10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2024

I was high and happy, not from “420” drugs but from the altitude and the anticipation of seeing woodpeckers and owls I had never seen before. We also saw Prairie Dogs , Bison , Mule Deer , Abert’s Squirrel and Coyote. What is 100% true is the flight number I took into Denver: 420. I ticked off 9 lifers.

Denver 143

Denver Colorado Ducks Mules 143

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Many of us picture owls in the sky, silently soaring, or perched atop tree branches or light poles as they sleep or keep an eye out for prey. However, on my first trip to Aruba I scanned the ground for a very special type of small owl, known for its terrestrial antics.

Prairie Dogs 101

Prairie Dogs Tortoises Owls South America 101

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2012

If we get close enough we might see a pink maw and slivers of white teeth, ready to take a prairie dog by the throat and choke the life out but also rather perversely adorable. Ferret 492 — a black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes — raises her head from a black-tailed prairie dog’s burrow, sniffs the April night.

Ferrets 167

Ferrets Prairie Dogs Coyotes Kittens 167

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Current well-intentioned environmental pressures to emphasize harvesting large dead or dying trees, if realized, would have further adverse effects on such ecologically and esthetically important species as woodpeckers, swallows, wrens, nuthatches, and owls – to name a few 1.”

North America 209

North America America Barn Owls Falcons 209

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2013

Ground squirrels, to those who are not used to them, are more curious beasts, caught in a taxonomic middle ground between the larger marmots and prairie dogs and their smaller chipmunk cousins. The chipmunks, well, they all are fairly chipmunk-esque: small, stripey, and shrill. I suppose they do have a lot to be alarmed about.

Chipmunks 179

Chipmunks Squirrels Rodents Montana 179

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

Essay #158, “Things Birders Do: Big Years,” starts with the writer’s observation of a Barn Owl and then defines a Big Year, surprisingly celebrating it as opportunities for solitary introspection.

Birds 114

Birds North America Breeding America 114

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2019

Barn Owl – Tyto alba. Indian Scops-Owl – Otus bakkamoena. Eurasian Scops-Owl – Otus scops. Bare-shanked Screech-Owl – Megascops clarkii. Bare-shanked Screech-Owl – Megascops clarkii. Whiskered Screech-Owl – Megascops trichopsis. Eastern Screech-Owl – Megascops asio.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113