10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

One of the rites of passage I underwent as a birder following my move from New York City to upstate New York was my first winter excursion to the rolling, snow-covered grasslands north of Albany to look for Short-eared Owls ( Asio flammeus ).

Owls 197

Owls New York New York City Cuba 197

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2019

Growing up in Niagara Falls, New York, June was a celebration of summer. Growing up birding in Western New York was also a time when the old woods of the Niagara Gorge were punctuated with the songs of hidden Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos and the lazy notes of Eastern Wood-Pewees. We had one in the Arenal area.

Costa Rica 195

Costa Rica Species Birds New York 195

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2020

I know that June has a poetic reputation for perfect days , but July in upstate New York may offer the ultimate summer nights. The stifling temperatures of a New York City heat wave did what even the height of the COVID epidemic failed to do: they prevented Corey from doing a single dedicated birding outing this weekend.

2020 158

2020 New York City New York Birds 158

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

I was shocked to still find a number of shorebird species up at Braddock Bay, perhaps because of how much productive mud the dropping lake levels have exposed. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Hopefully, you’re looking forward to the month ahead!

2020 216

2020 Connecticut Virginia New York 216

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2021

Of the species I spotted at Carbon Canyon Regional Park the bird I most appreciated was the California Thrasher , especially the one that cooperated for some portrait photography. Mike absconded from New York the day I returned and despite missing his connecting flight he is safely in Alaska right now.

Alaska 213

Alaska California Birds New York 213

Animal Person

MARCH 18, 2009

The New York Times presents us, this morning, with "Equine Alternative" regarding the recent discovery that horses decided to allow themselves be domesticated by humans for our mutual benefit, earlier than we had thought (3500 BC, and we preciously thought it was more like 2500 BC). And that fact gives rise to a thought-experiment.

Experience 100

Experience Experiments Horses Transported 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

I wonder what he would have made of the extraordinary peregrinations undertaken by this species in 2021, with birds turning up well north of their usual range in an event the American Birding Association has coined – with hashtag – #spoonbillsummer? Still, I was looking for a wine as pink as a spoonbill to celebrate our sighting.

New York 261

New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 261

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

Suffice to say, migrants were having no part of the Arctic chill enveloping Western New York, which means we’re still mired in the first wave of spring arrivals. Of the 132 species he spotted he decided photographing a Common Nighthawk in Queens for the first time entitled the nighthawk to be his Best Bird of the Weekend.

2020 164

2020 New York Birds Experience 164

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2021

Consensus is forming that the bird is a Gray-breasted Martin , a rarity that isn’t expected even in south Texas, much less New York. Whatever species it turns out to be it is Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you?

Texas 165

Texas New York Birds Owls 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2020

While birders were out birding the coast of Queens on Friday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay hit New York City, Corey was stuck working. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. If you spend any time in the NYC Metro area, you know what I mean!

2020 225

2020 New York City Whales Whaling 225

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2021

And what could be better than a new bird-themed brewery opening up less than two miles down the road from me? I first noticed The Warbler Brewery in the Albany, New York suburb of Delmar back in November, a little over a week before their grand opening the day before Thanksgiving.

New York 260

New York Boston 2019 Collecting 260

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.

New York 171

New York Puerto Rico 2011 Japan 171

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Starlings, they’ll dutifully explain, are ruthless invasives that have been responsible for the serious declines of several beloved native species, like the Red-headed Woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ) and the Eastern Bluebird ( Sialia sialis ). A starling with nesting material at Normanskill Farm in Albany, New York, in May.

Farming 178

Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 178

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2020

Corey enjoyed a foul-weather seawatch on Saturday morning and birded a couple of locations Sunday morning before leading a walk for New York City Audubon in Forest Park. There’s something about the simple black, red, and white coloration of the species that makes it stand out as Best Bird of the Weekend.

2020 161

2020 New York City New York Birds 161

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2011

Also, I somehow doubt that whether I am stuck at work or not really influences how everyone else experiences spring but this is my blog post so I can use whatever criteria I want to measure how well spring has gone. Spotting 57 species of birds in the couple of hours we put in to seeking out birds was never so ho-hum in my life.

New York City 162

New York City New York Walruses Birds 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2019

I recently despaired of ending this calendar year without seeing a single Wild Turkey when that species used to be so reliable in my part of New York. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2019 136

2019 Nevada Turkey New York 136

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2018

Without any real birding or outdoor activity during what was a gorgeous New York weekend, I still observed plenty of birds. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Though these feisty corvids reside here year round, fall particularly bethinks me of Blue Jays. How about you?

2018 124

2018 New York City New York Birds 124

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2021

July in New York City is generally an unpleasant experience. This is why New Yorkers in summer have fled the city for the mountains upstate, the beaches on Long Island, or, really, anywhere, for as long as New York has been a metropolis. Sandhill Crane , species number 330 in Queens!

Jamaica 264

Jamaica Birds New York City New York 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2018

Many birders have places they return to year after year, special pilgrimages promising scenes and species they see nowhere else. Enjoying these locations over time allows us to experience our beloved birding sites in all their multifaceted glory, even when those facets aren’t exactly glorious. How about you?

2018 124

2018 Ponies New York City Tennessee 124

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2019

We’re still driving towards the depths of winter here in New York, but I just noticed that our days are getting longer. Corey enjoyed leading a New York City Audubon bird walk at Forest Park on Saturday morning and visiting Breezy Point on Sunday. Spring migration will be here before you know it, right?

2019 113

2019 New York City New York Birds 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2012

Nassau County, New York, March 2009 After having fully explored the trail around the West Pond at Jamaica Bay , we four bird bloggers agreed to load up Patrick’s car and head over to Jones Beach to see what kind of birds we could find there and some other locations in Nassau County.

New York 160

New York Butcher Birds Geese 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 14, 2019

i got my fill of cygnets and goslings this weekend, but the best sighting was an adult Cattle Egret that apparently didn’t realize how far Upstate New York was from wherever it should be. Of those species, his favorite was a young Killdeer , which easily became his Best Bird of the Weekend.

2019 127

2019 Cattle New York Birds 127

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. Jennifer Ackerman points out in the introduction to What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds , that we don’t know much, but that very soon we may know a lot more. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 199

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

Consequently, I observed no birds more interesting than Gray Catbirds this weekend, and those birds stand out only because the sudden chill enveloping Upstate New York reminds me of how soon catbirds will be leaving. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

2019 125

2019 Philadelphia New York Birds 125

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2019

This month may have brought uncommon cold and rain to Upstate New York, but June went out on an exceedingly high note for us. Luckily, for birds, I didn’t have to, as a skulky Winter Wren sought shelter right outside my dining room window, adding a highly improbable third wren species to my yard list.

2019 125

2019 New York Shelters Birds 125

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2019

I definitely didn’t see much, but sometimes the usual species satisfy well enough. Corey enjoyed a weekend upstate in his hometown, beating the heat that baked New York City. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2019 130

2019 New York City Virginia New York 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2022

Solid Air: Invisible Killer- Saving Billions of Birds from Windows is the summation of Dr. Klem’s expertise, experience, and professional life–what we scientifically know about bird and glass collisions, a handbook on how to prevent them, and, not insignificantly, the story of a remarkable career.

New York City 246

New York City Birds Illinois Science 246

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2021

The survey also sought to identify “the key attributes important to birding experiences” and learn more about “decisions to participate in birdwatching and level of identity as birdwatcher.”. Nationally, most birdwatching occurred in California (9%), followed by New York (6%), Texas (5%), Pennsylvania (5%), Florida (5%), and Ohio (4%).

Minnesota 264

Minnesota Research Pennsylvania Ohio 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

Doug Futuyma is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University, State University of New York, and he has taught much of this material to undergraduate and graduate students, and also birders in later years, for literally decades. The book is smartly organized into 12 chapters.

Science 203

Science Albatross Research Birds 203

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2014

If you read my weekly posts bookending theweekend birding experience, you know that I pay close attention to phenology. The way the ebb and flow of each season impacts out experience of the natural world must inform our efforts to observe avifauna if we want to optimize our experience. Birding best bird weekend'

2014 167

2014 New York Birds Experience 167

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2016

My core values demand that I get outside often enough to experience the real world, rather than what I see while watching football. He was pleased to spot all of his target species, from Yellow-breasted Chat to Ovenbird. But his Best Bird of the Weekend was the fifth Western Tanager he’s ever seen in New York State.

2016 134

2016 Squirrels New York Birds 134

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2014

The book I am writing is the New York edition in the new series of American Birding Association field guides. Officially called Field Guide to the Birds of New York , it is scheduled for publication in October of 2015. And, no, I don’t have to use my middle name in order to write a field guide. (I

New York 192

New York New Jersey Colorado Pennsylvania 192

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2022

With nine years of experience using it and birding with beginning birders, I would like to update that opinion. This is, in a way, no surprise since it was designed by birders who have used their own experiences in the field to determine what warbler seekers really need. This is a guide for all birders.

United States 203

United States North America Species 2013 203

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2019

We encounter all sorts of exciting FOY species, including a particularly gorgeous Black-throated Green Warbler. A first for New York State, Corey grabbed his gear and his son and drove as quickly as safety and sanity would allow the fifty or so minutes it took for them to get to Timber Point Country Club.

2019 114

2019 New York Birds Experience 114

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2015

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a new bird in New York State for him, a difficult feat when approaching 400 species checked off the checklist. But New York’s first chaseable Crested Caracara was well worth the effort, even though it took two visits to Orange County to see it!

2015 160

2015 New York Birds Florida 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a relatively common species though it was uncommonly cooperative. A juvenile White-crowned Sparrow is an expected bird in late fall in New York State but it is always nice when one sits still for a digiscoping session. How did you fare? What was your best bird of the weekend?

2014 167

2014 Bats New York Birds 167

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

His topic was the report recently issued by the Audubon Society where the organization claimed 314 species of birds in the United States and Canada are threatened by climate change. If 314 species are threatened in the United States and Canada then the numbers world wide must be absolutely staggering. Get involved!

New York City 207

New York City New York United States Canada 207