10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2011

For me there are few experiences more satisfying than releasing a fish that has put up a great fight. The quest to see a particularly challenging species is something I dream about, plan for, study and rave about. Enter our quest to see the Scaled Antpitta at Tandayapa Lodge in Ecuador. Just ask Corey or Mike.

Ecuador 150

Ecuador South Africa United States Hunting 150

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2015

This spectacular, turkey-like bird roams the floor of tropical forests from eastern Mexico south to northwestern Ecuador. In most countries, long, sweaty, expedition birding is required to see the only curassow species in Middle America. It also ranges widely from Mexico south to western Ecuador. Ain’t I great?

Costa Rica 173

Costa Rica Turkey Ecuador Hunting 173

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I used to live in Botswana, where there are about 450 bird species in an area a few dozen miles from the capital; then somewhat naively moved back to Serbia with mere 250 species around the capital.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

What happens when you visit one of the best birdwatching sites in the region with the highest number of endemic bird species in the Americas in the world’s birdiest country? The afternoon we arrived, we explored the low portion and picked up nearly 50 species in four fly-bitten hours… word to the wise, don’t wear shorts!

Colombia 264

Colombia Birds South America America 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2011

On a recent filming trip with Tropical Birding in Ecuador I had the awesome experience of getting up close and personal with two bizarre manakin species. This bird is a Choco endemic found only in northwest Ecuador and southwest Colombia.

Ecuador 232

Ecuador Colombia Research Birds 232

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? And why spend time only looking for one or two species when those hours could be used to put binos focused on a few dozen? Aren’t all birds worth watching?

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 203

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2015

Excellent 10,000 Birds posts have been written about Pico Bonito and Honduras by Corey and Carlos , so I’m going to focus on some of my most memorable experiences. Our group got to see another species that is a master of camouflage on our trip for the Honduran Emerald. Which is why seeing them was such a great experience.

Honduras 250

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 250

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2011

So, having been to Ecuador before, I knew that a few days in Quito and surrounds would be good for the old lungs before embarking on our quest for Seedsnipe. There are four species of seedsnipes (Thinocoridae) and all are endemic to the Neotropical region, including Patagonia and the Andean zone.

Ecuador 208

Ecuador Florida Australia Birds 208

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2017

In 2009, I traveled from New York City to the tropical rainforest of Ecuador. If you are about to embark on your first trip to the Neotropics and are strapped for time, I highly recommend chapter 4, “Finding Animals in the Rain Forest,” with its suggestions on observation (how exactly do you SEE species that remain in the canopy?)

South America 152

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 152

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2012

The walk to this evocative riparian grotto is actually rather short, but the experience feels akin to a ritual to anyone who has long anticipated dropping in on the diablotin. I actually turned down an opportunity years ago to see this species in Ecuador because I wanted the Dunston Cave birds to be my first.

Trinidad 246

Trinidad South America America Ecuador 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

It is my best bird because it is just such an incredible species, and looking at it made me realize that I had temporarily stopped to fully appreciate birds during the stressful last few years. This year I watched them from the day they arrived , until two chicks successfully hatched, the northernmost breeding record for the species.

2011 183

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 183

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

In 2012, I reviewed The Jewel Hunter , an absorbing narrative in which author Chris Goodie travelled throughout Asia, Africa, and Australasia to observe and photograph every Pitta species in the world. Hummingbird species, on the other hand, number in the hundreds.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

This species is not only usually the earliest, but the most common. What’s remarkable about this species is what we don’t see here: the extremely long migration that this species makes, with some individuals traveling from Sub-Saharan Africa to Greenland and back every year.

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

The countryside too is full of signature European species like European Bee-eaters, European Rollers and Great-spotted Cuckoos … Within a shortish drive of the lodge is an unusual birding spot called Pulo do Lobo or The wolf’s Leap. This is worthwhile to pick up some rocky terrain species and the scenery is stunning.

Portugal 173

Portugal 2011 Deer Birds 173

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

But when I felt familiar with perhaps half of the species around my town, I started to feel that my field guide is now too bulky and too hefty to carry, and that was the era before smartphones and phone apps. It is not a concept for a total beginner, more of a reminder to someone with some experience. Subspecies are not included.

Birds 247

Birds Botswana Africa Ecuador 247

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Frigatebirds (Fregatidae) Five species of frigatebird ply the planet’s tropical skies and seas. Ringer Cormorants and Shags (Phalacrocoracidae) Cormorants are more speciose than other families in the order; 30-40 species range widely on every continent and many islands. Corey Mar 12th, 2011 at 8:29 pm Now wait just one second.

2011 153

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 153

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2019

Ecuador or Botswana, respectively). 17%: Ecuador, Peru. While Peru was seen as the best country for “birds and ancient sites”, Ecuador was seen as “much safer” and best for its size and easiness of getting around. If I were answering those same questions, my answers would probably be Ecuador, Uganda and Thailand.

Papua New Guinea 214

Papua New Guinea America Costa Rica Sri Lanka 214

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2015

However, there are those species which have a hard time bringing attention to themselves such as Yellow-shouldered Blackbird , Giant Nuthatch , and Vinaceous-breasted Parrot. Regardless of their popularity, these species and the threatened ecosystems they inhabit are equally spectacular. Photo by Dušan Brinkhuizen (www.sapayoa.com).

Ecuador 198

Ecuador California Condor Blackbirds Parrots 198

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2013

studied how Plain-tailed Wrens and Rufous Antpittas in Ecuador reacted to audio playback of their songs versus playback of general background noise. They may experience undue stress and/or needlessly expend energy. News Bird Call Playback Ecuador Plain-tailed Wrens Rufous Antpittas' To others, it may seem like common sense.

Ecuador 195

Ecuador Research Birds Endangered Species 195

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2013

After over a year of planning and preparation (and after a quick trip to the Pantanal and Chapada dos Guimaraes), I finally arrived at Cristalino Jungle Lodge on the afternoon of August 1st, 2013 to begin my nearly three month long guiding experience here. Spotted Puffbird on the Serra Trail!

Parrots 173

Parrots Brazil Eagles Birds 173

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

The idea is that some finches from what is now Ecuador ended up on the Galapagos Islands, and subsequently diversified into a number of different forms … they speciated … filling various niches that on the mainland would have been filled by a number of different species.

Tortoises 200

Tortoises South America Panama Culling 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2012

Corey was lucky enough to meet Carlos while birding in Ecuador , where Carlos was dragooned into accompanying the horde of Queens birders for the day, an encounter that somehow didn’t turn him off of all things New York. Carlos Sanchez is an excellent birder, a Miami resident, and a polyglot.

Florida 158

Florida Miami Cuba Bahamas 158

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2024

Phoebe Snetsinger was an American birder who first passed the 8,000 species mark. Famous ornithologist Ted Parker crashed into a mountain in Ecuador while surveying birds. Having learned from my Namibian experience I walked away briskly. She died in a car accident during a birding trip. And so forth. None were found.

Mozambique 221

Mozambique Birds Ghana Namibia 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

I guess you cannot be too choosy while traveling, as I have learned when on trips in Ecuador and other places. The White-shouldered Starling is not very common in Shanghai or even in China in general, despite its species name sinensis. Soldiers could probably learn a lot about camouflage from this species.

Birds 130

Birds Tigers Humane Ecuador 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2020

Will the threatened species make it through if there are no birding tourists to make those birds and their habitats valuable to local people just the way they are (as opposed to tropical timber)? What will be left of birding tourism? I was trying to find that answer for a while and it turned into a very annoying experience.

Uganda 250

Uganda Bolivia Ecuador Indonesia 250