10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

She explains complex and sometimes controversial topics including captive breeding, environmental toxins, feral cats and other invasive predators, Hawaiian avian extinction, avian disease, California Condor distribution and history, legal loopholes, and lead poisoning.

California Condor 207

California Condor Falcons California Birds 207

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2020

Lately (in the last month or so) he’s been through the Dakotas, Montana, and Canada, up to the Northwest Territories. Global warming is a factor in nudging birds northward, he says, but not necessarily the only, or main, factor: “bird breeding ranges have probably always been in flux and will be changing for centuries to come.”.

New Hampshire 252

New Hampshire Washington Virginia United States 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

My Dark-eyed Juncos are trilling in preparation to retreat to quieter breeding grounds, the Black-Capped Chickadees sing their two notes, and the Song Sparrows absolutely will not shut up. And yet, perhaps ironically, the biggest sign of spring in a Montana March is when the skies fill with white. The Varied Thrushes came back.

Geese 190

Geese Montana Breeding Pelicans 190

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2018

They just crept west, bit by bit, in a patchwork that included expanded breeding range and wintering territory but not necessarily in the same places or involving the same populations. 1978, for reference, was the year of my birth. 1978, for reference, was the year of my birth.

New York Times 140

New York Times Montana Oregon Deer 140

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2016

A few years back, in Montana, my non-birding friend Kaylen and I quested after the Baikal Teal and encountered legendary success. I’ve seen whole classes of middle-schoolers get enthusiastic over identifying a Mallard in a Golden Guide and sketching it in their nature journals. And in spring, there are such lovely ducks to show them.

Ducks 108

Ducks Montana New York Geese 108

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2013

As you know from my previous post on the species, these birds need to congregate to complete their breeding rituals, so the floor of viable population may well be higher than for similar birds that do not use a lekking system. Especially valuable to a bird like the Sage Grouse.

Nevada 163

Nevada Endangered Species Montana Humane 163

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2011

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. In Central Park , to be exact. It was exciting — to a degree. And that, that was exciting.

New York 172

New York Montana Breeding Fish 172

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2011

I imagine these explorers had the same reaction as the Lewis and Clark expedition as they moved from the tallgrass prairies of North Dakota and Montana into the northern Rockies of western Montana. This bird breeds in shrubby desertlands and is most notable for their active behavior.

Colorado 137

Colorado North Dakota Montana Owls 137

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2014

Though hardly common, Great Gray sightings are a yearly occurrence in Western Montana, and it is one of the twelve species of owl known to breed in the state. As a result, its territory in the Rocky Mountains extends far south of the bulk of its range.

Owls 247

Owls Minnesota Montana 2014 247

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2017

The potholes and associated grasslands create North America’s most productive habitat for breeding waterfowl, making it an area of global significance for Mallards , Northern Pintails , Blue-winged Teals , Gadwalls , Northern Shovelers , and others. But taken as a whole, WPAs total almost 3.8 million acres.

Factory 121

Factory Ducks North Dakota Nebraska 121

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2012

Because when you disappear for two weeks in the middle of a gray Montana autumn (there’s snow on the ground as I write this from back in Missoula,) nothing quite tops coming back and telling all your friends you saw a flamingo, does it? Not quite as cool to non-birders. Not quite as cool to non-birders.

Goats 116

Goats Montana Europe Hunting 116

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

Moving to Montana would surely make a difference, because Evening Grosbeaks aren’t “irruptive” here, they’re just birds, living their lives. And living my life in the same place, I’d find them. I stared at the tree full of Evening Grosbeaks for some time, trying to get a good estimate of the numbers.

Pythons 202

Pythons Litter Montana 2006 202

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2012

My travelling companion, also from the University of Montana creative writing program, was not a nature girl at all, but she could relate to birds that played a role in stories. The White Storks were also among the few birds that I reliably found other people interested in. And overall, areas where good stork P.R.

Spain 184

Spain Europe Industry Rodents 184

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Jennifer Ackerman brings a sense of curiosity and wonder to her material, whether she’s interviewing evolutionary ecologist Christopher Clark about the mechanics of an owl’s silent flight or looking for Northern Pygmy Owl nests in Montana with a team from the Owl Research Institute.

Owls 237

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 237

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2017

Only a little for Ezra, whose suffering was quickly ended, and certainly not for Red-tailed Hawks as a whole – the species is numerous, widespread, adaptable, and not in a position to be devastated by the loss of a single breeding individual.

Feral Cats 114

Feral Cats Suffering Montana 2006 114

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2014

Ferruginous Hawks breed in the grasslands of eastern Montana, but they are rare in the mountains and in winter, so this bird was certainly a surprise. It sat serenely while we scrambled to set up scopes and get our looks, and only took off as we did so ourselves.

Bald Eagle 188

Bald Eagle Falcons Geese Montana 188

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2014

East of the iconic Glacier National Park and south of the Montana Hi-Line memorialized in the work of James Welch, the area around Freezeout put me much in mind of the Charles M. But when the Snow Geese have moved on Freezeout WMA is still a complex of wetlands, never without birds.

Geese 184

Geese Montana Ducks Falcons 184

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

My best bird of the year was without a doubt the Montana Baikal Teal , a bird that combined rarity, beauty, and the good grace to stick around long enough for me to actually see it. Montana’s Baikal Teal by suneko. Making it just under two years old when it came back to the High Arctic to continue the cycle.

2013 168

2013 Birds Costa Rica India 168

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2022

thesis on the “Social Behavior and Cooperative Breeding of Kalij Pheasants” in a place with much nicer sanitary facilities than where I saw the bird (in rural Fujian). A bit surprisingly (at least to me), the Kalij Pheasant has been introduced and established as a gamebird in Hawaii. Examples: California. Connecticut. New Jersey.

Rhode Island 147

Rhode Island Research South Dakota North Dakota 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2013

It has snowed in Montana, it has snowed at the Olde Homestead, and I have commenced my annual Andy Rooney-like wails of anguish about the earlier and earlier appearance of holiday decorations in stores. So, winter is very nearly upon us, and no, I never did find a Yellow-headed Blackbird.

Badgers 186

Badgers Montana North America Abandon 186

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

There’s some excitement in putting up feeders and in discovering which species are gracing us with big invasions this year (2011, Montana: Snowy Owls ) but much of the time its a slog. The second winter (which desperately needs a new name) is a far more rewarding time. And that season is coming to meet them.

Bald Eagle 159

Bald Eagle Montana Owls Dogs 159