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Grallards: New Zealand’s Next Extinction or Newest Species?

10,000 Birds

New Zealand had a widespread dabbling duck, the Grey Duck ( Pacific Black Duck if you’re an Aussie) but these were declining a in number because of changes to their habitat. Some wild Grey Ducks from the Northern Territory ( GDW45 Creative Commons ). Indeed, 30,000 mallards were released across the entire nation.

Species 164
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Peeps and Plovers on Cuitzeo Beaches

10,000 Birds

In late July, I travelled a half hour north of Morelia to Lake Cuitzeo (kweet-SAY-oh) to see if our two inevitable first migratory species from up north, Baird’s Sandpiper and Wilson’s Phalarope, had begun arriving. At that point, neither species was yet present, and there wasn’t much of a lake, either.

Ducks 245
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15 Australian Birds (Episode 1)

10,000 Birds

So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. This species has also eliminated the need for childcare – the chicks emerge from this pile on their own and never even get to see their parents. Similarly, the Grey Shrikethrush is neither a shrike nor a thrush.

Australia 177
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Best Birds of my First Year with 10,000 Birds

10,000 Birds

Plus a few truly difficult species. Mandarin Ducks, Munich, Germany. Sure, it is an introduced species in Germany. And they aren’t nearly as famous as the vagrant/escaped Mandarin Duck of Central Park. But they were still Mandarin Ducks! American Oystercatcher, Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán.

Austria 142
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Tundra Swan at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

10,000 Birds

and a visit to Big Egg Marsh (one year bird!) I set my tripod on the ice and scanned through the birds with my binoculars, ducks, ducks, ducks, two Mute Swans , ducks, gulls, gulls, gulls, ducks, two Mute Swans , ducks. I didn’t see any of the dabbling ducks dabble. No Tundra Swan.

Jamaica 103
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National Audubon Society Birds of North America: A Guide Review

10,000 Birds

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

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Some Ingenuity Can Go a Long Way

10,000 Birds

Among birds the Egyptian Vulture uses rocks to crack Ostrich eggs, the New Caledonian Crow and Woodpecker Finch (one of several Darwin Finches of the Galapagos Islands), uses sticks to extract grubs from inside a branch. This is similar to the fact that all birds, even first time breeders within a species build identical nests.

Fish 163