10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2022

I’ve never known quite what to do with the two Cardinal sightings I have had near our church in Morelia, since that species is not supposed to be seen there, or to be migratory, but both sightings occurred in winter. So yes, this appears to be a breeding population.]. I have seen two Godwit species at Lake Cuitzeo.

Mexico 212

Mexico 2018 Ducks Breeding 212

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

But it is the height of migratory season here in central Mexico, and that made me also spend some time thinking about this issue of connectivity, and the artificial separations we humans attempt to create. I am so recently arrived that I still have my Canadian (breeding) plumage. Empidonax Flycatchers (7 different species!)

North America 235

North America United States America Mexico 235

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 187

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. In the summer, they are the highest altitude breeding songbird in North America. New Mexico Nature & Culture. So let’s look at this sampler, shall we? So let’s look at this sampler, shall we?

America 261

America Arizona North America Texas 261

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

These lands support countless birds, either year-round, as migratory stopovers, or as breeding grounds. In fact, the overwhelming majority of federal land is in just 11 western states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). But what else should birders know?

Virgin Islands 203

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 203

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2024

Warblers, thrushes, buntings, and other migrants move across the Gulf of Mexico in an extremely stressful, marathon flight from the Yucatan Peninsula to the Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida before spreading throughout the flyways and heading north.

Texas 184

Texas Alabama Alligators Nashville 184

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

When I got back into birding about six years ago, I would not have predicted the personal bonds a birder can form with certain species. While all birds bring us joy, and we certainly want to see as many as we can, some species just seem more… special. I’ll start with two species that are especially hard to find.

Mexico 155

Mexico Birds South America Turkey 155

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2017

and it breeds in the scrublands of Texas, Oklahoma, and northern Mexico. It winters on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The processes of listing and delisting a species under the Endangered Species Act are largely the same: FWS must propose a “rule,” which is published in the Federal Register.

Endangered Species 124

Endangered Species Species Texas Oklahoma 124

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2022

Cedar Waxwing: For most birders in Mexico, 2021 will be remembered as the year of the Waxwings. I had only seen this species once here, in 2018. Virginia Warbler: The Virginia Warbler is a common species in the thorn forest of the Balsas River Basin, so I had seen it often. How did I miss that? I don’t care. In my garden!

Mexico 212

Mexico Birds Virginia Barn Owls 212

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 21, 2021

Of course, I also go there several other times each year; I have, after all, seen 160 species at this endemic-rich site. The reason for this annual pilgrimage is a single species, the Sinaloa Martin. All sightings southeast of the species’ Puerto Vallarta-to-Los Mochis breeding area are of migrating birds.

2016 260

2016 2015 Nicaragua Mexico 260

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 187

Mexico Birds Honduras United States 187

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2020

This sort of biozone mixing can create a tremendous richness of species. Each of these habitats attracts its own group of species. I mentioned last week the Jamaican Nettletree, whose tiny fruit was attracting all kinds of species — even some I thought did not eat fruit or seeds. This one was a true lifer for me.

Mexico 235

Mexico Lamb Nicaragua Sparrows 235

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.) Mexico boasts ten Swift species.) And now, he was seeing his final Mexican Swallow species, out of twelve.

Mexico 147

Mexico United States Breeding Penguins 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2022

American White Pelicans spend their winter months along the Gulf states, California, parts of Arizona, and Mexico down into Central America. They migrate north through the Western United States, breeding in pockets all the way up through Canada. No matter how many times I see them, this particular species remains breathtaking.

Pelicans 221

Pelicans United States Canada Arizona 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

It’s not clear how many of the plates have been touched up, redrawn or are new, and I hope we’ll learn more about the process, perhaps when the third book in the series by Howell and Dyer, a new guide to the birds of Mexico, is published.* Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. © 2023 by Steve N.

Costa Rica 206

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 206

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2013

Unlike the more common American Goldfinch, the Lesser Goldfinch’s ( Spinus psaltria ) plumage does not change color during breeding season. Eastward, frequency of individuals with black on auriculars, neck, and back increases; southward into Mexico, nearly all adult males have completely black upperparts 1.

California 163

California Species North America Oregon 163

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

King Rails occur widely in eastern North America, in eastern and central Mexico, and in Cuba. So, Maley suggests recognizing four species, instead of the two currently recognized. These are brightly colored birds that breed in freshwater environments. The photo above, one of mine, shows a Clapper Rail in Louisiana.

Species 213

Species North America Cuba Louisiana 213

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Walking along a dirt track next to a prairie, my friend and I were on the look-out for different sparrow species when a large bird suddenly darted into the clearing. In fact, they are central to many Mexican and Native American spiritual beliefs, and have been named the state bird of New Mexico.

New Mexico 101

New Mexico Mexico Coyotes Rattlesnake 101

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 162

Mexico Breeding Ducks North America 162

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 244

San Diego Turtles Mexico Sparrows 244

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2022

The only one that occurs in western Mexico, where I live, is the Gray-breasted Wood-Wren. It’s a long drive, at least an hour of steadily climbing twists and turns; but there are high-altitude species I can only see there. I was not disappointed, as four FOY (First Of Year) species turned up.

Mexico 185

Mexico South America Species America 185

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2022

Although I had seen these birds several times before, always in this same area, I had certainly never achieved “the” photo one desires for each species. I rarely dedicate an entire post to just one species, so I’ll throw in a few very colorful Tanagers as a bonus. This species, however, sticks around to breed.

Humane 194

Humane Wildlife Mexico Breeding 194

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

A breeding bird atlas is a special kind of book. For the nature lovers and birders who participate in breeding bird surveys, the atlas represents hours, often hundreds of hours, of volunteer time spent within a community of citizen scientists doing what they love, observing birds. So, what exactly does a breeding bird atlas contain?

Pennsylvania 222

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds Sparrows 222

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2021

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. Not the kind of behavior that makes a management consultant like me appreciate a species. 15,000 in 2006” (HBW). sleeping, 5.7%

China 211

China Birds Fish 2006 211

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

For us, it’s all about birds moving north during the warm season to breed, and south to escape the winter cold. Those that move south to Mexico in the fall come as much for the abundance of winter food sources, as for winter warmth. On that occasion I counted 40 individuals from 10 different species.

Mexico 175

Mexico Alaska Falcons Species 175

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2021

The most common one, Manila tamarind, is wildly inaccurate, since the tree is native to southwestern Mexico, not Manila, and its only connection to tamarind trees is that both are in different subfamilies of the huge legume family. What I didn’t realize, at the time, was that this pulp is also enjoyed by many bird species.

2016 272

2016 2020 Mexico California 272

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For, in birder lingo, a split occurs when subspecies are determined to be, in fact, entirely separate species. If you happen to have seen both species, your life list can increase without you even leaving the house. Two former species can also be joined into one, the same way. And there was great rejoicing thoughout the land!)

San Diego 171

San Diego San Francisco Mexico Baltimore 171

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2023

Pelee National Park – Ohio Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge – Texas These locations offer a variety of habitats including marshes, wetlands, forests, coastal areas, and deserts, attracting numerous bird species throughout the year. Please note that the availability of specific bird species may vary depending on the season.

United States 162

United States Michigan Texas Virginia 162

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 196

North America America Species Groups 196

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 203

Los Angeles North America America Species 203

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2020

Yes, the birding is truly exciting but we just don’t have the annual parade of breeding plumaged, singing warblers, grosbeaks, and orioles. Yes, the same species as the ones that birders pine for in the borderlands even though the ones in Costa Rica have yellow bellies. Slate-throated Redstart. Rufous-capped Warbler.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Panama Nashville Baltimore 264

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. But its two mixed-breed children would make an 80’s British soccer club proud, with their punk hairstyles. It is quite old, and quite, well, hairless.

Barn Owls 254

Barn Owls Owls Mexico Leopards 254

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2022

Most of our readers are not likely to be able to ID this bird, because it only occurs in Mexico and Guatemala. But it wasn’t the day’s first FOY species. As it turned out, these were not the only bad photos to help me flesh out my 2022 year list that day (species 201-211, on February 12th).

Mexico 177

Mexico Guatemala South America United States 177

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2020

I am only responding to my subjective impression of a single species’ appearance here; specifically, that of the Bronzed Cowbird. Especially when I compare it with the other cowbird present in central Mexico, the Brown-headed Cowbird. In contrast, the Brown-headed Cowbird is a same-continent invasive species.

Birds 153

Birds Blackbirds Mexico Cattle 153

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

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.” ” And so do I.)

Ducks 223

Ducks Fish Breeding Species 223

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

There’s a new proposal before the American Ornithologists’ Union’s North American Classification Committee to split Painted Bunting into two species (yay! — maybe, more later) and to name the new species “Eastern Painted Bunting” and “Western Painted Bunting” (no!).

Mississippi 265

Mississippi Mexico Alabama North Carolina 265