10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2020

I am a birder living in the epicenter of the epicenter of COVID-19 right now. Over the years I’ve seen a variety of open-country birds there, including Bobolinks , Vesper Sparrow , and American Kestrel. Since the pandemic I’ve added one new species to my personal list for Willow Lake Preserve, a Field Sparrow.

Bald Eagle 196

Bald Eagle New York City Birds New York 196

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Now, there are a few obvious uses of bird names that I really needn’t cover, like our ambivalence towards the house sparrow. Its nickname “Spatz” is one of our most common terms of endearment, yet “Dreckspatz” translates to dirt sparrow and describes a person with questionable body hygiene.

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Germany Birds Hunters Owls 195

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

While the species favors forested hills at moderate elevations ( source ), there are no hills at all here at Nanhui, so maybe these individuals are outcasts or just eccentrics. I wonder what Americans would think if, in a Wikipedia entry, a Bald Eagle would be illustrated using a photo taken at an Albanian zoo. Arguments in favor: 1.

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Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 197

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 22, 2019

Next Thursday is the American Thanksgiving holiday – which means it’s time to trot out that old legend concerning Benjamin Franklin’s opinions on two iconic American birds: The Wild Turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ) and the Bald Eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ). Except that it didn’t really happen that way, exactly.

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2017 Bald Eagle United States Turkey 153

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 10, 2016

We also feel that unique sense of togetherness by knowing that each of us is out there concentrating on the birds and covering the ground even when our lips ache from pishing, House Sparrows fail to become real sparrows, and we can’t help but wonder to ourselves, “Um, why am I doing this”? Gulls on the cold Niagara.

Costa Rica 235

Costa Rica 2016 Eagles Belize 235

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2014

When discussing this topic for local media, I often say that because of their White-tailed Eagles , the Scottish island of Mull makes 2 million pounds per year from birders alone. Defining Belgrade bird specialties is the hard part – there is no defined criterion, beside attractiveness which often comes from how uncommon some species is.

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Serbia Eagles Birds Sparrows 185

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

we learn) that are home to coveted boreal species, breeding wood-warblers, and two species of Grouse. And of course, two raptors that are a part of North American birding history: the Great Black Hawk of Portland and the Steller’s Sea-eagle of Boothbay Harbor and other local areas. (

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Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 210

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2016

The upside for me, not to take away from my day with 27 different bears, was the next 6 days all by myself on Kodiak Island, recording as many new bird species as I could find. So, off I went in my rental car, with the “Do Not Drive Off Paved Roads” notice in bold print on the rental agreement… right, sure, no problem.

Grizzly Bear 154

Grizzly Bear Alaska Bears Puffins 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Checking my annual list, I am where I usually am at this time of year: several species short of 200. Still, this way or another, the year is ending with some glorious species, e.g. a rare Greater Spotted Eagle. And so, driving through the snowfall I spotted what I believed to be Tree Sparrows foraging on the road in front of me.

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Moldova Birds Serbia Greece 121

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2015

Picture 2: Lesser Spotted Eagle – Clanga pomarina. Andrea was driving along the western shore of the lake when a large raptor appeared in front of us – Booted or Lesser Spotted Eagle? Looking in that direction, we soon discover another LSE on the ground and, in a bush right in front of us, one lovely male Subalpine Warbler.

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Greece Woodpeckers Eagles Birds 252

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

I chalked up 132 species in a pretty relaxed eight days, during which birds shared the agenda with culture. With 154 eBirded species almost single-handedly spotted by the UK expat Geoff Laight, the Paljuvi is the latest addition to the top-5 list. With 154 eBirded species, the Beljarica shares the 4th place on the list.

Serbia 168

Serbia Birds Bulgaria Farming 168

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

Of course, with the Drakensberg still not that far away from Capetown and South African explorers obviously very fond of saving mental energy by simply starting bird names with the word “cape”, we have the Cape Robin-Chat … … the Cape Rock Thrush … … the Cape Sparrow … … and the Cape Weaver.

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South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2015

However, some birds still stand out from the rest, and they tend to be the rare ones like these species: Arctic Tern : Unexpected, seen very close on land and in flight, and a lifer that I should have got at some point when living and birding up north. Black-and-white Hawk-Eagle : I rarely see this rare raptor.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica 2015 Eagles Birds 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2018

In the end, I ended up with 9 species, 4 of which were new to the list, the Black-crowned Sparrow Lark, White-checked Bulbo, House Crow , and the Indian Silverbill. That does not mean that we can’t make a stop or two along the way, right? Here is the male Tree Sparrow. Scotland Species: 94. Wish me luck!

Qatar 120

Qatar Sparrows South Africa Africa 120

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2015

Owls and eagles and ducks and hummingbirds and parrots and woodpeckers are all things that a regular nonbirding joe or jane can, with time and a few color photographs, see the appeal of. Even sparrows, if you choose the right species and play your cards right, can be elevated to ‘cute’ status.

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Seals Lifestyle Turtles Parrots 231

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

Unlike other bird races where participants keep tight-lipped about bird species as mundane as a House Sparrow , this event gives a prize to the team that helps the most. But isn’t all of that data sharing counterproductive for a bird race where the team with the most species wins? Nope, not one bit.

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Costa Rica Eagles Birds 181

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2018

all the time pointing with my right hand while holding the steering wheel with my left, and the hardest thing, keeping my eyes on the road. More productive areas of the Balkans have January eBird lists from 105 to 115 species (but I combined several areas in two countries, Greece and Serbia), so I have every reason to be satisfied.

Owls 107

Owls Greece Serbia Woodpeckers 107

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2018

The sub-adult Bald Eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) below was photographed from the same blind. This refuge offers such a wide variety of species, that I wrote a post awhile back showing several species of wading birds in the same location on the auto tour route. I hope you enjoy it. Click on photos for full sized images.

Wildlife 101

Wildlife Sacramento Bald Eagle Falcons 101

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2018

The days for me to add to my Little Big Years species count are getting fewer and fewer, and with it, my budget. Right after getting the anchor set, what to my eyes should I see, but several P urple Martins flying above the boat! Right after a couple of quick photos, it was gone, off to more secluded locations.

Oregon 100

Oregon Bald Eagle Owls Groups 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2015

In addition to having more participants, we had more bird species, 76, beating out last year’s inaugural effort by two whole species. We really had to work hard for our 76 species this year too, and it makes me wonder if it will possible to ever break a hundred species from the platform during an October big sit.

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2015 Bald Eagle Falcons Battery 159

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2018

I’m sure we also saw some cool birds although the memories of his birthday species are understandably eclipsed by that of America’s biggest cat. Harpy Eagle ? Tanager blitz – Sparrow-sized birds that are anything but sparrows. If Scarlet Macaws are on the birthday list, pay a visit to Cerro Lodge.

Costa Rica 129

Costa Rica Birds Sparrows Ecuador 129

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Way back on 16 May I managed to see my 312 bird species in Queens to add to my Queens list. Somehow I forgot that the last time I predicted what the next ten species I would see in Queens would be was back on 30 December 2013, when my list was sitting at 302. I definitely did not think I would get a sixth Ammodramus sparrow in Queens.

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2013 2010 2012 2011 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

Each spread consists of a full-page painting of a bird or group of birds on the left and a combination of text and illustrations on the right. If you want to learn more about avian visual field, the essay cites two related essays in the book on Eagles and Meadowlarks (though there is a typo–it should be p.

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2020 Birds Groups North America 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

The national park ranges some 100 km in length along the right bank of the Danube (the left bank is in Romania), where the river varies in width from 5 km / 3 mi to only 150 m / 500 ft and the mountains rise up to 800 m / 2600 ft a.s.l. The turn off from the main road is east of Dobra. The Woodchat Shrike, Boljetin, June 2014.

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Serbia Turtles Birds Eagles 197

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2017

The guide covers 520 species of birds regularly found in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada, including, interestingly, a number of exotic species. There is also a traditional index to bird species, by common and scientific name. Species Accounts are arranged taxonomically, grouped by family.

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North America America Birds New York 178

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

If you choose to consider 1944 the year, most people were a little busy right then. And we did , for the Peregrine Falcon and Osprey , the Brown Pelican and Bald Eagle. And oh crap, you guys, we really have to do something about the California Condor situation right now, but what? Most species go extinct. We could do it!

California Condor 205

California Condor United States Guam Whales 205

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

Sadly, four other teams did as well, and we finished fourth with our 123 species. Bald Eagle. Every bird counted as one so common and uncommon species were all appreciated. By the time we left Fort Tilden it was not yet 9AM and we already had almost seventy species checked off the list. Blackpoll Warbler. Caspian Tern !

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Bald Eagle Jamaica Birds New York 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2013

For January 1st, 2013, I decided to do something a little different this year — a Big Day in Miami-Dade, which involves seeing or hearing as many species as possible within a 24-hour period inside my home county. Being at the right place at the right time, Ft. Onward to Virginia Key and Crandon Beach for coastal species!

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Miami Virginia Bald Eagle 2013 140

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

We follow the tire tracks in an off-white, salty soil and then, without a word of warning, our guide/driver turns into the bushes, driving left and right… until one and then another Short-eared Owl flushes in front of us. The next two species are the Southern Grey Shrike and the Tawny Pipit , also characteristic for this habitat type.

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India Birds Eagles Boars 235

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2014

We once took in seven tiny brown whatsis, and just figured they must be House Sparrows ,” wrote Donna Osburn. But we kept calling them House Finches because, well, you know, House Sparrows are invasive and non-native and all that. He was right! Occasionally finders mistake not just species, but entire classes. “We

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Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Falcons Pit Bulls 255

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2014

A few metres further, something is jumping from one branch to another… a pair of Subalpine Warblers , a Mediterranean species that does not go much further north than this. A large raptor just across the hilltop… Georgos says that at this time of year, we can expect Common Buzzard , Booted , Lesser Spotted and White-tailed Eagles.

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Greece Pelicans Breeding Buffalo 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

If you think one of the birds is a Song Sparrow call it “ Song Sparrow &# and not the unspecific “sparrow.&# No, none of the images below feature a Song Sparrow.* Jason Mar 15th, 2011 at 10:41 pm Hooded Merganser, Monk Parakeet, and House Sparrow. Yes, you are right: I have never been to Queens.

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2011 Bald Eagle Sparrows Parrots 194

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

whose occupants have already left for Africa, but a clump of elaborate closed nests of Spanish Sparrows hang underneath it. Checking the birds on the stork’s nest, I found both House and Spanish Sparrows. In all that swirling of swallows, I am not certain was there a third species, so I keep watching. Practicalities.

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Greece Pelicans Geese Breeding 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2013

Confusing, right? gundlachii ), currently embargoed by the United States, is widely considered a distinct species. anthracinus subtilis ), on the other hand, was a formerly distinct species now absorbed back to the Common core. How about the fact that a Blackhawk is not a Black Hawk? The Cuban Black Hawk ( B.

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Chicago South America 2013 Illinois 250

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2011

We were walking through a field of dry grass in a Hamilton County park, looking for sparrows and pursuing three Bobolinks when we flushed a Yellow Rail , literally right at our feet. Susan Kailholz-Williams had raptors as her BBOTY: My best and thrilling bird of 2011: First confirmed nest of Mississippi Kites right here in Ohio.

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2011 Birds Ohio North Dakota 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2019

Even before we entered the park we had seen Black-naped Orioles , Tree Sparrows , Large-billed Crow , Javan Myna, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker, Olive-backed Sunbird and an Oriental Dollarbird. By the time we reached the Upper Thomson Road we had a spent three hours sauntering through the park and had a list of over forty bird species.

Singapore 113

Singapore Unwanted Pets Woodpeckers Parrots 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

This wonderful piece of birding real estate can be found 8 miles east of Olympia, and an hour’s drive south of Seattle Washington, right along the I-5 corridor. Nearly 800 acres of wetlands and tidal flats provide diverse habitat for the local birds, as well as large numbers of migratory species, including thousands of ducks and geese.

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Wildlife Seattle Bald Eagle Geese 107