10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2024

On Tuesday, my wife and I travelled 1750 miles (2,800 km) from our home of thirty years in Morelia, to the region in which I grew up, the San Mateo Peninsula of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. 11 were new for my California lifelist. Two other species also warmed my California-boy heart. But will I bird?

San Francisco 167

San Francisco California Woodpeckers Experience 167

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Now that we have returned to our adopted home of La Paz, Mexico, our bones are starting to thaw out from the trip to chilly Seattle. While I was in the Seattle area, there were lots of Spotted Towhees , and here in the Mexican desert there were California Towhees.

Mexico 100

Mexico Sanctuary Seattle Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2024

In between now and then, I will spend a week and a half in California, in the land where birding may mean walking on paved paths, or even on a wooden boardwalk built through the middle of a salt marsh. But once I get back home to Mexico, I will be climbing hills on livestock trails once again.

Birds 191

Birds Livestock Sparrows Mexico 191

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2022

During the third quarter of 2022 (July, August, and September), the Collaborative submitted 212 checklists from 3 countries ( Australia , Costa Rica , Mexico , and the United States ). The life list rises by 2 , to 4,126 species : 4,125: Townsend’s Storm-Petrel (California, US). 4,126: Cook’s Petrel (California, US).

San Diego 147

San Diego Costa Rica United States Cooking 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2013

Southern California is loaded with parrots. Red-crowned Parrot in Irvine Regional Park Despite the number of species involved only one, the Red-crowned Parrot , is considered countable by the California Bird Records Committee. The next time you find yourself in southern California take the time to check out the parrots.

Parrots 211

Parrots California Los Angeles San Diego 211

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2013

The male (seen below) has a black cap and, in Washington, Oregon, California, and Baja California, nearly all males have green backs. 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

JUNE 23, 2022

Any California-raised person knows that it just doesn’t rain in California in June. After all, in California in June, how much could it rain? It would have been a typical rainy California day for, say, the month of January, with steady drizzle punctuated by more substantial showers. Should I go anyway?

San Francisco 147

San Francisco San Jose California Battery 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2021

While not a common garden plant up north, I did find it for sale with Annie’s Annuals, a wonderful California nursery. and both are native to Mexico — just not my part of Mexico. The main reason that I love salvias so much, is that hummingbirds love salvias.

Mexico 214

Mexico California Morals Species 214

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2022

Well, it was a good run… I managed to write four weekly posts about the five days I spent in California last month. And if you must return to the same old, same old, it’s not bad if that same old can be central Mexico. A week earlier I would have readily said this was a California Towhee.

Mexico 147

Mexico California Squirrels Woodpeckers 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2022

My recent brief trip to California made this strategy especially easy. First, California is two time zones further west, so I was able to get out the door at 8 a.m. We were going to get together with my niece on our last evening in California, but she cancelled. California is weird. San Mateo time).

San Francisco 147

San Francisco California Battery Ducks 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2021

That highest spot is in the middle of Mexico’s Cerro de Garnica National Park. One, the Steller’s Jay , was already an old friend — from my California youth — when I saw it there in 2014. Like many birds, this sea-level bird in California is a very high-altitude bird down here.

2014 181

2014 California Mexico Rights 181

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2023

I, however, am still a California boy, in spite of not living in that state for four decades now, and I still keep track of the weather there. There seems to be two kinds of California weather these years: those with half the normal rain and historic wildfires, and those with 50% more rain than normal, and historic flooding.

Ducks 130

Ducks Mexico California Fish 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2020

When I was a young man growing up in Northern California, I thought I knew all about Juncos. Then I moved to central Mexico, where I discovered that Juncos are actually crazed psychopaths who are clearly plotting your death. Juncos in most of Mexico are of the Yellow-eyed Junco species. Juncos are cute little woodland sparrows.

Mexico 181

Mexico California Sparrows Owls 181

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2020

Back when I started birding during my youth in California, it didn’t take long for me to notice and appreciate how Northern Mockingbirds would sometimes do backflips in the air while singing. Northern Mockingbirds aren’t all that common in central Mexico, and for some reason, I rarely hear them sing here.

Argentina 197

Argentina Mexico California Breeding 197

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. Jonathan also works as a birding guide up in Baja California, if anyone is interested.). With so few birding “boots on the ground”, many of Mexico’s best spots are yet to be discovered.

San Diego 242

San Diego Turtles Mexico Sparrows 242

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

So have birders extraordinaire Amy, who is Canadian, and Jorge, who is from Mexico’s southeastern state of Yucatán, and goes by the nickname “Yuca” On any given year, you can find them at the very top of eBird’s “Top 100” birders for Mexico. So are several other members of the forum/chat.

Birds 162

Birds Mexico California Spain 162

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. I first met the tree in Baja California, where it is known as guamúchil (gwa-MOOCH-eel), so I will call it that.

2016 270

2016 2020 Mexico California 270

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2019

When Paul Lewis reached out to us asking if we were interested in some blog posts about birding in Mexico we were psyched! After all, the beat writer who had been posting about Mexican birds, the amazing Tom, has moved from Mexico and we didn’t have anyone writing about the birds there.

Mexico 113

Mexico California Family Birds 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

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). California Condors rely on Pinnacles , Grand Canyon , and Zion national parks, as well as Bitter Creek and Hopper Mountain NWRs.

Virgin Islands 200

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 200

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.

United States 162

United States Michigan Texas Virginia 162

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. I’m talking, of course, about “my” flock of American White Pelicans. They migrate north through the Western United States, breeding in pockets all the way up through Canada.

Pelicans 218

Pelicans United States Canada Arizona 218

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2021

They were a fairly common species from my childhood in California, but I had not expected them to turn up in central Mexico. I did manage photos of other flagship species of the Mexico’s highest mountains. Plus, they look a bit different here, with an oddly-shaped crest and bright white eyebrows.

Mexico 159

Mexico California Species Groups 159

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2019

The first can be found from Mexico to Panama, while the second is endemic over a fairly large part of eastern Mexico. The Altamira Yellowthroat can only be seen in a small area of northeastern Mexico, and is something of a Holy Grail for Mexican birders. The Bahama Yellowthroat lives, well, on a collection of Bahaman islands.

Mexico 187

Mexico Bahamas South America Panama 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2019

I am originally from California, so it is easy for me to deal with a geography defined by a low coastal mountain range, a central valley, and a much higher inland range (in California, the Sierra Nevada). But for the past 25 years, I have lived in Mexico’s state of Michoacán.

Mexico 114

Mexico Birds Nevada Sparrows 114

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2021

Not far behind is California (348, up from 297), followed by Arizona (294, up from 155), Florida (233, up from 227), New Jersey (223, up from 199), Oregon (221, up from 209), and Texas (218, up from 106). Some are all three ( e.g. , New York, California, and Florida).

United States 190

United States West Virginia Puerto Rico Minnesota 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2022

That might be why Mexico has one on its flag. But they are extremely common up in Baja California and, to judge from this bird in Ensenada, exceedingly trusting — it barely fit in the camera’s frame. Black-necked Stilts always have lots of personality, so I couldn’t choose just one photo.

Blackbirds 177

Blackbirds Germany Sparrows Adoptable 177

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2014

Hecho en Mexico. What better way to start the year than with a visit to Mexico? Many gringos make their way to Baja California Sur every year, although the majority are probably heading to Cabo San Lucas to party and test the human limit of tequila endurance. Destinations Baja California Sur I Am Birder Mexico'

California 212

California San Jose Birds Mexico 212

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2019

Paul Lewis moved from California to Mexico 36 years ago. He lived first in Mexicali, and now in the historic city of Morelia–about halfway between Guadalajara and Mexico City–where he and his wife pastor a small church. Sorry, this photo is actually from the next state over (Lake Zempoala, Mexico state).

San Francisco 116

San Francisco Mexico Turkey California 116

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

I do not have a life list for those birds I saw in my youth, 45 years ago, in California. Mexico has a good number of greenish or rusty Woodpeckers. I live in Mexico! Pretty much the same story as my #5, the Greater Flamingo, except that I did see this lifer in Mexico. But they were still Mandarin Ducks! I mean, come on!

Austria 143

Austria Spain 2019 Birds 143

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

Clapper Rails , as currently defined by the AOU, occur along the coasts of North and South America and Caribbean islands, and inland in southern California and Arizona. King Rails occur widely in eastern North America, in eastern and central Mexico, and in Cuba. The photo above, one of mine, shows a Clapper Rail in Louisiana.

Species 212

Species North America Cuba Louisiana 212

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2024

Last week, I returned to Morelia, Mexico, my home for the past 30 years, from twelve days in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I spent my childhood and teenage years. While in California on this trip, I saw 75 species. Of the 112 species on my current California life list, 59 are also common around Morelia.

San Francisco 136

San Francisco California Mexico Advocacy 136

Reddit Animals

OCTOBER 28, 2023

submitted by /u/CatcatchesMoth [link] [comments]

Snow Leopard 40

Snow Leopard Leopards Rhode Island New Hampshire 40

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2017

These 12 images must be decided upon by November 1st, in order to get them to the printer in the US, printed, and then shipped back to me here in Mexico. California Quail. Some of the locations I shoot at, 400 is a quiet day. This process starts out with about 60 photos. Then the culling process begins. Least Grebe. Varied Bunting.

2017 120

2017 Culling 2016 Birds 120

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2017

The Golden Eagle is not only the National Bird of Mexico, but considered very threatened. These were my first Golden Eagles here in Mexico. Both California and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were busy fliting around the surrounding under-brush. And then the somewhat uncommon California Gnatcatcher.

Eagles 100

Eagles Mexico California Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2015

Mexico is the best country in the world for jays. The state of Nayarit on the central Pacific coast of Mexico holds one of the highest diversities with a total of seven species represented, including the endemic San Blas Jay , Purplish-backed Jay and the very localized Tufted Jay. Tufted Jay habitat in Mexico’s Sierra Madre.

Mexico 161

Mexico Ecuador Peru Science 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2019

Para Maria de los Tecolates is a California red wine blend from Stolpman Vineyards of Santa Barbara County, released every year since 2014. The wine was named by Ruben Solorzano, a well-known figure in California’s Central Coast wine region, for his wife, Maria.

2017 136

2017 Owls Game California 136

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

I’ve taken tours out of Monterey Bay (with pelagic legend Debi Shearwater , now retired) and Half Moon Bay, California ; Newport, Oregon ; and Hatteras, North Carolina. But I took a day for myself for a 12-hour pelagic trip sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon. Exactly how that cartographic alchemy works, I do not know. Then we headed back.

San Diego 147

San Diego Los Angeles Cooking North Carolina 147