10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2019

In addition to spotting exciting new species in Florida, including the rare Snail Kite, travel across the country brought me into contact with birds in Oregon, California, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alabama, and more. With my new job, I feel privileged to work towards protecting vulnerable species each and very day.

Bald Eagle 143

Bald Eagle Alabama Kansas Florida 143

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

Could scientists use weather radar data to track the spread of avian influenza, and thereby help poultry growers protect their flocks? This lucky youngster from Massachusetts has almost 300 ticks, but just added his favorite— a Great Gray Owl his supportive family drove hundreds of miles to glimpse.

Massachusetts 100

Massachusetts Eggs Falcons Rights 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2015

However, there are those species which have a hard time bringing attention to themselves such as Yellow-shouldered Blackbird , Giant Nuthatch , and Vinaceous-breasted Parrot. Regardless of their popularity, these species and the threatened ecosystems they inhabit are equally spectacular. Curassows are such stately birds.

Brazil 206

Brazil California Condor Parrots Texas 206

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

The grass is green, the wildflowers are spectacular and now we have numerous species of dragonfly to enjoy as the season starts to change. The Masked Lapwing is one of the noisiest shorebirds in the north, especially when they are protecting a nest or young. Masked Lapwing protecting a nest. Masked Lapwing on a nest.

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Protection Cows 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2021

“Gamebirds” to some, cool, cryptic understory birds to the birding people, grouse crouch protected as unfettered winds sway the top of the tall prairie grass. Even so, he still knew many species and always yearned to learn about the wildlife he encountered. The remaining four species are the most grouse-like of the bunch.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Chickens Pennsylvania Litter 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2017

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. Our local Reddish Egrets are a popular species for many of my out of town guests.

Mexico 100

Mexico Birds Protection Dogs 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2015

Tell me, what happens if we rip away hunting when hunting protects more wildlife land in Africa than national parks? Although lip service was paid to the fact that lions are endangered and a lion was poached, the language of anger was the language of animals rights. And that lions are really cute. Ah, you’ve blocked me.

Lions 201

Lions Hunting Sierra Leone Buffalo 201

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

Hongbenghe is a very small village in Yunnan, right next to the border with Myanmar. I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. I have written about the hornbills of this area before.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2019

The shearwater’s common name is “Cory’s” because Cory was the first to realize that it was a species in its own right and publish. He refused, saying, “I do not protect birds. Do we really want a bird to be named after a man who was proud of killing birds instead of protecting them?

Boston 113

Boston Killing Protection Collecting 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

I’m happy to say that Laura Erickson and Marie Read have written a book, Into the Nest: Intimate Views of the Courting, Parenting, and Family Lives of Familiar Birds , that is not too cute and that does not anthropomorphize. Some chapters focus on one species (Yellow Warbler), some on several related species (Chickadees and Nuthatches).

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 29, 2019

It was impossible to show you all my favorite Tierra Caliente species in one post, so I only shared those that are mostly seen in the drier area a couple of miles south of the town and river. 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

OCTOBER 12, 2011

The species is fairly widespread in the Western Pacific, ranging from New Zealand to Japan, and contrary to its name it isn’t actually a true snapper (family Lutjanidae), but is instead a member of the porgy and sea bream family (Sparidae). Its a powerful demonstration of the potential of marine protected areas.

New Zealand 150

New Zealand Goats Fish Protection 150

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! The source of this ranking, BirdLife International, lists Bolivia as currently having 1,439 bird species, including 18 breeding endemics. The guide covers 1,433 species, the number of birds documented at the end of 2014, the cutoff point for the book.

Bolivia 168

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 168

Critter News

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Do whales deserve constitutional protection against slavery? Before the ruling, PETA’s attorney Jeffrey Kerr told HuffPost that the animal rights group’s argument was based on the belief that “slavery doesn’t depend upon the species of the slave, any more than it depends upon the race, gender or ethnicity of the slave.

PETA 100

PETA San Diego Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2018

This is a protected area that includes the Los Cusingos Bird refuge, where we were guided by Andres Chinchilla, a young man who as a child ran around the farm where his family worked, and was to become this incredible bird refuge. His years of experience in this area were quite obvious as we found 62 species in one morning.

Costa Rica 177

Costa Rica San Jose Chinchillas Family 177

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 196

Costa Rica Birds Owls South America 196

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2018

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. We have been dragging him thru every bird spot possible, so he could go to Scotland to see where his family is from. Scotland Species: 94. Wish me luck!

Qatar 112

Qatar Sparrows South Africa Africa 112

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 194

Owls Florida Tenant United States 194

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2014

When you monitor a species of birds over many years you learn a lot from your observations and you soon become aware of the fact that some birds are just better at parenting than others. Family of five Pied Oystercatchers- quite well disguised-also in the header photo! Family of five-adult Pied Oystercatchers on the right.

Eggs 165

Eggs Raised Breeding Family 165

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2013

Two days ago I went on Facebook and queried some of my exhausted compatriots: if you could have one wish right now – anything in the world – what would it be? “I Why is there no state or federal money available to care for federally protected species? Let me ponder it while I’m picking up two gulls and an egret.”.

Wildlife 241

Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Oklahoma New York 241

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2016

One raft of 20+ Mallards swims by the bank, right in front of jackals, careless like if they were just two sheep! After the Common Starling , my second bird of the morning becomes the largest eagle of Europe, the White-tailed Eagle , this one with a fairly white tail, yet still dark beak, that I estimate to be in its 3rd calendar year.

Serbia 123

Serbia Sheep Birds Eagles 123

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Private property holders with prairie/agricultural land can potentially make a big difference in maintaining and recovering populations of many of these charismatic species. If birders are willing to spend so much money in the pursuit of birds, it seems some would be willing to spend some on protecting them as well…right?

United States 156

United States Protection Endangered Species North America 156

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2011

Costa Rica enjoys an international reputation as an iconic birding location, bursting with epic Neotropical species and breathtaking natural attractions. Zamora Estate protects acres of unspoiled habitat within one of the fastest growing sections of San Jose, a holding that has sustained four generations of the Zamora family.

Costa Rica 168

Costa Rica San Jose Sanctuary Protection 168

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). Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 235

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Game 235

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Navarro’s exceptional drawings illustrate the species accounts. Forty-eight species. Compare, for example, the species account illustration of the Cuban Trogon with the photo that opens up the introductory chapter. The luxury of space means that each species can be shown from various angles and in distinctive poses.

Cuba 224

Cuba Birds United States 2000 224

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2011

The conservation need is urgent: great attention has rightly been paid to Brazil’s Amazonian rainforest but not enough resources have gone to the Pantanal and the Cerrado, of which only 4% and 5%, respectively, are protected.

Brazil 195

Brazil Wildlife 2011 Birds 195

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2017

The cactus are not the only things down here that are protected in this manner. 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.

Elephants 104

Elephants Woodpeckers Squirrels Shelters 104

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 172

Wildlife Rehabilitation Porcupines Raccoons Birds 172

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. With shore side access limited to the northern end of the lake, that protection allows for a large population of water based birds.

Dogs 102

Dogs Mules Deer Oregon 102

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

This is “the deep cradle of Western ornithology: the birthplace of bird study,” he tells us as he writes about gazing at the 8,000-year old depictions of “flamingos, herons, raptors, avocets and many other species” (p. Common Guillemot research at Skomer Island, Wales. Great Flamingo tongues & heads: p.

Dissection 209

Dissection Birds Research Europe 209

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2017

1,712 species, 12% of which are endemics. News flash–I just received the trip report from Carlos, and the tally is 419 species recorded, of which 16 were heard only; plus Ian and I saw an additional species before the tour started, courtesy of Paulo Boute. Oh my gosh! I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Brazil 142

Brazil Birds Los Angeles Tigers 142

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2013

People ascribe near mythic status to the members of the family Delphinidae (and other related families). Happy tourists amongst a massive pod (which went for a while either side of this shot) of Dusky Dolphins right off the coast of Kaikoura. Which has always mystified me slightly.

Dolphins 154

Dolphins Sharks New Zealand Albatross 154

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

That’s right, the overwhelming benefits to the environment and the economy are generated by non-consumptive uses of the refuges like wildlife photography, environmental education, wildlife observation and interpretation, not hunting and fishing. The refuge was established in 1958 to protect and enhance habitat for migratory birds.

Fish 142

Fish Wildlife Hunting Game 142

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 104

Wildlife Seattle Bald Eagle Geese 104

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. millions years ago.

California Condor 175

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 175

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2013

And New Zealand has a fairly aggressive programme of conservation measures in place to protect native wildlife by killing native species, again something I have defended on th is site. Even wiping out one species, like possums, or stoats, or hedgehogs is probably beyond current methods.

New Zealand 114

New Zealand Possums SPCA Cats 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2011

In spite of this New Zealand does have an iconic family of birds that has served as an emblem for the country for over a century, the kiwi. There are are presently thought to be five species of kiwi with a possible sixth extinct species, all of which have suffered varying degrees of range contraction since the arrival of humans.

New Zealand 143

New Zealand 2011 Deer New York 143