10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

The prospect of identifying a certain number of species in a given amount of time pushes us to pay more attention to birds no matter what the circumstances (although I suggest keeping the exclamations about species identifications to yourself during such solemn situations as funerals, graduations, and watching episodes of The Sopranos).

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2021

9 beats submitted 140 checklists from 7 countries (USA, UK, Costa Rica, Serbia, Australia, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago) during October to account for 585 species. 1539 is the year list total so far and the life list has reached 4081 as Northern Pygmy Owl , Emperor Goose and Lined Seedeater swelled its numbers.

Woodpeckers 248

Woodpeckers Sparrows Blackbirds Ducks 248

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2021

Between them, they found 389 species in 5 countries. June saw 8 beats get their birding boots on and share 90 checklists for your pleasure. The year list remains low, at 1425 but the life list was bolstered this month by Donna’s Antillean Nighthawk and has reached 4069.

Woodpeckers 255

Woodpeckers Sparrows Ducks Niger 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2021

9 beats from 8 countries (Australia, USA, UK, Serbia, Costa Rica, China, Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico), shared 138 checklists for 703 species. The year list to date is 1015 species and 7 have been added to the life list ( 4059 ) from Costa Rica, China and Trinidad and Tobago. 10 Wood Duck – Aix sponsa.

Woodpeckers 193

Woodpeckers Sparrows Ducks Parrots 193

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2016

On my recent visit I managed to see specialties like Spotted Eagle Owls , Swee Waxbills , Cape Sugarbirds , Malachite Sunbirds and Cape Francolins. Spotted Eagle Owl. It’s the place to learn your African waterbirds, particularly ducks. Cattle Egret in spring flowers. Cape of Good Hope. Greater Flamingos.

Penguins 172

Penguins Birds Mongoose Ostriches 172

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2020

149 checklists were submitted, accounting for 465 species. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa). Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha). American Black Duck (Anas rubripes). Mallard x American Black Duck (hybrid) (Anas platyrhynchos x rubripes). Mallard x American Black Duck (hybrid) (Anas platyrhynchos x rubripes).

2020 154

2020 Sparrows Niger Woodpeckers 154

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

The beats are famed for their inclusion on the nice side of the ledger and this month 9 of them shared 163 lists from 7 countries (Australia, Costa Rica, USA, UK, Serbia, China and Trinidad and Tobago) and accounted for 735 bird species. Mike doubled up with “smushed”, a new addition to the adjective list.

Sparrows 197

Sparrows Woodpeckers Ducks Parrots 197

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2021

The year list ends on a provisional (some beats will be birding ’til the final whistle to try and salvage a ravaged year) 1803 species from 1602 checklists submitted by 12 beats from 16 countries. Imagine that, 13 lists per year where once there were only 12.

2020 230

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Ducks 230

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2020

The 83 checklists submitted during July contained 459 species. Fulvous Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna bicolor. Wood Duck – Aix sponsa. Eastern Spot-billed Duck – Anas zonorhyncha. American Black Duck – Anas rubripes. American Black Duck – Anas rubripes. Barn Owl – Tyto alba.

2020 157

2020 Sparrows Blackbirds Woodpeckers 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2021

The year list ends on a provisional 1803 species from 1608 checklists submitted by 12 beats from 16 countries. Most species-prolific was Patrick in Costa Rica, followed by Paul from Mexico. December’s beats found 609 birds after submitting 116 checklists from 8 countries (USA, UK, Costa Rica, China, Mexico, Serbia and Australia).

2020 237

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Parrots 237

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2018

The auto tour route at SNWR even holds Great Horned Owls ( Bubo virginianus ). This refuge offers such a wide variety of species, that I wrote a post awhile back showing several species of wading birds in the same location on the auto tour route. Of course there are plenty of Red-tailed Hawks ( Buteo jamaicensis ) around.

Wildlife 101

Wildlife Sacramento Bald Eagle Falcons 101

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2015

The warm, sunny climate beckons a wide variety of passerines, raptors, and shorebirds to spend the winter, inflating the species diversity to the extent that Miami-Dade can go toe-to-toe with counties in Texas and Arizona during this season. Can we hit 200 ABA-countable species in four days next year? Muscovy Duck (Domestic type): 322.

Miami 169

Miami 2015 United States Birds 169

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2020

At time of writing (usually a couple of days early to avoid the deadline panic), UK is fielding 63 species. 1 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 8 Wood Duck – Aix sponsa. 14 American Black Duck – Anas rubripes. 17 Tufted Duck – Aythya fuligula.

2020 162

2020 Costa Rica Blackbirds Sparrows 162

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2020

They noted 719 species between them. 2 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 3 Fulvous Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna bicolor. 9 Muscovy Duck – Cairina moschata. 10 Wood Duck – Aix sponsa. 20 Mexican Duck – Anas diazi. 21 American Black Duck – Anas rubripes.

2020 294

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Blackbirds 294

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

11 beats have been out this month and have submitted 136 checklists from 7 countries ticking 634 species. 2 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 3 Muscovy Duck – Cairina moschata. 7 Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl – Glaucidium brasilianum. 92 Crested Owl – Lophostrix cristata.

Woodpeckers 218

Woodpeckers Sparrows Parrots Blackbirds 218

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2021

9 beats submitted 172 checklists from 7 countries (UK, USA, Costa Rica, Australia, Serbia, China and Trinidad and Tobago) for 640 species. The list for the year has reached 1276 and the life list has been stretched to 4066 with red ticks from China, Australia and Trinidad and Tobago, thanks to Kai, Claire and Grant and Faraaz respectively.

Woodpeckers 156

Woodpeckers Sparrows Blackbirds Ducks 156

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

They birded 7 countries during August and recorded 542 species. The year list remains sluggish at 1489 , but the life list received a boost from the eBird taxonomy reshuffle and now includes 4076 species. Stay vigilant and safe. 10 of the beats have submitted 124 checklists which are collated below for your perusal.

Woodpeckers 213

Woodpeckers Sparrows Blackbirds California 213

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2011

It didn’t take much imagination to name Cowbirds or Cattle Egrets or Cattle Tyrants , but there’s more fantasy, even more wit, involved in the naming of other bovine birds. The genus Bucephala includes three familiar ducks with big heads. The tertium comparationis between birds and cows isn’t always visual.

Cows 142

Cows Cattle 2011 Birds 142

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2021

Our brave beats have been putting themselves at risk for your vicarious listing pleasure and 10 of them submitted 151 checklists for 692 species, 2 of which made it onto the life list. Please be careful, Corvid is still out there. Marsh Grassbird and Rufous-faced Warbler come to you all the way from China and bring the life list to 4061.

Sparrows 160

Sparrows Woodpeckers Blackbirds Ducks 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2020

They submitted 124 checklists for 671 species of bird. In particular 272 species were noted from 14 checklists submitted on October 17th, eBird’s October Big Day. 158 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 159 Muscovy Duck – Cairina moschata. 231 Mottled Owl – Ciccaba virgata.

2020 130

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Parrots 130

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2016

The reason the location is remaining undisclosed is that reliable Mangrove Cuckoos are difficult to find in the American Birding Association area and are a very sought after species. Anyway, we arrived, spotted a Great Horned Owl in flight and waited and waited and waited. We needed countable species! Come on, Carlos!

Florida 124

Florida Miami Birds Owls 124

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2014

During this time, the fish trapped in the shrinking pools of water attract hordes of herons, egrets, storks, and other wetland species. Raptors such as Savanna Hawk , Snail Kite , and Black-collared Hawk and up to five species of kingfisher also join the bonanza in one of the world’s great birding spectacles.

Brazil 165

Brazil Birds Blackbirds Paraguay 165

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2015

One species we are more likely to find in this area than others is the Varied Sittella. There was still a small body of water remaining and among the reeds were Grey Teal, Hardheads, Pacific Black Ducks and Australasian Grebe. Although there were not a lot of individual species there was a great variety. Varied Sittella.

Birds 157

Birds Ducks Species Zebras 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2020

“Birding Over Time” compares the number of species recorded over a month with that month from previous years. Fulvous Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna bicolor. Mexican Duck – Anas diazi. Wood Duck – Aix sponsa. Barn Owl – Tyto alba. Barking Owl – Ninox connivens.

2020 151

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Blackbirds 151

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2018

A Eurasian Wigeon and a male Wood Duck will make for the first day target list. 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. The Ladder-backed Woodpecker is one of those that has eluded me so far.

Ducks 116

Ducks Blackbirds Sparrows California 116

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 23, 2016

Coming from Niagara Falls, New York, it also means freezing, bitter cold, watching for imaginary Polar Bears while pretending to walk through an Arctic landscape, and looking for owls. This Long-eared Owl from Golden Hill was a bonus. So was this Snowy Owl. American Black Duck – Anas rubripes; Niagara county, 2-Jan.

Costa Rica 101

Costa Rica 2016 San Antonio Sparrows 101

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2013

I pulled over, as this was only the third time I have seen this species, and found a few Australian White Ibis among them, along with Purple Swamphens. The only other time I have seen this species before was in Victoria, at the same site that I first saw Straw-necked Ibis at as it happens. Another time.

Parrots 146

Parrots Barn Owls Eagles Australia 146

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2011

Enjoy this blow-by-blow description of an amazing day of birding… Team name: The Shrikes Team members: Stavros Christodoulides (team leader), Melis Charalambides, Lefkios Sergides, Dan Rhoads Number of (sub)species seen: 119 (counting two ssp. With that, we turned westwards for the Larnaca district, at 11:40 with 95 species.

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Birds Owls 145

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2013

The birding is not exceptional, but you can easily see some of Singapore’s and South-east Asia’s more common species and it does throw up the occasional jewel. My personal list for Paser Ris runs to 75 birds over 15 visits that average out at around 25 species per outing. Spotted Wood-owl. and take 23 minutes). Yellow Bittern.

Singapore 161

Singapore Woodpeckers Parrots Zebras 161

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2019

To surpass a challenging number of species, the planning, the conniving for major birding should have begun back in the past, in 2018. Every day counts and to seriously maximize the species total, a birder needs to maximize time in the field at the most productive places during the most productive times and then some.

Costa Rica 113

Costa Rica 2019 Parrots Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2020

Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. West Indian Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna arborea. Wandering Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna arcuata. Knob-billed Duck – Sarkidiornis melanotos. Muscovy Duck – Cairina moschata.

2020 157

2020 Sanctuary Australia Sparrows 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

This shows the top birders, by species or checklists submitted. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. Muscovy Duck – Cairina moschata. Wood Duck – Aix sponsa. Maned Duck – Chenonetta jubata. Pacific Black Duck – Anas superciliosa. La Selva (OTS Reserve).

2020 162

2020 Wildlife Reserve Tigers Wildlife 162

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2019

A gathering of the beats at the “Hot Duck” barbeque. The engaged and generous beats ( 10 of them) have shared 188 checklists during January and have accounted for 859 species from 8 countries (USA, Australia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, UK, New Zealand and Serbia. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni.

2019 113

2019 Australia Jamaica Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2019

978 species were tallied this month from 163 checklists. Only 123 species appear on both sides of the life list. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. White-faced Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna viduata. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. Wood Duck – Aix sponsa.

2019 113

2019 Ghana Australia Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2019

April was a busy time for the beats with 10 of them contributing 164 lists to accumulate 744 species from 7 countries; Costa Rica, USA, Australia, Serbia, UK, Brazil and Barbados. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. Pacific Black Duck – Anas superciliosa. Pink-eared Duck – Malacorhynchus membranaceus.

2019 113

2019 Australia Ghana Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2018

The pressure is on if you can only get certain species during the first month of the year but if you just want to add any old birds to the year list, everything is fresh! Since I’m in no big hurry to reach any number of species in 2018, my year birding is going to be a fresh one hopefully touched with a good dose of Zen.

Costa Rica 167

Costa Rica Birds Parrots Woodpeckers 167

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

172 lists were shared and 1004 species were seen, both records for October, so well done beats! Barn Owl – Tyto alba. African Black Duck – Anas sparsa. Japanese Scops-Owl – Otus semitorques. Tropical Screech-Owl – Megascops choliba. White-faced Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna viduata.

2019 120

2019 China Battery Jamaica 120