February, 2013

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Whooping Crane Ancestry

10,000 Birds

So what’s so special about seeing the resident re-introduced Whooping Cranes in Florida? According to the ABA, they are not countable. And when you see them – as I have recently – they have massive transmitters and color bands on their legs. Moreover, the pair I saw was feeding from a livestock trough alongside a group of cattle. Hardly the elegant, natural picture deserving of some seriously stunning birds!

Florida 221
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Dog bedding for outside dogs

4 The Love Of Animals

Dogs love the great outdoors, don’t they? If there’s one thing that gets most of them wagging their tail in furious excitement, it’s when their owner brings out the lead ready for a walk. Canines love the chance to get some exercise, to explore the world around them. Some like meeting other dogs or sniffing for where their pooch peers have been.

Dogs 163
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Animal Ethics - Untitled Article

Animal Ethics

Many viewers were moved by Dodge's Superbowl commercial "So God Made a Farmer." This rich parody, God Made a Factory Farmer , dispels the myth of the family farm in a humorous, but accurate way. Very funny and so true!

Factory 40
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Waxwings and their kin: Meet the bombycillids

10,000 Birds

Waxwings and their relatives are a small, interesting group of songbirds that have seen some interesting taxonomic changes in the last few years. This group — dubbed the bombycillids , from the waxwing genus and family name — appears to fall near kinglets and a large group containing thrushes and muscicapids (Old World flycatchers and chats) in the passerine tree.

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Webinar & PDF Test

Speaker: Steve Romanco

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Duck Numbers And Duck Stamp Sales No Longer Correlate

10,000 Birds

The number of people who hunt waterfowl in the US has declined since the mid 1990s. This has resulted in a reduction of the number of duck stamps sold. Sales of duck stamps have funded the preservation of wetlands and other wildlife habitat, which in turn has supported an increase in waterfowl populations. This has benefited both the waterfowl hunters and everyone else who likes ducks and their kin.

Ducks 208
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Peli Can-Do

10,000 Birds

“The young ones are incredibly curious and playful,” says Monte Merrick, the co-Director of Bird Ally X in Arcata, California, which is almost to the border of Oregon. “The adults don’t say much – minor grunts, mostly bill clacking. But the babies bark like dogs and moo like cows.”. He’s talking about Brown Pelicans. “We always wear safety goggles,” he says.

Pelicans 201

More Trending

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Upcoming Potential ABA-countable Exotics from Florida

10,000 Birds

With the recent addition of the Nanday Parakeet ( Nandayus nenday ) and Purple Swamphen ( Porphyrio porphyrio ) to the ABA list (it was not too long ago that Common Myna ( Acridotheres tristis ) was added as well), I thought an article discussing the potentially upcoming exotic bird species from Florida to be added to the ABA area list would be relevant to the times.

Florida 191
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What is the National Bird of Italy?

10,000 Birds

Italy has no national bird! How this sad state of affairs could possibly continue is beyond the ken of this bird blogger but it is certainly disturbing that such an illustrious country with such a rich history could lack a feathered ambassador. Some places on the web claim that the national bird of Italy is the “bluebird” but this is so untrue that it does not make sense.

Italy 190
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Kaikoura in the Summer

10,000 Birds

Kaikoura, in New Zealand’s South Island, is arguably the best place in the world to see albatrosses and petrels. Whereas much pelagic birding involves arduous trips out to continental shelves with nothing but gulls on the way, you pretty much start hitting albatrosses a few minutes out of the little harbour and they keep coming for the duration of the trip.

Albatross 177
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Harris’s Sparrow, Eh?

10,000 Birds

So, let’s talk more about the Harris’s Sparrow. This big, chunky sparrow is one of Canada’s few endemic breeders (Wikipedia says the only one, but I trust Cornell more.) It is the largest of the Zonotrichia sparrows, with little cousins including the White-throated, White-crowned , and Golden-crowned Sparrows that already occupy my life list, and the Rufous-collared Sparrow down in Mexico and points south.

Sparrows 177
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PDF 9.21.23

this is a test

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Rescuing the Rescuer

10,000 Birds

When the wolf is at the door, a wildlife rehabilitator will let him in. And feed him. That’s why we’re always broke. Jodi Swenson is a bird rehabber in Gloucester, MA. She is the only one on Cape Ann, and one of only a handful in the state. Her fine china repair business pays her bills, but her budget is often strained past the breaking point by the 250-300 birds she takes in per year – such as this Eastern Screech Owl , who is recovering after being hit by a car.

Rescue 167
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The Rarest Bird I’ve Ever Seen

10,000 Birds

In India, everything takes about three times longer than you expect it to. On the first full day we had in Kutch, the largest and northernmost district of the state of Gujarat and where this year’s Global Bird Watching Conference was being held, the plan was to load the entire 300 person strong conference into 8 buses and travel over the desert on questionable roads to Chhari Lake.

India 164
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White Stork in New York

10,000 Birds

Imagine coming home after a long day at work, pulling into your driveway, looking up on the roof, and seeing a White Stork perched there. Sure, this is normal occurrence across much of Europe and southwest Asia but this particular tale comes from out on the east end of New York’s Long Island, in the town of Medford, where this happened to an unsuspecting non-birder, Celeste Rovner.

New York 165
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The Marsh Wren Singing and Gathering Nesting Material

10,000 Birds

If you have ever visited an area where cattail and/or bulrush thrive, you will undoubtedly have heard the call of the Marsh Wren ( Cistothorus palustris ) in the winter and spring. These vociferous little birds can usually be heard throughout the freshwater and saltwater marshes in North America. The male of the species will rattle off up to 200 songs, his repertoire size varying geographically, with the western males having considerably larger repertoires than eastern males 1.

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CST Sample_VideoTour

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Best Bird of the Weekend (Third of February 2013)

10,000 Birds

Birding tends to be an extremely freeform activity, demanding only we pursue our bliss to the best of our means and ability. But, every so often, the call is sounded, and the sharpest eyes and ears on the planet are pressed into service. This, the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count , is one of those times: tell us how you contributed to citizen science.

2013 160
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Best Bird of the Weekend (Last of February 2013)

10,000 Birds

I made some uncharitable and in some ways inaccurate comments about the month of February last week which were starkly contradicted by some excellent birding reported in different parts of the world. However, I don’t take any of it back. In any case, we won’t have February to kick around any more once this week moves us into March. During my time in NYC, I had the opportunity to enjoy White-throated Sparrows , which are much more common downstate than in my part of upstate, at the Gr

2013 158
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I and the Bird: All the Ardeids

10,000 Birds

We’re going big with next month’s installment of I and the Bird. The family Ardeidae consists on long-legged, long-necked, long-beaked, water birds called waders in North America or maybe just herons, egrets, and bitterns everywhere else. It’s a massive family with worldwide distribution, so I’ll be expecting a tsunami of submissions for this one.

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Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of February 2013)

10,000 Birds

I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. Must be from all that shoveling this weekend. But when life becomes most inconvenient, I become most impressed with those who blow past those inconveniences to pursue their passions. How did you pursue your (non-Valentine) passions this weekend? The Best Bird of my weekend was a partially leucistic House Sparrow that added some flavor to an otherwise drab feeding flock.

2013 157
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Gabriel PDF Webinar

Speaker: Gabriel Wagner Presenter

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The Giving Birders: Are They Out There?

10,000 Birds

Mountain Plover and many other grassland birds have populations in steep decline. Private property holders with prairie/agricultural land can potentially make a big difference in maintaining and recovering populations of many of these charismatic species. You all know me as the world’s preeminent ornithologist, and expert birderer (no, that’s not a typo).

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Where Are You Birding This First Weekend of March 2013

10,000 Birds

Wouldn’t you love to visit Cape Kidnappers in NZ, where Duncan Wright has enjoyed sauvignon and seabirds ? March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb and all that rot. What matters more to me is how this month comes in like decrepit winter and goes out like nascent spring, early migrants and all! Which spring migrant are you most looking forward to?

Lamb 155
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We Got the Wrong Starling

10,000 Birds

“Nay, I’ll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but ‘Mortimer,’”: – Henry IV, Part 1 And with that line from the great bard, an entire continent’s avifauna was thus affected. As the story goes, way back in the late 19th Century and organization called the American Acclimitazation Society was working hard to introduce every one of the 600 species of birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays to North America.

India 155
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Dead, Poisoned Mice to Rain Down on Guam

10,000 Birds

In what must be one of the most unusual conservation strategies ever, dead mice laced with acetaminophen, trailing streamers meant to catch on tree branches, will be dropped one-by-one, by hand, from helicopters. Why? To try to manage the invasive Brown Tree Snake on Guam, which has forced many of Guam’s bird species to extinction and as a way to try to keep the snakes from Hawaii.

Guam 151
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Webinar 5.9.22

Speaker: Steve Romanco

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Gazumped to Norway

10,000 Birds

Being part of the magnificence that is 10,000 Birds and getting to virtually hang out with some of the other bloggers can be entertaining and fun but occasionally there are downsides. I’m not referring to the increasingly prima dona-like demands of Mike and Corey, despite the repeated requests I can’t bring myself to address them as ‘Oh Great Ones’ if I have to send an email.

Norway 149
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Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus

10,000 Birds

Back in December when I was in Orange County, California, I enjoyed my early morning walks to and through Carbon Canyon Regional Park. As I have mentioned, the bird life there is relatively diverse and if you are lucky you can have an up close encounter with coyotes. In previous winters the only wrens I came across at Carbon Canyon were Bewick’s Wrens but this past year I was pleased to discover that a Cactus Wren had taken up residence in the large patch of Prickly Pear Cactus at the sout

San Diego 147
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Hybrid Teal Hotness

10,000 Birds

In February 2012, a gorgeous Blue-winged/Green-winged Teal visited Brazos Bend State Park in Texas, much to the delight of local birders. Chris Hirsch let me know that this hot hybrid is back in Brazos. As you can see from Chris’s photo, this is a duck worth seeing. For more photos of this beauty and plenty of other hybrid hotness, visit our hybrid teals page.

Texas 146
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Where Are You Birding This Second Weekend of February 2013

10,000 Birds

I can think of so many more interesting things to think about than the weather, and yet one cannot contemplate a winter weekend without checking the forecast. You lucky souls in stable climes don’t know how good you have it, always being prepared for what the weekend holds. Those of us in the path of the massively hyped Winter Storm Nemo have encountered a somewhat predictable season so far, but will likely give up birding for shoveling this weekend.

2013 145
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Test

Testing

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Digiscoping Photo Study of Ring-billed Gulls

10,000 Birds

Parking lot gulls are an easy target for photography. They are confiding, confident verging on cocky, and content to do their thing while you take their picture. And when what you are taking their picture with is a digiscoping rig you can get some pretty interesting pictures. These Ring-billed Gulls were drinking and occasionally taking a half-hearted bath in a big puddle.

New York 145
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Where Are You Birding This Third Weekend of February 2013

10,000 Birds

How I’d love to be pelagic birding in New Zealand right now! What could be ( better / worse ) than the last dregs of winter? How about a week during that winter when your kids are not in school? How ( awesome / less than awesome ). Where I live, schools are closed next week for winter break, which seems an awfully long time to celebrate President’s Day.

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Little Barrier Island and the New Zealand Storm-petrel

10,000 Birds

Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland was already one of the most important offshore reserves in New Zealand. The island was mostly forested through its history and never had introduced browsing mammals, meaning it had an intact flora. It was for many years the last place you’d find Stitchbirds anywhere in the world, and to this day it still has the largest population of this species and arguably the only stable and secure one.

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Sometimes Birds Can Hold Their Own Against Starlings

10,000 Birds

People get frustrated with European Starlings in North America, they are non native and they can snarf up food quickly at the feeders. One of the ways to deal with them is to offer feed mixes that only have hard shell seeds like black oil sunflower seeds or safflower. Suet can be a challenge though because it’s hard to find a flavor that starlings won’t eat.

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New Production Test

Speaker: cha cha dwyer

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