10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

A breeding bird atlas is a special kind of book. Corey did just this in this 2011 posting about Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus in New York State. The project planning team worked with the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to develop a new type of Internet data atlassing application, based on eBird.

Pennsylvania 239

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds Sparrows 239

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2011

Also, I somehow doubt that whether I am stuck at work or not really influences how everyone else experiences spring but this is my blog post so I can use whatever criteria I want to measure how well spring has gone. I moped all the way to Coney Island where I drove with my family on an outing to the New York Aquarium.

New York City 166

New York City New York Walruses Birds 166

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2020

Despite the shortage of migrants Mike made his annual run to Rush Oak Openings–New York’s only oak openings–for reliable Blue-winged Warbler and was not disappointed. While Mike was busy looking for breeding wood-warblers I spent my time scouring Queens for something new for my year list.

2020 166

2020 United States Breeders Birds 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2021

July in New York City is generally an unpleasant experience. This is why New Yorkers in summer have fled the city for the mountains upstate, the beaches on Long Island, or, really, anywhere, for as long as New York has been a metropolis. Not only that, but the birding is typically not great either.

Jamaica 264

Jamaica Birds New York City New York 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 14, 2018

Second, the Kirtland’s Warbler was the last “eastern warbler” I needed to see not just in the United States but in New York State. Third, Kirtland’s Warbler has only recently made the New York State checklist with two sightings in 2014. ( One of which is documented here.

New York 113

New York New York City Michigan United States 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2017

Seriously, cardinals are both gorgeous and interesting , but their familiarity across most of North America breeds indifference if not contempt. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was an easy one to choose.

New York City 145

New York City 2017 North America New York 145

Animal Person

MARCH 18, 2009

The New York Times presents us, this morning, with "Equine Alternative" regarding the recent discovery that horses decided to allow themselves be domesticated by humans for our mutual benefit, earlier than we had thought (3500 BC, and we preciously thought it was more like 2500 BC). And that fact gives rise to a thought-experiment.

Experience 100

Experience Experiments Horses Transported 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2014

Corey greatly enjoyed his weekend in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of upstate New York with family and friends. In addition to the camping and camaraderie he took some time to catch up to the local breeding birds of which there were quite a few. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2014 171

2014 Colombia New York Birds 171

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2017

Of course, snow and cold still dominate upstate New York, but beautiful, belligerent Blue Jays don’t much care; some have lingered throughout the dark months, but fresh reinforcements have arrived to stake out territory. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

2017 100

2017 New York Birds Breeding 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. Jennifer Ackerman points out in the introduction to What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds , that we don’t know much, but that very soon we may know a lot more. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 224

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 224

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2012

Yet if you roasted this weekend like we did in western New York, you’re probably a little scared of what July and August will look like! If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Here in the U.S., What was your best bird of the weekend?

2012 159

2012 New York Fish Birds 159

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2016

June in the Northern Hemisphere brings birds on their breeding grounds, some still frisky and others settled down taking care of their chicks. I experienced some of my best birding in a long time as I explored some new trails at my mother-in-law’s rural Pennsylvania home. What a weekend! How about you?

2016 100

2016 Pennsylvania Jamaica New York 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

Rufous Hummingbirds have a well-earned reputation for getting lost — they breed along the west coast but turn up in New York in fall and winter pretty regularly — and an equally well-earned reputation for hardiness, as they breed farther north than any other hummingbird species, into Alaska.

South America 158

South America New York Alaska America 158

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

This would have allowed you to summarize your experience in sentences such as “A total of 98 boluses regurgitated by 52 chicks aged 1 day to 11 days after hatching form the sample and are shown to contain 323 food items.” It concludes that human activity influences the breeding activity of the lapwing. End of side note.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

The book is organized into ten chapters, framed by a Prologue and Epilogue focused on Weidensaul’s banding experience in Denali National Park. His participant observations connect to his own research experiences, providing history and perspective. Weidensaul traveled to each location to witness the research in process.

Cyprus 259

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 259

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2012

Though birds sing because it is a biological imperative I find it hard to believe that they don’t get some basic enjoyment out of the experience as well. All of the birds are breed in Queens and I look forward to seeing them until they leave again in the fall. I would add a third – for the sheer joy of it! I know I do!

New York City 182

New York City Birds New York Experience 182

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! That’s my boy!

Birds 162

Birds New York Family Sparrows 162

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

The seasonal life of one bird species is complex; life cycle events like aging, breeding, molt, and migration are intricately tied to habitat, food availability, genetic ‘instincts,’ hours of daylight, and weather. But a lot will be new, particularly the many studies that prove these are real changes supported by hard data.

Research 176

Research Birds Hoarding Sweden 176

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2011

The first time I saw a Western Tanager , it was in New York. Moreover, at the time I had no inkling that I’d be moving to Montana in two and a half years – in fact, it would be nearly a year before I decided to go to grad school and entertained the notion of leaving New York at all.

New York 169

New York Montana Breeding Fish 169

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Red-breasted Nuthatch at Jones Beach State Park, New York Ron Pittaway’s famous winter finch forecast includes some some non-finch irruptives, including Red-breasted Nuthatch. Remember that friend of mine that saw 17 breeding pairs of Snowy Owls in a single valley? Thank a pine cone. Or a spruce cone.

United States 271

United States Owls Atlanta New York 271

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2013

His best bird, however, was a bit of a surprise – a Winter Wren in Queens on Friday, a very late bird for New York City. He heard another on breeding territory in Sullivan County on Sunday and wondered if the bird he saw Friday had made its way north. If only we could recognize birds as individuals! How about you?

New York City 156

New York City 2013 New York Birds 156

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

.” They conclude that many non-vocalizing Empidonax flycatchers can be identified in the field, but only “when several field characters are used in combination–and after one has gained experience in looking at these characters on singing/calling and captive birds (i.e., known-identity).”**

Los Angeles 225

Los Angeles North America America Species 225

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2011

I enjoyed a few fancy summer breeding birds this weekend, but if I have to choose, my favorites were the Eastern Bluebirds. Corey’s best bird of the weekend was undoubtedly another New York State resident, maybe even a proud Bald Eagle … Happy 4th of July!

Bald Eagle 160

Bald Eagle 2011 New York Birds 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2013

Now it is a book from a swank New York publishing house, with a fantastic jacket design and a significant marketing push (I ran across a quote from it in Outside magazine yesterday, and of course it is being reviewed on the premeire birding blog on the entire Internet.)

Turtles 171

Turtles Indiana New York Ethics 171

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2012

Flugum in Birding from a Tractor Seat Though almost every time that I have heard a Hermit Thrush sing was high in the Catskill Mountains or Adirondack Mountains I did once hear a Hermit Thrush doing a very soft version of its song in late winter in Forest Park in Queens, New York. … a.

New York 182

New York United States Breeding Emotional 182

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Steve Howell has spent decades of experience in the field studying the birds of Belize, Costa Rica, and especially Mexico. They also occasionally show breeding colonies or isolated populations, possible occurrences, and directions of range expansion. I don’t think scientific artwork holds less value when used more than once.

Costa Rica 227

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 227

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2017

It’s fairly easy to guess that oud bruin means “old brown” in Dutch – and with that I’m going to end the Dutch lessons because, while it was once spoken here in Albany, New York, it was supplanted by English a few centuries ago and I don’t know a lick of it beyond a handful of beer terms. Good birding and happy drinking!

Penguins 100

Penguins Cooking Belgium New York 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2012

Eurasian Wrynecks are found breeding across the temperate zones of Europe and Asia. Many thanks to Swarovski Optik for inviting me along and letting me experience both some awesome new optics and the natural wonders of the wonderful country of Hungary. ••• a. They migrate to warmer climes in Africa and south Asia to winter.

Hungary 175

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 175

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2012

There is no better place to find grasspipers in New York State than the sod farms on eastern Long Island in autumn. The only thing that could have made the experience with Tryngites subruficollis better would have been some sunlight. What great little birds!

Farming 158

Farming Argentina South America United States 158

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

To research this book, he traveled extensively to see as many woodpeckers as he could; this field experience was supplemented with museum research and consultations with other experts, plus a library of print material ranging from field guides to scientific papers.

Woodpeckers 252

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2011

This cruel, cruel fate we endure in western New York torments man and beast alike. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Cats Are Still Public Enemy Number One, For Birds The New York Times and Tweety have it absolutely correct. And my first Killdeer of year!

2011 156

2011 New York Deer Birds 156

Animal Ethics

JUNE 17, 2007

People who adopt from animal shelters will tell you that it’s not only a rewarding experience, but also that shelters are filled with a smorgasbord of the most amazing, delightful, intelligent dogs you’ll ever find on the planet. You can find purebreds, mixed breeds and designer dogs.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Tulsa Purebred 40

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2018

New York City apartments don’t allow feeders to be hung from fire escapes (though I know certain birders that skirt that rule), and it wasn’t until I had already been birding for four-and-a-half years that I obtained a small yard in central New Jersey in which I could place a feeder or two or three. I came late to bird feeding.

Birds 182

Birds New York City Squirrels New York 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

This is an endemic breeding bird in North America and much is now being done by various federal and non-profit groups to ensure and foster its conservation. Piping plovers are always a treat to see, whether at their coastal or inland breeding grounds or whether at their southern wintering grounds. Wicked, right? Hat-tip to Stella.

Florida 200

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 200

Animal Person

AUGUST 1, 2009

Something interesting happened when I read New York Times columnist Bob Herbert's article about the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., I look forward to the day the paragraph I wrote can be published in the New York Times, and not result in accusations of terrorism, fanaticism, extremism or inciting people to violence.

Obama 100

Obama New York Times New York illegal 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2017

I started the year in Florida, traveled to India with the ABA in February, combined family and birding in an August trip to California, and in-between saw very good birds in New York and New Jersey. There is no experience comparable to birding a dump, and, I have to say, I have never experienced a dump like this one.

2016 113

2016 India Ducks Birds 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

Share Your Thoughts « A First Christmas Bird Count Experience Cerulean Warbler Gets a Boost in Colombia » To learn more about 10,000 Birds, Mike, Corey, or the many marvelous Beat Writers, please click here. Cats Are Still Public Enemy Number One, For Birds The New York Times and Tweety have it absolutely correct.

Brazil 187

Brazil Wildlife 2011 Deer 187