10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2020

In “Birding in Traffic,” Jonathan Rosen, no stranger to making connections between birds and human elements as he did in “The Life of the Skies,” describes how he took the subway to Union Square Park to see a rare (for NYC) Scott’s Oriole. The two stories about New York City are personal favorites, of course.

New York City 214

New York City Birds Owls Fox 214

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

It describes how, when a veterinary drug used in India killed the vast majority of Indian vultures, the human death rate in affected locations increased by about 4% as the vultures were no longer around to feed on animal carcasses and the sanitation thus worsened substantially.

Los Angeles 216

Los Angeles Birds Woodpeckers Owls 216

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

Not all habitat change is due to humans; there is Chestnut Blight destroying American Chestnuts in the early 1900s, and the more recent Dutch Elm disease. Still, the authors praise more than mourn, emphasizing that the most severe changes occurred before 1955, and that some NYC infrastructure changes have actually helped area bird life.

New York City 167

New York City New York Birds Breeding 167

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Anyway, so I started checking my bird photo collection for photos of species starting with an A (after all, this is a bird photo blog, though I sometimes tend to forget this). The Acorn Woodpecker (Reno, Nevada) is presumably named this way because the red spot on his head looks a tiny bit like an acorn (I know. Still, there are a few.

South Africa 345

South Africa China Nevada Africa 345

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

The longer Introduction lists and briefly summarizes topics covered in the Portfolio (evolution feathers, coloration, variation, senses, movement, physiology, migration, food and foraging, survival, social behavior, birds and humans, threats). copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. The Portfolio of Birds is comprised of 87 2-page spreads.

2020 264

2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2018

Humans have always classified organisms in a variety of ways, depending on need. In other words, you can’t say something like, “humans, gorillas, chimps, and bonobos are all in the same family and equally related to each other.” Some sort of ancient fish-with-feet is the ancestors of humans. Think about it. But here’s the thing.

Monkeys 155

Monkeys Gorillas Whales Whaling 155

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2023

This is what makes this memoir more than a collection of anecdotes; it’s our opportunity to understand the different parts that make the whole of a black gay man negotiating the natural world and the more challenging, the adjacent “real” world. Raw honesty is felt throughout. Nah, sadly, probably not.

Emotional 229

Emotional Birds Minneapolis Nepal 229

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

The one about the woodpecker that represents a glimmer of hope that we didn’t really screw it all up after all, however desperately faint that glimmer is anymore. The one about the parakeet that represents the loss, before we even knew it, of an element of our wild places that seems so outlandishly foreign as to be unimaginable now.

South Carolina 186

South Carolina Cuba Missouri Mississippi 186

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2016

It is threatened by habitat degradation as a result of the human exploitation of natural resources in the taiga and lower tundra regions of its breeding range, and by lake drainage for irrigation and hydroelectric power production (Armenia).” We, humans, seem to be quite hostile neighbours to other life forms around us.

Serbia 203

Serbia Montenegro Greece Bulgaria 203

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Anyway, one of the babblers of Sepilok is the Bornean Black-capped Babbler – the result of a split of the Black-capped Babbler (well, at least from a human perspective – the birds themselves are probably quite nonchalant about it). Sepilok is a good place to see a number of woodpecker species.

Woodpeckers 235

Woodpeckers Birds Eggs India 235

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2016

Others, by their own admission, are Luddites and believe that the pinnacle of human technological achievement was reached on the day that man first bound a notebook in moleskin. Lewis’s Woodpecker – Melanerpes lewis. Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Cerro Lodge. 08 Mar 2016. Oak Run Road.

2016 154

2016 Sanctuary Australia Ghana 154

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2016

Others, by their own admission, are Luddites and believe that the pinnacle of human technological achievement was reached on the day that man first bound a notebook in moleskin. Lewis’s Woodpecker – Melanerpes lewis. Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Hairy Woodpecker – Picoides villosus.

2016 100

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2016

Others, by their own admission, are Luddites and believe that the pinnacle of human technological achievement was reached on the day that man first bound a notebook in moleskin. Gila Woodpecker – Melanerpes uropygialis. Ladder-backed Woodpecker – Picoides scalaris. Lewis’s Woodpecker – Melanerpes lewis.

2016 100

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2016

Others, by their own admission, are Luddites and believe that the pinnacle of human technological achievement was reached on the day that man first bound a notebook in moleskin. Lewis’s Woodpecker – Melanerpes lewis. Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Hairy Woodpecker – Picoides villosus.

2016 100

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

Others, by their own admission, are Luddites and believe that the pinnacle of human technological achievement was reached on the day that man first bound a notebook in moleskin. Lewis’s Woodpecker – Melanerpes lewis. Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Hairy Woodpecker – Picoides villosus.

2016 102

2016 Sanctuary Australia Ghana 102

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

Others, by their own admission, are Luddites and believe that the pinnacle of human technological achievement was reached on the day that man first bound a notebook in moleskin. Lewis’s Woodpecker – Melanerpes lewis. Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Hairy Woodpecker – Picoides villosus.

2016 138

2016 Sanctuary Australia Wildlife 138

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2016

Others, by their own admission, are Luddites and believe that the pinnacle of human technological achievement was reached on the day that man first bound a notebook in moleskin. Lewis’s Woodpecker – Melanerpes lewis. Red-headed Woodpecker – Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Hairy Woodpecker – Picoides villosus.

2016 100

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 17, 2022

The Golden-tailed Woodpecker shares something with the German flag – it is called golden-tailed even though to me the color of its tail is yellow, not golden. No doubt the woodpecker has similar considerations. On the other hand, compared to the Laughing Dove , human life is still pretty long.

South Africa 212

South Africa Africa Birds Cape Verde 212

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

Last month woodpeckers, this month penguins. None fly, most are curious and social, which probably contributes to our cultural perception of penguins as one step away from human. Some are cute, some are dignified (and royal!).

Penguins 222

Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 222