10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

Torrent Ducks are the thrill-seekers of the avian world. Very few birds – or animals for that matter – would plunge head-first into the churning cauldrons of some of South America’s most treacherous rivers. We initially only found a male Torrent Duck and later on, only a female.

Ducks 240

Ducks Colombia South America Squirrels 240

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

In front of us, the river is two miles wide… and it is paved with birds: smaller groups of Greater White-fronted and Greylag Geese , numerous Mute Swans and Mallards , plus Eurasian Teals , Gadwalls , Common Pochards , a few Ferruginous and Tufted Ducks , Common Goldeneyes and several Smews. A goose hunt sounds like a WWII battle.

Geese 174

Geese Hunting Boars Birds 174

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2019

But in the fall (with plumage as in the photo on the left, above) they take an entirely different, and heroic, route, first to Massachusetts and then, after a rest, south over the Atlantic Ocean. The blackpoll, “a bird with a body just a little larger than your thumb,” doesn’t stop until South America. Eighty hours of flying.

Ohio 197

Ohio Bats Legislature Ducks 197

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Later, Harry Fuller, President of the Klamath Bird Observatory, led us to an open meadow where we saw a pair of Great Gray Owls hunting in a meadow. I had enough time to warn my husband that it was headed our way and we ducked. Larry’s BBOTY – Great Gray Owl. Adam’s BBOTY – Lammergeier.

2014 187

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 187