10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2015

We have had days of northwest winds in New York and the birds have taken full advantage of the favorable conditions to hightail it south. Though sparrows tend to be the main focus of mid-to-late October birding here in New York City there are still plenty of other birds to see like the Eastern Phoebe up above.

New York City 153

New York City New York Sparrows Eggs 153

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2019

Growing up in Niagara Falls, New York, June was a celebration of summer. Growing up birding in Western New York was also a time when the old woods of the Niagara Gorge were punctuated with the songs of hidden Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos and the lazy notes of Eastern Wood-Pewees. We had one in the Arenal area.

Costa Rica 201

Costa Rica Species Birds New York 201

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2019

Whatever the reason for getting involved with this massive day of birding, every GBD has been a success where literally thousands of species are found by thousands of birders. I have been able to do that in Costa Rica because literally hundreds of bird species can be accessed in a question of hours.

Costa Rica 215

Costa Rica Species West Virginia New York 215

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2016

Gray Kingbirds are rarely seen in New York State and when they are they usually are only seen by the person or people who find them or those in the immediate vicinity. We saw Common Gallinules , a nice male Rose-breasted Grosbeak , Bald Eagles , and a Great Horned Owl among the fifty-three species for our checklist.

New York 101

New York Bald Eagle McDonalds Fast Food 101

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

Around about the middle of last week there were various and sundry birders from the great state of New York spending a seemingly inordinate amount of time paying attention to the weekend weather forecasts, particularly those that pertained to the marine forecast. … Trips New York pelagic pelagic birding'

New York 210

New York Iceland New York City Suffering 210

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2017

After all, exposing a child to nature is important in their development, right? 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.

New York 101

New York Owls Beavers Puerto Rico 101

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2014

Every spring they totally steal the show in the northeast and you really can’t blame birders for abandoning their jobs, their families, and their sanity as they rush to New York City’s abundant and amazing parks to see the show live and in technicolor. … Birds migration New York City wood-warblers'

New York City 172

New York City New York Kentucky Abandon 172

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2021

Let’s jump right in, shall we? Spotted Towhee , 05 January, Baldwin Harbor Park, New York (state bird). Lark Sparrow (photo above), 30 January, Fort Tilden, Queens, New York (self-found, way out of season). Wood Stork , 08 May, Suffolk County, New York (state bird). Honorable Mentions.

New York 259

New York Birds California Owls 259

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

But when a second hummingbird was reported at Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers, New York, it seemed worth checking out, especially because the second bird, unlike the first, which is a Rufous Hummingbird (at left), wasn’t identified to species in the email to the state listserv that alerted birders to its presence.

New York 190

New York Connecticut United States Rights 190

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2020

During the rest of the year, when the birding is a bit quieter, I always try to find something interesting to write about each week at Birds and Booze – perhaps a beer with a species we haven’t seen before, or a wine label with an especially striking depiction of a bird, maybe something with a good story or a seasonal connection, and so on.

New York 260

New York North America America Rights 260

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2013

Sadly, lots of good birds were lacking on our 2 March 2013 trip out of Freeport, New York. Don’t get me wrong, those birds are cool birds, but when you are out in a boat for twelve hours specifically searching for alcids and you only get two of the five species you would expect in New York it is kind of disappointing.

New York 149

New York Iceland Puffins Ducks 149

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2018

They get there by snatching the bread right out of your kid’s hand and maybe whacking him around a bit to boot. If we don’t like that, we should take it right up to the top (maybe she’d like her birds back while we’re at it.). Now we know they were wrong, but there’s a lesson about hubris there.

Species 102

Species San Francisco Rats Zebras 102

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2021

Right now, though, we can watch and listen and enjoy. Of all the species he saw he had one that was easily his Best Bird of the Weekend, as it was a new bird for him in New York State. May is a time for birding. Corey enjoyed getting out early and birding both days this weekend, and has the lists to back him up.

New York 260

New York Sparrows Birds Breeding 260

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

I wonder what he would have made of the extraordinary peregrinations undertaken by this species in 2021, with birds turning up well north of their usual range in an event the American Birding Association has coined – with hashtag – #spoonbillsummer? Still, I was looking for a wine as pink as a spoonbill to celebrate our sighting.

New York 264

New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2021

Fortunately, we have birds to look at, so let’s focus on them right now. Of the species I spotted at Carbon Canyon Regional Park the bird I most appreciated was the California Thrasher , especially the one that cooperated for some portrait photography. So that will be my Best Bird of the Weekend. At least, I hope he is.)

Alaska 232

Alaska California Birds New York 232

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2021

Luckily for us, the gull featured on Rebuke, a Helles-style lager from Brown’s Brewing Company of Troy, New York, is depicted in silhouette, which gets us off the hook ID-wise, as far as I’m concerned. Well, good for them. Well, good for them. We’ve got a beer to drink.

Germany 262

Germany New York Bears Rights 262

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

At least, that is what anecdotal evidence tells me and nothing is more accurate than anecdotal evidence, right? Red Crossbill cracking open a cone (click to embiggen) Red Crossbills and White-winged Crossbills And, finally, just because I can, here is a male of each North American crossbill species. …

New York 132

New York Rights Birds Species 132

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2011

That means that as of right now the yardstick I am holding does not exist because there are no yard sticks that are zero long. That will be much better, right? Besides, suffering brings birds, right? Spotting 57 species of birds in the couple of hours we put in to seeking out birds was never so ho-hum in my life.

New York City 164

New York City New York Walruses Birds 164

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2020

Just yesterday I learned that the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ) is the only breeding bird found in New York that has been documented nesting in every month of the year. This bit of trivia was given in an article in my local bird club’s monthly newsletter about the ongoing breeding bird atlas in New York State.

2017 241

2017 Barn Owls Rodents Owls 241

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 264

New York Boston 2019 Collecting 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2021

I picked out this week’s Parula Pilsner from The Warbler Brewer of Delmar, New York solely because it’s the very end of April, right around the time I generally see my first Northern Parula ( Setophaga americana ) of the year. But with May right around the corner, the floodgates seem about to burst.

Jamaica 169

Jamaica New York Boston Peru 169

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2023

They were barely mentioned in The Voyage of the Beagle and not at all in On the Origin of Species. Maybe Moss is right, and birds have changed history. Basic Books, New York, $30 U.S., The book is a grab-bag of facts about the ten birds, mostly culled from other works. By Stephen Moss. CAN $38.00. September 12, 2023.

Bald Eagle 160

Bald Eagle Montenegro Campaign Turkey 160

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

The muted colors of Blackburnians, Black-throated Greens, and Blackpolls fit right in with the dull greens and golden highlights of the early fall vegetation. The Eastern Kingbirds I knew from the fields of upstate New York were smartly dressed birds that perched on fences and chased Red-tailed Hawks. Swallows Everywhere.

Costa Rica 325

Costa Rica West Virginia New York South America 325

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2022

He lamented that he had barely been able to travel during the year — only one trip from New York to California, poor boy — and then went on to give an impressive list of vagrants and first-of-state birds. But it wasn’t until 2021 that I figured out where they are most common: right around our church!

Mexico 226

Mexico Birds Virginia Barn Owls 226

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.

Species 176

Species Science Los Angeles 2000 176

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2019

On one gray, drizzly morning this week, I set out to bird my local patch in Albany, New York, and found 56 species in a few hours of aimless, unhurried traipsing. This was the first Albany County report since 1979 and as I hadn’t even been born when that happened, I raced up there right way.

Collecting 122

Collecting New York City New York Sparrows 122

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 203

New York New Jersey Colorado Pennsylvania 203

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2014

All we do is complain about the lack of migrating birds so far and in New York City if southeast winds are blowing we are nearly despondent because southeast winds mean that the birds are moving north but the easterly component of the winds keep usually keep the bulk of birds to our west. … Birds migration wood-warblers'

New York 227

New York United States New York City Breeding 227

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2019

We’re still driving towards the depths of winter here in New York, but I just noticed that our days are getting longer. Spring migration will be here before you know it, right? Corey enjoyed leading a New York City Audubon bird walk at Forest Park on Saturday morning and visiting Breezy Point on Sunday.

2019 113

2019 New York City New York Birds 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

I am shocked to be writing this post already, and doubly shocked that I’ve seen six new species for Queens since I guessed what my next five Queens birds would be just eight months ago, back in March. Way back in March we were in the midst of a global pandemic and Queens was the epicenter of the epicenter that was New York City.

New York City 152

New York City Birds New York Blackbirds 152

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

In the late nineteenth century, Eugene Schieffelin, a wealthy New York drug manufacturer, resolved to introduce to North America every species of bird mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. Schieffelin was long a leading figure in the American Acclimatization Society, a bizarre group of meddlers based in New York City.

New York City 196

New York City New York North America Species 196

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2019

This month may have brought uncommon cold and rain to Upstate New York, but June went out on an exceedingly high note for us. Luckily, for birds, I didn’t have to, as a skulky Winter Wren sought shelter right outside my dining room window, adding a highly improbable third wren species to my yard list.

2019 131

2019 New York Shelters Birds 131

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2019

I definitely didn’t see much, but sometimes the usual species satisfy well enough. Northern Mockingbirds , for example, are charming any time of year but abundant right now in my part of the world. Corey enjoyed a weekend upstate in his hometown, beating the heat that baked New York City.

2019 138

2019 New York City Virginia New York 138

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2022

While growing up in Niagara Falls, New York, I often wondered if the warm and humid weather was similar to the constant short-wearing climes of tropical places. Even so, we do have some sandpipers and plovers around; there have been recent reports of Surfbirds and various other wading species.

Costa Rica 195

Costa Rica Eagles West Virginia Albatross 195

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2016

I opened the year in California and even though I flew out in the evening on New Year’s Day I did see some species out there that I would otherwise not have seen for the year. Winter birding around New York City was just so-so but I did add one species to my Queens list. Aaaarrrgghhhh!

2016 134

2016 Puerto Rico New York City New York 134

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2019

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. Black letters on a white band on its right leg, reading “PK4.” Why do Royal Terns come north to New York waters every fall?

New York 139

New York Virginia Breeding Birds 139

Animal Ethics

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012

This holds true whether it is in the Democratic Republic of Congo or right here in New York City, where Cyrus R. 4, 2012 The writer is vice president for species conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society. Note from KBJ: I take it that rats are not a "charismatic species." ELIZABETH L.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York South Korea New York City 40