10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

I love sparrows, so seeing a feather-worn Vesper Sparrow this past July filled my heart with joy. I wanted to see prairie birds and I wanted to experience a new state. We saw sparrows–a total of 14 species–and we saw many other great prairie birds, and we often saw them perched on posts.

North Dakota 138

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 138

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 168

2014 New York Birds Experience 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

Where can I see Cabanis’s Ground-Sparrow followed by a fantastic meal ? I savor the timeless experience of scanning these tropical waves for storm-petrels and lost jaegers. Local guide and birder David Mora Vargas has been spending much of his time at his family’s farm in the Sarapiqui lowlands.

Costa Rica 211

Costa Rica Birds Thailand Family 211

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2015

Just like we did last year my family spent this past weekend camping at North Lake State Park, up in New York’s gorgeous Catskill Mountains. And, not surprisingly, the breeding birds present were largely the same species as last year which was not a problem at all! Not because of the species but because he knew the species!

Birds 162

Birds New York Family Sparrows 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. There’s more than one song per warbler?

North America 278

North America Research Birds Groups 278

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2022

we learn) that are home to coveted boreal species, breeding wood-warblers, and two species of Grouse. There are 461 species on the Maine checklist. This field guide covers 265 species, the ones most likely to be seen–residential and migratory, almost all nesting birds, many wintering birds.

Los Angeles 194

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 194

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2018

Family obligations kept me on the sidelines during Global Big Day, but I did manage to sneak in a little birding before traveling. That netted them 136 species, and more birding on Sunday morning got Corey even more. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Did you notice?

2018 101

2018 Birds Sparrows Experience 101

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

In this first installment, I will focus on my impressions and experiences in the highlands portion of our tour. Many Neotropical families and genera have some of their northernmost members here, such as the spinetails ( Rufous-breasted Spinetail ), Tangara tanagers ( Azure-rumped Tanager ), and guans ( Horned Guan ).

Honduras 213

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 213

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into. Superficially, it resembled the Black-chinned Sparrow of the southwestern United States with its gray chest and chestnut streaked with black back.

New Jersey 221

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 221

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Most of these birds are small, finch-like species with thick, conical bills for cracking seeds or eating insects. He goes on to describe how early classifications of the nine-primaried oscines relied on bill shape to determine family boundaries. A new perspective on tanagers Much of the core of the tanager family remains intact.

2003 210

2003 Sparrows Family South America 210

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2015

Many of these species were very high on my life bird wish list, and the country itself would be a totally new experience: a vibrant and enchanting culture, a varied and tasty cuisine, and stunning and new landscapes. Boldly patterned and full of character, this endemic sparrow was the highlight of my first day in Mexico.

Mexico 174

Mexico Birds Owls Sparrows 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

Of course, with the Drakensberg still not that far away from Capetown and South African explorers obviously very fond of saving mental energy by simply starting bird names with the word “cape”, we have the Cape Robin-Chat … … the Cape Rock Thrush … … the Cape Sparrow … … and the Cape Weaver.

South Africa 231

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 231

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

These arid hills, cloaked in a mosaic of deciduous scrub and desert vegetation, form a northern outpost for several Neotropical species while also harboring several key endemics and southwestern Nearctic species. I had point blank life views of this tricky species from within a few feet.

Mexico 191

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 191

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2015

GISS—general impression, size, shape—is intuitive, the result of an unconscious cognitive process derived from experience in the field. It is not a handbook, though it approaches species from a collective viewpoint. “BBI These chapters differ in length and content, depending on the number of species in each group.

Birds 169

Birds New Jersey Science Groups 169

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2011

On a recent family trip to Jones Beach, on New York’s Long Island, I had the opportunity to observe a small flock of gulls bathing, resting, and preening in some shallow brackish water that had collected behind the beach. I need to go find some sparrows or some other species that are really easy to deal with… a.

New York 180

New York Collecting Sparrows Experience 180

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2020

The “ Explores” are only part of the book, and there is much else of value in it, even for the reader who cannot quit his job, sell all his worldly possessions, leave his home and family, and take to the byroads armed only with a parabolic microphone. It’s not a field guide, as such.

Virginia 242

Virginia Boston North America 2020 242

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? And why spend time only looking for one or two species when those hours could be used to put binos focused on a few dozen? Aren’t all birds worth watching?

Costa Rica 202

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 202

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

where and when the species is likely to be seen on the east coast, flight style, size and structure as compared to similar species. Of the 426 species on the official state checklist, this guide covers 252. Attention is also paid to when and where each species is likely to be seen in the state.

Pennsylvania 165

Pennsylvania Texas Whales Whaling 165

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

Here are some of the best experiences of my excellent trip. This was a wonderful re-introduction to the desert species I was seeking. I managed to get some video of this greedy thrasher before a family walked down the path, and you can view it here. Now, years later, it was time to return. And, Montezuma Quail.

Arizona 102

Arizona Lovebirds Phoenix New Jersey 102

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. Not much of a vignette but I have a nice picture of the sparrow so I feel that I had to mention it. How exciting.

New York City 163

New York City New York Walruses Birds 163

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

The many islands of the Caribbean Sea are as unique a place to experience the amazing potential for speciation and diversity as the more famous Galapagos and Hawaiian islands are. As a hanger-on of my wife’s family I find myself this week in Aruba, one of the ABC islands just off the coast of northern South America.

South America 165

South America Netherlands America Sparrows 165

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2013

People ascribe near mythic status to the members of the family Delphinidae (and other related families). Even people with no other interest in wildlife, who couldn’t tell a sparrow from an ostrich (or even a dolphin from a fish) love dolphins. Which has always mystified me slightly. South Banks Peninsula.

Dolphins 155

Dolphins Sharks New Zealand Albatross 155

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2012

When staying with Daisy’s family in Yorba Linda, California, I often wake up early in the morning and take the short walk up to the southern end of Carbon Canyon Regional Park to do some birding. Despite, or maybe because of the active human intervention, quite a few species can be seen in a couple hours in the morning. (I

Coyotes 101

Coyotes California Mammals Sparrows 101

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2013

“That more rehab centers would accept non-natives, like pigeons house sparrows, and starlings,” wrote Charis in Oregon. Why is there no state or federal money available to care for federally protected species? Monte in California agreed: “I’d like some time just to watch healthy wild families.”. Change in Government Attitude.

Wildlife 245

Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Oklahoma New York 245

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The first, the much caricatured hard-nosed lister who stops at nothing to get just one more bird, and the second, the deep-patch birder who just wants to hang around the common species. That regular common species are ignored? Both of these opposite ends of the birder spectrum combine effortlessly in the county birder.

McDonalds 166

McDonalds South Carolina North Carolina Jordan 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2018

Since he first started walking his property, he’s located a slew of species so exciting that birders are starting to turn up at his doorstep. Nonetheless, a birder’s initial experience in Honduras sets him or her on an inexorable course towards the only species currently named for this gem of a country. Maradiaga.

Honduras 137

Honduras Birds Farming America 137

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

After all, birding under a highway is not exactly my idea of a pleasant experience. What a marvelous sight my seventh goose (and 313th species) for Queens was! It was another nice look but I didn’t linger as I wanted to get home and enjoy the rest of the day with the family. Greater White-fronted Goose !

Puerto Rico 121

Puerto Rico Geese Canada Porpoises 121

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

Having never been to Brazil I can’t possibly speak as an expert in terms of what birds are covered or how well species that I have never seen are depicted. The species accounts are written by Robert Ridgely, one of the premiere neotropical ornithologists, and a veteran at writing excellent field guides. Talk about a win-win!

Brazil 200

Brazil Wildlife 2011 Birds 200

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2011

If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. On Sunday at Kissena Park I saw five species of sparrows. A mixed species flock of sparrows (american tree, field and chipping) was by the bike track parking lot. I see why people sometimes call them gray ghosts.

2011 154

2011 New York Deer Birds 154

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

Getting to know the subtleties in differences between closely related species takes years of dedication and practice. Thirdly, many species of shorebirds display such vast differences in their summer and winter plumages that it is always interesting to note how some birds in the same flock are in contrasting stages of plumage.

Florida 188

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Mostly the ducks were Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup , the two most prevalent species on the pond, but there were a few other birds mixed in as well. … Tags: ducks , features , jamaica bay , migration , queens • Camping tents - Check out our pop up tents , family tents , and more! It was a great experience.

Ducks 170

Ducks 2011 Jamaica New York 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

That larger clade is in turn sister to a clade containing the four remaining totipalmate bird families, which do still seem to be related, and which needed a new order name once pelicans were removed. But meanwhile, let’s look at the four avian families that comprise the brand new order Suliformes.

2011 152

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 152

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Europe… with such low herp diversity the locals split any sub-population of a species that occurs on either the Iberian Peninsula or Italy as a new species just to make them feel better out themselves, naturally is the continent that rose to the top of my trip list. Either that or having family friends in Germany.

Salamander 138

Salamander Germany Birds Blackbirds 138

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2019

It’s a rush any new birder experiences: that of every species being a lifer. Once you’ve been around the birding block a few years, your appreciation for the lifer experience deepens greatly. But the opportunities to see new species become more difficult with each one seen. Those Snowy Egrets ? For my U.S.-only

Spain 194

Spain Europe Sparrows Mexico 194

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

This species is not only usually the earliest, but the most common. What’s remarkable about this species is what we don’t see here: the extremely long migration that this species makes, with some individuals traveling from Sub-Saharan Africa to Greenland and back every year.

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

The countryside too is full of signature European species like European Bee-eaters, European Rollers and Great-spotted Cuckoos … Within a shortish drive of the lodge is an unusual birding spot called Pulo do Lobo or The wolf’s Leap. This is worthwhile to pick up some rocky terrain species and the scenery is stunning.

Portugal 172

Portugal 2011 Deer Birds 172

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

The experience is one of the ornithological highlights in the world. The field site I am assigned to is located in one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world and home to a particularly rich avifauna that numbers well over 500 species. That’s right – birds eating clay. Scarlet Macaws.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 Research Center 255