10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2022

Alberto Lobato, an ornithologist from the eastern side of Mexico, would be in Morelia, and could we go birding? ” (Actually, Chivizcoyo is a common name for Mexico’s legendary Bearded Wood-Partridge.) Early July is right in the middle of month-and-a-half where I have seen the Sinaloa Martin. (I So I had hope.

Mexico 147

Mexico United States Breeding Penguins 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2021

Those infinitely patient saints who read all my ramblings know that over the past year I have been obsessed with the gradual disappearance of Mexico’s second-largest lake, Lake Cuitzeo, just north of my home city of Morelia. The good news is that this summer central Mexico is experiencing its best rains since 2018.

San Francisco 264

San Francisco 2018 Mexico Ducks 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2020

One of the ways I could describe the unique mix of birds I can see here in southwestern Mexico, would be to divide our species into five categories. The invasive species are few, but, unfortunately, very numerous. But there is a final group of species here, about which I have not written very much.

Mexico 201

Mexico Birds Honduras United States 201

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Yet they also bring up questions, which I’m going to talk about right now before diving into the specifics of the guides themselves. An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed.

Costa Rica 223

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 223

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2020

Perhaps one of my reasons for going to the lake was that it guarantees more species in one day than any of my other sites. But I am also always eager to get a better handle on the migration dates for our wintering species, and April is a great month for that. How on earth do they breed so quickly up north?)

Mexico 169

Mexico Breeding Ducks North America 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2022

Jonathan is originally from San Blas on Mexico’s west coast, a birder’s paradise I have yet to visit. Snowy Plovers also breed half an hour north of my home, so we have those in common. With so few birding “boots on the ground”, many of Mexico’s best spots are yet to be discovered. Feast your eyes.

San Diego 256

San Diego Turtles Mexico Sparrows 256

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2021

Still, again with the help of the guides from Alpinebirding , we managed to get to the right places to see birds. Pallas’s Gull also breeds at Qinghai Lake, though the numbers are sadly much reduced: “The numbers breeding at L Qinghai, China, has apparently fallen from > 87,000 in 1970s to c. of time loafing, 17.5%

China 229

China Birds Fish 2006 229

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

In the early day, the light was just right. Later in the day, several difficult species decided to be less difficult. There were six species of wild ducks, along with the usual few released domestic ducks. One of my ornithologist friends commented, “I hope they stay to breed there.” Which is hard.

Ducks 236

Ducks Fish Breeding Species 236

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Terns of North America covers 19 species of terns, noddies, and skimmers that breed and are regular vagrants in the United States and Canada (like many books titled “North America” the geographical coverage stops at the northern end of the Mexico border). Note that these are not all species accounts!

North America 213

North America America Species Groups 213

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2021

and Canada and winter in northeastern Mexico, while the sedentary wrens of central Mexico, Central America, and South America are now to be identified as Grass Wrens. That’s 100% Barn Owl butt, right there. But its two mixed-breed children would make an 80’s British soccer club proud, with their punk hairstyles.

Barn Owls 261

Barn Owls Owls Mexico Leopards 261

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2020

Niagara Falls State Park, right above the cataracts, is where I used to bike to on May days to see dozens of fantastic chestnut Bay-breasted Warblers whispering from the canopy, American Redstarts and Tennessee Warblers and Nashville Warblers filling the woods with song. One of the common species of middle elevation habitats in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Panama Nashville Baltimore 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2023

It seems he had looked long and wide for this species. They have come over the years seeking specific species. For the most part, I have been able to show them the species they sought. For the most part, I have been able to show them the species they sought. Happily, I was able to show him three individuals that day.

Mexico 217

Mexico Cuba Species 2014 217

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2023

That’s 18 species in one book. This is more than a collection of species accounts. There are also two pages illustrating the “Holistic Approach,” silhouettes of each species (Western birds on the left, Eastern birds on the right), that allow for comparison of structure, size, and shape.

Los Angeles 220

Los Angeles North America America Species 220

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2024

Work brings me regularly to Monterrey in Nuevo Leon, northern Mexico. The day was only minutes old and we already had 32 species on the day list. Our agave flower stalk had three species of hummingbird drinking nectar, dive-bombing and stabbing each other: Blue-throated Mountain-gem, Lucifer Hummingbird and Broad-tailed Hummingbird.

Parrots 163

Parrots Woodpeckers Industry Fast Food 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2022

Necessity being the mother of invention, and all that, the almost-total disappearance of Mexico’s second-largest lake in the spring of 2021 forced me to try a new birding route last May. Admittedly, early May is too late to find most duck species in Michoacán, even in a good year.) Spoiler alert: I did not see any Canvasbacks.

Ducks 221

Ducks Mexico Fish Species 221

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2021

The males can compete with Painted Buntings for their neon colors, and the females, like those of that related species, have their own subtle beauty. (It’s It is always a species they have dreamed of seeing for years.). And breeding season allows me to notice certain details that I might miss during the rest of the year.

Woodpeckers 230

Woodpeckers Hunters Falcons Breeding 230

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. Covering 1,261 species with data and taxonomy current up to August 2017, the field guide is an exciting achievement.

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2019

It’s also a big time for bird movements, a period punctuated by waves of migrants, first the early ones, then a time of many species, and finally, those last “late” migrants moving north. Several come to Costa Rica and a lot of those are, right at this moment, on the move.

Costa Rica 143

Costa Rica South America Tennessee Philadelphia 143

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2017

Spring is in the air, and all around the Baja desert I am seeing a plethora of species, all looking for love, in what appears to the right places. A member of the small Ptiliogonatidae family of silky-flycatchers, of which there are only three other species besides our local Phainopepla , Phainopepl nitens.

Costa Rica 106

Costa Rica Panama Nevada Guatemala 106

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2018

Of the 300 hummingbird species across the globe, North America only sees fewer than two dozen of them. Many fly through these Texas hotspots, transforming physics into magic right before our eyes! Then, I learned that over 400 species of birds have been identified in and around these islands. So let’s plan that trip, shall we?

Texas 184

Texas North America Alaska America 184

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2013

The Montana Field Guide, a helpful online compendium provided by the state government, lists seven species. Three of those — the Black-chinned , Calliope , and Rufous Hummingbirds — breed in the Missoula area. I examine the species accounts in detail, searching for clues. It breeds into Alaska.

Montana 214

Montana Alaska Stray New York 214

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

So, if you are going to write a field guide on the birds of the countries south and east of Mexico–Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—it makes the utmost sense that you embrace the whole geographic area. Each species account lists the basics—common name, scientific name, measurements in inches and centimeters.

El Salvador 234

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 234

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2021

But winter, with our many migratory visitors, and spring, with the height of our dry season pulling many non-urban (and some unexpected) species to the birdbath, can make even my back window a thrilling spot. Earlier in the day in which I write these words, I saw 21 species, all without leaving my home and yard.

Nashville 161

Nashville Sparrows Virginia Rights 161

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2014

There are four generally recognized groups within the complex, “ Myrtle ” ( coronata ) of eastern and northern North America, “ Audubon’s ” ( auduboni ) of the western United States and western Canada, “ Black-fronted ” ( nigrifrons ) of Mexico, and “ Goldman’s ” ( goldmani ) of Guatemala.

United States 242

United States 2011 Guatemala North America 242

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2013

The family Regulidae comprises six small, hyperactive species that range through the great boreal and temperate forests North and Middle America, North Africa, and Eurasia. Don Roberson has a great family page too, and a couple of years ago, Corey compiled some of the best kinglet photos from right here on 10,000 Birds.

Family 185

Family Guatemala Mexico Japan 185

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2016

For the most part, this largest of the five frigatebird species actually is, but only to the other costal birds out looking for a meal. They will also fly thru the large breeding areas of many different shorebirds, and pluck an unattended baby right out of the nest. A couple of fun facts about the Magnificent Frigatebirds.

Turtles 129

Turtles Mexico Rescue Breeding 129

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2016

Data were collected from the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the Pan-European Common Birds Monitoring Scheme. From the Abstract and summary: Changes in climate can cause populations of species to decline, to increase, or to remain steady. looked across species of common birds in Europe and the United States.

North America 120

North America Europe America United States 120

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

The hope and claim is that transferring this process to gull identification works more easily and just as accurately (at least for species) as an examination of plumage and molt patterns. Species Accounts. Gulls Simplified covers 25 species. From the Laughing Gull species account.

North America 205

North America America El Salvador Nicaragua 205

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. Below is the logo. Leave your best guess in the comments.

United States 155

United States South America 2011 2012 155

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

North America 279

North America America Birds California Condor 279

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

So perhaps it is more right to say that the tropics are hummingbird-looking. So looking at a Rufous Hummingbird and seeing the tropics is a bit of an error (although the majority of individuals who don’t get lost winter in Mexico.)

South America 157

South America New York Alaska America 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2011

We will have posts on a variety of individual species of wood-warblers, wood-warbler taxonomy, searches for difficult-to-find wood-warblers, and a host of other topics. Many other non-migratory wood-warbler species are living their lives across the neotropics, doing their best to survive and pass on their genes.

United States 187

United States South America Cooking Family 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

We spent almost 4 months crossing the USA and had an amazing time, although it was not the right time of year for Wood-Warblers. We did however see a Yellow-rumped Warbler at Elephant Butte Lake, New Mexico on 16th November 1989 and a Townsend’s Warbler at Big Sur, California on 3rd December 1989.

South Africa 159

South Africa United States Austin Alligators 159

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

A Field Guide to the Birds: Giving Field Marks of All Species Found in Eastern North America was published in 1934 by Houghton Mifflin (note–Peterson was 26 years old), after being rejected by four publishers. Adding the 76 new species in the Hawaii section, this makes coverage of approximately 884 species.

North America 218

North America America Hawaii Birds 218

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 159

Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 159

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2011

That’s right, there is another Beat Writer at 10,000 Birds! His summers during college were spent as a biological technician, monitoring breeding birds for Point Reyes Bird Observatory in Eastern Oregon, and also five seasons in Black Hills, SD, working for the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.

Brazil 160

Brazil Venezuela Iowa Guatemala 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2016

Snow has touched down in some places up north, up there on the breeding grounds of Mourning Warblers , Baltimore Orioles , and Sharp-shinned Hawks. Once in a while, I hear these and other species in my tiny backyard, a piece of green space so small that I feel like I would be lying if I referred to it as a patch.

Costa Rica 135

Costa Rica Baltimore Illinois Honduras 135