I think most of you know how important our National Wildlife Refuge system is to me. After all, I have written several posts on wildlife conservation and the Wildlife Conservation Pass that my co-founder Ingrid Taylar and I have been encouraging for years. I hope you enjoy it. Click on photos for full sized images.

Wildlife 101

Wildlife Sacramento Bald Eagle Falcons 101

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2013

The general public is out and about, birds and animals are raising their young, and human/wildlife interaction is at its peak. A robot that feeds baby birds so I can take a nap,” wrote Jodi in Massachusetts. “A That more rehab centers would accept non-natives, like pigeons house sparrows, and starlings,” wrote Charis in Oregon.

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Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Oklahoma New York 241

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2014

That will be the opening day of the 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. Who knows what great birds 2015 will bring? That means grassy fields are loaded with sparrows, hummocks are filled with wood-warblers, and wetlands teem with waterfowl. Be the best bird guide I can be.

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2015 Wildlife Florida Birds 193

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2012

so, while everyone else in the world was hanging out with the Kirtland’s Warbler ( Setophaga kirtlandii ) on the beach at Magee Marsh last week, I was off on a Biggest Week tour through the beautiful Oak Openings Metropark Preserve looking for Lark Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak, Red-headed Woodpecker and other great local birds.

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Sparrows Ohio Woodpeckers Rights 168

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

Not all birds are created equal. These are the kinds of birds even those barely cognizant of nature recognize, appreciate, and aspire to. These are the kinds of birds even those barely cognizant of nature recognize, appreciate, and aspire to. Central Africa has one of those birds.

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Uganda Africa Birds Penguins 252

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

An expanse of habitat as vast as Murchison Falls NP in Uganda, as excessively generous in beauty and biodiversity, permits endless ways to experience both its birds and animals. The Masindi Hotel holds the distinction of being the oldest and most historic hotel in Uganda and has some terrific birds on premises. Mind boggling, I answer!

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Uganda Senegal Africa Game 177

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

On Saturday, 28 January, while I was at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, Doug Gochfeld and I made our way to central Florida for most of a day’s birding, looking for the specialty species of that region. We drove slowly down the dirt roads listening and watching for birds.

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Wildlife North Carolina Woodpeckers Florida 159

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2013

The American Pipit ( Anthus rubescens ) is described as a slim-billed, sparrow-like bird of open country. This bird was visiting Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge when I photographed it from the photo blind there two years ago. Birding American Pipit pipits Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge'

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Sacramento Wildlife California Sparrows 161

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 10, 2020

Breezy Point, the westernmost tip of the barrier islands that protect Long Island’s south shore, is also the southwestern most portion of Queens and one of my favorite locations to look for birds. It was my favorite type of wildlife watching, a real spectacle. Field Sparrow in February is a fine bird.

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Birds Sparrows Ducks Fish 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2014

The 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival is less than a month away and while we don’t have snow down yet here in New York City I am pretty sick of cold weather and could use some warmth and Florida sunshine! Last year we had an amazing array of great birds and also were lucky enough to see an otter up close.

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Wildlife 2015 Bald Eagle New York City 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

Today is the United Nations World Wildlife Day, a time to celebrate and raise awareness of the living world around us. I remember, several times while motionlessly surveying birds, I found myself being investigated by Striped Field Mice , who would dare to come to sniff me. No, birds are way too smart for that stupid trick.

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Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 172

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

No matter where you happen to be, you can’t really go wrong when beginning a new year of birding. Birds are everywhere and if you keep the mind open to appreciation, even the most common of familiar birds are incredible, beautiful creatures. That said, more birds are always better and ones infrequently seen even more so.

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Costa Rica Birds Falcons Philadelphia 185

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2019

Lots of birds, a lot of really cool birds! However, as with many other places throughout the globe, this small country also has its fair share of urban wildlife. Our birding was particularly productive for the Central Valley but still gives an idea of what can be found in and near urban areas of Costa Rica.

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Costa Rica Birds Parrots Sparrows 189

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

This is not to say that there wasn’t a little birding time snuck in here and there. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. This wonderful piece of birding real estate can be found 8 miles east of Olympia, and an hour’s drive south of Seattle Washington, right along the I-5 corridor.

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Wildlife Seattle Bald Eagle Geese 104

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2018

Countless flocks of frigid, sodden birds must be wondering whether they took a wrong turn somewhere. In between ice storms, I visited Brighton’s Brickyard Trail, a nice little walk that can be excellent for sparrows. What do you know, I spotted my FOY Swamp Sparrow in song, along with about a hundred Song Sparrows , also in song.

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2018 Jamaica Sparrows Bears 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

And it looks even better in my hands while I dream about a visit to regions of Brazil I had scarcely heard of before being provided with a review copy of the first volume of the Wildlife Conservation Society Birds of Brazil.*

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Brazil Wildlife 2011 Birds 195

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2011

And if you like entering contests in which books about birds are the prize please make sure that you also enter the latest 10,000 Birds giveaway, in which we are giving away three copies of The Crossley ID Guide. OpticsPlanet - Great prices on binoculars for birding , spotting scopes , telescopes , flashlights , compasses & more!

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Brazil Wildlife 2011 Deer 150

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2014

“Okay, fellow songbird rehabbers,” wrote Vonda Lee Morton of Laurens Wildlife Rescue on her FaceBook page. “Is Is this a Song Sparrow ? Sometimes bird rehabbers who end up with tiny, semi-feathered little mystery birds end up playing a game called “Name That Bird.”. Hence: Name That Bird.

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Georgia Kentucky 215

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

The fact that this hour falls in the middle of the night means that most people sleep right through it, but I wonder what would happen if you observes a nocturnal bird like an owl during the hour that gets reset. I found myself in a beautiful part of New York that was so remote that birds apparently couldn’t find it.

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2018 New York City New York Jamaica 114

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2021

As I have often commented on this site, I started taking photos of birds only to improve the accuracy of my IDs. I tried to use the longer lens for birding; I really did. My first time out with it, I took the following picture of a White-crowned Sparrow. This Field Sparrow (lifer!) I am, in fact, a photographic slacker.

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Birds Sparrows Raised Wildlife 152

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2013

Last time it was birds and bling. Now it’s birds AS bling. Normally wildlife rehabilitators do not go around wearing birds on purpose. Oh, wait – do baby birds who fly onto your head count?”. Stories like this elicit howls of laughter from wildlife people. “Oh, It’s just something that happens.

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Wildlife Raised 219

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2019

Growing up birding in Western New York was also a time when the old woods of the Niagara Gorge were punctuated with the songs of hidden Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos and the lazy notes of Eastern Wood-Pewees. Seeing the uncommon birds is key to reaching a big total no matter where one goes birding. San Vito and Buenos Aires.

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Costa Rica Species Birds New York 196

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2020

I am a birder, who began photographing birds as an identification tool. Still, writing for 10,000 Birds has been an exercise in humility. There are so many wonderful birds in my corner of Mexico, for which I do not yet have good photographs. I think it is the most beautiful sparrow I have ever seen. No birds here.

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Mexico Sparrows South America Collecting 164

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2019

However, no matter how one enjoys or takes in interest in the avian side of life, an official list of the birds for a given area is of vital importance. With the rise in birding tourism, bird lists for entire countries have also become increasingly important. Not every list has Great Tinamou on it. Juvenile Gray Hawk.

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Costa Rica Birds Owls South America 196

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

and you’ve got good weather forecast this weekend, you’re probably looking forward to some birding. Disclosure: the White-throated Sparrows and Brown Creepers have started invading Chicago this week, and on my morning rounds I spotted a first-of-season Dark-eyed Junco. Fish and Wildlife Service' Good times, huh?

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Eagles Chicago Protection 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2019

A straight shot to my bird feeder. My yard is a birding hotspot. The feeder dangles from a clothesline between two pine trees, beckoning a range of bird varieties. I stitched away as I watched the Red-bellied Woodpecker scatter the smaller Chipping Sparrows and Carolina Chickadees as it glided down for a few seed morsels.

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Agenda Birds Louisiana North America 137

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2021

“Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea” by James A. kg could be, do keep in mind that this guide covers 4,400 km / 2,750 mi of the Earth’s circumference, or 11% of the length of the Equator, and describes 13% of global bird diversity. Eaton, Bas van Balen, Nick W. Brickle and Frank E. Rheindt is a big book.

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Indonesia Timor Brunei Guinea 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

Being winter, this bird is in non-breeding plumage with more brown upper parts and lacking the white face it acquires in its aternate (breeding) plumage. • Explore These Related Posts Another California Bird? Larry wanted to share his passion for birds and conservation and hatched The Birders Report in September of 2007.

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Wildlife 2011 Sacramento Jordan 155

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2020

What with lockdown and all, it had been a while since I had made the one-hour drive down to Paso Ancho, my closest option for birding a full-blown tropical thorn forest habitat. I have already written about my love of the Paso Ancho site, though you would have to scroll back to my very first pieces with 10,000 Birds to read those articles.

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Sparrows Cooking Squirrels Owls 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

Despite all this red tape stuff, I am still making some time for birding. This refuge came up as #4 on a recent list of the top 25 National Wildlife Refuges that were featured in a great story here by 10000 Birds own Jason Crotty. Over 200 species of birds can be found on the refuge, depending on the time of year.

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Fox Washington Geese Sparrows 121

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2014

On Saturday I awakened at 3:30 AM, tiptoed out of the house as quietly as I could, and headed north and west to Sullivan County, the first of three counties I planned to visit in a series of surgical birding strikes to see (or hear) the birds I had thus far missed this year as they migrated through New York City.

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Breeding New York Breeders Downers 152

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2017

June may be the gateway to summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but the birding still delivers the thrills of spring migration when you have access to the right birds’ breeding grounds. Corey had a surprising wealth of birds to choose from for his Best Bird of the Weekend. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2017 Louisiana Birds Breeding 101

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

MARCH 30, 2012

Around thirty miles from Missoula in the Bitterroot Valley lies the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge. Mounted swans and hawks swing from the ceiling, while ducks and smaller birds, as well as the skins and skulls used for the hands-on portions of the children’s programs, cover nearly all of the walls.

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Wildlife Montana Geese Bald Eagle 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

However, I am here to make the case for birding California. With the largest state list by a considerable margin and a mind-boggling diversity of habitats, I reckon we have some amazing birding to offer. So if you are thinking of doing some birding out this way, here is a quick run-down of some of the state’s best birding areas.

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California San Diego Birds Oakland 193