10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Daily walks with my kid in the baby jogger helped me build up endurance and lulled him to sleep, so one sunny afternoon I brought along my binoculars for my first experience birding with a baby. During a North Florida winter the lake isn’t much to look at – mostly dry with brown tufts of grasses and dead lily pads.

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Birds Florida Geese Turkey 175

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

I’ve been learning to band birds at the South Florida Bird Observatory. But hands-on bird experience has been a major gap in my knowledge to date and I’m astounded at how much more I’m discovering about birds. In Florida, many birds remain year-round.

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Florida South America United States North America 238

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Miami, Florida has a reputation among the birding community for being overrun with exotic bird species. However, the typical birding experience for someone down here also includes a large menagerie of other species such as Orange-winged Parrot , Mitred Parakeet , Egyptian Goose and Nutmeg Mannikin. It is well-deserved.

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Miami Asia Florida Malaysia 197

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2014

That will be the opening day of the 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Florida. Florida is a great place to bird in January because in addition to the year-round species there are a host of birds that winter in the relatively balmy climate that Florida has in winter. Have I missed anything?

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2015 Wildlife Florida Birds 197

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2013

By the time this post goes live I’ll be boarding an airplane to sunny Florida to begin the festivities. I don’t know what to expect from the festival itself, but I think I can say at least that the birding will be off the charts good, which really ought to make for a pretty sweet festival experience.

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Florida North Carolina Birds Branding 153

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2017

Over the weekend, a fellow naturalist friend of mine came to visit the Florida Panhandle from the Big Bend’s Cedar Key. Plus, I usually bird alone, so sharing the experience with a friend is that much better. We spent a day on the beach, a morning on Turkey Creek, and took walks around the neighborhood.

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Florida Fish 2013 Turkey 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2019

In other words, eBird is effectively a complete history of my birding experiences. Birding trips to Florida , New Mexico , and Texas are obvious too. For me, there was the Limpkin in Loxahatchee NWR in Florida, the Atlantic Puffin at Petit Manan NWR in Maine, the Falcated Duck at Colusa NWR in California.

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Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Michigan Washington 146

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2016

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was any of the three R ed-cockaded Woodpeckers he saw in the pine woods of Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area in central Florida on Friday during the “Central Florida Specialties” trip for the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. Such a rare bird is always a good sighting!

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2016 ALA Arizona Horses 101

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2013

In celebration of the coming weekend, The Management at 10,000 Birds have generously offered a special, all expenses paid trip to a pampering spa in Florida (they will not actually be paying the expenses, but it is assumed that at some point someone, somewhere, will end up paying. They asked me to make that clear). Happy Mothers’ Day.

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Florida Experience Experiments Birds 164

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2019

” As Communications Director for Audubon Florida, I wanted to both digest their findings and reflect on what their conclusions mean not only as a birder, but as an environmentalist as well. Audubon lists many ways we can take action to reduce climate change, but I especially appreciate Audubon Florida’s model ordinance toolkit.

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Science Florida Fox Protection 115

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

As the cold fronts begin to sweep through the northern states ushering in a wave of seasonal change and color, South Florida becomes a gathering place for migratory birds far and wide across the country. Black-bellied Plover is a common migrant in South Florida, occurring at both inland and coastal sites. Tricolored Heron.

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Florida Miami Birds Falcons 253

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2014

We took in a bit of the Disney experience this time down – it’s hard to avoid it with young children and doting grandparents – and even I cannot deny the skill at which the Disney corporation packages and sells nostalgia. As with most watery, natury, places in Florida, the birding is always good and often spectacular.

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Florida Rattlesnake North Carolina Ducks 174

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2015

I have now officially moved to the Emerald Coast of Florida, a beautiful region on the Florida Panhandle. I am within one of Florida’s sub-tropical zones, and my birding experiences have expanded, with life birds galore. As part of my new job I work on Okaloosa Island, separated from the beach merely by the dunes.

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Florida Birds Mice Breeding 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

This spurred her to pursue a career in environmental education and wildlife nature tourism as a park ranger in Texas and as the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail Coordinator with Florida Fish and Wildlife. Regardless, we made it Marion and all else added to the experience. Salvin’s Prion.

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South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2012

Mike was with his kids doing the theme parks in Florida and had as his best bird one of his Florida favorites, a White Ibis. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2012 Chicago Florida Birds 168

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

At the end of October, my family flew to Florida for a multi-day road trip aimed at the beautiful springs. We had an ambitious itinerary planned: six springs within eight Florida State Parks. Bubbling up from underground aquifers, the springs are known for their constant 70-72 degree F temperatures and impressive clarity.

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Florida Fish Turtles Shelters 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2013

There are many wonderful things to see at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival , but the Florida Scrub-Jay is as close to a “must see bird” as you’re likely to find down here. Florida Scrub-Jays have extraordinarily specific habitat requirements, or at least it seems that way now.

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Sanctuary Florida Litter Wildlife 186

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2012

Birding the Dry Tortugas in late April has always been high on my bucket-list of the best birding experiences in North America. And last week I got to celebrate my coming of (young) age by crossing one off the old list, courtesy of my mate Adrian Binns and Wes Biggs of Florida Nature Tours. That means I used to be very young.

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Florida Kentucky France North America 244

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2015

(Note: this bird wasn’t the handsome one above photographed by Doug Gochfeld in central Florida.). If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

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2015 New York Birds Florida 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

“This beautiful and singular bird, although a constant resident in the southern extremities of the peninsula of Florida, seldom extends its journeys in an eastern direction beyond the State of North Carolina.

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New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

For me, that experience encompassed an entire trip to Picayune Strand. The experience really drove home to me how critical the Everglades are not only to Florida’s water, but also to its wildlife. Located near Naples, FL, Picayune Strand is part of the wider Everglades.

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Birds Turkey Florida Experience 133

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Such is the burden that a digiscoping bird blogger bears when he visits the Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland, Florida in January. Grant McCreary of The Birder’s Library , who shared the experience with me, probably has pretty much the same problem. What do you do with hundreds of picture of Purple Gallinules ?

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United States Florida South America Europe 179

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2014

Mike had already explained to us that, in his experience, Black Rails at St. Nonetheless, hearing tiny little rails in the midst of a vast marsh with a score of other birders while an amazing sunset lit up the sky was an awesome experience. We were a happy bunch of birders well satisfied with our experience. Johns NWR'

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Wildlife Philippines Florida Experience 177

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 12, 2017

Colt Creek was my 99th Florida State Park. for Florida’s State Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites that hit a crescendo for me when I pulled through the gates of the park. What started as a general interest morphed into a freelance job, then evolved into a passion (er, obsession?)

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Florida Alligators Birds Deer 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2016

And on that note, do we really believe Corey saw the famous Florida Cuban Vireo if he doesn’t have visual evidence? If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. As they say, pics or it didn’t happen… How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2016 Adoptable Florida Birds 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2016

You won’t find Painted Buntings in Canada—Corey photographed these in Florida, where they are common feeder birds. These findings, published in The Condor , draw from citizen science efforts coordinated by scientists from the University of Alberta and Environment Canada.

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Birds Science Canada Florida 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Pelagic birding off the Atlantic coast of Florida can be a frustrating experience, usually involving long waits of up to an hour or more interspersed with brief flurries of activity — a far cry from pelagic birding off of coasts blessed with cold water currents and nutrient rich upwelling such as California, southeast Australia, and Peru.

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Florida United States Fish 2005 164

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%).

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Minnesota Research Pennsylvania Ohio 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Given my west coast experience, I have made dedicated birding trips to several of the more predictable birding hotspots. They include: Southern Florida , with stops at places such as J. I mention these trips because, along with other trips and experiences closer to home, they inform my research into my future birding travel.

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San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The brilliant orange coloration and rich, haunting song of the Spot-breasted Oriole ( Icterus pectoralis ) makes this species one of my favorite permanent residents in southeastern Florida, even though it is an introduced exotic. How can an introduced species be a favorite among birders? Don’t they compete with native birds?

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Miami Costa Rica Florida 2005 174

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

So it was with Alafia State Park in Florida. Who knows, maybe the experience will inspire me to rise another morning! As a result, I more often bird in the afternoon or evening, despite the fact that there are fewer birds I can actually see. To one side was the camp road, to the other lay a wetland meadow.

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Blackbirds Owls Birds Florida 154

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2014

I can’t wait to be in Florida! The 18th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival is less than a month away and while we don’t have snow down yet here in New York City I am pretty sick of cold weather and could use some warmth and Florida sunshine! It was awesome. You can see what participants saw here and here.

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Wildlife 2015 Bald Eagle New York City 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2012

It was a real pleasure to have a friend and colleague, Simon, accompany me on a visit to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Miami this week. My experience of Common Nighthawks had previously been at dusk as they begin hunting for the night. In southern Florida, this might suggest an Antillean Nighthawk.

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Miami Florida Hunting Breeding 167

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Dorian’s gregarious personality and self-deprecating sense of humor makes even the most meditative sections one of a piece with his birding experiences, producing a good read that may make you think. Plus tales of birding from the point of view of the traveling cyclist. There are also surprises. This is a smartly written book.

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Birds Los Angeles Massachusetts New York City 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2016

This Bald Eagle, photographed by Corey, was after Blue-winged Teal in Florida, not Atlantic Puffins in Maine. To wit: In an experiment informally called the “Cheetos Challenge,” a scientist investigated whether magpies or crows would be quicker to develop a taste for Cheetos—and which birds would ultimately steal them from the others.

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Bald Eagle Puffins Eagles Pigs 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Southern Florida offers many unique wintering birds, but perhaps none more so then the sparrows that call different parts of Florida their winter homes. Although, these birds in Florida are pretty far south. In my experience, however, most salt marsh species are seen like this.

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Florida South Dakota Sparrows Wildlife 168

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2015

All the local birders had seen them, and though I arrived on the Florida Panhandle too late to observe them when they were young, I fervently wished to see them all grown up. I even saw one throw up an owl pellet, a simultaneously gross and awesome experience. Almost the entire family had us surrounded.

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Owls Florida Family Raised 150