10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2016

By the time this post publishes, I’ll be on an airplane heading back to the United States following a truly remarkable two week visit to Uganda as part of a group of western birders visiting there to promote the inaugural African Birding Expo. In the relatively brief period, my group had something on the order of 450 species.

Uganda 221

Uganda Africa Squirrels Tanzania 221

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2012

Namibia is politically stable and a safe country to visit offering spectacular scenery, untouched wildernesses, vast game reserves, superb wildlife and fascinating cultural experiences. Over 700 bird species occur in Namibia, many of them range-restricted and highly desirable southern arid zone species.

Namibia 272

Namibia Angola Lovebirds South Africa 272

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

I found out on my second day in Mkuze, a great game reserve in South Africa, earlier this year when on my first dark night, poor visibility, uneven ground and unsteady footing resulted in a twisted ankle and a day in camp keeping weight off it. And it did so in spectacular fashion, in the form of a mixed-species feeding flock, or a bird wave.

South Africa 145

South Africa Tortoises Woodpeckers Birds 145

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2021

Even so, he still knew many species and always yearned to learn about the wildlife he encountered. Groups them by family too and by their shape” His extra long arm extended and passed me that precious book. The remaining four species are the most grouse-like of the bunch. “Check it out!”

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Chickens Pennsylvania Litter 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Getting to actually see four species, in the last two weeks, and to hear two more is almost unheard of in my experience. Last week, a good friend, Dan Weisz gave me a tip on the location of a family of Burrowing Owls that were extremely easy to access. Several times, a couple of the juvenile owls would take off in a game of chase.

Owls 202

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 202

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Photos courtesy of Mosetlha Bush Camp A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. They are crossing one or two at a time.

South Africa 277

South Africa Africa Game Elephants 277

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

A family motel and passion for responsible ecotourism brought her home to the Oregon Coast where she and her husband, Erik, adventure and record a podcast ( Hannah and Erik Go Birding ), created in an effort to inspire others to get out and bird. Marion has a fascinating history with invasive species.

South Africa 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

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 246

Los Angeles Birds District of Columbia Parrots 246

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Over a dozen distinctive ethnic groups exist here, many of whom live lives little touched by the modern world. Yellow-billed Stork. Hamar mother and child.

Ethiopia 255

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 255

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

They are not necessarily the biggest African animals, but represented those that were considered a real hunter’s worthy prey or “game” – the African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Leopard and king of the jungle, the Lion (which of course doesn’t inhabit jungle but savanna!).

Buffalo 246

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 246

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2016

The English language, or at least the adherents thereof with more time on their hands than sense, has bestowed us a great number of names to collective nouns for groups of birds. Honestly, it’s enough to make me wish I was a native speaker of German. Jackbirds are young South Island Saddlebacks.

New Zealand 150

New Zealand Parrots Rats Bats 150

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2018

We gamely hit a bunch of spots, had to completely bail on others, as it was getting close to 50 degrees and that nasty wind just would not let up. In the end, I ended up with 9 species, 4 of which were new to the list, the Black-crowned Sparrow Lark, White-checked Bulbo, House Crow , and the Indian Silverbill. Scotland Species: 94.

Qatar 174

Qatar Sparrows South Africa Africa 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2018

It’s needed if “success” is synonymous with seeing a higher percentage of target birds (even if that just means any possible species), the trip being rather glitch free, and having abundant coffee available at all hours. If the families are the same, that might not be too much of a problem.

Costa Rica 157

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Game 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 250

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 250

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2020

We saw several species of this challenging family, after some time I managed to graduate with the ability to classify them as “streaked” or “unstreaked” When it came down to the actual species, however, I left it to the expert! I learned that Stout Cisticolas often stick together in small groups.

Kenya 279

Kenya Groups Washington Game 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2013

A large portion of North American birders are relatively new to the game, with less than ten years under their belts. Email lists, blogs, websites, forums, Facebook groups, and of course eBird (see below) has completely revolutionized the way birders get their business handled. Hello my birding sons and daughters. 9) Birdfinding.

San Diego 227

San Diego California Condor California Bald Eagle 227

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. We have both resident and migratory species, and this post will briefly discuss each of the 20 species of African bee-eaters.

Africa 266

Africa South Africa Gabon Uganda 266

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2023

Way back in 2014, when I saw my first Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo near the little town of Pino Real, and shared the sighting on a birders’ chat group, it took just over a month for the first biologist/ornithologist to visit me. It seems he had looked long and wide for this species. But he regularly visits family in Morelia.

Mexico 276

Mexico Cuba Species 2014 276

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2011

They are part of a family of New World Quail which includes Gambel’s, Mountain, Scaled and Montezuma Quail, as well as the Northern Bobwhite. At this age, they are also able to make short flights, a highly desirable trait for game birds. The family stays very close to cover for several weeks, getting bolder as the young develop.

California 263

California Eggs Gophers Rattlesnake 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 28, 2014

Contest killing – where individuals or teams gun down as many of a single species as they can within a specific time period, with prizes going to the winner(s) – is legal all over the country. As a group, yes, we are anti-hunting,” she said. The subject was not hunting; it was contest killing. It will never happen.

Killing 260

Killing Hunting Hunters New York 260

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Hunting sandhill cranes in Kentucky is a bad idea from a public relations standpoint, considering the growing cadre of birders and nature enthusiasts for whom cranes are a touchstone species. Initiating a hunting season on a large, charismatic species like a crane is no way to resuscitate hunting.

2011 263

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 263

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2013

Those unable to fathom how one could celebrate a life by filling the skies with latex locked horns with those unable to fathom how any type of alternative could be suggested to a family during their time of loss. Make it easily found by mourning families, and fill it with photos. Name-calling and charges of agenda-promoting ensued.

Wildlife 260

Wildlife Agenda North Carolina Raised 260

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2013

A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. The first to cross is an old female with a two-year old baby.

Africa 246

Africa South Africa Elephants Rhinos 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2015

Actually, I was bested by an entire group of teenagers, all gathered – along with 36 adults – on Hog Island , Audubon’s famous camp off the coast of Maine. Each year Hog Island offers programs, taught by a stellar staff of naturalists and artists, to groups of all kinds (teenagers, adults, families).

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Puffins Birds Groups West Virginia 277

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Seabirds are one group of birds that go for the latter strategy. A few families have a small number of eggs in the clutches, like gulls or cormorants. One North American species I am very familiar with is the Cassin’s Auklet , which ranges from the end of the Aleutian Islands to California.

Eggs 210

Eggs Puffins Breeding Raised 210

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

It may be as sick as deliberately targeting an endangered species for death. That’s what you do with other game, right? Birders know that the light’s not always perfect or even particularly good when you’re trying to tell one species from another. Speculation is useless in acts of vandalism. The big white one. It flies on.

2011 244

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 244

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

Barbets are a group of medium sized, chunky, generally colorful, frugivorous, hole-nesting near-passerines, that are popular targets for anyone birding in the tropics. Originally they were all placed in the family Capitonidae , but over time taxonomists have determined that actual relationships between these barbets are far more complex.

Ethiopia 252

Ethiopia Tanzania Africa Uganda 252

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2021

I quickly reported it to the local WhatsApp group and was disheartened by a bunch of responses from other birders saying they were seeing only Razorbills. Fortunately for me, I came across one in a mixed-species flock while out birding one morning in the vicinity of Lake Tahoe. A striking species in full adult plumage?

New York 264

New York Birds California Owls 264