10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

An expanse of habitat as vast as Murchison Falls NP in Uganda, as excessively generous in beauty and biodiversity, permits endless ways to experience both its birds and animals. Plus, the food, service, and accommodations meet the highest standards. Mind boggling, I answer! Beaudouin’s Snake-Eagle … wow!!

Uganda 196

Uganda Senegal Africa Game 196

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

One small thing that made me happy this weekend was the return of Long-tailed Ducks to our lakeshore. Corey could have chosen his first Pine Siskins of the year in New York, a Red-headed Woodpecker , a late Osprey , or a Vesper Sparrow as his Best Bird of the Weekend this weekend. Can Snowy Owls be far behind?

2016 177

2016 New York Birds Woodpeckers 177

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2022

While I can’t convince myself to be excited about my First-Of-Year House Sparrows , almost anything else is exciting. He has lots of experience with its close relative in Morelia, the endemic Spotted Wren. I can’t resist loving my first week of birding each year. Was it practicing?

Falcons 190

Falcons Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 190

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

Fall migration was in full swing and he spent lots of time down by the coast sorting through the seabirds, sparrows, raptors, and finches. But his Best Bird of the Weekend was a dabbling duck he found on the East Pond of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, his first Eurasian Wigeon of the year! How about you?

2018 114

2018 New York City New York Jamaica 114

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2018

Turacos, hornbills, and diverse ducks were far more interesting than the robins and catbirds scrounging around the exhibits. Seeing these birds in captivity obviously inspired desire to see them wild and free, but some birds like the peacock that strutted unfettered among visitors seemed as natural on site as the starlings and sparrows.

2018 100

2018 Zoos Birds Raised 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2015

Looks like American Tree Sparrows , among my favorite winter birds, have returned! Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was actually a flock of birds in the form of fourteen Wood Ducks flushing out of the Great Vly in Corey’s hometown of Saugerties, New York. I couldn’t help but foray out to search out new arrivals.

2015 145

2015 New York Birds Sparrows 145

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

I love sparrows, so seeing a feather-worn Vesper Sparrow this past July filled my heart with joy. I wanted to see prairie birds and I wanted to experience a new state. We saw sparrows–a total of 14 species–and we saw many other great prairie birds, and we often saw them perched on posts.

North Dakota 144

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 144

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

The good side of this popularity is presence of restaurants and inns (from personal experience I can recommend a place for carnivores called Vodopad – By the waterfall). To get there, after you pass Despotovac drive through Dvoriste and Strmosten villages, following the signs for the Lisine Valley, an area popular with weekend crowds.

Serbia 263

Serbia Woodpeckers Owls Eagles 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2014

I took a run up to the lake and picked out several sharp Ring-necked Ducks amidst the abundant Mallards. But that bird was in Brooklyn whereas his Best Bird of the Weekend, a Henslow’s Sparrow , was his first in seven years and also his first of that species in Queens! What was your best bird of the weekend?

2014 153

2014 New York Birds Sparrows 153

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

The Shoebill serves as the symbol of the magnificent wildlife experiences Uganda offers visitors, which may seem a bit odd. Having finally seen this iconic species, I can assure you that the experience wildly exceeds expectations. After all, the Shoebill isn’t endemic to the country; only Fox’s Weaver currently holds that title.

Uganda 272

Uganda Africa Birds Penguins 272

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

Most of all, the time and effort is worth it when we see new birds, surpass our goals, and when we share those trying, challenging, exuberant and triumphant times with others because the birding party is always better, always stronger, when you you can enjoy the experience with like-minded souls.

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2015

With the easy-to-use platform offered by the Great Backyard Bird Count, birders of all ages and experience levels set out to find, tally, and document as many birds as possible within the boundaries of Miami-Dade. Song Sparrow is a genuine rarity in Miami-Dade. This Lincoln’s Sparrow is far more common. Mottled Duck: 19.

Miami 168

Miami 2015 United States Birds 168

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2018

We had persevered through four years at the top of Battery Harris Platform and could bring our experience to bear on the task of trying to record as many species as possible on a single day from that single spot. We were running low on birds we thought possible with House Sparrow and Downy Woodpecker being two of the easiest left.

2018 206

2018 Bald Eagle Battery Birds 206

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

Do you really need to have Kai’s birding experience further detailed not just by month but a level below? In an experiment conducted by renowned ornithologists, they sent out applications for a position as a bird model. What could be plainer than the Eurasian Tree Sparrow ? Yes, you do, trust me. Help is appreciated.

Birds 193

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 193

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2011

If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. While pondering that, also share your best bird of the weekend! Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed.

2011 157

2011 Mississippi ALA Sparrows 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

My own trip was not an intensive birding experience, and August is clearly not the most productive month. Ducks and herons include Garganey and Ferruginous Duck , Squacco and Purple Herons , as well as the Eurasian Spoonbill. In some years, Spanish Sparrows were reported breeding inside White Storks nests in Sakule.

Serbia 164

Serbia Birds Bulgaria Farming 164

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2017

My second twitch, during the winter of 2011, was also in the area of McArthur where an American Tree Sparrow ( Spizella arborea ) was spotted during a Christmas Bird Count. This leads me to my third twitch for the celebrated Falcated Duck ( Anas falcata ) at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in January of 2012.

California 100

California North America Wildlife Campaign 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2014

That means grassy fields are loaded with sparrows, hummocks are filled with wood-warblers, and wetlands teem with waterfowl. Ditto for the feral Muscovy Ducks , though they are a bit less nice. I currently have 164 species on my Florida life list, which has been built entirely upon my two previous experiences at Space Coast.

2015 203

2015 Wildlife Florida Birds 203

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2018

Other reminders of December in Costa Rica are palm trees festooned with Christmas lights, an abundance of annual bird counts, and sightings of winter birds like gulls, ducks, and a scattering of Yellow-rumped Warblers. They are also involved with a project to learn more about and conserve the endemic Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow.

Costa Rica 175

Costa Rica 2018 Birds West Virginia 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

My personal favorite is the night image of a White-crowned Sparrow beginning a night of migration, the sparrow’s usual bright white-and-black head and brown-patterned body muted by the inky blue darkness, the bill pointing upwards towards the stars. 167, Meadowlark line of sight–not p.67).

2020 264

2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2018

While some people never overcome this vestigial aversion to sour and bitter sensations, this innate prejudice can be overturned with experience, becoming acquired tastes we learn to enjoy just as much as the more dependable, uncomplicated pleasures of sweetness, salt, and fat. Your move, Budweiser.).

Collecting 100

Collecting St. Louis Dogs Sparrows 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

There are charismatic birds like Barrow’s Goldeneye, Evening Grosbeak, Red and White-winged Crossbills; mysterious seabirds like Leach’s Storm-Petrel; ‘little brown jobs’ like Winter Wren and Nelson’s Sparrow; a treasury of warbler species, 27 in all, many state breeders.

Los Angeles 205

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 205

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

While the jays did catch our attention by way of a smart crest and different shades of blue and gray punctuated by a black necklace and mascara, they were part of our common natural experience, their existence was taken for granted. Yes, this bird acts like a jay.

Costa Rica 182

Costa Rica Panama Eating Eggs South America 182

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 23, 2016

This year, visiting Niagara Falls until January 6th gave me the chance to experience a bit of both latitudes. A cold, productive day spent birding with a friend from Buffalo was marked by two owls, lots of ducks, Tundra Swans , several gulls, and other targets not possible in tropical Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 101

Costa Rica 2016 San Antonio Sparrows 101

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2012

What I learned convinced me to block out a full day to experience my first taste of Japanese birding. In fact, rather than repeat what Jeremy does so well, I suggest you go read it now and come back to hear how my experience differed. Eastern Spot-billed Ducks We crossed the channel to enter the stunning Temple Gardens.

Japan 121

Japan Birds Stud Ducks 121

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2013

Not a House Sparrow or Common Myna common, common everywhere common, but common here and not really so much so everywhere else common. Seriously, that lake has finfoots like lakes in England have ducks. In fact they behaved like sparrows do elsewhere, coming up to the breakfast tables at the lodge. Local common. Lake Mburu.

Uganda 150

Uganda Congo Birds Africa 150

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2012

Few experiences birding get me more excited than adding a new bird to my Queens list. Two of the four Lark Sparrows I have seen in Queens Two out of ten is not good enough, leaving me smack-dab on the Mendoza Line. Lark Sparrow - 26 August 2011 – Also at Edgemere Landfill, the first of four I saw in the borough last fall.

Connecticut 175

Connecticut 2011 2012 Jamaica 175

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2012

Carrie had been at Jones Beach pretty recently , but was happy to return, while I’m not sure that John had ever been, but he certainly seemed to enjoy the experience. After a brief discussion we decided to take the short drive over to Point Lookout to look for the Harlequin Ducks that have been delighting birders of late.

New York 160

New York Butcher Birds Geese 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

But Northern Cardinal, Catbird, and White-throated Sparrow do not appear until the 270s, during a visit to Central Park while on business trip to New York City. Given my west coast experience, I have made dedicated birding trips to several of the more predictable birding hotspots. 10, Mountain Quail at No. 11, Wandering Tattler at No.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

We missed the snakebird but had no problems seeing Black-bellied Whistling Duck , Least Grebe , Northern Jacana , Green Heron , Neotropic Cormorant , and both Amazon and G reen Kingfisher. The trail also passes a number of lagoons reputed to be the best chance in Honduras for Anhinga.

Honduras 141

Honduras Birds Kentucky Research 141

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The search for the next new bird is that much more fulfilling when you’re limited to the smallest of the arbitrary political boundaries in the United States, and the search for those birds necessitates a broad working knowledge of the county of the sort that can only be attained through experience. You simply cannot go wrong.

McDonalds 168

McDonalds South Carolina North Carolina Jordan 168

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2013

Redgannet was originally conceived as a way to encourage my colleagues (in case you haven’t read the profile, I work as a flight attendant for an international airline) out of the shops and their hotel rooms to experience something that the local natural scene has to offer. Spotted Wood-owl. Stork-billed Kingfisher. Yellow Bittern.

Singapore 161

Singapore Woodpeckers Parrots Zebras 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2017

In “Summer of the Sparrow,” actress and ABA board member Lili Taylor relates a dramatic tale of murderous passion directed towards a House Sparrow who has killed the Bluebird babies in her nest boxes. This story of avian hatred may be the most revolutionary essay in a book full of paeans to birds and birding.). Braunfield.

2017 147

2017 Costa Rica 2007 Hunters 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2014

Many of the photos offer hints of habitat and behavior—a Short-billed Dowitcher takes a step in shallow water, two Red-shouldered Hawks perch back-to-front on a snow-covered snag, a White-throated Sparrow sings to the heavens, his mouth agape. Species are organized in American Ornithologists’ Union taxonomic order.

New Jersey 248

New Jersey Birds 2014 Species 248

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. Imagine having to clarify every pygmy-owl, every whistling-duck, every brush-finch… the autocomplete on my cell phone is smarter than this. How can a person keep up with this endless wave of revisions?

Arizona 177

Arizona Belize Adoptable ALA 177

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

There is one exception–ducks. Many look alike (even more so than shorebirds and sparrows), differentiated by only features like ‘dusky’ underparts or brighter covert bars. The value of Harrison’s artwork lies in his decades of experience. The guide only covers seaducks, another logical decision.

Albatross 279

Albatross Penguins Family Groups 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2011

Plus, I mean, it’s a giant chicken-looking thing that’s actually related to ducks… with that kind of identity crisis going on, what’s not to love? They really appeared to enjoy this, because as soon as they swam back to the rocks they would line up again to repeat the experience.

Brazil 212

Brazil 2011 Birds Wildlife 212