10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2021

It is not that close of a relative of the Northern Mockingbird , being in the same family, but a different genus. White-striped Woodcreeper : Faraaz Abdool recently wrote about Trinidad and Tobago’s wonderful Woodcreepers , and this one is the Woodcreeper of western Mexico’s pine-oak forests. The site is much-degraded now.)

Trinidad 172

Trinidad Emotional Transported Mexico 172

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2021

Marybeth learns as she birds, embraces listing goals as a means of engaging with community, unabashedly enjoys a little competition, struggles to balance her absolute joy in birding with unexpected, life-and-death family obligations. The book focuses on two listing events: her 2012 Louisiana Big Year and her 2016 Louisiana 300 Year.

Louisiana 264

Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2013

Seth and I made tentative plans to go looking for the bird again on the evening of the 6th but it seemed unlikely that I would be able to join him, what with family plans to go to the beach for the day. It is a bird of the Pacific coast of North and South America, breeding in western Mexico and southern California.

New York 150

New York South America 2013 New Jersey 150

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It’s relatively easy to classify birds into family groups based on physical characteristics. We sing about them, we paint them, we use them as mythic and poetic symbols for our spiritual and emotional feelings, we wear them in myriad and often colorful ways, we adopt them as household pets. So, I just sit here, amazed at this book.

Birds 204

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 204

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2020

I should add that the Big Owls taking over NYC social and even hard print media, dominating conversations with my nonbirder friends and family, are not the only owls in the five boroughs, but like a musical, the closer you are to Broadway, the closer you are to fame and fortune (and maybe even a higher quality rodent for dinner, who knows?).

New York City 179

New York City Birds Owls Fox 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2018

Johnson does an excellent writing job here, balancing his emotional perspective, which has admittedly become obsessive, with a more balanced viewpoint that paints the characters he encounters with understanding, even when he is suspicious of them.

Collecting 102

Collecting Iraq Ostriches Science 102

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

This totally crazy bird is the crème de la crème of the cracid family, and besides being endangered (population estimated at under 2,500), its habitat choice of cloudforests on the steep slopes of a few volcanoes and mountains in southern Mexico and south-western Guatemala makes it a tough bird to seek. Secondly, well just look at it.

2012 143

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 143