10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2021

There was even that outside, enticing chance of documenting something new for Costa Rica. And yet there it was, shining white as soft atoll sand, my much wanted lifer White Tern foraging in front of us, foraging next to the boat, even flying right over the boat. It looked like an aquatic version of a Snowy Cotinga.

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Yet they also bring up questions, which I’m going to talk about right now before diving into the specifics of the guides themselves. Steve Howell has spent decades of experience in the field studying the birds of Belize, Costa Rica, and especially Mexico. Two issues came to mind immediately when I examined my reviewer copies.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 203

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

As in this quote by Mr. Andrew Breitbart: “Liberals in blue states just think that they are on the right side of history, and anybody that disagrees with them has to be a troglodyte or a neanderthal.” My extensive birding experience allows me to be very confident that the bird below is a Rosefinch. It is indeed rufous-ish.

Birds 202

Birds Germany India 2018 202

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

I follow my friend, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for International Bird Rescue, Cheryl Reynolds to the release site where we document the event. Even more importantly, right now you can become a member of International Bird Rescue and double any donation you make! So as Arnold would say, “Do it!

Bird Rescue 190

Bird Rescue Pelicans Rescue Birds 190

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

It did not take long before we had a family group of Tufted Jays right by the side of the road (KM 216) and an uncommon Gray-collared Becard at the same spot. These striking and inquisitive jays were perhaps the bird of the trip for me, and we took our time to soak in the experience of encountering these wonderful birds.

Mexico 186

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 186

Animal Ethics

APRIL 19, 2016

Elephants, great apes, orcas, dogs, cats, and many other animals can experience depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and compulsive disorders.

For Animals 40

For Animals Apes Psychology Suffering 40

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. Watch birds however you please… but seriously, you gotta experience the Cafe Colibri! I hope to see you there.

Costa Rica 195

Costa Rica Cooking Birds Chickens 195

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

The section on shooting birds in snow, for example, covers how to expose for snow (to the right), the consequences of different shutter speeds (fast shutter speed to show individual snowflakes or slow shutter speed to show streaks?), Each illustration (and, there are many) is captioned with equipment used and camera settings.

Birds 186

Birds Ethics 2019 Experience 186

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2019

Let’s get right into it, shall we? During my favorite birding event of the year, the annual Big Sit at Fort Tilden in Queens in October , we had hit a lull and were desperately trying to scrape up a few more species when Matthieu spotted a pelican and all was right with the Big Sit once again. Number 10 – Mountain Plover.

2019 137

2019 Barbados Uganda Costa Rica 137

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

Inspire me to try a little harder to get that composition just right, to get that jaw-dropping moment. Great Gray Owl taking the bait (photo by Nathalie Fortier) At the end of the experience, she posted her photographs clearly stating that the bird was baited, and leaving the mouse in most photos.

Owls 186

Owls Mice Tethering Chickens 186

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2015

That’s how important the lifer experience is and I suspect most other birders who started out young feel the same. As far as I know, there aren’t any documented reports of it from coastal waters aside from the birds that showed up this year. Brown Noddy- not my lifer but pretty much seen the same way and in the same place.

Costa Rica 150

Costa Rica Birds Pennsylvania North America 150

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2014

In my vast experience in the terrifying outland that is the world of the non-birder, the biggest question I get concerns the inherent trustworthiness of the avocation. A couple locally uncommon and well-documented species are all it takes to put yourself on the path to trustworthiness. What happens if you get caught.

Raleigh 201

Raleigh 2008 Rights Raised 201

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Pelagic birding off the Atlantic coast of Florida can be a frustrating experience, usually involving long waits of up to an hour or more interspersed with brief flurries of activity — a far cry from pelagic birding off of coasts blessed with cold water currents and nutrient rich upwelling such as California, southeast Australia, and Peru.

Florida 163

Florida United States Fish 2005 163

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2012

I took a couple shots with my simple point-and-shoot camera to document the sighting and to keep as a memento of my good fortune. The entire experience lasted maybe less than five minutes before the bird disappeared. Did I just blow my only chance of seeing this incredible creature on this trip?

Guinea 137

Guinea Meat Australia Pets 137

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 221

Michigan Bahamas Endangered Species Research 221

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Just think, if no one was there to document this, would it really have happened? I have had similar experiences at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and you are so right on when you say “am I ever glad that I am a birder! It was a great experience. Wicked, right? Were you and Jeff the only witnesses?

Ducks 168

Ducks 2011 Jamaica New York 168

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Larry starts us off right with an owl that makes birders drool: I was able to see and photograph many great birds in 2014 but my Best Bird of the Year would have to be the Great Gray Owl , the largest Strix in North America. The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY. Below are our Best Birds of the Year.

2014 183

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 183

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

After writing this last sentence, I looked up the species in the HBW and found the sentence “Song poorly documented” in the appropriate section, while with regard to calls, the description is that “call is a two-note raspy nasal ‘ryeeh-reh’”.

Singapore 147

Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2023

Many birders keep personal birding lists or life lists, documenting the species they have seen throughout their birding experiences. Analysis : The first and third paragraphs seem right to me, but the second is weaker, in my view. Encountering a spark bird is a transformative experience for many birders.

United States 147

United States North America Birds America 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2011

You’d think, then, that applying science to philosophy by studying the evolutionary underpinnings of thought and behavior across species would be right up my alley. Right away, we have a definition problem — those who hold to any kind of mind-body dualism are unlikely to be swayed by the ideas in this book.

Morals 108

Morals Animal Humane Research 108

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Rather than painting all bird images to face the same direction, as is customary in many field guides, the Navarro combines images of the bird looking left, right, up, even right at you, the sums of the images creating compositions of diagonal lines, circles, and mirror images. And, it is beautiful to look at.

Cuba 224

Cuba Birds United States 2000 224

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Crawford, in “Introduction to Europe and Diffusion of Domesticated Turkeys from the America (sic)”: A document dated 24 October 1511 was an order from the Bishop of Valencia for each ship from the Islands and Tierra Firme to bring to Seville ten turkeys, half males and half females, for breeding. According to R.D. Kiva 78(1):37–60.

Turkey 198

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 198

Animal Person

MAY 26, 2010

Reading thousand-word long posts in black type on a plain white screen with nothing interesting to look at isn't exactly a satisfying sensory experience. As for categories, I never got that one right, either. I didn't do the right thing for Animal Person. Every blogger's goal is to have their blog read, right?

Vegan 100

Vegan Suffering Free Range Animal 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2021

Birding Experiences. Put the blog post directly into the body of the email: we will not open attached documents. Of course, we reserve the right to lightly edit any posts we receive and/or refuse to print anything that we don’t find appropriate for this site or purpose. There’s something for everybody! Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica Uganda Greece Ghana 263

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2021

When you bird afar and wander wide, you carry a field guide to the birds of the region you are exploring, a pair of binoculars, likely a camera, perhaps a spotting scope and a tripod too, plus clothing, medicines, toiletries, electronics, money and documents… Did you notice the missing item?

Madagascar 233

Madagascar Mammals Lemurs Seychelles 233

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

The experience is one of the ornithological highlights in the world. That’s right – birds eating clay. Wicked, right? It is, as the Tambopata research website says: …a unique forest environment, with the highest concentrations of avian clay licks in the world. Hat-tip to Stella.

Peru 254

Peru Parrots 2011 Research Center 254

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

He draws on his personal experiences to inform the history, geography, and especially the travel option sections. A lot of his travel experiences involved camping and independent travel on small sailing yachts, and if this is your preferred mode of travel this book will be particularly useful. Press, 2011).

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

Like all talented travel writers, Dunn is adept at drawing us into his experiences. He sat…his crown giving searing shafts of violet as the light caught the feathers at just the right angle. This is what the female birds saw when he displayed to them, these arresting blazes of blue and purple. (p.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

Practically every sentence is documented with these studies. Gorman’s personal field experience informs much of the text and his total grasp of the field means he relates one research finding to another with narrative ease. I somehow knew right away that the bird I saw was a Wryneck. This is a very easy book to read.

Woodpeckers 224

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 224

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2012

In fact, experience proved that the process is actually way more cumbersome and time-consuming than it should be. After many hours of meticulous preparation, I was ready to import my data, a process that is poorly documented to say the least. The agony of eBird is the tremendous barrier to entry to switch over from another format.

Arizona 173

Arizona Belize Adoptable ALA 173

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2018

It gives species accounts for 761 birds (I counted, but I could have missed a couple) out of the 763-770 species documented in the country (eBird lists 763 and Gallardo says there were 770 at the time of publication). Special Sections. I was relieved and happy to discover that Robert J.

Honduras 103

Honduras Birds 2015 Family 103

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

By the time they were looked at as a primary document it seems that most who saw them did not recognize the connection to the Mysterious Starling or their value in general. Olson who in 1986 published a paper describing his experience finding, reading, and researching Bloxam’s original notes. What a horror! What a disaster!

Killing 170

Killing Rats Cooking Norway 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2012

Fortunately, Alan Tilmouth, a beat writer with pelagic experience, expressed an interest in the book as well. I found this material overwhelming, but was encouraged by Howell’s advice: don’t rush it and learn it in conjunction with field experience. If a tubenose was documented in North America, it is in this book.

North America 158

North America Albatross America Species 158

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2013

If you can parse the subtle differences in his photo below, you’ll see the bird on the left is a dark morph Oriental Honey Buzzard, but the bird on the right is a pale morph Changeable Hawk-Eagle. All in all, a memorable Malaysian experience. Con wanted to document the only time he’d ever seen a fruiting tree.

Malaysia 170

Malaysia Singapore Monkeys Birds 170

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

Illustrations were created using diverse visual and physical source materials–skin collections from Australian museums and a database of over 300,000 photographs (plus, of course, the artists’ years of field experience). These “vignettes” are sadly limited due to space considerations.

Australia 105

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 105

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2012

Honestly, I was more concerned with looking than with documenting. Many thanks to Swarovski Optik for inviting me along and letting me experience the natural wonders of the wonderful country of Hungary. ……… a. It was an international celebration and then we stuck around for awhile until Gerard refound the bird.

Woodpeckers 174

Woodpeckers Hungary Europe Japan 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Unfortunately, this morph is the dominant one at Fuzhou NFP”) that somehow survived the review process, possibly because the reviewer has had similar experiences. I also put it to a worthy first field test on December 29th during a successful twitch of an Arctic Diver that had turned up at a small lake right next to Heidleberg.

2020 221

2020 Birds Germany Costa Rica 221