10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2016

According to the data the authors gathered from banded and recovered Blue Jays , the species shows both a northward post-breeding dispersal (which we’re probably seeing right now, in September) and a southward migration. Some stop as short as Pennsylvania. That last bit is my own interpretation of the data.)

Alabama 107

Alabama West Virginia New York City New York 107

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2015

It was that way for my first Indigo Bunting (a male that absorbed all light and sang in morning wet forests of northeastern Pennsylvania in 1979), and my first Brown Noddy seen from a ferry in Costa Rica earlier this year. This isn’t a species that shows up from time to time.

Costa Rica 150

Costa Rica Birds Pennsylvania North America 150

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2017

While we could chase a number of local, rare residents, looking for super tough species like Pheasant Cuckoo and Tawny-faced Quail is more akin to searching and lurking in appropriate habitat and just hoping to get lucky. They take the form of a White-winged Tern that got lost somewhere over the Atlantic and ended up in Pennsylvania.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica San Jose Falcons Nicaragua 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2014

A good state bird guide needs to offer details about a bird’s look, sound, behavior and habitat in language that is specific enough to differentiate the bird from similar-looking species, but nonscientific enough not to intimidate novice birders. Species are organized in American Ornithologists’ Union taxonomic order.

New Jersey 251

New Jersey Birds 2014 Species 251

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2011

The sighting was easily the best I have ever had of the species, and it was in and out of view for about twenty minutes, foraging in small circuits but always coming back to the stand of thick brush where I had first spotted it. Enjoy these shots and be glad you are not a Spruce Budworm !

Tigers 159

Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 159

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2016

We headed north to the George Washington Bridge, west across New Jersey, west and then north through Pennsylvania, and back into New York at Binghamton where we turned west once again. 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 4, 2014

There were birders from a wide cross-section of the United States: Colorado, Ohio, Idaho, Iowa, Wyoming, Washington State, Pennsylvania, New York State, New Jersey, California, Texas, Florida. Betty’s Bay was also a great place to see all of South Africa’s cormorant species, including the endangered Bank Cormorant.

South Africa 254

South Africa Africa Leopards Penguins 254

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

The Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching offers two types of information: Species Accounts–descriptions of 112 birds within 15 families as they appear over and on the water, and Where to Watch, brief descriptions of 47 sites on the North American eastern coast and interior recommended for seawatching. No rails or gallinules.

Ducks 240

Ducks Groups Species North America 240

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2014

We let a one-eyed Bald Eagle go after a year of battling state officials in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana and Kentucky. But lets see … I’d say one of my most memorable releases is that of a Purple Martin , a species of special concern in California. I set my camera up, then got him out. So gorgeous!

Wildlife Rehabilitation 233

Wildlife Rehabilitation Ohio Tulsa West Virginia 233

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. 1998), then the proper name for this species is L. fuscus – should be separated as species.

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Species 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

This species is not only usually the earliest, but the most common. What’s remarkable about this species is what we don’t see here: the extremely long migration that this species makes, with some individuals traveling from Sub-Saharan Africa to Greenland and back every year.

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. This is the time of year that we rightfully contemplate the noble Turkey. Which would be weird.

Turkey 210

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 210

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

It is the 100th Anniversary of the extinction of the species known as the Passenger Pigeon and writers are paying attention. Errol Fuller’s The Passenger Pigeon is a beautifully illustrated, elegantly written “celebration” of the passenger pigeon and the artists who illustrated and photographed the species. It is a hodgepodge.

2014 161

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 161

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 31, 2011

But whether with a flintlock or a modern rifle, hunting cruelly takes the life of a living, sentient being that has as much right to live as any hunter or writer. It is only the prejudice of our species that justifies culling the deer population while protecting our own. MARIE BROWN Baldwin, N.Y., EISENMAN Highland Park, Ill.,

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Mountain Lions Deer 40

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

Never mind that the bulk of the fat in Starbucks's beverages comes from the milk -- yes, milk ! -- of another species. As the Newsweek story indicates, 38 states have passed laws giving women the right to breastfeed in any public or private place she’d otherwise be allowed to be. Never mind all that. Breast-feeding does just that.

Animal 40

Animal Meat Cows District of Columbia 40