10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

Ethiopia , a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Only twenty years ago it was an out-of-bounds, desperately impoverished and war-torn ex-Marxist state. Tourism infrastructure didn’t exist then and development has been slow. Tours groups that I guided to Ethiopia ten years ago had to endure very basic accommodation, almost no surfaced roads and low levels of service.

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Ethiopia Eritrea Africa Mammals 268

4 The Love Of Animals

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

It has been snowing in our part of the world, and that reminded us of the time when our dog Baby had to wear a cone. Now, for those of you with pets who have had to wear the dreaded cone, you know that it can be pretty funny. Dog plus cone plus snow equals snow shoveling. I only wish I had held the camera the right way! Join the fun with the Blog Hop below, and please be sure to visit BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday post today, they are featuring some very special dogs.

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Dogs Pets Rights 100

Critter News

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

The New York City red-tailed hawk has had a traumatic year and it's still February. He lost his long-time mate Lola and ended up with new mate Lima with whom he had chicks. Now, she was found dead and the question is whether she was somehow killed by toxic herbicides used in Central Park. Awful. Warning. graphic photos.

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New York City New York Killing Birds 116

Animal Ethics

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

To the Editor: Re “ Don’t Presume to Know a Pig’s Mind ” (Op-Ed, Feb. 20): Blake Hurst, a former hog farmer and president of the Missouri Farm Bureau, cautions that “we can’t ask the pigs what they think.” But we can ask, and they can answer. Not in words, of course, but they can answer in ways that we can understand if we are paying attention. People who study pigs say they are as intelligent as a 3-year-old child, smarter even than the dogs we share our homes with.

New York Times 46

New York Times New York Gestation Crates Gestation 46

Speaker: Steve Romanco

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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. But Torrent Ducks are fearless and to witness some of their daredevil feats ranks pretty high in the book “1000 Avian Spectacles to See Before You Die” A book that I have not yet written.

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Ducks Colombia South America Squirrels 241

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Sometimes hawks, in particular, Red-shouldered hawks will go all Turdus migratorious , hop on the ground and nosh some slimy earth worms. There’s even video proof of a Red-shouldered Hawk eating earthworms on Flickr and there’s been discussion about this on MD bird listserv. This discussion about red-shoulders comes up from time to time and it throws people off, “Wait, hawks are raptors, they should be going for meat!

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Chickens Meat Rodents North America 223

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

I’ve just finished reading THE PLUME HUNTER (Torrey House Press, December 2011) by Renée Thompson. In this captivating book, Thompson explores the motivation behind hunters who shot birds to sell feathers for women’s hats at the turn of the nineteenth century. Set in the marshes of the Malheur and Lower Klamath regions of 1890’s Oregon, Thompson has crafted a story featuring Fin McFaddin, a plume hunter and the novel’s dark hero, and his best friend Aiden Elliott, a man stalwartly opposed

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Hunters Oregon San Francisco Portland 195

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

You may remember the awesome encounter Doug and I had with Red-cockaded Woodpeckers at the Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area from this post. If you are some kind of idiot savant you might even remember that the last image of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker that I shared was of the bird holding a grub in its bill. What you didn’t know unless you are some kind of a psychic is that Doug managed to shoot some slow-motion video of the woodpecker getting that grub, video that he was kind enough to

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Woodpeckers Wildlife Birds 189

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

While Blue Jays , Northern Cardinals , and American Goldfinches will all show up at bird feeders here in the northeast and share their brilliant blue, red, and yellow visages, we have no bird at our feeders to compare to the Painted Bunting. While I have mentioned their technicolor dreamcoats before it never hurts to mention again that a bird made of blue, yellow, red, and green is absurd and proof that nature is awesome.

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Birds Florida New York Wildlife 188

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Hummingbirds are one of the joys of wintertime birding here in Louisiana. My friend Erik Johnson and I recently visited the home of Dr. Jeff Harris — a birder and research entomologist — who has up to six different species visiting his feeders each day this season. One of the highlights the morning of our visit was an immature male Calliope Hummingbird ( “Stellula” calliope ), whose gorget feathers have started to grow in.

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Costa Rica United States Louisiana 2008 185

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10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Why would I call these beautiful woodpeckers the “clowns of the avian world?” Besides the facial features of the Acorn Woodpecker ( Melanerpes formicivorus ) appearing somewhat clown-like, they are a joy to watch and some of their antics are sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face. Both the male and female of the species have a bright red crown.

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Woodpeckers Breeders Groups North America 184

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

A team of researchers has found that the populations of common birds around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has plummeted. Most disturbingly, the populations of species that the area has in common with Chernobyl has fallen more in Fukushima than they did in the site of worst nuclear disaster in world history. a.

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Japan Birds Research Species 180

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Purple Gallinules are awesome. And I am in the enviable position of having a surfeit of images of Porphyrio martinica to share. Such is the burden that a digiscoping bird blogger bears when he visits the Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland, Florida in January. Grant McCreary of The Birder’s Library , who shared the experience with me, probably has pretty much the same problem.

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United States Florida South America Europe 180

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Tanzania has an enormous variety of exquisite birds but unfortunately it has an equal number of distractions that can interrupt your birding experience. Take these pesky Lions for instance. While seeking out tiny brown birds in the drizzle, we came upon this amorous duo and for some reason everyone in the car decided that the birds could wait. The Lioness sat regal in the rain and the chatterboxes who thought nothing of telling raucous tales while we crept up on a Tawny Eagle or a Variable Sunbi

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Tanzania Lions Birds Cats 177

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Experience

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

Richard Fried spent 2011 doing a New York State Big Year and managed to top the record of 350 species which was only set in 2008 by Scott Whittle. Richard totaled 352 species, an impressive number, by seeing almost all of the regularly occurring New York birds and the vast majority of the rarities that showed up in 2011. He kindly agreed to answer ten questions via email about this big year and this post is the result.

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New York Puerto Rico 2011 Japan 174

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2012

WONDERFUL WEAVERS There are many different Weavers in the world and as far as I can tell they share the skill of masterful nest building… unlike the shabby unstable creations of, say, Mourning Doves. By the way, I’ve tried to ID everyone appropriately but if you have any corrections please say so in the comments. Above a Speke’s Weaver displays below the nest in an effort to attract a female.

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Tanzania Africa Hunting Sparrows 174

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

During my time in Florida I only saw two birds on nests, which is not terribly surprising considering that I was there at the end of January. Most birds, after all, wait until spring. But when you see the two birds on nests that I spotted you will understand why I thought that two was more than enough. Birding at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival is really pretty darn cool… Great Horned Owl on nest Bald Eagle on nest Sorry for such a short post – the next one will be lo

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Bald Eagle Florida Birds Wildlife 173

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2012

The Green-winged Teal ( Anas crecca carolinensis ) is North America’s smallest dabbling duck and taken by hunters second only to the Mallard. Click on photos for full sized images. Luckily for them, even though they nest on the ground, they usually breed far from human habitation, under heavy vegetative cover. It appears that most of the Green-winged Teal have already paired up in California.

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Ducks North America Hunters California 173

Speaker: Gabriel Wagner Presenter

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2012

In between moments of staring at and trying to photograph distant Snail Kites at Kaliga Park on East Lake Toho in St. Cloud, Florida, Doug, with whom I had been birding all day long, found a Yellow-throated Warbler foraging behind us. And while Snail Kites are awesome, especially when you are adding them to your ABA list , a close and confiding Yellow-throated Warbler is almost irresistible, especially for a New Yorker.

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Florida New York City Dominica United States 172

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2012

It is finally winter in New York! This year it was only a couple of months late – not that I am complaining. But, as all good things must, our warm and nearly snow-less season had to come to an end and this weekend it finally did with a blast of arctic air and small quantities of the cold white stuff. Of course, we New York birders don’t let a little winter stop us from birding and over the weekend I saw a bunch of what I would call snow birds.

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Kazakhstan New York City New York Birds 170

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2012

This weeks post is driven by a glut of pictures and the need to clear the air with a small confession. Yellow Bitterns ( Ixobrychus sinensis ) showed strongly during a recent trip to Singapore and on occasion it would have been impossible to pose them any better than they were already doing themselves. It is possible however that I may have done them a disservice by telling all and sundry that they were Cinnamon Bitterns , so I would like to set that error straight here.

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Singapore Indonesia Asia Guinea 169

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

I imagine so. What do you think? And if anyone wants to provide a caption for the picture below please have at it in the comments. This is a Purple Gallinule Porphyrio martinica and a Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata at the Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland, Florida. Can you tell which is which? (Click image for larger version.) … a.

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Florida Birds 169

Speaker: Steve Romanco

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2012

Photography is a great tool to improve bird ID accuracy as explored in my previous post Photography and Birding. Now I am ready to share with you what lens I consider ideal regarding cost, weight, portability, and quality. My experience is only with Canon equipment which I have used for five years, of course there is also Nikon and others but these will not be considered here.

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Birds Experience Experiments Protection 169

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Southern Florida offers many unique wintering birds, but perhaps none more so then the sparrows that call different parts of Florida their winter homes. Tom Dunkerton tipped me off to an area on the Black Merritt National Wildlife Refuge where some of my target birds can be seen. Tom spends most of his daylight hours scouring the refuge for goodies, so I was ultra happy to have him as my knowledgeable local guide.

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Florida South Dakota Sparrows Wildlife 168

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2012

Maybe Staten Island isn’t all bad. After all, I recently tracked down my first-for-New York State White-winged Dove in the forgotten borough of New York City. The bird has been coming to a private feeder – where a young birder named Anthony Ciancimino happens to live – for well over a week now. White-winged Doves , usually denizens of the southwestern United States.

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New York New York City United States Mexico 167

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Last weekend, millions of people devoted their full attention to football and the accouterments of Super Bowl festivities. This weekend, the annual Grammy awards along with the unscheduled and untimely demise of a pop icon ensured that music dominated wide interest. Do you think that any event in our lifetimes will ever focus so much positive attention and excitement on nature or birding?

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Polar Bears 2012 New York Geese 167

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10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

The more data about bird migration we gather from professional and citizen science efforts, the more each one of us can learn about the comings and goings of our favorite species. Obviously, when Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology collaborate on a Bird Migration Forecast tool, the result is going to be pretty spectacular. But information wants to be free, so it reaches out to us through a variety of channels.

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North America America Science Birds 166

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2012

The closest site to Quito to reliably see the Umbrellabird is Recinto 23 de Junio covered by Corey here and also written by me: here and here. Now the humble Ajila family has made a great effort and built a brand new small cabaña where you can stay the night before. I stayed there with six other birders and it was very clean and comfortable. The food was also very good so I encourage anyone to visit this wonderful place and demand from you tour operator to see the Umbrellabird at 23 de Junio a

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10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

There are certain families that I habitually fail to encounter when opportunities arise. I’ve had pretty lousy luck when it comes pittas and broadbills, and I also am really bad when it comes to the various night birds such as owls, nightjars and related species. It isn’t that I never see them, just that I often miss them. One family I have consistently dipped on are the Burhinidae, known variously as dikkops, thick-knees or stone-curlews.

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Uganda Family Australia Killing 164

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

I was expecting Pine Siskins here. After all, there are pines. There are thistles and willows and all the other things Pine Siskins enjoy. Like so many nomads human and otherwise, the Pine Siskins are pleased to call this valley home base. But I wasn’t expecting so many. I was used to Pine Siskin, singular, a hidden prize in a crackerjack flock of American Goldfinch , earned with much digging.

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Blackbirds Adoptable Humane Family 164

Speaker: cha cha dwyer

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