10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2013

So naturally, I got to thinking about kinglets, and their Palearctic kin, the “crests,” and where they belong in the avian family tree. The family Regulidae comprises six small, hyperactive species that range through the great boreal and temperate forests North and Middle America, North Africa, and Eurasia.

Family 192

Family Guatemala Mexico Japan 192

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2021

Our company is based in Guatemala but also offers tours in Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico. Whether you are traveling with your family, in a small group, or alone, our tours are customizable to suit your every need and wish. Guatemala has the most reliable places to observe the mythical Horned Guan.

Guatemala 262

Guatemala El Salvador Belize Honduras 262

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2022

The stars of the bird world take many forms and fame is often related to location but some species, some cool groups of birds are accorded priority no matter when or where they are seen. One such star avian family is the Setophagidae, the birds known as wood-warblers. Yes, you read that right. Violet Sabrewing.

Costa Rica 288

Costa Rica Nashville Tennessee Turtles 288

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

The Trogon family (and order, since the order only includes one family) is quite widespread, being found in all the tropical (and some subtropical) regions of the world. It is also fascinating to see how similar Old World trogons look to their New World relatives, right down to the same flamboyant color patterns.

Mexico 206

Mexico Indonesia North America Arizona 206

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2021

So I contacted him for the exact location, which turned out to be a beautiful 14-acre property that belongs to his family, and he kindly invited me over. and Canada and winter in northeastern Mexico, while the sedentary wrens of central Mexico, Central America, and South America are now to be identified as Grass Wrens.

Barn Owls 264

Barn Owls Owls Mexico Leopards 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2021

We are too far into the year for many FOY sightings, but not quite far enough for most migratory species to make their return appearances. No surprise to that; these two species always initiate the migratory season here. This is not the first time el Temascal has surprised me with its combination of high and low species.

Louisiana 264

Louisiana 2000 Mexico Groups 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2021

And many of these species are also strikingly beautiful. Here are some of the wonderful birds of Mexico’s Hot Country: I’ll start with a bang: What could be better than a Russet-crowned Motmot ? (I It’s mating season, and the males are sporting some wild head feathers right now. But enough about me!

Mexico 191

Mexico Blackbirds Sparrows Owls 191

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2022

Necessity being the mother of invention, and all that, the almost-total disappearance of Mexico’s second-largest lake in the spring of 2021 forced me to try a new birding route last May. Admittedly, early May is too late to find most duck species in Michoacán, even in a good year.) Spoiler alert: I did not see any Canvasbacks.

Ducks 239

Ducks Mexico Fish Species 239

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

We all have them: families of birds that are maddeningly similar, forever leaving nagging doubts about our identifications. Someday I will get up the nerve to write about the ten, yes, TEN Empidonax species I believe I have seen in my little corner of Mexico. New World Warblers in non-reproductive plumage. Thanks again, Fabián!

Mexico 149

Mexico Argentina Experience Experiments 149

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2019

This is an easy species for me to see in my region — any time BUT in summer. The winter-only nature of migratory species can cause other name problems, such as with the Indigo Bunting. This species used to be called the Rufous-sided Towhee, which was a perfectly functional name for our resident subspecies. Well, no more!

Mexico 113

Mexico America Species Birds 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2017

As the dog days of summer descend upon us here in Mexico, many of our avian residents have bailed out and headed back north to avoid the summertime heat. The number of bird species to be found, falls dramatically, but we can always rely on our impressive populations of Herons, egrets and even a few rails to keep our birding juices flowing.

Mexico 100

Mexico Birds Protection Dogs 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2019

Paul Lewis moved from California to Mexico 36 years ago. He lived first in Mexicali, and now in the historic city of Morelia–about halfway between Guadalajara and Mexico City–where he and his wife pastor a small church. Sorry, this photo is actually from the next state over (Lake Zempoala, Mexico state).

San Francisco 119

San Francisco Mexico Turkey California 119

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2020

In the Amazon, many more species are accepted as normal, everyday birds including potoos with haunting calls, flocks of screeching parakeets, and dozens of other fantastic birds too loud in voice or plumage to be ignored. This bird won’t really look like anything you have ever seen because it’s in a family all on its own.

Costa Rica 255

Costa Rica Cleveland Turkey Parrots 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2017

Spring is in the air, and all around the Baja desert I am seeing a plethora of species, all looking for love, in what appears to the right places. A member of the small Ptiliogonatidae family of silky-flycatchers, of which there are only three other species besides our local Phainopepla , Phainopepl nitens.

Costa Rica 109

Costa Rica Panama Nevada Guatemala 109

10,000 Birds

MAY 29, 2019

This town sits at the edge of a river in Mexico’s Tierra Caliente (Hot Country), an inland basin between the coastal Sierra Madre del Sur and the much higher Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. However, some of Paso Ancho’s most beautiful species are to be seen right along that river. Then it got an upgrade.

Squirrels 113

Squirrels Birds Mexico 2013 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

North America 279

North America America Birds California Condor 279

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2018

In a little less than two weeks my family and I will be enjoying a long weekend on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Having never birded in Mexico at all I was initially concerned about identifying the myriad species that can be seen. Hopefully, I’ll do better than 85% correct when I’m in Mexico.

Mexico 111

Mexico Belize Honduras Science 111

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

But my family moved to northern California when I was four years old, in 1962, effectively quadrupling my hummer list with the addition of the Anna’s , Rufous , and Allen’s Hummingbirds. And so would the situation have remained, except that I moved to Morelia, Mexico in 1994. (I

Minnesota 137

Minnesota ALA Mexico California 137

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2018

Add to the fact that we have been living in Mexico, and are now going to stay in the US, at least for a little while, means new cell phones, new auto and RV insurance, banking, and of course, some place to live. Today, I saw a handful of Mallards , two Common Mergansers, and a Wood Duck Family. USA species – 111.

New Zealand 123

New Zealand Seattle Qatar South Africa 123

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

A Field Guide to the Birds: Giving Field Marks of All Species Found in Eastern North America was published in 1934 by Houghton Mifflin (note–Peterson was 26 years old), after being rejected by four publishers. Adding the 76 new species in the Hawaii section, this makes coverage of approximately 884 species.

North America 236

North America America Hawaii Birds 236

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

In late July, I travelled a half hour north of Morelia to Lake Cuitzeo (kweet-SAY-oh) to see if our two inevitable first migratory species from up north, Baird’s Sandpiper and Wilson’s Phalarope, had begun arriving. At that point, neither species was yet present, and there wasn’t much of a lake, either. So trusting.

Ducks 276

Ducks 2020 Eggs California 276

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2019

If a list also shows the status for each species, birders on their way to Costa Rica would realize that they shouldn’t really expect vireos with white eyes nor blue heads (but would hopefully know that they should very much report those species on eBird so local birders can chase them!). Not every list has Great Tinamou on it.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Birds Owls South America 203

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. It’s going to be great! Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

United States 198

United States South America Cooking Family 198

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2017

Some birds are so familiar, even non-birders can’t help but know what they are, or at least what family they belong to. That’s OK, we love all sorts of birds, I even love imaginary ones, and the ones that come to the backyard are also ideal starter species. Watch for it at any number of lowland and foothill sites.

Costa Rica 117

Costa Rica Dominican Republic Kansas Guinea 117

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

So, if you are going to write a field guide on the birds of the countries south and east of Mexico–Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—it makes the utmost sense that you embrace the whole geographic area. Each species account lists the basics—common name, scientific name, measurements in inches and centimeters.

El Salvador 235

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 235

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2014

Nearly every country or region has an area on its periphery that regularly attracts a tantalizing assortment of vagrants or a set of species that just barely make it over an international border. Every year, birders in both of these states find species more typical of Mexico (and sometimes within plain sight of Mexico!)

Thailand 167

Thailand Birds 2013 China 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2011

What species is shown? 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. Below is the logo. Leave your best guess in the comments.

United States 156

United States South America 2011 2012 156

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2014

The Yellow-rumped Warbler ( Setophaga coronata ) complex is one of the most abundant and widespread representatives of the New World warbler family in North America, present in many parts of the United States even through the winter months, when the birds feed on small fruits and other foods, including sap. 2011; Milá et al.

United States 254

United States 2011 Guatemala North America 254

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2015

There are few places in the United States where simply driving around can leave you with a list of 30+ species, many of them large and spectacular. It’s a family vacation, sure, but there’s always time for birding and in Florida, the birding often finds you. I’ve spent the last week in southwest Florida.

Owls 222

Owls Florida Tenant United States 222

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

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). Alex also masterfully worked another tricky species into view for us during that first afternoon, Ruddy Crake (a close relative of the Black Rail ).

Honduras 236

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 236

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2017

When it comes to a one stop shopping for food and shelter, no other plant is as widely used as the Cardon Cactus family. Members of the genus Pachycereus , there are a couple of species which are quite prevalent here on the southern Baja. Once the fruit is ripe, it becomes a primary source for many species.

Elephants 111

Elephants Woodpeckers Squirrels Shelters 111

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

The last weekend of January found me in the frosty Pacific Northwest, meeting some long over due work and family obligations. This wonderful piece of birding real estate can be found 8 miles east of Olympia, and an hour’s drive south of Seattle Washington, right along the I-5 corridor. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.

Wildlife 109

Wildlife Seattle Bald Eagle Geese 109

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2016

Rehabbers are very responsive, although constantly living under the gun makes us sometimes vent about species that aren’t necessarily the ones in question. Three: Why would anyone , no matter what their species, want to become tangled in human hair? So right from the beginning, none of this makes any sense. Feel free to vent!”.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 188

Wildlife Rehabilitation Porcupines Raccoons Birds 188

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

Located about 20 miles from Lakeview, Oregon, and sitting at an elevation of 5100 feet, this 208 acre lake is home to many species of fish, including Largemouth Bass, Crappie and Bluegill. Finally we came to a cross road, where I went straight, and he turned right. Lets see what fun species I can find over there?

Dogs 106

Dogs Mules Deer Oregon 106

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2011

The sighting was easily the best I have ever had of the species, and it was in and out of view for about twenty minutes, foraging in small circuits but always coming back to the stand of thick brush where I had first spotted it. Enjoy these shots and be glad you are not a Spruce Budworm !

Tigers 160

Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2017

As birders, we tend to spend more time in wetlands than most of our peers, neighbors, and family members. In wildlife refuges and reserves in many parts of the world, all you need is a scope, time, and the right overlook and you can walk away with easy, prolonged studies of ducks, herons, waders, grebes, and lots of other marsh birdies.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica Birds Ducks Pelicans 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2018

Taking advantage of my son, Desmond, having this past Friday off from school our small family decided to do a three-day trip somewhere. I’ll get right down to it. Great Kiskadees , White-winged Doves , and, above all, Great-tailed Grackles were the species that couldn’t be missed. Very well then. …

Family 100

Family Monkeys Deer Pelicans 100