10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2013

The next day many New York birders celebrated Independence Day by mobbing the flats where they all dipped. It is a bird of the Pacific coast of North and South America, breeding in western Mexico and southern California. The fact that I was obsessing over seeing one in New York State shows how absurd some of we listers are.

New York 150

New York South America 2013 New Jersey 150

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2012

Originally found on Saturday, 7 January, by Peter Priolo, the Barnacle Goose in these pictures has been present on Eastport Lake in Eastport, New York, since, though it does fly out to feed in nearby fields from time to time. That is, of course, awesome for birders like me who like to see neat geese without having to fly to Europe!

New York 163

New York Geese United States Canada 163

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011

When you are a New York City-based birder that is pretty pleased with the amount of boxes ticked off on your New York State checklist you would normally want a rarity that you have not seen in the state to show up within an hour drive of your home. And I even got to work on time! … a.

New York 162

New York New York City Kazakhstan New Jersey 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

And there’s a good chance that, while they’re at it, they’ll trot out that dubious bit of trivia about the starling being brought to America as a part of some scheme to introduce all the birds mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare to New York City’s Central Park.

Farming 178

Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 178

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2012

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, NY, April 2010 Everyone knows that New York City is an extremely expensive place to live. If one is lucky enough to find a place that one likes one must often pay in rent per month what would easily be a mortgage payment in a more sane part of the country.

New York City 166

New York City New York Jamaica 2010 166

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2014

Don’t get me wrong, they are nice to see, mostly because in winter we have so few shorebirds around in New York, but they are definitely not going to be the red-letter bird of an outing. But when spring comes and they get into high breeding plumage, wow! Birds never cease to amaze me. How do they do it?

Breeding 162

Breeding Eggs New York Birds 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2014

Our campsite was gorgeous North Lake State Park in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where the air is crisp, the forests are largely intact, and the bears force you to be careful about leaving food out when you go to sleep. In other words, it is an awesome place. Mom has a bug! Nom nom nom nom nom. I am adorable!

New York 174

New York Cooking Chipmunks Owls 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2011

Unfortunately for me and other New York City birders, Bobolinks are hard to come by in our marvelous metropolis. In The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State one can see that only the southern tip of our southernmost borough, Staten Island, had breeding Bobolinks between 2000 and 2005.

Breeding 157

Breeding New York City New York 2000 157

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2012

You want to find a Cave Swallow in New York, huh? But what’s the big deal about seeing Cave Swallows in New York anyway? fulva , the nominate subspecies, which is much more orange-rufous than the birds from the “Mexican” population that we see in New York.

New York 104

New York Florida Texas Breeding 104

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2014

On Saturday I awakened at 3:30 AM, tiptoed out of the house as quietly as I could, and headed north and west to Sullivan County, the first of three counties I planned to visit in a series of surgical birding strikes to see (or hear) the birds I had thus far missed this year as they migrated through New York City.

Breeding 152

Breeding New York Breeders Downers 152

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2013

Now that passerine migration has largely wound down the attention of this New York birder has shifted to seabirds, shorebirds, and the occasional trip looking for breeding birds. Dunlin in breeding plumage are sexy beasts.

Eggs 144

Eggs New York Wounded Jamaica 144

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

Amazingly, it was a visiting birder from New York who discovered Neotropic Cormorants breeding in the Wakodahatchee Wetlands. Congratulations to Ardith Bondi for the great find !

Breeding 162

Breeding Florida New York 162

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2020

Just yesterday I learned that the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ) is the only breeding bird found in New York that has been documented nesting in every month of the year. This bit of trivia was given in an article in my local bird club’s monthly newsletter about the ongoing breeding bird atlas in New York State.

2017 223

2017 Barn Owls Rodents Owls 223

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2021

What I enjoy–almost more than any other moment of my birding year–is that special spring day when White-Crowned Sparrows deign to visit my humble home en route to their boreal breeding grounds. Of all the species he saw he had one that was easily his Best Bird of the Weekend, as it was a new bird for him in New York State.

New York 250

New York Sparrows Birds Breeding 250

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 219

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds Sparrows 219

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2011

Though I will grudgingly admit that a few of the birds we saw were alright, like the Northern Gannets in the bay and the Horned Grebes in breeding plumage. An entire weekend’s birding in April, the start of spring migration for the wood-warblers, with no new wood-warblers checked off my year list. What a horrific result!

New York City 162

New York City New York Walruses Birds 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Ring-billed Gulls in Breeding Plumage Ring-billed Gulls in Breeding Plumage By Corey • March 8, 2011 • 3 comments Tweet Share It should come as no surprise to readers of 10,000 Birds that I do not love gulls.

Breeding 145

Breeding 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2012

The Red-winged Blackbirds that were busy staking claims to breeding territory by singing from bushes, trees, and marsh plants were not groggy at all. , John from A DC Birding Blog , and Patrick from The Hawk Owl’s Nest at Jamaica Bay at 8 AM Saturday morning for some birding. Needless to say, I was a bit groggy when I met up with them.

New York 162

New York Honduras Jamaica Geese 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2020

Do not allow familiarity to breed contempt… seek out something fascinating while birding this weekend and share your finds with us! Corey and I are resigned to the same old same old in our respective corners of New York. How about you? Where will you be this weekend and will you be birding?

2020 156

2020 Breeders New York Birds 156

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2020

Our featured spirit this week is Neversink Spirits Gin, the flagship product of Neversink Spirits , a craft distillery in Port Chester, New York. Being located in a great apple-growing state like New York, Neversink uses 100 percent state-grown fruit to produce their apple-based gin. Good birding and happy drinking!

New York 159

New York Connecticut Mississippi North America 159

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Although Henslow’s had been reliably found in nearby Sharon Springs for many years, the last documented sighting was in 2008, and the sighting startled longtime birders, waking them up to the fact that breeding sites in the state were rapidly being lost. birder, as in ‘who needs art?

Birds 261

Birds Sparrows Connecticut New York 261

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2014

All we do is complain about the lack of migrating birds so far and in New York City if southeast winds are blowing we are nearly despondent because southeast winds mean that the birds are moving north but the easterly component of the winds keep usually keep the bulk of birds to our west. … Birds migration wood-warblers'

New York 214

New York United States New York City Breeding 214

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2019

Royal Terns are interesting to me as a New York state birder as they are exclusively coastal and almost entirely a bird we see in fall after they disperse from their breeding grounds. Why do Royal Terns come north to New York waters every fall? It’s nice to find a banded bird and get the information reported.

New York 131

New York Virginia Breeding Family 131

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2021

Spring in western New York was and is a time of melting snow, of ice chunks being rushed along the Niagara River, of when you wondered if this year, would it maybe stay warm in April and not snow again? Wilson’s Plovers are in Breeding Plumage. More Birds are Singing. All the way to Alaska maybe?

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica West Virginia Baltimore Virginia 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2012

Queens, New York, May 2009 May is the month of migration in North America. Just take a look at some of the pictures I digiscoped in the first two days of May to get an idea of how great a month May is in the Borough of Queens, New York City.

New York City 156

New York City New York 2009 Litter 156

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

The Eastern Kingbirds I knew from the fields of upstate New York were smartly dressed birds that perched on fences and chased Red-tailed Hawks. This being an uncommon species in upstate New York, I appreciate having an abundance of Cliff Swallows to look at. Eastern Kingbirds Form Flocks. Swallows Everywhere.

Costa Rica 310

Costa Rica West Virginia New York South America 310

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 107

New York New York City Michigan United States 107

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 158

2020 United States Breeders Birds 158

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2017

Because the European Goldfinches presently found in New York are believed to all be escaped cage birds or, at best, a handful of their first-generation descendants. New York is no more immune to such stunts than other cities. Over time, Pearson’s prediction proved accurate.

New York 103

New York New York City Illinois Wisconsin 103

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2011

Seth Ausubel is one of the best birders in Queens, New York, and Corey is ever-so-thankful that Seth does not use eBird because that way Corey can pretend that he is the top lister in the borough. One of the least known stories of New York birding is the tale of the wild Mitred Parakeets. Are they breeding?

New York City 206

New York City New York Los Angeles South America 206

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2014

Yellow-throated Warblers are a rarity in New York State and as I mentioned earlier this year they are usually considered an “overshoot,” that is, a bird that usually breeds further south that occasionally flies past its breeding grounds during migration before realizing what it has done and turning around to go back to where it belongs.

New York City 180

New York City New York Breeders Breeding 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2017

Newburgh is a little over an hour north of New York City so I figured I could get a visit in to a few great locations for breeding birds that I hadn’t yet seen this year. Well, cooler in terms of the lack of frequency that they turn up for New York birders in New York.

Wildlife 115

Wildlife New York Sparrows New York City 115

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

Small numbers of migrant wood-warblers were around, with Magnolia Warbler , Wilson’s Warbler , and Ovenbird being the highlights, though perhaps Ovenbird breeds there. And then there were the birds that made me remember for sure that I was in Delaware and not in New York. I wish we got more of them in New York.

Delaware 170

Delaware New York Birds North Carolina 170

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2018

Towns across New York state are celebrating Homecoming this weekend, which seems appropriate from the perspective of cooling temps and the urge to nest ahead of winter’s bite. Birds all across the world are leaving last season’s homes for next season’s breeding or wintering grounds.

2018 113

2018 New York Birds Breeding 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. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was an easy one to choose.

New York City 128

New York City 2017 North America New York 128

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2018

When I got home later that day I downloaded my photos and reported the band number to the feds , and then put the photos on the New York Birders Facebook page to ask if anyone knew what the weird little widget attached to the goose was. It was banded in Monmouth County, New Jersey, on 8 March of this year.

New Jersey 116

New Jersey New York Science Canada 116

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

Even better, many of them, adorned in fresh breeding plumage, are at peak pulchritude. Corey and I are covering different parts of New York State. The first weekend of May is not a time to ask if one will be birding; that avian observation will ensue is a foregone conclusion. Birds are on the wing AT THIS VERY MOMENT.

2014 167

2014 New York Birds Breeding 167