10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

How much do you know about owls? I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read. I don’t think so.

Owls 203

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 203

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Bufflehead ( Bucephala albeola ) Female at Cavity Entrance photos by Larry Jordan “Some 85 species of North American birds excavate nesting holes, use cavities resulting from decay (natural cavities), or use holes created by other species in dead or deteriorating trees.

North America 209

North America America Barn Owls Falcons 209

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2012

I was delighted by the invitation and spent hours going through my photos, printing them out, imagining fifteen 4-year olds entranced by egrets, herons, and Burrowing Owls. Jake’s favorite before-bedtime book when he was just a bit younger was Owl Babies by Martin Waddell, a picture book I had picked up at a nature center.

Birds 207

Birds Owls Switzerland Lions 207

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

Horned Larks breed widely over North America, including up here in the High Arctic. Here they are a common breeding bird, one of our two species that migrate from here to Europe and then south. At the same time (and sometime the same location) we have Semipalmated Plovers breeding, which makes identification a challenge.

Eggs 184

Eggs North America Breeding Europe 184

10,000 Birds

MAY 29, 2011

Most of the breeding birds returning here will arrive within the next 10 days to two weeks. Breeding is well underway and everywhere you look the Glaucous Gulls are, ahem, engaged or collecting grasses and sedges for nests. My favourite spot will be frantic with shorebirds soon, arriving, displaying, breeding and disappearing to nest.

Bald Eagle 125

Bald Eagle Iceland Owls North America 125

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2018

I found this little grouping of Guillemots, with parents, babies and even an egg. While there were way less Puffins than any of the other species, they are still so much fun to see. Red Kites were considerted a Threatened Species starting in the early ‘80s, and a nation wide program was started to re-introduce them around the UK.

Puffins 100

Puffins Wildlife Reserve 2003 Farming 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The story of the cahow, a “Lazurus species” that was thought to be extinct for over 300 years and then discovered to be breeding on a tiny remote island in Bermuda, is part of modern birding legend. In 1951, there were 18 breeding pairs of cahows discovered on three tiny islands.

Birds 165

Birds Rats Breeding 2012 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

The most common species we see are the Stoke’s Sea Snake Astrotia stokesii , Dubois’ Sea Snake Aipysurus duboisii and the Olive Sea Snake Aipysurus laevis. She also monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of beach by bicycle and on foot. She is actively involved in fieldwork and maintaining the database.

Australia 150

Australia 2011 Sharks Deer 150

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

It is my best bird because it is just such an incredible species, and looking at it made me realize that I had temporarily stopped to fully appreciate birds during the stressful last few years. This year I watched them from the day they arrived , until two chicks successfully hatched, the northernmost breeding record for the species.

2011 177

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 177

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2012

A lovely looking and distinctive sounding bird (so they say, I sadly have not seen one…yet), the Kirtland’s Warbler can only be found during its breeding season in Jack Pine forests 5 to 20 years old in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species list.

Michigan 223

Michigan Bahamas Endangered Species Research 223

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2022

Once the egg has been laid, the female is chased away and the males hatch it.” A juvenile, if I am correct – and a rather rare bird in Shanghai, this being rather at the southern end of the wintering breeding range. My possible birdwatching highlight this month was Short-eared Owl at Fengxian.

Birds 200

Birds China Pythons Breeding 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

According to Wikipedia, “A l owl ife is a term for a person who is considered morally unacceptable by their community” The local Nanhui shrikes are well aware that the word “lowlife” has an owl hidden inside, and mark the appearance of owls in their territory with harsh protests. They were missed.

Birds 192

Birds China Eggs Owls 192

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

Penguins are cartoons, emoticons, animated films, children’s books (though owls really take first place here), sports teams, a book publisher, and a Batman villain (a rare example of penguin negativity, though Burgess Meredith did bring an endearing attitude to his 1960’s TV portrayal). © Otto Plantema, used with permission.

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

This may have been partly a leftover from the Victorian fascination with egg collecting (the infamous passion known as oology), but probably more from people’s burgeoning interest in the nests and eggs found in their gardens and fields, gateway artifacts to a newer hobby called birdwatching. Baicich and Colin J.

Eggs 222

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 222

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2012

When it comes to breeding, Yellow-rumped Warblers are a good example of what many people regard as a “regular” bird. Male and female Yellow-rumps pair up on their breeding grounds, share duties in raising chicks, then politely part ways when fall migration comes.

Albatross 188

Albatross Birds Lifestyle Raised 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

Let us for once judge a book by its cover, and take a thorough look at a Black-headed Gull in breeding plumage. How do I know of their Gothic moods when they have hidden them so well in an egg-white shell of conformity? The eagle owl is still sitting tight on the nest. Gulls move in mysterious ways. Thanks, Wikipedia !

2011 159

2011 Birds Deer Europe 159

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2023

Another Nanhui trip also brought a Northern Boobook , which eBird nicely describes as a “slender brown owl with comically expressive golden eyes” While one would think that such a fierce-looking bird mainly lives off larger prey, this is not the case. It did not seem to bother the owl much though. Oh, the excitement.

Monkeys 147

Monkeys Birds South Korea Owls 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

In southern Africa, there are two species. As I watched, it slowly moved into a patch of dried vegetation and I noticed that it was settling over a single egg. Two or three eggs may be laid and either bird may incubate. I too am fascinated by the name of this species. How do we know this? I am around to learn more.

2011 161

2011 Deer Africa Peru 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. 2012 has certainly been a bumper year for me with an estimated year list of around 3,000 species after extensive travels to South Africa, Ethiopia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Russian Far East, United Kingdom, Peru, Guatemala and Panama.

2012 144

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 144

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

So, it is strange that while books have been written about owls and hawks, and the semi-charismatic seabirds and shorebirds, there have been few books written about woodpeckers. The title is a bit deceptive, for while photographs are a huge part of the book, it is grounded in the 239 species accounts written by woodpecker guru Gerard Gorman.

Woodpeckers 237

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 237

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2022

I know you all want to see Powerful Owls like the one below, so it is always worth a look! Tom saw a Powerful Owl on his visit and so did we, so go and look! Powerful Owl. Powerful Owl in the Royal Botanical Gardens Sydney. Echidna-egg laying mammal-500th post. Here are some links to some of those bird species.

Australia 147

Australia Singapore Birds Battery 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2011

Orlando is so rich in roadside and overhead birds that I kept a list of species seen from the car which ran to 30+ on the first morning and included a Bald Eagle nonchalantly sitting on a street lamp by a Target store. Boat-tailed Grackles count eggs and chicks as part of their diet and they were well represented here today.

2011 116

2011 Alligators Florida Deer 116