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. One of these islands may have been the present day Northern Central American Highlands which includes Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and parts of extreme southern Mexico (Chiapas). This is a fascinating area of transition.

Honduras 226

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 226

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 203

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 203

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2014

En route they will be “birding in nearly every country in mainland North and South America,” and, as they say on their excellent blog , “Our journey is about collecting valuable data on bird species, their status and distribution, current conservation issues, and more along the way. Check them out and then come back to read about the guan!

Guatemala 166

Guatemala Mexico San Diego South America 166

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

The prospect of identifying a certain number of species in a given amount of time pushes us to pay more attention to birds no matter what the circumstances (although I suggest keeping the exclamations about species identifications to yourself during such solemn situations as funerals, graduations, and watching episodes of The Sopranos).

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2014

En route they will be “birding in nearly every country in mainland North and South America,” and, as they say on their excellent blog , “Our journey is about collecting valuable data on bird species, their status and distribution, current conservation issues, and more along the way. Bicolored Antbird. Ocellated Antbird.

San Diego 195

San Diego South America Costa Rica America 195

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

The idea of Lost Animals was conceived after the publication of Extinct Birds (2001), a 400-page, four-pound book on 75 extinct species. Lost Birds looks at photographic representations of 28 species, 21 of which are birds. Some document one of the last views of the species, others are of the last representative of the species.

Animal 270

Animal Mammals Hawaii Dolphins 270

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. The Spanish Colonial Experience and Domestic Animals. Which would be weird. Kiva 78(1):37–60.

Turkey 210

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 210

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

But a a package, if I had to rate the best places I’ve ever been birding, the only place I can think that comes close is Mweya, in Uganda, or maybe Tikal, in Guatemala. But I believe birding should be more than just “getting birds” Danum Valley is an experience, and I can’t recommend it enough. A tick is a tick.

Lemurs 159

Lemurs Family Rhinoceros Fish 159

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Birds of Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rican, and Panama , just published in October, is a field guide that was ten years in the making. Covering 1,261 species with data and taxonomy current up to August 2017, the field guide is an exciting achievement. SPECIES ACCOUNTS.

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2018

After a brief look at a map, my rough guesstimate is that the territory from Guatemala and Belize south to the Darien gap is roughly equal to New England, or Florida and the eastern parts of Georgia and the Carolinas north to the Virginia line. Central America is much smaller than the land encompassed within the borders of Canada and the USA.

Costa Rica 120

Costa Rica Guatemala Birds Nicaragua 120

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2011

As his passion for birding grew he decided to travel Latin America; he has spent time in Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela and a great deal of time in Brazil. One of his most memorable birding experiences was the six months spent in Northeast Brazil performing research on a new species of bird called the Araripe Manakin.

Brazil 160

Brazil Venezuela Iowa Guatemala 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2012

Catbirds are not the unfortunate result of unwise experiments with radioactivity. Catbirds are a group of rather distantly related species all named for the fact that they make sounds that remind some of a cat meowing. We can start first with what catbirds are not. They are not flying cats nor birds with whiskers.

Papua New Guinea 191

Papua New Guinea Ethiopia Guinea Cats 191

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2012

Anyway, it was some ungodly hour that we all awakened from our beds at Hotel Don Udo’s in Copan Ruinas and piled into the back of two trucks for our four-wheel drive excursion high into the hilly terrain near the border with Guatemala. If you ever go I hope you have as good an experience as I did.

Honduras 182

Honduras 2009 Falcons Guatemala 182

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

Many studies have shown that a life rich in new experiences, and especially learning a new language late in life, can help stave off the onset of dementia. Of course, it is possible to live in Mexico while avoiding many new experiences; but why would you want to? Good choice!). border in twelve hours, or fly there in three.

Mexico 232

Mexico Birds Costa Rica Alabama 232

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

It was a heart-pounding scene straight out of Jurassic Park, an odd experience for a laid-back pursuit like birding. This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. This may sound mundane, but my Best Bird of the Year is a species we all know quite well in one form or another.

2012 155

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 155