10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2016

California Condors , La Brea Condors , and the Merriam’s Giant Condor — a magnificent bird even in death. Many are what we’d expect to see today: Mallards and Canada Geese. Condors, of course. Eagles with appealing names like Fragile Eagle and Errant Eagle , as well as the extant Golden Eagle.

California Condor 183

California Condor Coyotes Eagles Turkey 183

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2011

Every autumn, tens of thousands of Snow Geese arrive in California’s Sacramento Valley following their long journey from the Canadian Arctic (click on photos for full sized images). Snow and Ross’s Geese winter there in the tens of thousands. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeCKWKGhgR8

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Geese South Dakota Sacramento Arkansas 153

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2014

Also from the Philly area, where Canada Geese are concerned, where is the love ?). The tree-trimmer at the heart of a disturbing Black-crowned Night Heron incident in Oakland, California turns out to be an ally for the birds. Speaking of love, thanks to climate change, monogamous birds may be more prone to hanky-panky.

New York Times 200

New York Times New York Oakland Geese 200

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy in connection with the killing of 24 geese and ducks in two parks in Concord, California (the original 10,000 Birds post about this can be found here ). It is unclear why the numbers have been changed from the 28 birds reported in the original article.

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Geese California Killing Birds 159

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2018

There were California Scrub-Jays gathering up as many sunflower seeds as they could hold in their beaks… and Spotted Towhees who would occasionally perch up in the trees waiting their turn. Lema Ranch has several ponds and is always a great spot for waterfowl but I was surprised to find four Snow Geese on secluded pond!

2018 100

2018 Bald Eagle Woodpeckers Turkey 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2016

On New Year’s Day 2016, our last day in California before heading back to New York, I was pleased for the chance to get out for a few hours in the morning to jump start the year list. The goose flies out early with a flock of Canada Geese so if you want to see it get there at or shortly after dawn! The things are everywhere!

Sanctuary 101

Sanctuary Wildlife California Ducks 101

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Lifers includes Gambel’s Quail and Neotropic Cormorant, but the real highlights were the morning fly-out of Sandhill Cranes and the evening fly-in of Snow Geese. I’ve also been on pelagic birding trips on both coasts, out of Half Moon Bay and Monterey, California; Newport, Oregon; and Hatteras, North Carolina.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

I will visit them: Jonathan, in Ensenada, for when I can’t go to California; Gerardo, for those cool Baja California Sur endemics ( Belding’s Yellowthroat , anyone?); And when I do, it won’t just be my birding buddies visiting me.

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Birds Mexico California Spain 169

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

The 9 th of February, This afternoon finds us in Bakersfield California, this time working on Plan C, as the trip took way longer crossing the mountains that I had figured. Mourning and Eurasian Collared Doves, House Finches and a couple of California Scrub Jays turned out to the bulk of what I could find. Might be a theme here!

Woodpeckers 100

Woodpeckers Oregon California Geese 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2011

The male is the only Black-necked Stilt in the second segment of this video, along with several Greater White-fronted Geese, and the third bird that comes into view in the final segment that is larger than the other two birds. The male of the species has the upper portion of the head, back of neck, back and wings all glossy black.

South Dakota 189

South Dakota Jordan Sacramento North America 189

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Cinnamon Teal ( Anas cyanoptera ) pair by Larry Jordan (click on photos for full sized images) Winter is the time to visit the National Wildlife Refuges in California. More than three million ducks and one million geese migrate to the Sacramento Valley every fall. In 1985, waterfowl populations had plummeted to record lows.

Sacramento 173

Sacramento Wildlife United States North America 173

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2013

“Out West” to most Floridians might mean California or Arizona or might even refer to the Gulf Coast of Florida. I’m out guiding a lovely couple from California. But to us locals from the El Dub (Lake Worth, FL) it refers to anywhere east of the Everglades and west of Congress Avenue. Take this morning for example.

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North America Factory Alligators Trafficking 227

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2013

One of the best examples in the world is the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary on the northern California coast. As I rounded the southern end of the ponds a flock of Canada Geese ( Branta canadensis ) flew over with a lone Snow Goose ( Chen caerulescens ) in tow seen in the photo at the top of this post.

Sacramento 167

Sacramento Sparrows Sanctuary Geese 167

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

California is blessed with 51 NWRs and Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), second only to North Dakota with 77. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Colusa NWR was beginning to fill its impoundments during this drought, and there were quite a few ducks and geese present. You can check your state’s refuges here , listed by state.

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Wildlife San Francisco Sacramento North Dakota 159

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2012

The park even features a Welcome Back Waterfowl day when the community is encouraged to come out and learn about the ducks, geese, and swans that visit the valley – an event that usually occurs in early April but this year took place on March 24. A second pond held not only more of the same, but some American Coots and Canada Geese.

Wildlife 169

Wildlife Montana Geese Bald Eagle 169

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2013

These aggressive, boisterous yet attractive geese have begun building a population in Florida from a few accidental escapes from waterfowl collections (Crandon Gardens in Miami-Dade being the most famous).

Florida 200

Florida Miami Bolivia Parrots 200

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

Whether it was hawks , terns , seabirds , wood-warblers , shorebirds , geese , falcons , finches , or songbirds and woodpeckers I was there with my camera. December – Bird Madness and California. September and October – Fall Migration. I spent lots of times watching birds on their way south and massing before migrating.

2012 144

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 144

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2018

Imagine waking up to the call of thousands of ducks, geese, and every kind of marsh bird you can imagine. In what I am quite sure should be on a promotional flyer for the refuge, I was able to capture this beautiful male California Quail on one of the boundary signs. Right, smack dad in the middle of Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge.

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Blackbirds Mules Beavers Wildlife 122

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2018

Here we will actually stop for a full day, as there is a 10,000 acre wetland refuge, which should hold several species of gulls, White-fronted Geese and Black Brant, just to name a few. 12 California Quail – Callipepla californica Conquista Agraria 7-Jan-18.

Ducks 116

Ducks Blackbirds Sparrows California 116

Animal Ethics

AUGUST 21, 2012

To the Editor: “ Some in California Skirt a Ban on Foie Gras ” (news article, Aug. 13) might give readers the impression that California chefs are free to serve foie gras as a complimentary side dish and so evade the state ban on sales. PETA urges everyone to avoid this product of cruelty to animals. 13, 2012

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Foie Gras New York Times New York Ethical Treatment 40

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2013

She has lived in Maine, California, France, New York, and currently makes her home in Washington, DC. The Grebes were gone, but present were the ever ubiquitous Canada Geese. More impressive in flight than the geese however, was a lone Osprey , dangling a fish from its talons! Weather is weird.

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DC Washington Birds Geese 196

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2012

In fact, I had only ever seen a Pacific Loon four times, all on visits to California and Washington. Before Saturday I had never seen a Pacific Loon in New York State. So the loon being seen in East Moriches, out in Suffolk County on Long Island, was very tempting despite the fact that most folks who found it were getting distant looks.

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New York Birds Abandon Abandoning 135

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Brown Boobies ( Sula leucogaster ), Islas Coronado, Baja California © David J. Other birds with webbed feet, including ducks and geese, have only three webbed toes; the hallux (which in birds is usually the “hind toe&# and in humans, the “big toe&# ) is free. That is to say, all four of their toes are webbed.

2011 154

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 154

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2011

King Eider – Now this was a nice bird, seen on Christmas Eve of last year just before I flew off to California. Ross’s Goose – I recently blogged about this bird sighting , a bird that was well-earned at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge as it was camouflaged by well over a thousand Snow Geese. Turkey Vulture – Wow!

Jamaica 157

Jamaica Owls 2010 New York City 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

They bred on a number of islands near Japan and Taiwan, and ranged widely and abundantly from the Aleutian Islands south through California. According to the California Bird Police, they are now annual in California waters, but the easiest place to see them in the U.S. is on a boat in the Aleutian chain. Half Moon Bay, CA.

Albatross 209

Albatross Endangered Species Geese Alaska 209

Animal Ethics

AUGUST 2, 2008

Kristof, who takes note of the trend represented by the animal welfare proposition on the ballot in California this fall. The fact that geese mate for life, and that the mate of the poor goose that was slaughtered would step forward, was enough to make me swear off meat forever, if I hadn’t already. Kristof’s column broke my heart.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Factory Farm Factory Farming 40

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

The Service also proposes expanding hunting and sport fishing on the following refuges: California. Finley National Wildlife Refuge’s primary management goal is to provide wintering habitat for dusky Canada geese. Rose Lake National Wildlife Refuge : Open to sport fishing. Silver Lake National Wildlife Refuge : Open to sport fishing.

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Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 144

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2017

It was a destination I had never experienced so I made a few phone calls and got some information from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife agent who actually runs both the Butte Valley and the Shasta Valley Wildlife Areas, which are about 25 miles apart. A few weeks ago I led a field trip to Butte Valley Wildlife Area.

Wildlife 100

Wildlife Chipmunks Sparrows Blackbirds 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2016

En route to our next stop we slowed down next to a park and spotted the now countable Egyptian Geese. Sure, I might have said that I had already seen those birds in California and didn’t care about getting good looks at them at all but Carlos didn’t even stop. If Carlos were as good as advertised we would have had several.

Florida 121

Florida Miami Birds Owls 121

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2018

At the signing ceremony, President Carter stated : We are setting aside for conservation an area of land larger than the State of California. For comparison, Yosemite NP in California is about 760,000 acres. More than a million ducks and half a million geese, including Emperor Goose, also breed in the Yukon Delta.

Alaska 215

Alaska United States Puffins Wildlife 215

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2023

During the 70s my list grew slowly but surely thanks to European holidays, but in 1978 it received its first major boost with a holiday in California. For example, I saw my first wild Bean Geese in 1974, but were they rossicus or fabalis ? Taiga Bean Geese with Greater Whitefronts in Estonia. I haven’t a clue.

Sri Lanka 238

Sri Lanka Kenya San Francisco Greece 238

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2017

“Ducks, Geese, and Swans” in the front, “Blackbirds” in the back; “Caracaras and Falcons” next to “Old World Parrots,” “Loons” about one-third of the way down the list, after “Tropicbirds” and before “Albatrosses.”

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North America America 2017 Birds 185

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2012

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was one of the three lifers he tracked down in the company of Felonious Jive on Saturday, the California-endemic Yellow-billed Magpie. Mike managed to maintain his slim ABA lead by spotting the one Barnacle Goose amidst hundreds of Canada Geese in Van Cortland Park in the Bronx. How about you?

2012 106

2012 California Geese Canada 106

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2020

There are newly determined species resulting from a decade of splits: Ridgway’s Rail, Sagebrush and Bell’s Sparrows, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay and California Scrub-Jay, Scripps’s Murrelet, Cassia Crossbill, and Morrelet’s Seedeater. These are the species that immediately come to my mind, and I probably missed some.

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North America America 2020 Hawaii 232

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

They are: Senators John Boozman (R-Arkansas) and Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico); and Representatives Rob Wittman , (R-Virginia) and Mike Thompson (D-California). Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters ; Geese at Edwin B. By tradition, the congressional members are equally divided between Republicans and Democrats. It also approved $15.1

Maryland 158

Maryland 2017 Texas Ducks 158