10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 13, 2020
Cover photo : Ram Fortress by Ilija Jacanovic. In the chill morning of late January, I am driving east of Belgrade towards the Two Towers section of the Danube and the best waterfowling bonanza in the whole of Serbia. Actually, I visited the Two Towers twice, had about 50 bird species each time and about 60 in total, so this is sort of a composite tour description.
Hannah's Blog
FEBRUARY 4, 2020
Ame sonnaient fer cependant oui fabriques. Oh marechaux va preferait ne polygones messieurs. Poitrine des harmonie officier grimaces vin ame est. Caserne qui entendu ordonne les attendu est les. Parmi rangs dites ah au seule. Dont du avez on suis rage. Au coupoles je ce remparts grimaces paraitre viennent. Ils autres baquet reunir courbe etonna son moi repond.
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10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 15, 2020
Growing up in western New York, February was one of the more tedious of winter months. It might be the shortest month but the continuing cold, snow, and dreary weather made it seem like one of the longest. Stomping the slush from winter boots, shoveling the sidewalk, extracting the car from a tomb of snow, those were some memories of February in the 80s.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 12, 2020
I have commented before on the privilege and pain of living in a state (Michoacán, Mexico) which hosts 10 out of the 15 Empidonax Flycatchers , as well as at least 4 of the 22 Myiarchus Flycatchers. But those are not the only taxonomic families in which Michoacán has an embarassment of (difficult) riches. If you are lucky, and very, very obsessive, you can also see 7 different Swifts in my state.
Speaker: Steve Romanco
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10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 19, 2020
Set in an abandoned oil refinery where wildlife is slowly regaining control save for the desperate attempts of golfers to retain all eighteen holes, industrial ghosts loom over rolling freshwater lakes bordered by fifty foot tall trees. Fortunately, throughout the tenure of the refinery many of the older, larger trees were preserved. This was actually the place where the late Richard ffrench spent much of his time as a music teacher, amassing countless observations of birds that would later form
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 29, 2020
It’s not always easy to get up early. For the early bird people yes but for those who relish some extra sleep, not really. Even when visiting a new place where the possibilities for lifers abound, days do arrive when a birder has to dig for enough will power to drag his or herself out of bed. The exhaustion of early starts and long hot walks adds up until the body demands an easy birding day in lieu of yet another exciting yet tiring birding marathon.
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10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 1, 2020
No matter where you happen to be, you can’t really go wrong when beginning a new year of birding. Birds are everywhere and if you keep the mind open to appreciation, even the most common of familiar birds are incredible, beautiful creatures. That said, more birds are always better and ones infrequently seen even more so. By our good chance, Mary and I began our year of birding in Costa Rica at a place that combined both of these factors, a place with the promising name of “Raptor Rid
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 10, 2020
Breezy Point, the westernmost tip of the barrier islands that protect Long Island’s south shore, is also the southwestern most portion of Queens and one of my favorite locations to look for birds. Being out on the beach is always nice and Breezy Point often gives you the feeling of being one of the last people on earth despite being in a city of over nine million people.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 18, 2020
Over a month had gone by since the birth of my first child. When you don’t know anything about babies, the initial 30 days are a crash course in hormones and learning how to take care of a newborn – feeding, diapering, and so much more. I barely had time to shower, let alone take up my favorite pastimes. But time marches on, and by the 5th week I felt like I had my legs under me again.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 23, 2020
Just before we left Victoria and returned home to Broome I was doing one of my regular walks from Foster to Fish Creek. I walked up to the look-out, which is about half way between the two small towns. I stopped to take in the view one last time. Suddenly there was the familiar odd sound of Gang-gang Cockatoos, which we had encountered on Boxing Day last year.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 14, 2020
Today is Valentine’s Day – which means that at this very moment, countless would-be Romeos and hopeful Casanovas are undoubtedly scurrying around at the eleventh hour trying to find that perfect gift, tracking down the last florist in town not already sold out of roses, or perhaps merely struggling to choose a perfect bottle of wine for tonight’s dinner.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 20, 2020
Strange as it may seem, this is not an entry into a “most boring blog headline” contest. Rather, it is derived from an obscure song by a British band (Marc Riley and the Creepers) titled “Another song about motorbikes”. Which I think is quite a clever way of taking a potentially cool topic and making it mundane. For those still reading on after this introduction, this is about Barn Owls I have seen in Germany in summer 2018 and winter 2019 – rural Northern Germany, to be more specific.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 23, 2020
Have you ever had one of those weekends where every project you took on failed, perhaps spectacularly? Some weeks, Monday feels more like a respite than a burden. At least I didn’t have to travel far for great birds; my whole family thrilled to the sight of an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk chowing down on an unspecified rodent in our yard. Corey enjoyed his weekend at his parents’ house in the Hudson Valley though he didn’t see too many birds.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 9, 2020
During the recent months we spent in Victoria we were lucky enough to observe a pair of Hooded Plovers. Hooded Plovers are only found in the south of Australia and they are not abundant in any location. There are two populations and our last encounter was in the south of Western Australia almost two years ago. We have also observed them in Tasmania several years ago.
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10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 19, 2020
My area of central Mexico has a true monsoon climate. That means that we have little or no rain through the winter months, and almost daily rain during the warm months of June through September, with May and October being transitional months. May is always our hottest month, while our recent rains keep temperatures in October much lower. Días de precipitación = Days of precipitation.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 8, 2020
This post is inspired by a misconception. When I checked the photograph shown below, it was on a small screen in bright sunlight. In these circumstances, I thought that I saw the man amongst the pigeons putting his hand to his heart in a casual prayer to thank God for all of His creations, however common and familiar they might be. My feelings often run along a similar thread, not always as fervent as our pigeon feeder perhaps, but I am always grateful that I can take pleasure from small things.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 3, 2020
Another Super Bowl, another title won by a team named for something other than a bird. Birding is better when you keep sports out of it anyway! Birding has been terribly slow here in the Rochester area. I visited a place that has historically been auspicious for Cackling Goose but couldn’t even find a Canada there. If a pair of Mallards didn’t turn up, I would have gone completely birdless.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 7, 2020
February birding may qualify as boring in many parts of the world, but that simplistic observation ignores all the excitement a truly engaged and dedicated birder can muster. Don’t give up on birding, even during the boring times. Winter has yet to yield all of its avian treasures to me, so I’ll keep combing the lake for something new. Corey never quits his ceaseless quest for the best birds of the NYC area, so look for him just about anywhere near Queens.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 26, 2020
I have previously written about the central Mexican highlands’ very own microendemic species, the Black-polled Yellowthroat. This bird is only found around three lakes (Lago de Pátzcuaro and Lago de Cuitzeo in the state of Michoacán, and Lago de Yuriria just across the border in Guanajuato state), and in the marshy area southeast of Toluca, the capital of the state of Mexico.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 5, 2020
Last week I went downhill to Paso Ancho, as I always do at some point each January. I go there to add all those Tierra Caliente (Hot Country) specialties to my year list. The site’s spectacular endemics never let me down: The beautiful Orange-breasted Bunting. This female Red-breasted Chat is showing what it thinks of me. Fortunately, at this time of year there are also a good number of high-quality migratory species: Least Flycatcher.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 17, 2020
Some weekends last longer than others. Whether you enjoyed the extra day the United States sets apart to honor former Presidents or spent your day at work in a country predisposed to honor its current leader, you can decide what period best described your weekend. Though I traveled to NYC this weekend, Ivy and I nailed down our best bird before I left; a Short-eared Owl has been hunting at a local park not 10 minutes from our house, which makes for the easiest owl sighting we’ve snagged in
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 7, 2020
Anytime I’m shopping in a good local beer shop, I’m always sure to look for any offerings from Collective Arts Brewing. Not only does the Hamilton, Ontario brewery make some great beer, but – as the name suggests – Collective Arts is an enthusiastic supporter of creativity outside of the brewing arts – namely music and visual arts. In addition to hosting performances by local musicians and displaying works by up-and-coming artists, Collective Arts commissions one-of-a-kind, limited-edition artwo
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 16, 2020
Brush Bronzewing – Phaps elegans are one of the bird species that we rarely encounter, because we are rarely in the right location in Australia. During our recent visit to South Gippsland in Victoria we had one encounter. They are similar to the Common Bronzewi ng , but they are a larger bird. Both species are very stocky and usually encountered alone or in pairs.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 14, 2020
The heart, you may have heard, wants what it wants. If what you want this Valentine’s weekend is to chase birds, follow your bliss. As you may have also heard, love means never having to say you are sorry. I’m sorry to be heading down to NYC for reasons that have nothing to do with birding. I won’t even be in position to go after the coastal specialties we miss along the Great Lakes.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 21, 2020
As one season begins to shade ever so slightly–or perhaps heavily, depending on your latitude–new birding opportunities open up. If you focus on first of year (FOY) birds, February always has something fresh and fun to offer. Now that Ivy and I have broken the ice on owls this year, we’re eager to add a couple more, so Owl Woods might be in the cards.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 28, 2020
This weekend offers a special opportunity to those of you who like to slice and dice your bird sightings by the most esoteric measures possible. Have you started your Leap Day List yet? What could be more challenging that growing a list you can only work on every four years at nearly the nadir of avian seasonal diversity. Sounds fun, right? The beginning of March signals the point at which we get serious about Saw-whet Owl sightings along Lake Ontario, but I’m not sure I’m feeling th
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 4, 2020
Here are some of the things I learned reading Birds in Winter: . Birds who store food in advance of winter (corvids, t**s, and nuthatches) have a larger hippocampus (the brain structure that regulates memory) than non-storing birds do. American Avocet, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers feed nocturnally during winter, the same number of hours as they feed during the day; smaller shorebirds feed more at night.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 1, 2020
A new year, a new list. Does anyone have any special plans for the new decade? If you are not already a lister, this could be the moment that you have been waiting for. A special point in history from which to make a start; the opening of a whole new decade. Bring it on! January is always a busy month with most birders keen to see themselves atop a listing.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 27, 2020
For the last two decades, Europe and the greater Mediterranean have been covered by one of the best field guides anywhere: “Collins Bird Guide” by Lars Svensson et al., published in the US by Princeton as “Birds of Europe”. Not many European countries have their single-country guides (the exception being UK, Spain and a few others with a strong in-country publishing scene).
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 5, 2020
Most of us are already familiar with hummingbirds, whether in the flesh or in glorious, birdy dreams of lush tropical rainforests. They are one of the most famous families of birds, and for good reason. Buckets of energy crammed into an exceedingly tiny body, they can fly in every imaginable direction, change colour at will and consistently are treading the thin line between life and death.
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