10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2012

Because it is much more interesting to predict the birds that will get me to my 300th Queens bird I will break from my tradition and predict my next eleven birds this time unlike the last three times I played this game and predicted my next ten. Sadly, it did not stick around to breed though I thought that it might.

Connecticut 171

Connecticut 2011 2012 Jamaica 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2022

Ndumo Game Reserve lies in the Easternmost part of South Africa, close to the border of Mozambique and Eswatini. Pel’s Fishing Owl, where were you? It is not particularly big but has a reported 430 bird species including migrants, though during my short stay it seems I missed most of the key attractions among them.

South Africa 147

South Africa Africa Birds Fish 147

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 212

Birds Owls Switzerland Lions 212

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Larry starts us off right with an owl that makes birders drool: I was able to see and photograph many great birds in 2014 but my Best Bird of the Year would have to be the Great Gray Owl , the largest Strix in North America. Larry’s BBOTY – Great Gray Owl. What was yours? Maybe I should not say that….who

2014 188

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 188

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2013

The ABA currently lumps the Mangrove Warbler and Golden Warbler with the Yellow Warbler (the IOC lumps Mangrove and Golden Warbler together but splits them from the Yellow Warbler that breeds in North America.) Chuk makes his quip about the Black-winged Yellow Bird; my friend Molly insists that everything is a duck, a pigeon, or an owl.

Connecticut 174

Connecticut Baltimore North America New York City 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

we learn) that are home to coveted boreal species, breeding wood-warblers, and two species of Grouse. And there is original artwork too, by Catherine Hamilton, birder, tour leader, journaling workshop instructor, board game artist, professional bird artist, and Pasadena Audubon member.

Los Angeles 195

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 195

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

When you review the system, it makes perfect sense: falcons are placed with hawks, nightjars are next to owls, and grebes are close to ducks, rather than separated from them by quail and grouse. It also makes me, personally, approach the guide with some skepticism. I like the arrows!

North America 208

North America America Hawaii Birds 208

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2024

Wader watching in spring is always exciting, as so many of these birds are transformed when they acquire their breeding finery. The Woodcock were disturbed by beaters driving Pheasants for a game shoot. Always a good bird to see: a Short-eared Owl. Every year I look forward to the return of our summer breeding birds.

Spain 130

Spain Eagles North America Ducks 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2023

These birds (usually juveniles) are clearly linked to the growing breeding population in the region. Pallid Swifts were already back at their breeding sites, while the marshes provided a host of waders, including year-ticks such as Whimbrel, Curlew Sandpiper and Kentish Plover. These are Dunlins.

Estonia 225

Estonia Portugal Greece Barn Owls 225

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. Not this one though.

Birds 197

Birds China Eggs Owls 197

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Nowhere else in Africa do the preconceived ideas of the continent really exist in such living detail; tall, red-robed Maasai herding their skinny cattle, endless grasslands studded with flat-topped Acacia trees and grazed by herds of zebras and wildebeest, and dramatic volcanic calderas brimming with big game and fierce predators!

Tanzania 216

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 216

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Sandhill Hunt: They’re Voting Now Sandhill Cranes: Game Birds? They reach breeding maturity at four to seven years of age, produce only one chick per nesting season, and only one in three offspring survive to fledging age. This slow reproduction rate is unlike any other avian game species currently hunted.

2011 246

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 246

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2011

I also missed easy birds like Snowy Owl and Swainson’s Warbler. Bicknell’s Thrush is a bird that is important to me because I grew up in New York’s Catskill Mountains, one of the places that it breeds. But that is all part of the game that is the big year. When and where did you see yours during your big year?

New York City 157

New York City New York New Hampshire Research Center 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

Another 170 are in captivity, many of them breeding stock for reintroduction efforts. That’s what you do with other game, right? There are 400 whooping cranes left in the wild, 100 of them in the eastern population. One percent of the wild population of whooping cranes fell to guns this winter alone. Wicked, right?

2011 242

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 242

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2022

Lango Camp is situated along the mineral-rich baï in the heart of the park, visited by Forest Buffalo, Forest, Elephant, Sitatunga and Bongo antelopes, Allen’s Swamp Monkey, large flocks of African Grey Parrots … Game viewing on foot or by motorboat. Game viewing on foot, by 4×4 or by motorboat.

Central African Republic 289

Central African Republic Congo Gabon Gorillas 289

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2022

The most challenging endemics include a trio of secretive ground-hugging thrushes, the nocturnal chestnut-backed owlet and Serendib scops owl (though some guides may know where to locate their daytime roosts), and the iconic but frustratingly elusive Sri Lanka blue magpie , which is most noisy and conspicuous at dawn and dusk.

Sri Lanka 147

Sri Lanka Ghana Uganda Eagles 147