10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2015

Now, this is a bird species that is declining, and the eight we saw made up twice the total number of Red-headed Woodpeckers I have ever seen before my day on the Backcountry Trail. I missed many of them during spring migration when I lived in North Carolina, and didn’t see too many when I visited Maine at the beginning of June.

Alabama 150

Alabama Bald Eagle North Carolina Woodpeckers 150

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

in the nearly two years since I’ve been here I’ve been steadily climbing towards 200, a fair goal for a county in the center of North Carolina. March 31, 2015 – I get word from a friend that a non-birder has reported a large white pelican at a lake not more than 5 minutes from my door. I get the word out.

2016 141

2016 North Carolina 2015 Raleigh 141

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

The road was lined with scrub and short trees, and I spotted not one but two new sparrow species. White-crowned Sparrows are possible winter sightings where I live in North Carolina, but not at all common, while Savannah Sparrows has been one of my nemesis birds for quite some time. A line of Surf Scoters near the beach.

Seals 190

Seals Elephants Whales Whaling 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

There were ten students in total that had signed up for the spring break “Seabirds” course in Dry Tortugas National Park, and after long drives down from North Carolina we had all made it right on time. Though we were a month early for the true migration period, the chances of me seeing life birds on this trip were very high.

Birds 181

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 181

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2015

My friend Paul Taillie and I had to meet an intrepid bunch of birders for the inaugural Outer Banks Big Day field trip at the Wings Over Water festival in eastern North Carolina. We were setting the bar for what someone hitting all the good spots on North Carolina’s famous barrier islands could reasonably accomplish.

North Carolina 150

North Carolina Rattlesnake Sparrows Owls 150

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2014

This past weekend I headed out to eastern North Carolina with a group of friends to try our hand at a Rarity Roundup. Either would have been a new species for the trip, but no one was comfortable making the case either way. So it goes with rails in coastal North Carolina.

North Carolina 166

North Carolina Sparrows Groups Ducks 166

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Written in the tradition of the classic Hawks in Flight , but very much a product of the experiences of its birder authors, this is a groundbreaking book that offers a new way of identifying migratory birds at sea to all of us who observe the waters of eastern North America with expectation and excitement. No rails or gallinules.

Ducks 237

Ducks Groups Species North America 237