10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2021

You fly to Phoenix, or Tucson, rent a car (or ride a bike cross-country, if you are Noah Strycker), drive to the tiny towns of Patagonia and Sierra Vista, and voila! All sorts of exotic and beautiful species may be seen. Southeastern Arizona is unusual, precisely because its species mix is as much Mexican as it is American.

Arizona 261

Arizona Mexico Los Angeles Dallas 261

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Getting to actually see four species, in the last two weeks, and to hear two more is almost unheard of in my experience. The Great Horned Owls that live in the palm trees right above our RV have returned and brought with them a pair of fledglings. That was no deterrent from landing right in the middle of the road.

Owls 150

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 150

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2018

The crunch is on, and with less than two weeks left in the year, we are trying to squeeze out as many more species as possible. Last week, we quite impulsively jumped in a rental car and drove 2600 miles round trip to south Texas to pick up 34 new species. If we could get there, all other expenses were covered.

Bahamas 113

Bahamas Tucson El Paso Texas 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

In the right season, with a little luck, we often find it, and sometimes it perches high and long enough that we can admire its scimitar of a bill, its stern face pattern, and even the patch of rusty red on the undertail that gives the species its English and its scientific names. Wicked, right? Hat-tip to Stella.

2011 140

2011 Tucson Arizona Deer 140

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2011

The naming of the hornbill family is a bit farther fetched. Wikimedia Commons Bucerotidae is etymologically opaque to most birders, I’d venture, but when Rafinesque described the family almost two centuries ago, he had kine on his mind. Wicked, right? Hat-tip to Stella.

Cows 142

Cows Cattle 2011 Birds 142

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

The bird was a little harder to find than I expected; I needed to triangulate the sounds of the call and finally, after standing and looking and walking around the tree where the bird had to be calling from, I took a deep breath, looked again, and there it was right in front of me, actually at eye level. At least for birders.

Arizona 102

Arizona Lovebirds Phoenix New Jersey 102

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2018

We have escaped the clutches of the Bahamas, and are finally back “home” in Tucson, Texas. Our first stop was the Lakeview Drive Ponds, Corey’s primary birding location when he and his family visited the island a few years ago. The Little Big Year species – 1291. The Little Big Year species – 1291.

Bahamas 125

Bahamas Costa Rica Abandon Abandoning 125