10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

A breeding bird atlas is a special kind of book. For the nature lovers and birders who participate in breeding bird surveys, the atlas represents hours, often hundreds of hours, of volunteer time spent within a community of citizen scientists doing what they love, observing birds. So, what exactly does a breeding bird atlas contain?

Pennsylvania 220

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds Sparrows 220

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2012

My spring has been pretty amazing so far with 146 species spotted since April 1 and Cerulean , Worm-eating , and Yellow-throated Warblers and a host of other species spotted before May even arrived, but the first couple of days in May have been even better. Queens, New York, May 2009 May is the month of migration in North America.

New York City 156

New York City New York 2009 Litter 156

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

But some species remain elusive when they shouldn’t be. Even a big trip to Canada, though it turned up many other delightful species ( Boreal Owl , anyone?) The husks of box elder seeds littered the ground, neatly stripped and devoured. Wood Stork and White Pelican. Orchard Oriole and Prothonotary Warbler.

Pythons 179

Pythons Litter Montana 2006 179

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2012

Predators that rely on lemmings, like the Snowy Owl , took advantage of the bounty and had great breeding success, raising large broods which, after the lemming population crashes, dispersed far and wide. And while I haven’t made it over their yet I hope to before they disperse into breeding territories.

Rabbits 201

Rabbits Breeding Litter Raised 201

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2011

They breed up here, and spend their winters (usually) in the lower reaches of the Arctic and near polynyas (year round ice free waters) such as the North Water Polynya between Ellesmere Island and Groenland. Lemmings can have four or five litters a year of as many eight young. A Collared Lemming on a Beat Writer’s hand.

Owls 226

Owls Fox Oklahoma Soreing 226