10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2021

It was a treat to see several wintering members of the esteemed Parulidae family. An uncommon species in Costa Rica, it was in a brushy area that reminded me of its breeding grounds. Only two of us got a glimpse but that was enough to add it to our long list of species for the day. 171 Species. Agami Heron.

Costa Rica 224

Costa Rica Wildlife Tennessee Owls 224

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

I am still tired from the long drive, but it was great to play with the very best toys for birders, to be able to share experiences and to ask the factory staff all sorts of silly questions. The Lake Neusiedl National Park is Europe’s westernmost steppe lake and an important breeding and wintering area, as well as a migratory stopover site.

Austria 297

Austria Factory Asia Battery 297

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

With 500 pages, this guide is a bit on the heavy side, but still not too much, having in mind that half of the region falls into the tropics and the edition is dealing with almost a thousand species (989 to be exact). Distribution maps show the relative abundance of a species in the region and also indicate resident or visiting status.

Africa 264

Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Starlings, they’ll dutifully explain, are ruthless invasives that have been responsible for the serious declines of several beloved native species, like the Red-headed Woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ) and the Eastern Bluebird ( Sialia sialis ). Good birding and happy drinking! Arrowood Farm Brewery: Starling Brett Farmhouse Ale.

Farming 187

Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 187

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2020

Even photos of the rarest of birds can be found, even heart-wrenching images of bird species that are no longer with us. Species like the Gyrfalcon , the aerial powerhouse of the tundra, of stunning, breeding-plumaged May warblers. These are all of the toucan species that occur in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Birds Species Woodpeckers 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

A family motel and passion for responsible ecotourism brought her home to the Oregon Coast where she and her husband, Erik, adventure and record a podcast ( Hannah and Erik Go Birding ), created in an effort to inspire others to get out and bird. About half of all breeding Wandering Albatross nest on the Prince Edward Islands.

South Africa 263

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2020

Hey, in 1959 Walt Disney set up a studio on the island and filmed Swiss Family Robinson there! By late March, hordes of Laughing Gulls and multiple species of pelagic terns gather for their turn. Both Brown and Red-footed Boobies actively breed on Little Tobago as well as Saint Giles. Today, it very much retains its wild side.

Fish 216

Fish Rights Species Birds 216

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2015

However, there are those species which have a hard time bringing attention to themselves such as Yellow-shouldered Blackbird , Giant Nuthatch , and Vinaceous-breasted Parrot. Regardless of their popularity, these species and the threatened ecosystems they inhabit are equally spectacular. Curassows are such stately birds.

Brazil 215

Brazil California Condor Parrots Texas 215

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2015

Just like we did last year my family spent this past weekend camping at North Lake State Park, up in New York’s gorgeous Catskill Mountains. And, not surprisingly, the breeding birds present were largely the same species as last year which was not a problem at all! Eastern Kingbirds are always a pleasure.

Birds 162

Birds New York Family Sparrows 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

In this first installment, I will focus on my impressions and experiences in the highlands portion of our tour. Many Neotropical families and genera have some of their northernmost members here, such as the spinetails ( Rufous-breasted Spinetail ), Tangara tanagers ( Azure-rumped Tanager ), and guans ( Horned Guan ).

Honduras 216

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 216

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

These arid hills, cloaked in a mosaic of deciduous scrub and desert vegetation, form a northern outpost for several Neotropical species while also harboring several key endemics and southwestern Nearctic species. This poorly documented swallow is a breeding endemic to these high mountains. Photo by Andrew Spencer.

Mexico 193

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 193

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Getting to actually see four species, in the last two weeks, and to hear two more is almost unheard of in my experience. Last week, a good friend, Dan Weisz gave me a tip on the location of a family of Burrowing Owls that were extremely easy to access. Here is a shot of that Northern Pygmy Owl, from Madera Canyon.

Owls 152

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 152

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2021

(The White-tipped Dove is actually called, in Spanish, the Paloma Arroyera , or “Gully Dove” And sorry, I have yet to get a photo of this shy species. Like most of the species on this list, this tiny highland bird prefers to make its presence know by singing, rather than by being seen.

Trinidad 182

Trinidad Emotional Transported Mexico 182

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

Colorful bills and heads seem quite popular among Letaba’s bird species – see the African Jacana (blue and black) … … the Striated Heron (yellow and blue) … … and the Yellow-billed Stork (yellow and red). The Latin species name vermiculatus (worm-like) refers to the markings on the upperparts.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

we learn) that are home to coveted boreal species, breeding wood-warblers, and two species of Grouse. There are 461 species on the Maine checklist. This field guide covers 265 species, the ones most likely to be seen–residential and migratory, almost all nesting birds, many wintering birds.

Los Angeles 198

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 198

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2015

I am within one of Florida’s sub-tropical zones, and my birding experiences have expanded, with life birds galore. I thought so too when I first went out, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how many species I do encounter every day! As part of my new job I work on Okaloosa Island, separated from the beach merely by the dunes.

Florida 157

Florida Birds Mice Breeding 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2011

It may seem like cruel and unusual punishment for we denizens of the New World to spend an entire week celebrating what is surely the coolest family of birds in the world, a family that is sadly absent from the Old World, but it can’t be helped. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

United States 183

United States South America Cooking Family 183

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

After writing this last sentence, I looked up the species in the HBW and found the sentence “Song poorly documented” in the appropriate section, while with regard to calls, the description is that “call is a two-note raspy nasal ‘ryeeh-reh’”.

Singapore 147

Singapore Mountain Goats Birds Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 24, 2015

Green Herons , Eastern Kingbirds , Tree Swallows , Cedar Waxwings , and a host of other species were successful in breeding and there were a lot of birds around. I particularly enjoyed watching and digiscoping the Red-eyed Vireo family that was foraging low and in good light. And the pointy bill is the clincher.

Tennessee 157

Tennessee Experience Experiments Collecting 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.

Birds 115

Birds North America Breeding America 115

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

What species is shown? Though wood-warblers, the mostly brightly colored birds of the family Parulidae, are only found in the New World we felt that birders the world over would be pleased to see a plethora of posts about these striking and sought after species. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

United States 155

United States South America 2011 2012 155

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Most of these birds are small, finch-like species with thick, conical bills for cracking seeds or eating insects. He goes on to describe how early classifications of the nine-primaried oscines relied on bill shape to determine family boundaries. A new perspective on tanagers Much of the core of the tanager family remains intact.

2003 213

2003 Sparrows Family South America 213

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2019

” Landfill often made me wander off into some half-forgotten gulling experience of mine. In one of the first of Dee’s observations about gullers he calls them: “men leaving their homes and their families to spend time peering at arsey birds in some of the arseholes of the world.”.

Angola 186

Angola United Kingdom Mozambique Botswana 186

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2014

Parrots captivate me more than any other bird family. For one, they are remarkably diverse with a little over 380 species spread over every continent except Europe (only introduced) and Antarctica. However, they do not occur evenly across their familial distribution. I am a self-proclaimed psittacophile. Most do not.

Parrots 168

Parrots Brazil Mauritius Dominica 168

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The brilliant orange coloration and rich, haunting song of the Spot-breasted Oriole ( Icterus pectoralis ) makes this species one of my favorite permanent residents in southeastern Florida, even though it is an introduced exotic. How can an introduced species be a favorite among birders? Don’t they compete with native birds?

Miami 174

Miami Costa Rica Florida 2005 174

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

Audubon Associate Naturalist, have led this tour many times, through tornados, droughts, questionable restaurants, and, sadly, the advent of fracking, and every one of my friends who has participated over the years has raved about the experience and the birds (in fact, one member of our group was on his third or fourth trip, I lost count).

North Dakota 140

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 140

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2011

Phoebes are proud members (at least they seem so) of the Family Tyrannidae , the tyrant flycatchers. Of the more than 400 tyrannids, as birds in this family are sometimes called, only three belong to the genus Sayornis , the phoebes. In fact, this is one species that seems to thrive in the face of rampant development.

Argentina 225

Argentina United States North America America 225

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. 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. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 241

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 241

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2018

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to glimpse the home life of albatrosses, nor of any seabird species. We didn’t know much about migration routes, foraging away from the breeding colony, and feeding during migration, in the water and in the air. Technology to the rescue! What about incubation shifts?

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2011

The sighting was easily the best I have ever had of the species, and it was in and out of view for about twenty minutes, foraging in small circuits but always coming back to the stand of thick brush where I had first spotted it. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

Tigers 158

Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

I like observing them, reading about them, grappling with species and subspecies identification, and even—on a good day—talking about sparrow taxonomy. Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America covers 61 species of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae that breed in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.

North America 149

North America Sparrows America United States 149

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2013

But why on earth would you want to go to some sewage ponds when there are so many ways to experience debauchery and dissolution in Las Vegas itself? Avocets, Black-necked Stilts , and Spotted Sandpipers breed at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. Later in the season more species show up. Birds, of course! (

Las Vegas 204

Las Vegas Nevada Birds Blackbirds 204

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Experiments in the field (the famed Asa Wright Nature Center veranda) involving Bananaquits and bananas came up with numbers ranging from 7 to 16, but a tanager always came along to interfere with Bananaquits’ noisy appreciation of their namesake fruit. (2) Which hummingbird was more beautiful—Tufted Coquette or Ruby-topaz Hummingbird? (3)

Trinidad 196

Trinidad Birds South America Research 196

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

So much so that the two species are placed within their own family, Chaetopidae. The species is insectivorous and nests amongst the scree and boulders on the steep mountain slopes. Breeding groups typically occupy territories of around 8 hectares and consist of a breeding pair and one or two helpers.

South Africa 244

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 244

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. I have only seen this species in the massive and beautiful Korup National Park in Cameroon.

Sierra Leone 268

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 268

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

There’s a little hint of white in the malar and throat too, which would seem to be a problem for the species Black- chinned Sparrow. Once you know that hybridization between these two species is, as the great ornithologist Charles Townsend relates, “extensive” , the possibilities are endless.

New Jersey 224

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 224

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2011

For many birders a highlight of birding the southeastern United States, maybe even the definitive birding experience of the region, is taking in the great numbers and diversity of long-legged wading birds. It was all to easy to catch opportunities for inter-species interactions, like the one below consisting of four species of fish-eaters.

South Carolina 157

South Carolina Alligators Florida United States 157