10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Standing on a low-tide mudflat in the middle of the bay, a staff member from the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and I were photographing a high school class in the middle of a marine biology field trip. Immediately, my friend began freaking out (in a good way).

Florida 142

Florida Mexico Protection Pelicans 142

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2013

At some point, perhaps in the middle of class, perhaps after class, perhaps in an email I receive later, this question gets asked: “How do migratory birds not get lost when the Earth’s magnetic field reverses?” ” For years, my answer was this: “Well, maybe a lot of them do, nobody said life was fair.

Investigation 191

Investigation 2013 Research Humane 191

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2013

I pass over the bridge on my way to class and a Song Sparrow is starting to defend a clump of bushes along the river. The Black-capped Chickadees have been adjusting their songs for weeks; now they are well-practiced and ready to get on with the business of breeding. This week, the future is being heard and not seen.

Canada 173

Canada Sparrows Humane Breeding 173

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2016

I’ve seen whole classes of middle-schoolers get enthusiastic over identifying a Mallard in a Golden Guide and sketching it in their nature journals. Maybe they dive, or maybe they stick their butts up in the air, but for the most part, you can get any non-birder, be they two or one hundred and two, on a duck.

Ducks 104

Ducks Montana New York Geese 104

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2017

Then, in one of my freshmen science classes, there was a discussion about extinct species, which then lead to the topic of threatened, or endangered species, and what we could do to help out. Well, high school turns in to college, college turns into a job and the need to make a living, and I never found, or helped out the Snowy Plover.

Oregon 102

Oregon Defenders Of Wildlife Endangered Species Mexico 102

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

I should know, as a librarian I was taught to worship classification systems like LCC, the Library of Congress Classification system which divides knowledge into 21 basic classes, and subject heading authority lists. I love the writing here.

Costa Rica 212

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 212

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

In fact, when I was attending classes at the University of Miami, I found the birds so faithful to their routine that I could roughly tell what time it was depending on if the resident male oriole was singing — and what a song! They do not seem to form feeding flocks with any other bird species, native or exotic.

Miami 174

Miami Costa Rica Florida 2005 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

About half of all breeding Wandering Albatross nest on the Prince Edward Islands. On a typical cruise, folks sleep in, have a lazy breakfast, sit by the pool with a cocktail, and watch the world-class entertainment. It has had very few humans walk its soil and who have had little impact to this otherwise pristine nature.

South Africa 263

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2017

…maybe there’s a secret Corn Crake breeding farm out in Gilgo Beach. No, I’d remember that, I didn’t see that many birds in France. What if it’s an escapee? Do people keep Corn Crakes?…maybe I should go.

New York 155

New York North America France Feral Cats 155

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

It took just over two years, and just about giving up, but this week as I walked home from class I saw a box elder along the creek that was seething. They moved around a lot, but I would say there were at least thirty and maybe up to fifty individuals, in a variety of plumages that seemed to speak of a successful breeding season.

Pythons 183

Pythons Litter Montana 2006 183

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2011

It has survived eviction, as a a result of the conversion of one of its original locations (the Baltic Flour Mill) into a ‘world class’ art gallery. Kittiwakes under the Tyne Bridge The colony has had a difficult relationship at times with developers, a minority of residents and local council officials.

Industry 161

Industry 2009 Shelters Fish 161

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Penguins are flightless, but some species locomote over long distances on antarctic ice to travel between breeding grounds and the sea. If you’d like a two page (one sheet, duplex) handout for your class, download THIS PDF FILE. They have special adaptations to stay warm and to keep their eggs and chicks warm.

Penguins 191

Penguins Seals Peru Science 191

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2012

Several years ago, I was asked to visit my nephew’s preschool class and talk about birds. I have decided that the bird is an Alpine Chough, a red-billed blackbird that breeds in the Swiss Alps. Jake lives in southern Florida, so he and his friends had to be interested in learning about these birds, which they saw everyday, right?

Birds 211

Birds Owls Switzerland Lions 211

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

Here one is close to the scenically impressive Cape of Good Hope National Park as well as the Boulder’s Coastal Park, home to hundreds of breeding African Penguins.

Albatross 181

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 181

Animal Person

JUNE 8, 2009

I think he also doesn't know that not all of us think that chasing down Class B dealers is as important as working to shut down animal experimentation and create more alternatives. "How long should one animal be used in the lab before it is euthanized?" isn't really on our list of questions (he asks that in the FB discussion).

Animal Welfare 100

Animal Welfare Monkeys Animal Welfare Act Vivisection 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

Image by Adam Riley Of the 115 African species now listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered, nearly half occur on the islands surrounding Africa or are non-breeding migrants to Africa. There has been growth in the breeding population at the colonies in Morocco (now estimated at 106 breeding pairs and approximately 500 birds in total).

Endangered Species 188

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 188

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

Instead, plumages are merged into the three broad age classes–immature, subadult, and adult–the same age designation Dunne uses for raptors. So, Laughing Gull is described in its Adult Breeding, Adult Nonbreeding, Immature, and Subadult forms; Western Gull is described in its Adult, Immature, and Subadult forms.

North America 199

North America America El Salvador Nicaragua 199

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2011

Males of this species are more brightly colored in their non-breeding winter plumage. Long-tailed Pipit is classed as a Winter Endemic and its story is a fascinating one. It is most reliably found in mid-elevation ranges, especially where Aloes are flowering. A dancing Blue Crane , South Africa’s national bird.

South Africa 221

South Africa Lesotho Africa Swaziland 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

But a fundamental difference between eye color in birds and humans is that for quite a number of birds, eye color actually changes according to the breeding season. For example, the iris of the Brown Pelican becomes a stunning blue color during the breeding season. It could advertise sex during the breeding season.

Birds 258

Birds Humane Breeding Pelicans 258

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Here’s a diagram, available on the Audubon site , that compares its 2000 range with its anticipated 2080 range: Only 1 percent of the bird’s breeding range remains stable between 2000 and 2080 if global warming continues on its current course. Chestnut-collared Longspur is one of those.

Species 175

Species Science Los Angeles 2000 175

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2018

More than 50 years ago, the Hawaiian Goose (Nene) was one of the first birds listed under the Endangered Species Act, part of the inaugural “ Class of 1967 ”. Due to substantial improvements in its population and its prospects, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed downlisting it from “endangered” to “threatened.”.

Endangered Species 101

Endangered Species Species Hawaii 2018 101

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

There is no other bird even remotely like them but they are classed in the order Gruiformes , along with rails and cranes.* Sunbitterns like to hunt in clear, fast-flowing streams But probably the least known aspect of the Sunbittern’s life history is its breeding and nesting.

Costa Rica 254

Costa Rica Suriname Eggs Hunting 254

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2018

Following passage of the United States Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the California Condor ( Gymnogyps californianus ) was among the first 75 species listed for protection, the so-called “Class of 1967”. With a double-headed eagle on its coat-of-arms, Cologne has a longstanding penchant for ominous-looking raptors.

California Condor 104

California Condor Oregon California Zoos 104

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2017

The traditional definition (Stamper tells us that lexicographers call this a “sense”) of the noun “bird” (“any of a class (Aves) of warm-blooded vertebrates distinguished by having the body more or less completely covered with feathers and the forelimbs modified as wings”), comes first. Is it really “found on” Laysan and adjacent islands?

Albatross 104

Albatross Bears Ducks Bald Eagle 104

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2011

The clifftop habitats along rocky shores of the North Atlantic (on both sides of the pond) abound in bird biomass during breeding bouts, for instance. This is also a hard question to address because most data on animal size distribution does not compare across classes of animals, and/or focuses on groups that would not be helpful.

Mammals 174

Mammals Rodents Birds Reptiles 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2014

One of the high points of my visit was experiencing the city’s world-class mass transit system. Hundreds massing at Mai Po, many coming into breeding plumage. When it comes to cities, Hong Kong is as big as it comes. Yet, HK is phenomenally clean, safe, and accessible. Seriously, this may be the best transit system in the world.

2014 213

2014 Eagles Asia Groups 213

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2011

Loons hardly ever fly when they are on their breeding grounds or their winter-water, but the migration is for many loons a non-trivial distance. Little tiny birds with their little tiny wings and high daily energetic demands fly zillions of miles, while larger birds migrate shorter distances, for example. And then there is the loon.

Research 191

Research Humane Compassion New York 191

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2023

Arguably the high point of my digiscoping career was in 2012, when I won the digiscoping class in the British Birds Bird Photographer of the Year awards. As the Wryneck is a lost breeding bird in Britain it’s also a bird of special interest to us Brits and one I never tire of photographing.

Birds 230

Birds Cyprus Portugal Estonia 230

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2022

It covers everything, but what puts Philip Briggs’s Sri Lanka into a class of its own is a special emphasis on nature and wildlife-watching tourism. The next 520 pages deal with individual regions and locations, and include Practicalities, Where to stay, Where to eat, What to see and do, Flora and Fauna, Maps.

Sri Lanka 147

Sri Lanka Ghana Uganda Eagles 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 17, 2022

In terms of breeding behavior, starlings are a diversified group – some use helpers, others do not. This also means there is a lot of pressure to breed – a mathematical model suggests that each pair of Laughing Doves must produce 8.0 I have to admit that I also tend to feel a bit itchy after a long flight in economy class.

South Africa 184

South Africa Africa Birds Cape Verde 184

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2023

The Great Egret was in breeding plumage and courtship posture–bright lime green lores, head bending down and then snapping up, long, impossibly delicate plumes waving over its body as if possessed by independent spirits. I could see what all the fuss was about, why they were worth, literally, as much as gold. ©2023, Donna L.

Connecticut 147

Connecticut Washington Legislation Hunting 147