10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2015

The justification was ridiculously laughable: in order to further study the species. How it raised its chicks? The unique behaviors this mysterious species might exhibit? Or how gracefully it flew? Where and how it gathered food? How its diet changed seasonally? Who its predators were? Its natural longevity?

Collecting 240

Collecting Wildlife Rehabilitation Solomon Islands Texas 240

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

So: we have bird identification shorthand, which is usually the bird’s North American Ornithological Society abbreviation, but which could be just one particular rehabber’s nickname for the species.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 213

Wildlife Rehabilitation Turtles Turkey Wildlife 213

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Like any birder visiting a new place, I had a target species list I was hoping to seek out during the one day I had available between business commitments. The climatic changes set in motion by the Industrial Revolution are now proceeding at a pace far greater than many species and ecosystems can adapt to naturally. Black Rosy-Finch.

Species 175

Species Science Los Angeles 2000 175

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

The species is said to have never been common, a description I’ve always thought is applied too liberally to long-gone species almost as a convenient declaration of helplessness or shrug of the shoulders toss off in the face of its eventual demise. Mississippi in 1949. Photo by Jerry Payne, Charleston Co, SC, 1958.

South Carolina 178

South Carolina Cuba Missouri Mississippi 178

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Hunting sandhill cranes in Kentucky is a bad idea from a public relations standpoint, considering the growing cadre of birders and nature enthusiasts for whom cranes are a touchstone species. Initiating a hunting season on a large, charismatic species like a crane is no way to resuscitate hunting.

2011 245

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 245

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2017

In fact, we saw two species of monkey, our only sloths, lots of coatis, and my rarest ever mammal sighting—a Jaguarundi —right on site. Seriously, Panama raises the art of under-communication to new, deplorable heights. Thus, I arrived in Panama with 204 species on my country list and low expectations for more than a handful of lifers.

Panama 100

Panama 2017 Monkeys Family 100