10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2022

Even going on the same route twice a day we have noticed different bird species at different times and every walk is a time to enjoy time together in nature very close to home. It is a shame we had not noticed what was going on earlier, so we could have documented it from an earlier stage of development. Mistletoebird nest.

Australia 147

Australia Eggs Birds Species 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

It covers 403 species: 172 nonpasserine species and 231 passerine species in the Species Accounts, 198 species beautifully illustrated by the author in the Plates section. The scarcity of information on the young of some avian species is astounding.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 270

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 270

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.

China 242

China Birds Pythons Eagles 242

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2019

And, I looked at my eBird list and realized I’ve seen nine species of Antpitta and one of Gnateater. Antpittas and Gnateaters covers 64 species in six genera and two families. (I The Species Accounts feature highly detailed text by Harold Greeley, distribution maps, and over 250 photographs by a number of photographers.

Research 149

Research Eggs South America Costa Rica 149

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

It didn’t occur to me till I started reading The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird that there was also a possible threat to the eagle herself: poachers, who steal raptor eggs and chicks. McWilliam realizes he’s dealing someone special, a career falcon egg-thief.

Falcons 224

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 224

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

Dissection 234

Dissection Birds Research Europe 234

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2014

It’s been a delight to see how enthused our Osprey-watchers are, as they meticulously document the nest reconstruction that our birds are undertaking and their matings as well (let’s just say the pair seems very happy to see each other.)

Eggs 169

Eggs 2011 Science Falcons 169

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

Their habitats vary widely in both rural and urban landscapes; open habitats are preferred and the species generally shuns only extensively forested areas and wetlands 1. To show how adaptive this species is, the following photograph was sent to me by one of my readers and I use it with her permission.

Hunters 180

Hunters Hunting North America Game 180

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. It seems that this is another species for which the standard phrase of scientists anywhere, “more research needed”, applies.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Nor are there any birding authorities requiring folks to identify, count and document the nuthatches, titmice and Downy Woodpeckers that come to their backyard feeders. “Pinto” is rice and beans and comes with your choice of eggs, breaded Tilapia, chicken or other options. Check out the toucanets. Northern Emerald Toucanet.

Costa Rica 220

Costa Rica Cooking Birds Chickens 220

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2013

I had always seen them well over my head, in rocky canyons, and given that they are an exclusively Western species, I assumed this is why. In fact, it seems like Violet-green swallows will nest anywhere they can fit in an egg and someone to incubate it. And that’s why they caution you about assumptions.

Montana 159

Montana Woodpeckers Eggs Raised 159

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2019

This past Friday, after leaving Cupsogue where my twitch for the Wilson’s Plover had ended in success I decided to head back over to Big Egg Marsh in my home borough of Queens to see if I could rediscover the Burrowing Owl I had seen the previous evening could be rediscovered. Wait, what about other thrasher species?

Jamaica 113

Jamaica New York Owls Eggs 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2013

I couldn’t wait to give names to all my new species. I tried using the Internet, but found it frustrating for all the usual reasons; websites either didn’t include all species or were difficult to use for identification. Each species account is 2-pages long, one page of text and one page of photographs.

Ireland 180

Ireland France Breeding Eggs 180

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

The title is a bit deceptive, for while photographs are a huge part of the book, it is grounded in the 239 species accounts written by woodpecker guru Gerard Gorman. This background material is a good, succinct framework within which to read the Species Accounts, particularly for birders new to woodpecker study.

Woodpeckers 252

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 252

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? Phillipps’ Field Guide (I’ll be using this shortened form of the title) covers 673 avian species, including 59 endemics, and 53 species that have not been documented yet for the area but which may show up in the next few years.

Brunei 179

Brunei Birds Asia China 179

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

For ornithologists, it is the documentation of a multi-year project designed to record the distribution and abundance of birds in a specific area (in North America, usually a state or a province), utilizing a mapping method involving blocks and grids. You can see the Species Account for Henslow’s Sparrow above, in the banner photo.

Pennsylvania 239

Pennsylvania Breeding Birds Sparrows 239

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2013

The Black Swift is considered a Species of Special Concern in California. Plus the fact that they only lay one egg per season which is incubated for about four weeks and the chicks don’t fledge for another fifty days gives you some notion as to why these birds are a Species of Special Concern.

California 220

California North America Costa Rica Niger 220

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

The guide covers 747 breeding residents or regular migrants, 29 introduced species, and 160 vagrants, a total of 936 species. Honeyeaters are “active, noisy and pugnacious” and there are a lot of them–76 species–in Australia. Additional measurements are given for certain species, like penguins.)

Australia 109

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 109

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2019

Possibly the first documentation of a ship-assisted bird in history, undoubtedly sailing off the edge of the world. He blindfolded vultures to determine whether they could locate food by sense of smell, and also sought to determine if chicken eggs would hatch by the warmth of the sun alone, rather than from being incubated by a hen.

2015 113

2015 Italy Falcons Europe 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2018

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to glimpse the home life of albatrosses, nor of any seabird species. Think about it–how do you document the behavior of birds that spend years flying (or swimming) and feeding and, apparently, sleeping above or within the deep sea? Technology to the rescue! What about incubation shifts?

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

I like observing them, reading about them, grappling with species and subspecies identification, and even—on a good day—talking about sparrow taxonomy. Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America covers 61 species of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae that breed in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.

North America 157

North America Sparrows America United States 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2012

Oil begins to wash up on the beaches throughout May and June of 2010 May 6, 2010 Oil washes ashore on the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast, an important nesting and breeding area for many bird species. We documented the relocation of several turtle nests. Traces of hydrocarbon poisoning are showing up in fish species.

2010 245

2010 Louisiana 2012 2011 245

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2012

Recently it has also been documented as breeding in Wisconsin, Ontario, and the Upper Michigan Peninsula, but those birds are few and not always accessible. It’s the warbler that is often the last unchecked species on birders’ life lists and, whether you list or not, for most of us observing it is a once in a lifetime experience.

Michigan 240

Michigan Bahamas Endangered Species Research 240

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

She doesn’t know the species till it emerges, almost dreamlike, from the heavy glare of the sun. There is also a third element, only hinted at in the opening–the environmental and scientific necessity of gathering this data to document the importance of keeping the Pacific Northwest waters healthy and uncontaminated by human elements.

Fox 100

Fox Albatross Geese Bald Eagle 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. 2012 has certainly been a bumper year for me with an estimated year list of around 3,000 species after extensive travels to South Africa, Ethiopia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Russian Far East, United Kingdom, Peru, Guatemala and Panama.

2012 155

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 155

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The story of the cahow, a “Lazurus species” that was thought to be extinct for over 300 years and then discovered to be breeding on a tiny remote island in Bermuda, is part of modern birding legend. All the while, he is observing, documenting, practically living with the cahows when they return to Bermuda.

Birds 172

Birds Rats Breeding 2012 172