10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2017

Now, those of you familiar with my tendency to chase birds in New York and knowledgeable of the spate of Great Gray Owls we have had in 2017 might question why it took me to nearly the end of March to make a trip upstate to see one. I, on the other hand, enjoy living with my family and would like to keep doing that.

New York 101

New York Owls Beavers Puerto Rico 101

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2014

The Great Vly is wonderful wetland that straddles the border of Ulster and Green Counties in New York State’s Hudson Valley. I spent this past weekend in Saugerties at my folks’ house in order to look for Easter eggs, let Desi enjoy time with his cousins, and generally have a good ol’ time with family.

New York 171

New York Birds Ducks Blackbirds 171

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2021

Corey spent a long weekend in his hometown in upstate New York, celebrating Christmas in July (to make up for missing Christmas in December due to the pandemic). But none of them were as good as his first Roseate Spoonbill in New York State, which he managed to twitch, family in tow, on his way back to Queens on Sunday evening.

New York 257

New York Virginia Birds Family 257

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2014

That’s right, I, along with my family and some really good friends, was camping. Our campsite was gorgeous North Lake State Park in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where the air is crisp, the forests are largely intact, and the bears force you to be careful about leaving food out when you go to sleep.

New York 174

New York Cooking Chipmunks Owls 174

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

At least that’s where I added this species to my New York list. Corey went for a walk at Jamaica Bay with his family on Saturday evening, after the rain had stopped in New York City and went out again, alone, on Sunday morning before the rain picked back up.

New York City 247

New York City Charlotte New York Jamaica 247

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

And there’s a good chance that, while they’re at it, they’ll trot out that dubious bit of trivia about the starling being brought to America as a part of some scheme to introduce all the birds mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare to New York City’s Central Park.

Farming 185

Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 185

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

We chatted for a bit more and then I hung up and returned to the family. Then Daisy asked me who had called.

Sparrows 158

Sparrows New York Abandon Abandoning 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2011

An entire weekend’s birding in April, the start of spring migration for the wood-warblers, with no new wood-warblers checked off my year list. I moped all the way to Coney Island where I drove with my family on an outing to the New York Aquarium. What a horrific result!

New York City 163

New York City New York Walruses Birds 163

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

There were three of us that made the trip to the famed Black Dirt region of Orange County, New York yesterday. Driving around the area checking every flooded field was not as productive as we had hoped though we did happen upon a previously reported family of Blue Grosbeak. More impressive was the agricultural scenery.

New York 156

New York Bald Eagle New Jersey Cattle 156

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2021

And what could be better than a new bird-themed brewery opening up less than two miles down the road from me? I first noticed The Warbler Brewery in the Albany, New York suburb of Delmar back in November, a little over a week before their grand opening the day before Thanksgiving.

New York 263

New York Boston 2019 Collecting 263

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2021

When the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (or SARS-CoV-2) acquired the name COVID-19 (short for “coronavirus 2019”) last February, many birders couldn’t help but notice the coincidental similarity between that abbreviation and name of one of the most familiar of all passerine families – Corvidae.

2017 247

2017 Italy Argentina Massachusetts 247

Animal Person

AUGUST 12, 2010

In " Move to Limit 'Factor Farms' Gains Momentum " in today's New York Times , we learn that farmers in Ohio have agreed to phase out gestation crates within 15 years and veal crates by 2017. This adds another layer to yesterday's discussion about family. Irv Bell's farm is a family farm. It's also a factory farm.

Gestation Crates 100

Gestation Crates Farming Factory Farm Factory Farming 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2021

Corey was extremely pleased to finally get out and about birding again after his family all caught COVID and recovered. Consensus is forming that the bird is a Gray-breasted Martin , a rarity that isn’t expected even in south Texas, much less New York. Whatever species it turns out to be it is Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend.

Texas 170

Texas New York Birds Owls 170

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2020

At least I didn’t have to travel far for great birds; my whole family thrilled to the sight of an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk chowing down on an unspecified rodent in our yard. Corey enjoyed his weekend at his parents’ house in the Hudson Valley though he didn’t see too many birds.

2020 168

2020 New York City Rodents New York 168

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

Corey and his family, fresh off a victorious tour of Jamaica, will be expanding their circuit to the New York Capitol Region this weekend. Now that Ivy and I have broken the ice on owls this year, we’re eager to add a couple more, so Owl Woods might be in the cards. How about you? Share your plans in the comments below.

2020 152

2020 Jamaica New York Owls 152

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

Most Americans celebrated a long weekend filled with a lot (maybe too much) food, family, and shopping. My family actually pays attention to eagles too, which makes them more interesting to see. My family actually pays attention to eagles too, which makes them more interesting to see.

2018 114

2018 Bald Eagle New Jersey New York 114

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2015

Over the last five or six years, Common Ravens have been sighted with increasing frequency in New York City, part of a resurgence throughout the Northeast after more than a century of regional extirpation. They’ve also recently nested in the Bronx and nearby in New Jersey. But let’s back up for a minute.

New York City 249

New York City New York 2015 New Jersey 249

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2014

On October 29 th 2012, “superstorm” Sandy devastated the east coast of the USA, affecting states from Florida to Maine, with severe damage in New Jersey and New York. We know that Corey and his family came through the ordeal safely, but what of the warblers?

New Jersey 205

New Jersey New York Jamaica Transported 205

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2020

For the last several years, my first out-of-town trip of the summer takes me to the east side of Lake George in northern New York, for a relaxing mid-June weekend with my family at a lakeshore cabin belonging to a family friend.

New York 154

New York 2017 Adoptable Family 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

And, for those of you who live in or near New York City or are visiting here this coming weekend, we are hosting what is undoubtedly going to be the largest mass action about climate change in history. In fact, my employer, the New York State Nurses Association, has joined the march and that is with whom I will be marching on Sunday.

New York City 215

New York City New York United States Canada 215

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2014

The book I am writing is the New York edition in the new series of American Birding Association field guides. Officially called Field Guide to the Birds of New York , it is scheduled for publication in October of 2015. Inspiration books field guide New York' And the references I use!

New York 198

New York New Jersey Colorado Pennsylvania 198

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2019

Corey spent the first half of the weekend finishing up his family trip in southern California and the rest of it getting back to New York and recovering from a red eye. Ivy and I tracked down her first Wilson’s Snipe this weekend. Imagine that… a successful snipe hunt.

2019 125

2019 New York Birds California 125

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2020

New York City is the hottest of hot spots, and not in the fun, eBird meaning of the term but in the “holy moly our health system is going to collapse” meaning of the term. I am a birder living in the epicenter of the epicenter of COVID-19 right now. Willow Lake is on the LaGuardia Airport flight path.).

Bald Eagle 184

Bald Eagle New York City Birds New York 184

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2020

Those of us in the United States are celebrating Memorial Day Weekend, normally a time to gather with friends and family for barbecues, beach outings, and other fun group activities. While Mike was busy looking for breeding wood-warblers I spent my time scouring Queens for something new for my year list.

2020 160

2020 United States Breeders Birds 160

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2019

This past Saturday afternoon I was out on the beach in the Rockaways with my family. Royal Terns are interesting to me as a New York state birder as they are exclusively coastal and almost entirely a bird we see in fall after they disperse from their breeding grounds. Why do Royal Terns come north to New York waters every fall?

New York 135

New York Virginia Breeding Family 135

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2019

My extended family from The Bronx visited us this weekend for some upstate festivities. What could be better than the New York State Fair, especially after a Bald Eagle deigned to circle overhead in honor of everything that makes the Empire State great? Enjoy what today has to offer while looking forward to what is to come.

2019 124

2019 Costa Rica Bald Eagle New York 124

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2020

From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Our featured beer this week is Bramble, a dry-hopped farmhouse ale from the Arrowood Farm Brewery of Accord, New York, made with – as the name suggests – raspberries. The Robin, No. Louis, Missouri (early 20th century).

Farming 151

Farming New York St. Louis Belgium 151

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

It also summarizes the vagrancy status of every bird family in the whole wide world, which makes it fun to read as well as superbly educational. The Family Accounts are the fun part of the book. The Family Accounts are also a deeply informational, documented source of information for researchers.

Birds 259

Birds Compassion Eagles Science 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2016

March marks the time when raptors and owls begin to migrate through western New York; with hope, I’ll find a few this weekend. Corey and family will be visiting central New York and enjoying what avifauna the Capital Region has to offer. March forth, my friends, to birds and greatness! How about you?

New York 100

New York 2016 Birds Owls 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

That at least holds mostly true where I am in eastern upstate New York, where I haven’t personally seen a swallow in several weeks, and the last reports in my home county of Albany are now over a fortnight old. The family-run Zenato estate was founded in 1960 lies near Lake Garda, just to the east of Verona.

2016 239

2016 Europe New York Africa 239

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2012

Early on Saturday morning I dropped my family off at the airport. From that point on I was birding, except for a brief interlude on Saturday night when I ate dinner and spent the night at my folks’ house in Saugerties. Enjoy, and make sure to come back to get the whole story! Not pictures?

New York 129

New York Deer Birds Woodpeckers 129

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

Over Memorial Day weekend (23-25 May) my family and I spent the weekend along the Delaware shore enjoying the beaches, natural areas, and tourist traps that make visiting the shore such a delight. And then there were the birds that made me remember for sure that I was in Delaware and not in New York. Great Crested Flycatcher.

Delaware 173

Delaware New York Birds North Carolina 173

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2018

So, of course, I’ve been out and about looking for birds as often as family and job allow me to. I’ve scoured some inland parks in Queens, led field trips for New York City Audubon, and watched morning flight on the coast. No fall birding outing in New York is complete without a Northern Flicker.

New York City 141

New York City Birds New York Sparrows 141

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2015

The winds this weekend in western New York must have been favorable for migration, because the only nonresident I could track down was a Swainson’s Thrush. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was one of the several Black Vultures that went overhead during a family hike to Anthony’s Nose in the Hudson Valley.

2015 160

2015 Bears New York Birds 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2015

It being mid-August in New York City there is one place where I have to be as often as I can. This year, what with family plans and other commitments, I didn’t get out on the pond until later than usual but it was worth the wait. Coming to New York City any time between now and the end of September?

Jamaica 162

Jamaica New York City Wildlife New York 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2019

If, on the other hand, you managed to eke out a bird of interest this weekend, tell us all about it… I brought the family to Chimney Bluffs State Park, a magnificent slice of New York currently suffering from extremely high levels on Lake Ontario.

2019 113

2019 Virginia New York Birds 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2015

Actually, signs that winter won’t release its icy grip so readily are also apparent… my traditional Easter family hike was canceled on account of snow. Our travels this weekend took us on the New York State Thruway, which passes through Montezuma NWR.

2015 183

2015 Jamaica New York Birds 183