10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2019

We see a closer shot of the river itself, hawks flying across the span, and then we see that brown line again, close up, a wall of brown panels filling the right side of the screen, continuing into the distance, no end in sight, while a white pick-up truck drives parallel to it at the far left of the screen.

Advocacy 268

Advocacy Mexico United States Texas 268

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2011

It may seem like cruel and unusual punishment for we denizens of the New World to spend an entire week celebrating what is surely the coolest family of birds in the world, a family that is sadly absent from the Old World, but it can’t be helped. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

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United States South America Cooking Family 225

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 253

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 253

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

Though wood-warblers, the mostly brightly colored birds of the family Parulidae, are only found in the New World we felt that birders the world over would be pleased to see a plethora of posts about these striking and sought after species. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

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United States South America 2011 2012 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2014

For others, it is the desire to have a different birding experience from home without needing a passport. In the ABA region, southeast Arizona and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas host many sites right along the Mexican border that fit this description.

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Thailand Birds 2013 China 171

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

The chapter on “Capturing Bird Behavior” (my favorite) gives detailed examples of behavior cues and sound cues to look and listen for in anticipation of interesting preening, courtship, and family behavior. Each illustration (and, there are many) is captioned with equipment used and camera settings.

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Birds Ethics 2019 Experience 203

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2011

Though wood-warblers, the mostly brightly colored birds of the family Parulidae, are only found in the New World we felt that birders the world over would be pleased to see a plethora of posts about these striking and sought after species. Read about them here but also get out and experience them.

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Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 163

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

The birds that I have experience with, like some of the raptors, wading birds, shorebirds, and tanagers, are all true-to-life in color, shape, and proportions to say nothing of being pretty paintings, if slightly sterile on the standard plain white background.

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Brazil Wildlife 2011 Birds 246

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.

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2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 174

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. Which is why we all eventually turn to the one way to combine old-birder experience with new-birder opportunities: travel.

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Spain Europe Sparrows Mexico 214

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Although, technically, I mostly felt your pain… for the past four months, while about a dozen beautiful migratory Wood Warblers were nowhere to be found here in central Mexico. What I feel right now is joy at their return. Of course, one never limits oneself to a single taxonomic family.

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Mexico Nashville Virginia Shelters 219

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

It actually makes a lot of sense, the geographic features of the isthmus between North America (including Mexico, because Mexico is part of North America) and South America cut across political lines, as do birds. Text is on the left, plates are on the right. One field guide, seven countries. The picture gets complicated.

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America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

If you had your choice of one bird family to pursue, to seek out and observe and photograph and kvell over, which one would you choose? A passion for one bird family is also very useful. Like all talented travel writers, Dunn is adept at drawing us into his experiences.

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Costa Rica Brazil Ecuador Bolivia 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2011

That’s right, there is another Beat Writer at 10,000 Birds! Mike Freiberg grew up in Philadelphia, PA, where his family introduced him to the world of birding. 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.

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Brazil Venezuela Iowa Guatemala 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2011

Kirby Adams had a magical experience with his Best Bird of the Year and he blogged about it on his blog, Sharp Tern. My family also farms so that limits places we are able to go throughout the year. A whole bunch of you responded and shared your best birds either in blog post form, email form, or in our comments.

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2011 Birds Ohio North Dakota 166

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

I had spent several holidays with my family in the USA in the 1980′s and then worked in Maine during the summer of 1985-beware the poison ivy and the snapping turtles! We spent almost 4 months crossing the USA and had an amazing time, although it was not the right time of year for Wood-Warblers.

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South Africa United States Austin Alligators 163

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. And, the best thing was that it did not require tapes, just the right habitat and good ears and patience. I wrote about the experience here. You can read the whole story on my blog, Queensgirl.

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2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 191

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

So perhaps it is more right to say that the tropics are hummingbird-looking. More than any other member of their tribe, they are equipped to survive the getting-lost experience. So looking at a Rufous Hummingbird and seeing the tropics is a bit of an error (although the majority of individuals who don’t get lost winter in Mexico.)

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South America New York Alaska America 166