10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2012

Razorbills ( Alca torda ) have invaded the coastal waters of Florida on an unprecedented scale this December of 2012. The first sighting was of an individual seen and photographed right off the pier at Boynton Inlet on December 9, 2012. For the time being, Florida birders are being treated to a (hopefully) once in a life time event.

Florida 223

Florida Cuba 2012 Bahamas 223

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

Note: Erika is the Communications Director for Audubon Florida. A life bird for me, and another species for my Audubon Florida Birdathon checklist. 2021 marked the second year I participated in a Birdathon for Audubon Florida. The most common species we shared amongst our list? Click click click.

Florida 155

Florida 2020 Mexico Raised 155

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2020

Note: Erika is the Communications Director for Audubon Florida. Typically, team members fan out across their region, counting as many species as they possibly can from 12:00 a.m. At Audubon Florida, we opted to change a typical Birdathon to bring not only our staff together, but our whole Florida birding community.

Florida 182

Florida 2020 Shelters Species 182

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2011

Even in the Brazilian Amazon, I’ve never seen this many whistling ducks together–there were sixty at a manmade lake behind the Brevard Community College near Titusville, Florida. My birder’s brain struggled mightily to reconcile the odd shapes in the sky with any known species, but their call brought it all back.

Florida 145

Florida Tail Banding Ducks Ohio 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / The plovers of Estero Lagoon, Florida The plovers of Estero Lagoon, Florida By James • March 8, 2011 • 1 comment Tweet Share For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by shorebirds.

Florida 196

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 196

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 150

Bald Eagle Alabama Kansas Florida 150

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2021

Give certain, special trees the right conditions and they also take root in the shallow mud of estuaries and other coastal situations. The trees that occur, that thrive in such places are various species of mangroves and as is typical of so many other tropical microhabitats, mangrove forests have their own suite of birds.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Birds Protection Panama 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2019

During the decade, I submitted 1,219 checklists and observed 555 bird species, all in the U.S. After an initial period when all species are new, the lifers begin to follow a pattern. Thus, I can pinpoint my first pelagic trip, as it added 13 new species. Birding trips to Florida , New Mexico , and Texas are obvious too.

Puerto Rico 150

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Michigan Washington 150

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2020

His only birding regret was not starting sooner while he was still in Cuba and his final goal is to be able to bird at least once on every continent of the world, although he is mostly a Florida birder. punch line to a bad birding joke, right? Does that number seem a bit high for a winter count in the US? And something different I got!

Canada 170

Canada Cuba Miami Florida 170

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Over the last weekend, I was at Lake Kissimmee in Florida, observing Snail Kites at an area kites were not present or rare just a few years ago. The threat of extinction of such iconic Florida bird prompted State and Federal agencies to find solutions to stop and reverse the declining trend. Kites now nest there and are fairly common.

Florida 226

Florida South America Eggs Bolivia 226

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2015

In February of 2013, I wrote a piece outlining my thoughts on which exotic bird species should be added to the American Bird Association (ABA) checklist. My number one choice at the time was Egyptian Goose ( Alopochen aegyptiacus ), an adaptable sheldgoose from Africa that was rapidly becoming established in peninsular Florida.

Los Angeles 154

Los Angeles Miami San Francisco Florida 154

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2015

Birding in Florida is unique in that so much of that state’s plenty is evident even to the casual observer. 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. I’ve spent the last week in southwest Florida.

Owls 207

Owls Florida Tenant United States 207

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

This spurred her to pursue a career in environmental education and wildlife nature tourism as a park ranger in Texas and as the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail Coordinator with Florida Fish and Wildlife. I learned of the trip right as it had been delayed and made a vow that I would be on that ship.

South Africa 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2019

This is the same history of conquest and despoliation which now puts many of these very species in danger of extinction. Prior to serving in the Confederacy, Driver notes, McCown played leading roles in genocidal campaigns against indigenous peoples on the US-Canada border and against the Seminoles in Florida. Well, no more!

Birds 260

Birds North America Cooking Campaign 260

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

At the end of October, my family flew to Florida for a multi-day road trip aimed at the beautiful springs. We had an ambitious itinerary planned: six springs within eight Florida State Parks. Water quality was good that day, and we could perfectly see the waving eelgrass, the freshwater fish species, the adorable turtles.

Florida 100

Florida Fish Turtles Shelters 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2019

My Pima County list for those same 60 days is at 186 different species, and over 40 of those came from the Madera Canyon area. This area has no less than 17 eBird hotspots recorded, many of which boast nearly 200 species. The Proctor Road loop stands at 219, and the Lower Florida (Pronounced Flor-ee-da) Canyon is at 224.

Arizona 141

Arizona Tucson Florida 2018 141

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2014

I write this shortly after getting home from Florida, my four-year old just fell asleep, and I am soon to follow him to dream-land. I saw or heard a total 0f 147 species in my six days in Florida, including two lifers and one new bird for the ABA-area. Trips Florida Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival'

Florida 157

Florida Alligators Wildlife Species 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

As the cold fronts begin to sweep through the northern states ushering in a wave of seasonal change and color, South Florida becomes a gathering place for migratory birds far and wide across the country. Black-bellied Plover is a common migrant in South Florida, occurring at both inland and coastal sites. Tricolored Heron.

Florida 259

Florida Miami Birds Falcons 259

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2013

She has lived in Maine, California, France, New York, and currently makes her home in Virginia Beach Always bringing her camera along, Erika is building her life-list by trying to check off at least one new species each week in her field guide. Hopping almost right next to me, I later identified it as the Boat-tailed Grackle !

Florida 167

Florida DC Washington Birds 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2019

Sliding the glass door to my Florida backyard, I shuffled my slipper-clad feet and closed the opening behind me. With forest on two sides and the expansive Eglin Air Force Base reservation just beyond, avian species have a host of hiding and eating opportunities. A straight shot to my bird feeder. My yard is a birding hotspot.

Agenda 144

Agenda Birds Louisiana North America 144

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017

It was a hot and sunny Labor Day along Florida’s Gulf Coast, and my husband Brian and I were heading home from a friends and family weekend on the Suwannee River, stopping at state parks along the road-trip home. ” I felt a burst of pride when I read the word secretive ; that means I am a super birding sleuth, right? .”

Florida 100

Florida United States Family Species 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Pelagic birding off the Atlantic coast of Florida can be a frustrating experience, usually involving long waits of up to an hour or more interspersed with brief flurries of activity — a far cry from pelagic birding off of coasts blessed with cold water currents and nutrient rich upwelling such as California, southeast Australia, and Peru.

Florida 165

Florida United States Fish 2005 165

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

We are right in the middle of the fall migration, so new and unusual species is not without some expectations. My first surprise came in the form of an eBired.org report of a Tropical Parula near the water tank in Florida Canyon, just to the north of Madera Canyon.

Tucson 144

Tucson Arizona Florida Rights 144

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2018

Don’t get me wrong, I loved every critter we observed, from the alligators to gar to turtles, but I remained on the look-out for one species in particular: the Purple Gallinule. . Cute right? The species was a life-bird for my mother. To me, they are the most spectacular bird in all of South Florida.

Alligators 113

Alligators Sharks Turtles Florida 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2017

My binoculars were on the seat right next to me, so close and yet, so far. Of course I wanted to go scalloping, which involves snorkeling through the seagrass before plucking the shellfish from the ground and cleaning them right then and there – but I always want to bird. I was itching to get out of the car and bird.

Wildlife 100

Wildlife Florida Pelicans Fish 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

“This beautiful and singular bird, although a constant resident in the southern extremities of the peninsula of Florida, seldom extends its journeys in an eastern direction beyond the State of North Carolina.

New York 264

New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2014

million years old, over one and a half times older than the earliest remains of most living species of birds. The Cuban Sandhill Crane , Grus canadensis nesiotes and the Mississippi Sandhill Crane , Grus canadensis pulla are listed as endangered species. The oldest unequivocal Sandhill Crane fossil is 2.5

Mississippi 170

Mississippi Endangered Species Florida Wildlife 170

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

And with it the existence of the northernmost species of parrot in the world, the only native parrot in the United States whose provenance is not questioned, and a piece of American natural history that is so bizarre that its existence seems impossible to people living today. It was called Incas. Can you imagine it? photo from wikipedia.

Parrots 232

Parrots Hunters United States North America 232

Animal Person

JANUARY 6, 2010

The way I see it, there are three camps on this one: People who think that dolphins or Great Apes or chimps could function as a gateway to other animals getting rights. You could be for or against animal rights and believe the gateway theory. Would you actually actively campaign against rights for some species?

Dolphins 100

Dolphins Animal Rights Rights Animal 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2012

And last week I got to celebrate my coming of (young) age by crossing one off the old list, courtesy of my mate Adrian Binns and Wes Biggs of Florida Nature Tours. They were everywhere and we were lucky to nail down some nice species including Prothonotary Warbler and a very confiding Kentucky Warbler. www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6akXhJE44w

Florida 247

Florida Kentucky France North America 247

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2015

The Florida Panhandle hosts a range of shorebird species, and it’s not uncommon for me to see half a dozen on a casual jaunt along the water. I may work hard at bird photography, but this image was captured based on pure luck, and I neither moved, nor used manual settings, nor fiddled with post-processing to get it right.

Birds 178

Birds Florida Fish Rights 178

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

As I hopped in my car to head home, I pondered the Florida birds I had yet to see. I couldn’t even believe it – there was a Gray Kingbird right there! It was a Gray Kingbird all right, appearing just moments after I wondered if I would ever see one. Nothing new or unexpected, but pleasant nonetheless.

Sea Turtles 159

Sea Turtles Dolphins Birds Turtles 159

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 10, 2016

There are hundreds of avian possibilities and you never know if some super rare lifer is waiting right around the next bend in the trail. This year, we were amazingly spared the rains by count day falling right between two tropical depressions, one of which was a hurricane. Counting birds at Luna Nueva on a good, non-pouring day.

Costa Rica 235

Costa Rica 2016 Eagles Belize 235

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Southern Florida offers many unique wintering birds, but perhaps none more so then the sparrows that call different parts of Florida their winter homes. The flight shot of the male Eurasian, taken by Tom Dunkerton, shows the unique plumage that is completely diagnostic to that species. I prefer a little sweat first.

Florida 170

Florida South Dakota Sparrows Wildlife 170

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

Birders from North America who have tried to find Mangrove Cuckoos in south Florida know how frustratingly elusive the secretive species can be. And, finally, we had one perch briefly on a dead snag right next to us. They are hard to find, difficult to see well, and seem to have a sixth sense about avoiding the camera.

Puerto Rico 106

Puerto Rico North America Florida America 106

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2015

For example, there are years with a strong winter and an influx of northern species, making them quite easy to chase, and years with mild winters where these species will be much harder to track down. Also, the chances for adding vagrants depend on the occurrence of storms from the right direction during the right season.

Feral 202

Feral Species Asia Rights 202

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2012

Mike and Corey (the guys that keep us all in line here at 10,000 Birds) are probably reading this and saying, “Yeah right” Well, it really doesn’t matter what my excuse is because what I’m about to share is freakin owlsome! Even if it is several weeks late and all the animal-love voyeurs have stopped visiting the site.

Owls 221

Owls Florida United States North America 221