10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2017

The long reef is home to an annual coral spawning event that attracts enormous numbers of charismatic marine megafauna, from whales to Whale Sharks and Manta Rays. The purpose of our trip up Western Australia’s coast was to allow Mum to celebrate her significant birthday milestone of turning 40 by swimming with whale sharks.

Sharks 100

Sharks Whales Whaling Australia 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

All of these titles deal with birding in specific North American geographic areas: The Atlantic coast, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The photos show the forms of the bird seen on the east coast and are annotated with notes on plumage and other distinguishing field marks. It’s time for some short book reviews. Well, short for me.

Pennsylvania 158

Pennsylvania Texas Whales Whaling 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2013

The boat-trip over to the island is far from uneventful and the pelagic birding is very rewarding. Northern Humpback Whales visit the waters surrounding Isla Isabel every year to mate and its not unusual to see dozens of these cetaceans breaching and whacking their tales on the ocean surface. If you like boobies (no giggles please!),

Whales 258

Whales Whaling Sharks Marine Life 258

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

Birds of California , the new volume in the ABA series, arrived the day I returned. Every bird book seems to be about the west coast this month!) Offshore Sea Life ID Guide: West Coast is designed to be a quick, handy resource for use on whale watching and one-day pelagic trips.

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Whales Whaling Porpoises 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2014

Is it mere coincidence that Father’s Day falls on such a perfect weekend for birding? Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend isn’t rare, difficult to see, or worthy of such a status by any other typical metric. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend' I think not.

2014 160

2014 Whales Whaling New York 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2011

The risk of bird or turtle nests being crushed by vehicles above the high tide mark is a possibility, but of course it is hard to police these rules. These birds are often seen fishing along the shores, but do attack shorebirds and they are very wary of them. I quickly took a couple of photos and retreated.

Whales 253

Whales Whaling Birds Turtles 253

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

The boat is called the Legacy and it is an 80 foot whale watching vessel that generally seats 115, but takes about 70 for birding trips. If I saw that bird, I did not appreciate it, so it is not on my list. My recollection of prior trips is that we used relatively small fishing boats and had 20-25 birders, plus the leaders.

San Diego 147

San Diego Los Angeles Cooking North Carolina 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2019

It was the sixth year in a row of the Queens County Bird Club Big Sit, my favorite event of the year. As always, I was the first to the platform and in the light northwest wind and under a full moon I sipped my coffee and willed birds to make some noise so I could start checking off species. and Lincoln’s Sparrow.

Pelicans 127

Pelicans New York Whales Whaling 127

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2013

Dawn breaks over Kaikoura (where Duncan saw Sperm Whales !). Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding? Also be sure to come back Monday to share your best bird of the weekend ! Birding April weekend' If April showers bring May flowers, what does April sleet bring? Guess I’ll be finding out!

2013 146

2013 Whales Whaling Birds 146

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2016

Kaikoura is New Zealand’s finest birding destination, and seeing it brought low is a terrible blow. Thanks to it’s marine canyon it’s the place to see Sperm Whales, swim with Dusky Dolphins and New Zealand Fur-seals, and watch albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels. Sperm Whales are a huge draw, literally!

New Zealand 155

New Zealand Albatross Seals Fur 155

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2016

The Ross Sea is the most productive stretch of water in the Southern Ocean, teeming with large predatory fish, whales, seals, penguins and other animals that form the last intact marine ecosystem on Earth. There are 11 species of birds that breed in the Ross Sea region. Enough History – Back to the Future.

Russia 165

Russia Penguins Whales Whaling 165

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2016

The other day, Redgannet, when sharing the 10,000 Birds combined bird list for 2016 , mentioned that I had made some sort of notable contribution by submitting 25 checklists in one day. The reasons for this protocol are as unique as this unique type of birding. That sounds exciting, like there’s some sort of story there.

Whales 100

Whales Whaling North Carolina Mammals 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2014

As New Zealand’s beat writer I think I’ve done an okay job of discussing the birding of an entirely different island for most of the year, so it’s only fair that I keep that winning streak going by talking about my target for the trip. New Caldonia’s odd flightless heronish bird. A beaked whale.

Sharks 170

Sharks Leopards Whales Whaling 170

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2013

Usually, it’s “Bird eating fish” but here we have a case of a “Bird-eating fish.” Now and then individual catfish of various species hunt nearer the surface and larger catfish such as the American Channel Cat will take a duck or other water bird. pigeons, Columbia livia ).

Fish 199

Fish Birds Whales Whaling 199

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2013

Even the solo birders out there have to appreciate that birding together is often better than birding alone. Corey and I don’t get out in the field together much, since we’ve determined that the ongoing security of 10,000 Birds requires the two of us to live in separate cities. Another new Queens bird for Corey!)

New York City 168

New York City 2013 New York Nashville 168

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2014

Especially if you can fit in some birding? But others actually do some birding, and they paved the way for this Great Ornithologist to do a little bit on a recent vacation to Todos Santos. Of course, the town also boasts some very fun birding. What better way to start the year than with a visit to Mexico?

California 212

California San Jose Birds Mexico 212

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.

San Francisco 126

San Francisco Portland Whales Whaling 126

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2013

The bill of the Greater Flamingo is a marvel of nature that would make any baleen whale turn pale with envy. Indeed, they are the avian equivalent to baleen whales, feeding exclusively on brine shrimp and blue-green algae using their highly specialized bills as filter devices. … It is Pink Bird Weekend on 10,000 Birds! .

France 171

France Whales Whaling 2013 171

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

She contributes regularly to Ontario Nature , reviews books for Birding, and also blogs about her misadventures in bird identification while offering trenchant analysis of avian coiffures on her own blog Birds and Words. This is Julia’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. Happy puffins. Murres and Kittiwakes.

Puffins 179

Puffins Whales Whaling Bald Eagle 179

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2011

Most of the time when we think of birds, we think of the things that make them birds, and not the things that make them dinosaurs. You’ll hear people tell you that birds are dinosaurs, and that is supposed to blow you away and make you go all gaga about birds and evolution. are convenient secondary uses.

Birds 267

Birds Primates Marsupials Whales 267

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2013

Some of those mysterious creatures were birds. The most obvious place that cryptozoology and ornithology overlap is in the area of Lazarus taxa and would-be Lazarus taxa — the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Eskimo Curlew, Pink-headed Duck , and the like — birds that no one doubts existed once, whether or not they exist today.

Apes 159

Apes Birds Woodpeckers Primates 159

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2013

Today we take a brief reprieve from birder commentary to talk actual birds, specifically those of Santa Cruz Island, where my lowly-esteemed colleague Seagull Steve is currently doing field work on some of the nearshore seabirds there. The fundamental question is, where is it? is concerned.

California 160

California Birds Sea Lions Whales 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

I am shocked to be writing this post already, and doubly shocked that I’ve seen six new species for Queens since I guessed what my next five Queens birds would be just eight months ago, back in March. It’s been a good year for birding in Queens! Fortunately, there are birds to help.

New York City 150

New York City Birds New York Blackbirds 150

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

You should know by now that there are a good number of birds that spend an appreciable amount of time underwater. And then there are the crazy-awesome Dippers and one should not forget the great diving birds like Gannets and Albatrosses. See, with a little bit of imagination, even a scuba diver can find birds all over the place.

Sharks 185

Sharks Thailand Dolphins Fish 185

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2012

Kereru or New Zealand Pigeon ( Hemiphaga novaseelandiae ) are also very attractive birds. They positively shine in sunlight Sitting on a pot used to boil whale fat in the past If you liked these images make sure to head on over to 10,000 Clicks , the 10,000 Birds photo-galleries page, and see our growing collection of galleries.

New Zealand 174

New Zealand Whales Whaling Collecting 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2013

Clocking more than 50,000 miles per year, the birds appear to have cornered the market on the world’s longest annual migration. And that’s just the birds–you can spy on everything from panda bear cubs to beluga whales. Birding Birds terns video' You may already know how awesome Arctic Terns are.

Bald Eagle 177

Bald Eagle Pandas Puffins Bears 177

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2014

The play features only four characters: Martha Washington the Passenger Pigeon , a vengeful sperm whale named Charles Bronson, Cotton Mather the human, historical Puritan, and a near-omniscient figure called the Gourmand, who opens the main conflict of the play by pointing out that Passenger Pigeons are delicious.

Whales 197

Whales Whaling Washington Collecting 197

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2013

I have raved on and on about how Kaikoura is the best place in the world to see albatrosses , but the once sleepy seaside town is not actually famous for these magnificent birds. What put this once small fishing town on the map was not birds but mammals, specifically whales and dolphins. And people do go to see them.

Whales 196

Whales Whaling Albatross New Zealand 196

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

He’s the author of The New Neotropical Companion (2017, originally published in 1997), a must-read for any birder preparing to travel to Central and South America, the Peterson Reference Guide to Bird Behavior (2020), and a long list of other books and articles. There are changes in where to find the birds.

2006 239

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Sea Turtles 239

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2014

Here a fledgling Chipping Sparrow , which is one of those confusing, streaky, brown birds, gets stuffed by an adult. And, of course, as I do sometimes, I managed to sneak in a bit of birding. Fortunately the birds mostly came to me and I just had to keep my binoculars and camera handy.

New York 174

New York Cooking Chipmunks Owls 174

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 160

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

This place is such an epic birding location that one cannot possibly do the city and its surrounds justice in one post. These birds, and their closely-related counterparts, the Drakensberg Rockjumper, constantly find themselves on the most-wanted list of pretty much every visiting birder. And rightly so. But by George is it worth it!

South Africa 236

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 236

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. Further to the east, Asian Openbill displays the same special feature but is mostly a white plumaged bird.

Africa 233

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 233

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2013

I will never tire of banging Kaikoura’s drum as the best place in the world to see albatrosses, and since albatrosses are the among the best birds in the world it amazes me that none of you have made it out here yet (actually, some of you have, per some of the comments, but Corey hasn’t). As you can see the birds are really close!

Albatross 165

Albatross New Zealand Seals Fur 165

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2017

Controversies about federal public lands, including the 2016 occupation of Malheur NWR in Oregon and proposed bills in Congress to dispose of certain land, has focused attention on the value of federal lands to birds and birders. But if one focuses on specific types of birds, the results can be both illuminating and surprising.

Albatross 137

Albatross Hawaii Alaska Puerto Rico 137

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Elephants, whales, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and alligators use low-frequency sounds to communicate over long distances, often miles; and bats, dolphins, whales, frogs, and various rodents use high-frequency sounds to find food, communicate with others, and navigate. A Grateful Whale. Empathy Among Elephants.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2013

Whale-watching! This may come as somewhat of a surprise to those who don’t know about it but the waters just off of Queens can apparently be pretty good for whales at the right time of year. As we headed east we stayed within several hundred yards of shore which seemed odd for a boat looking for whales. More whales!

New York City 158

New York City New York Whales Whaling 158