10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2024

White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) Notwithstanding the fact that nearly all of the endemics and other native species are extinct the islands of St Helena and Ascension remain very popular for birdwatchers and especially photographers because they are both major breeding sites for seabirds. BirdLife international has designated St.

Birds 225

Birds Madagascar ALA 2000 225

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2023

Frequently the field guide presents a curated selection of species on the same plate to illustrate key differences essential to nailing a positive identification. The largest and bulkiest of the three is the more or less ever-present Streaked Flycatcher. In reality these species are rarely in the same place at the same time, however!

Trinidad 154

Trinidad Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 154

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2016

In Costa Rica, June is breeding bird count season. As one might expect with a breeding bird count, it also gives me an idea of which birds are where, and whether or not other species are still around (side benefits for guiding on that same route as well as future Big Days).

Breeding 101

Breeding Costa Rica Birds Panama 101

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2021

The adventure of the second European Breeding Bird Atlas, or EBBA2, was the topic of one of my first posts here at 10,000 Birds: In a warm Catalonian March, Barcelona is filled with sunlight and full of Rose-ringed and Monk Parakeets. In a very short time, we get two responses, two birds calling from opposite directions.

Europe 264

Europe Breeding Denmark Birds 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2023

The Marsh Sandpipers are currently feeding up ready to migrate and breed in the Northern hemisphere. Marsh Sandpipers are a smaller and more delicate version of the Common Greenshank , which are also present in smaller numbers. Below you can see a photo for both species for a size comparison.

Breeding 130

Breeding Australia Species Birds 130

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 241

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds Sparrows 241

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

These birds are often present in Broome on the green areas, like the school sport’s fields, golf course and the local parks. They are often in large groups in these areas when they are not breeding. They will often fly at both people and other animals in defense of their eggs and young.

Breeding 146

Breeding Cows Eggs 2012 146

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2021

On our recent walks along Cable Beach checking on the pairs of Pied Oystercatchers that are currently breeding we have often observed a Little Egret. The water is clear and it would be easy for the Little Egret to see the fish that are present. There is only ever one Little Egret and it runs around in the shallows of the Indian Ocean.

Fish 242

Fish Australia Breeding Species 242

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

The first step in preparing for the breeding season is getting ready for courtship. Gifts are presented, heads are bowed, and tails are cocked. The shift in season is mirrored by the animals, some migrate, others sprout antlers, others prepare for hibernation. Are we ready to welcome the next season?

Cattle 196

Cattle Bears Breeding Animal 196

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2021

barbata , but present name has priority. perdix , and also that race przewalskii (sometimes subsumed within suschkini , but generally paler) was basal to other taxa included within the present species. ” According to the HBW, the diet of the Pine Bunting during breeding season is mainly invertebrates.

China 258

China Birds Austria ALA 258

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

This year we have continued to monitor the breeding of several pairs of Pied Oystercatchers along the coast in Broome from Gantheaume Point to Willie Creek on the south side. The first eggs were laid in the first week of July, which is the case each year. They are also very good at hiding as we have learnt over the years!

Breeding 159

Breeding Eggs Camels Raised 159

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

The Black-tailed Godwits that we observe here in Australia breed in east Siberia and Mongolia. It also has a bi-coloured bill unlike the Asian Dowitcher , which is also present amongst our flocks of shorebirds. In non-breeding plumage they are almost brown, but add a reddish brown colour when they are in breeding plumage.

Mongolia 147

Mongolia Australia Breeding Asia 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2014

After Gumear Falls Road I crossed Route 209 to the Linear Park and tracked down an Alder Flycatcher that is always present there, my eighth flycatcher species of the morning. I was home by noon after what was undoubtedly my most successful search for some of New York’s coolest breeding birds ever!

Breeding 154

Breeding New York Breeders Downers 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2023

A vagrant Isabelline Wheatear was present on the island the day before I arrived, so I felt that I at least deserved the warbler (another Isabelline Wheatear was found a few days after I left Texel, so they are clearly messing with me). I also saw Eurasian Woodcock , Northern Goshawk , and Hen Harrier in the vicinity.

Birds 241

Birds Groups Ducks Rights 241

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2022

We had encountered a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in the area last year that appeared to have a stick embedded in its breast, but we have no idea if this is one of the birds now present. We know that Yellow-billed Spoonbills breed further south and no doubt start to roam around once they leave the breeding colony.

Breeding 199

Breeding Ducks Species Birds 199

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2022

Willie Wagtails are present across much of the mainland and they are a large fantail. The shorebirds are starting on their Northward migration to go and breed and the Dollarbirds that have bred here over our wet season are also now departing to the North.

Australia 261

Australia Species Breeding Birds 261

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

Fortunately, lots of other cute birds were present. These little Tyrant Flycatchers, present from Mexico through Colombia, never fail to charm, with their jaunty crests and characteristic “chewY-chewY!” Oh well, I’ll just have to come back again in another month. Tufted Flycatchers could be poster-birds for cuteness.

Colombia 240

Colombia ALA Canada Mexico 240

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

Though I usually do not mention this in public presentations, as kids (or fathers) might be present in the audience. So, as a preemptive strike, I present to you the Golden-headed Cisticola. Contrary to alleged preferences among humans, the golden-headed cisticola has a shorter tail during the breeding season ( source ).

Australia 200

Australia Birds Koalas Parrots 200

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

Tallamy presents data to demonstrate the stark difference between native trees and exotic trees in their ability to support insects. The latter figure very significant when you remember that many breeding passerines depend on the humble caterpillar to feed themselves and their offspring. Black capped Chickadee.

Wildlife 264

Wildlife North America Mammals Breeding 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2022

They are present throughout much of Australia and as their name would suggest they have a black face! They are often nearby and breed locally, but we don’t always have them at the water. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes – Coracina novaehollandiae are a common bird species around our home in Broome, Western Australia.

Australia 243

Australia Zebras 2014 2012 243

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2020

The annual parade of birds is happening and the feathered participants are dressed in their best breeding suits. Now is when we can venture into the closest park and see birds of the deep woods, species that breed far from town. Now is the special time that birders look forward to all year long. Summer Tanagers also migrate.

Costa Rica 224

Costa Rica 2020 Spain Panama 224

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2019

They are not present in Western Australia or the Northern Territory, so not a bird species that we get to observe very often. They head north from Victoria and New South Wales to Southern Queensland and return in July and August to breed. Yellow-faced Honeyeaters migrate in huge numbers between March and May.

Australia 212

Australia Breeding Species Rights 212

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2021

Pretty uncommon and greatly outnumbered by the Mourning Warbler but still present in brushy habitats of the highlands. Not nearly as common as some other wintering warblers but still present and regularly encountered with mixed flocks in forested habitats. MacGillivray’s Warbler. Blackburnian Warbler. Worm-eating Warbler.

Costa Rica 244

Costa Rica Kentucky Louisiana Species 244

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2019

One of the ironies of birding in North America is that the easiest way to see many species that breed on the shores of the Arctic Ocean is to go to tropical coastlands. Whimbrels, Sanderlings, and Semipalmated Plovers are all species that breed in the extreme north, but there they were in the suffocating heat of Lázaro Cárdenas.

North America 125

North America Mexico Breeding America 125

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Introduced breeding species and species recorded only as escapees now have all species illustrated (they were not in the #2) and those illustrations larger than before. Forget occasional escapees, there is an established feral population successfully breeding in the north of Germany, which was 131 birds strong last year.

Europe 261

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 261

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2020

These isles of Saint Giles are beaten tirelessly by the wind from the open ocean, the hardy vegetation present is gnarled and contorted. Both Brown and Red-footed Boobies actively breed on Little Tobago as well as Saint Giles. Presently, I’m comfortable with identifying perched birds which I can examine for some time.

Fish 231

Fish Rights Species Birds 231

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Some Floridians to this day claim that all Grey-headed Swamphen present in their state were born in Kenya (in birding circles, these are known as “birthers”), and that the species should thus be removed from the American list. In 2013, it was even included in the birdwatching list of the American Birding Association.

China 263

China Florida Kenya India 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2022

Snowy Plovers also breed half an hour north of my home, so we have those in common. There were also three Least Grebes present, although they did not allow me a comparable photo. But the past several years he has worked on several projects in Ensenada, just south of San Diego.

San Diego 259

San Diego Turtles Mexico Sparrows 259

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2013

They breed on a number of basaltic lakes in southwestern Argentina, and it is not entirely clear where they all winter, but some wintering Hooded Grebes have been found outside their breeding range (and a few none-breeding birds have been found year round at two locations on the Atlantic, apparently).

2010 208

2010 South America 2011 Argentina 208

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2021

My contact person could not confirm whether birds were present. It took me a good while of studying my photos to determine that most of the few Peeps present were actually Baird’s Sandpipers , and not the Westerns that I had expected. But he posted some photos to prove that there was, indeed water there.

Mexico 150

Mexico Sparrows Pets Species 150

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2022

For species with more than one subspecies in the region, the separate resident/breeding ranges of the distinct subspecies are indicated on the map. To give more attention to local taxa, all subspecies groups present in the region have full entries as well.

Thailand 147

Thailand Colombia 2018 Groups 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2022

As long as hedges are present, this cool tropical species does very well in urban habitats. Hedgerows seem to provide important breeding spots for this smart looking bird. Rufous-collared Sparrow. We have House Sparrows too but this bird is much more common.

Costa Rica 271

Costa Rica Birds Sparrows Woodpeckers 271

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2023

Tufted Coquette Arriving here during the hours of darkness presents its own cadre of obstacles, however. These large raptors are actually quite rare on Trinidad but seem to be breeding nearby as one of the sightings was of a juvenile. To get around this, I either leave the afternoon free – or check in during the night.

Trinidad 240

Trinidad Barn Owls Owls Reptiles 240

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

It’s faster than committee work, more direct than bureaucracy, and it presents a clearer and more complete portrait of the range and value of the biodiversity of these countries. These are convincing, smartly presented arguments. I think it’s confusing to see Middle American Kingbird in the field guide but not in eBird.

Costa Rica 229

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 229

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2019

Of course, I had my binoculars and camera with me because you never know what might show up on the coast and I was pleased to find a trio of Royal Terns present, an adult accompanied by a young bird and an additional adult whose relation to the other two birds I could not discern.

New York 145

New York Virginia Breeding Family 145

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2022

In Sydney, refuse is an important constituent of the diet during the breeding season (HBW), and a study conducted in 1970 describes a number of strategies by which these gulls steal food from Crested Terns. This makes the marketing of a Queensland vacation home as Silver Gull Court a bit questionable. Feel free to call me shallow.

Australia 147

Australia Birds Parrots Ostriches 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2020

I feel lucky when I see a Northern Flicker , but they are present here, though rare, year-round. While they present no problems with their common names, I should give honorable mention to some other species. The American Dipper lives and breeds along our cleanest mountain streams… or so they tell me.

Mexico 208

Mexico Birds Honduras United States 208