10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2013

Over the last two weeks, we raised our faces and sniffed. Later on — after seven years at most, in the case of the Black-backed Woodpecker — these first responders are gone and the holes in the snags serve as nesting cavities for martens, and squirrels and Mountain Bluebirds and Flammulated Owls.

Endangered Species 161

Endangered Species South Dakota Woodpeckers Sheep 161

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

Second, reading about birds courting and parenting brings out the tendency to identify, which leads directly to anthropomorphism, the tendency to assign birds human emotions and thoughts. Which is not to say that it doesn’t contain striking images of birds parenting the most adorable songbirds, owls, and heron nestlings imaginable.

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

Between staying warm/cool, finding food, avoiding predators, migrating thousands of miles every year, finding mates, raising chicks and doing all this at the mercy of the elements, it makes sense that they have more brainpower than just simple instinct to run on. What does a Flammulated Owl do all night?

Emotional 204

Emotional Science Birds Mammals 204

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

In the finest tradition of Romanticism, gulls dwell in the mystic world of dark and morbid imagery and emotions, which is expressed in often eroticized ways of aesthetic self-dramatization*. The eagle owl is still sitting tight on the nest. But let me tell you something: gulls are not what they would like to make you think they are.

2011 161

2011 Birds Deer Europe 161

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

Nineteen days later we had racked up an amazing list of 436 species, including some of Africa’s least known birds such as Congo Serpent Eagle , Yellow-footed Honeyguide , Tessmann’s Flycatcher , Yellow-bearded Greenbul , Black-collared Lovebird and much besides. We also knew we had discovered Africa’s next hot birding destination.

Ghana 191

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 191