10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2013

I didn’t travel much this year, with a June family trip to California and Nevada and a four-day trip in July to Trinidad and Tobago being my only opportunities to get birds not in the northeastern United States. (Though I have been badly lazy and still haven’t updated my list on the blog.). a 17-Year Cicada.

2013 173

2013 New York City New York Trinidad 173

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

I also appreciated Mississippi Kites not too far from my job, great birds on the coast of Queens , and more wood-warblers. We had a wonderful family vacation in Germany and the Czech Republic during which I managed to do a bit of birding. It is a frantic time for both birders and birds, albeit for different reasons.

2012 143

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 143

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

Located between the Mississippi River and Illinois River, the refuge encompasses 9,225 acres of riverine and floodplain habitat scattered around the confluence of the rivers. The refuge offers opportunities for hiking and biking trails, canoeing and kayaking on Swan Lake, bank fishing, and family friendly programs and events.”

Fish 143

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 143

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 152

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 152

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2013

For example, take the Mississippi Kite (above), photographed at the Dairy Mart Ponds in Tijuana River Valley, between San Diego and the Mexican border. Taxonomic tweakings and reshufflings of birds on the Family and Genus levels are too many to count. Let’s get to it then. 1) Rare bird reporting has come a long way.

San Diego 170

San Diego California Condor California Bald Eagle 170

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

The Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching offers two types of information: Species Accounts–descriptions of 112 birds within 15 families as they appear over and on the water, and Where to Watch, brief descriptions of 47 sites on the North American eastern coast and interior recommended for seawatching.

Ducks 231

Ducks Groups Species North America 231

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

You find them in the south from Florida to Texas and down into Mexico, occasionally as far north as the Carolinas in the east and up the Mississippi River as far north as Illinois. It is one of several species in the Mallard -complex of ducks, along with American Black Duck , Mexican Duck , and quite a few others.

Ducks 166

Ducks Florida Illinois Mississippi 166

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Of the Central Flyway states, Nebraska alone holds out in protecting the cranes, having proven by its longstanding Festival of the Cranes in Kearney that a crane is worth infinitely more alive and purring in the sky with its family than thudding, broken and bleeding, into a cornfield. Additionally, sandhill cranes reproduce very slowly.

2011 245

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 245

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2017

Can a family-focused trip—even to one of the world’s most biodiverse countries—deliver enough opportunities for avian observation to satisfy this serious world birder? With enough planning, you can enjoy a family-friendly, bird-rich vacation in the Panama Canal zone. If you have kids, you’re probably as curious as I was.

Panama 100

Panama 2017 Monkeys Family 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2011

My family also farms so that limits places we are able to go throughout the year. Susan Kailholz-Williams had raptors as her BBOTY: My best and thrilling bird of 2011: First confirmed nest of Mississippi Kites right here in Ohio. The bird I picked as my Best Bird of the Year 2011 is the Yellow-rumped Warbler.

2011 161

2011 Birds Ohio North Dakota 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2017

Most of the species are described in the Species Accounts, arranged taxonomically into 86 family chapters. Each family chapter begins with a brief, bold-printed description of the common traits of the species in the family and an enumeration of the number of species worldwide and the number of species in North America.

North America 182

North America America 2017 Birds 182

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Maybe it was a version of the Mississippi River, maybe it was a version of the Warren River, likely both. I strongly suspect that the rate of attrition on this Loon family is inversely proportionate to the abundance of ducklings in the bay. A good way up one of the tallest pines is an Eagle’s nest. Ducks are easier prey for the Eagle.

Humane 205

Humane Eagles Investigation Research 205

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2018

It has been my privilege to bird in the ‘Glades – the largest US wilderness east of the Mississippi River. Another supporter said the place would let “families…connect with each other as human beings” ( SunSentinel ). Again, really?

Miami 137

Miami Las Vegas Alligators Minnesota 137

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Can the whole family live together in harmony during the school holidays? Mississippi Kite – Ictinia mississippiensis. Is it wrong of me to go birding to get away from the kids now that they are at home all day? August is the make or break month for relationships. Bravo if you have. 458 birds were seen by 7 beats in 8 countries.

2018 100

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 100