10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2024

One always wants to see as many species as possible in a single day, whether on an ocean island with few species, or in Suffolk, England. It was in this latter region that he reports seeing 60 species on his first outing of this year. But how many species can one see over a few hours in the highlands of central Mexico?

Mexico 238

Mexico Birds Woodpeckers Sparrows 238

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2020

Most of this travel was in Mexico, but I also visited different regions of the U.S., The third weekend of January, I travelled to the coastal city of Acapulco to give a seminar on family finances at a church there. And my one lifer for the trip was a family of Rufous-naped Wrens that apparently live in the same garden.

Birds 173

Birds 2006 Mexico Morocco 173

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 239

North America America Hawaii Birds 239

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 112

Elephants Woodpeckers Squirrels Shelters 112

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

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

It is worth pointing out that titmice belong to the family Paridae , an expansive international clan made up primarily of what we call “chickadees” in the states but are known as “t**s” in the Old World. This bird ranges from southeastern Arizona down through interior Mexico. The Tufted Titmouse ( B.

Arizona 267

Arizona Oklahoma Texas Mexico 267

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. How this species is often seen inside the forest.

Costa Rica 117

Costa Rica Dominican Republic Kansas Guinea 117

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 238

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 238

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

I like observing them, reading about them, grappling with species and subspecies identification, and even—on a good day—talking about sparrow taxonomy. Peterson Reference Guide to Sparrows of North America covers 61 species of the New World sparrow family Passerellidae that breed in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.

North America 170

North America Sparrows America United States 170

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.

2011 159

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 159

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

Having never been to Brazil I can’t possibly speak as an expert in terms of what birds are covered or how well species that I have never seen are depicted. The species accounts are written by Robert Ridgely, one of the premiere neotropical ornithologists, and a veteran at writing excellent field guides. Talk about a win-win!

Brazil 224

Brazil Wildlife 2011 Birds 224

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2012

This post is old news to those who pay attention to what I say on Facebook but I am still pleased as punch to point out that I have finally reached the 500-bird milestone in the American Birding Association area (basically North America north of Mexico). How did I finally reach this lofty peak?

San Marino 110

San Marino Los Angeles Birds Laws 110

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2023

When you have birded a single area as much and for as long as I have birded Michoacán, it becomes progressively harder to find first-time species (“lifers”) there. I had seen several species turn up in new and unexpected places there, but none of them were birds that I had never seen before.

Bats 130

Bats Mexico ALA 2020 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

beats have still managed to share 82 checklists and accounted for 737 species. Our two newest contributors have shared from Mexico and China, bringing the countries birded this month (also including; Costa Rica, Greece, Serbia, USA, UK, India, UAE and New Zealand) to 10. Black-cheeked Woodpecker – Melanerpes pucherani.

2019 126

2019 Jamaica Eggs Woodpeckers 126

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2011

The vast majority of Baltimore Orioles that breed in North America return to the tropics between Mexico and northern South America for the cold half of the year. A trip to the coastal plain may net you up to seven species of warblers, from the omnipresent Yellow-rumps to Chats and Cape Mays. But how does the apply to Orioles?

North Carolina 140

North Carolina 2011 St. Louis Baltimore 140

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2022

Down here in Mexico, many of the longest life lists belong to full- or part-time birding guides. I didn’t know it at the time, but René is the #3 birder on eBird’s all-time “Top 100” list for Mexico. A pair of Black-chested Sparrows , a species which René had only seen once before, flew across the road.

Mexico 147

Mexico Virginia Family Species 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2022

It was not a revelatory outing, but the species and photos were surprisingly good. They are also from the family responsible for mezcal and tequila. I have a deep appreciation for Mexico’s endemic Buff-breasted Flycatchers , as they are our only Empidonax that I never confuse with our other nine. Yes, you heard me: nine.

Mexico 147

Mexico California Woodpeckers Sparrows 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

Making the quiz even more diabolical was the fact that two species of parrot do frequent Queens – we have a large population of Monk Parakeets and a small and seldom seen flock of Mitred Parakeets. Most folks chose the former as the most likely bird while some folks, thinking they knew the avifauna of Queens well, chose the latter.

Bald Eagle 113

Bald Eagle Zoos 2011 Parrots 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2021

The males can compete with Painted Buntings for their neon colors, and the females, like those of that related species, have their own subtle beauty. (It’s It is always a species they have dreamed of seeing for years.). Here in Michoacán, we have four different species from the Myiarchus genus of the Tyrant-Flycatcher family.

Woodpeckers 249

Woodpeckers Hunters Falcons Breeding 249

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2020

I should add that the Big Owls taking over NYC social and even hard print media, dominating conversations with my nonbirder friends and family, are not the only owls in the five boroughs, but like a musical, the closer you are to Broadway, the closer you are to fame and fortune (and maybe even a higher quality rodent for dinner, who knows?).

New York City 214

New York City Birds Owls Fox 214

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Kills in Canada, Alaska and Mexico are not included in the count. Further, the crane take in Mexico is a free-for-all: neither regulated nor recorded. Initiating a hunting season on a large, charismatic species like a crane is no way to resuscitate hunting. Nationwide, wildlife watchers now outspend hunters 6 to 1.

2011 260

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 260

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Decades later, Richard Pough’s Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds (I happily own the 1948 edition) included nest and egg descriptions for each species as well. And photographs of feathers in the species accounts, which surprised me. Text retrieved from the Hathitrust Digital Library. The first is accomplished well.

Eggs 256

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 256

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida. 2012 has certainly been a bumper year for me with an estimated year list of around 3,000 species after extensive travels to South Africa, Ethiopia, South Korea, Indonesia, the Russian Far East, United Kingdom, Peru, Guatemala and Panama.

2012 166

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 166

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2014

I’m going to start with a specific example: species accounts for Common Tern and Arctic Tern. How have these species accounts changed from The Sibley Guide to Birds , published in 2000 (heretofore called Sibley One) to The Sibley Guide to Birds, Second Edition , published in March 2014 (and heretofore called Sibley Two).

North America 255

North America Birds Species America 255