10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2011

She ate everything from Rock Pigeons to caterpillars, earthworms to Brewer’s Blackbirds, but her staple diet consisted of plump, toothy, charismatic, and abundant Pocket Gophers. During the meal she was mobbed by several blackbirds and an American Robin. When she returned the following year she had refined her hunting technique.

Gophers 213

Gophers Blackbirds Tanzania Hunting 213

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2018

At some stage, a salmon-hunting bear at a shingle beach came too close, mere 9 steps. Lucky and his instructor were successful in bluffing this particular bear, yet the very next year in the same area, Hoshino was killed by a Brown Bear. Brewer’s blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus. Red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus.

Animal 115

Animal Bears Stray Dog Blackbirds 115

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

I was fortunate to rack up a number of lifers in 2013, both at home and abroad ( Varied Thrush in Washington, Brewer’s Blackbirds in California, Burrowing Owl in the Nevada desert). Meredith enjoyed her first sighting of an awesome migration spectacle. She blogged about it here.

2013 167

2013 Birds Costa Rica India 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2023

To be honest, both the robin and the flycatchers shown above remind me of the easter eggs I hunted for as a child – the same strong colors in front of a green background, same time of the year (feel free to insert your own Proust Madeleine reference here) … Bluethroats apparently are good at imitating other birds. .

Monkeys 147

Monkeys Birds South Korea Owls 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

This fish hunting duck ranges from the northern tip of New Zealand to the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands (after which it was first named) but is common nowhere. We’ve got a couple of stake outs where we can watch not just for this raptor, the world’s largest, but where moa kills can sometimes be seen too.

New Zealand 207

New Zealand Ducks Australia Mountain Goats 207