10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2012

The month and this particular period is all the more auspicious for me and mine, as so many friends and families celebrate spring birthdays. My family took our annual post-Easter Egg hunt hike at Powder Mills Park, where I spied several gorgeous matched pairs of Wood Ducks along with lots of different woodpecker species.

2012 179

2012 Birds Eggs Hunting 179

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

While hoopoes are in their own family, DNA studies suggest that the hoopoe diverged from hornbills, and the wood-hoopoes and scimitarbills from the hoopoe. However, it is kind of sophisticated in that the females lay very individualized eggs in order to be able to detect the added eggs of parasite cuckoo finches.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 20, 2013

Since king penguins don’t build nests, the female lays one egg and both parents share incubation duties by placing the egg on their feet. Experience the mysterious land through the penguins’ eyes on a first-of-its-kind family ride, and then, connect with a colony above and below the water and be inspired to make a difference.

Penguins 100

Penguins Transported Eggs Raised 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2019

But, other people like sitting out there too, even groups of photographers, so claim that seat and make sure to sit right in it or someone might just sit there instead, perhaps even an entire family even if you do have gear set out to supposedly claim the table (this nearly happened to me on a recent visit!). I hope to see you there.

Costa Rica 195

Costa Rica Cooking Birds Chickens 195

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. We saw a smaller member of the potoo family, Northern Potoo , Nyctibius jamaicensis , at Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, boating and birding the Salado River.

Honduras 242

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 242

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2013

But I took an opportunity to go down to Manitoba with Travis to see my family. Travis got to experience things he normally wouldn’t (like spending about 5 hours every day in a pool) and seeing the world famous Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic team (I can post a photo of them right? You have no idea how cold that water is.

Abandon 165

Abandon Abandoning Abandonment Eggs 165

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

Ackerman surrounds each individual story with background facts and studies on other birds who mimic, play, parasitize nests, engage in complex cognitive routines, parent in unusual ways–presenting a complex mosaic of avian behaviors amongst bird families and the scientific histories of trying to understand them.

Research 213

Research Birds Science Costa Rica 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2015

Written by birders, it underlies a wealth of facts, trends, and events with a consciousness that the more knowledgeable we are about good bird feeding practices, based on history and experience, the more successful bird feeding will be at bringing people to birds and the more people will advocate for effective conservation policies and laws.

America 222

America Industry Squirrels Birds 222

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2018

Where does the female Emperor Penguin go after she has produced that one egg and handed it over to the male for incubation? And, what about that female Emperor Penguin, who disappears for two months after handing her one egg over to her mate? Technology to the rescue! Who is it for? The penguin fanatics.

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

Ballantine and Hyman explore how birds communicate and summarize studies on how that communication functions in diverse bird families all over the world. Research experiments are described without citing the names of the researchers themselves or any other background information.

North America 278

North America Research Birds Groups 278

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Birders are always happy to see a turtle or tortoise, and there are times of the year when my social media feeds are sprinkled with photos of turtles beings removed from roads or crawling to land to lay eggs. Or that tortoises and terrapins are considered part of the turtle family. Lovich and Whit Gibbons.

Turtles 189

Turtles Tortoises Family Terrapins 189

Animal Person

NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010 will be Baby Sky's first, and our opportunity to introduce her to the notion that our family doesn't eat animals (not to mention that other historical story we'll be correcting). Justice for beings who look very different from us but who, like us, experience pleasure and pain, boredom and frustration.

Greyhounds 100

Greyhounds Forced Molting Debeaking Vegan 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Experiments in the field (the famed Asa Wright Nature Center veranda) involving Bananaquits and bananas came up with numbers ranging from 7 to 16, but a tanager always came along to interfere with Bananaquits’ noisy appreciation of their namesake fruit. (2) Which hummingbird was more beautiful—Tufted Coquette or Ruby-topaz Hummingbird? (3)

Trinidad 189

Trinidad Birds South America Research 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. I’m wondering as I write if you are shaking your head, uneasy that all these FACTS will interfere with your love of observing owls, an experience that easily borders on the mystical for some of us. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America covers 61 species of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae that breed in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. The book does not include House Sparrow, an Old World sparrow that belongs to a completely different bird family. Scope of Book.

North America 142

North America Sparrows America United States 142

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2013

Wingate cannot battle DDT when it starts affecting the cahow eggs, but he can provide scientific evidence that is included in the landmark suit that results in its banning. These are magical experiences. All the while, he is observing, documenting, practically living with the cahows when they return to Bermuda.

Birds 164

Birds Rats Breeding 2012 164

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

But, unlike most books focused on a bird family, this one is organized geographically. He draws on his personal experiences to inform the history, geography, and especially the travel option sections. A scientific analysis of the bird family was written by Lloyd S. Press, 2011).

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

Wrynecks are fascinating because they are woodpeckers, taxonomically and evolutionarily, yet they do not share many behaviors and anatomical features of most members of the Picidae family. But they are woodpeckers: the genus Jynx of the subfamily Jynginae of the Picidae family. They are beautiful, but in a different way.

Woodpeckers 224

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 224

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2011

Females seem to be the only sex to sit on the eggs according to literature, but no research appears to have been done on the night time routine. They both take responsibility protecting their young and remain in a family group for a period of time. If you follow the bird you know you will not accidentally stand on any eggs.

Eggs 160

Eggs Family Breeding Protection 160

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

Illustrations were created using diverse visual and physical source materials–skin collections from Australian museums and a database of over 300,000 photographs (plus, of course, the artists’ years of field experience). Each family group begins with a small box summarizing the characteristics of the family in Australia.

Australia 105

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 105

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

While the jays did catch our attention by way of a smart crest and different shades of blue and gray punctuated by a black necklace and mascara, they were part of our common natural experience, their existence was taken for granted. Like crows and jays, they are social, vocal, intelligent, and omnivorous (including eating eggs and nestlings).

Costa Rica 167

Costa Rica Panama Eating Eggs South America 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

I know from experience how accessible Dennis is, last year he helped me identify a damselfly I photographed in Costa Rica (Argia anceps, no common name). Species accounts are organized by family; Broad-winged, Spreadwing, and Pond for damselflies and Petaltail, Darner, Clubtail, Spiketail, Cruiser, Emerald, and Skmmer for Dragonflies.

United States 225

United States Costa Rica Massachusetts North America 225

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2023

So, all this makes birding this place an occasionally less than pleasant experience. The family has about 37 species, but that includes several fulvettas – only 21 of the species have “parrotbill” in their names (and frankly, the bills of fulvettas do not look like those of parrots at all). “See, only three!”

Pandas 194

Pandas Birds Eggs China 194

Animal Person

OCTOBER 26, 2009

Yet he spends time describing the miserable deaths of day-old male chicks and understands what happens in dairy production, and I assume he doesn't partake of anyone's eggs or milk. He is against it for himself and his family. But why does he say "vegetarian?" The plate might have to be five feet across" (50). This is very silly.

Factory Farm 100

Factory Farm Factory Farming Animal Vegan 100

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

According to Dr. Spock: Most families have become more conscious about the fat content of meats, and many are choosing the lower-fat cuts. My emphasis] There are other reasons why families are looking more favorably at plant-based choices. Sadly, Gillette's experience is not unique. But what about prior to two years?

Animal 40

Animal Meat Cows District of Columbia 40

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2013

Besides the urgent need to identify my dragonflies, I was interested in hands-on experience using these field guides. The where and how of egg laying and larva emergence is briefly treated, with page references to larval drawings at the back of the book. The Behaviour paragraph includes flight pattern and mating habits.

Ireland 168

Ireland France Breeding Eggs 168

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

It was a heart-pounding scene straight out of Jurassic Park, an odd experience for a laid-back pursuit like birding. Red Junglefowl by Mike Bergin Clare Kines chose an egg as his Best Bird of the Year. I wrote about the experience here. Adam Riley chose a bird that is near and dear to Mike Bergin’s heart.

2012 143

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 143

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

I had spent several holidays with my family in the USA in the 1980′s and then worked in Maine during the summer of 1985-beware the poison ivy and the snapping turtles! We are devoting a whole week to wood-warblers but are only just barely scratching the surface of possible topics involving this amazing family of birds.

South Africa 158

South Africa United States Austin Alligators 158

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2012

Hope you made the most of a precious May weekend… I took my kids down to the family gravel pit for some fishing. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Admire the modest scrape and speckled eggs of the Killdeer a.

2012 158

2012 New York Fish Birds 158

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

Picidae, Woodpecker, is one of those charismatic bird families that everybody gets excited about. Woodpeckers of the World: A Photographic Guide is the first major guide to family Picidae in 20 years. Unless the woodpecker is drumming a hole into your garage, and then, well, it’s a different kind of excitement.)

Woodpeckers 234

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 234

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

I have written about the interesting sex life of these jacanas a few times already (short version: female mates with male, lays a bunch of eggs for him to incubate and raise the chicks, leaves him, finds another male, repeat). Apparently, after a male first mates with a female, he throws out the first one or two eggs she lays in their nest.

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147