10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

In California I smelt the breath a Blue Whale as it passed feet beneath my boat. You may not get the species counts that the race delivers, but you’ll have memories burned into your skull. In Hawaii I stood on a beach as albatrosses fledged and Tiger Sharks prowled for the less successful ones.

Uganda 160

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 160

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

I also did not understand the centrality of the Delaware Bay to shorebird migration, how timing and geographic design and water quality and tidal streams, the rich salt marshes and protected beaches combine to make this specific area of New Jersey and Delaware “The Most Important Stopover of the Western Hemisphere.”

Delaware 177

Delaware New Jersey Research Eggs 177

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2011

Before my trip to Washington the only species of puffin I had ever seen in the wild was the puffin of the Atlantic Ocean, the appropriately named Atlantic Puffin. The first obstacle was getting to the general range of the species, which is the west coast from northern California to Alaska and across to Russia.* I love puffins.

Washington 169

Washington Protection Puffins Rhinoceros 169

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2013

But in the end, being dead doesn’t protect an animal from mortality. It is responsible for some of the happiest moments of my childhood, the trips to the Buffalo Museum of Science that kindled my passion for nature; and yet, the quest for specimens ushered some of my favorite species of birds out of the world.

Elephants 156

Elephants Mammals Buffalo Gorillas 156

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

The well dressed biologist or intern is mostly thus protected for the elements (or at least the elements that in some way relate to angry larids), although a few gulls manage to get lucky shots across the one part of the body not covered head to toes in plastic, the face. A great place to watch whales and pelagic seabirds.

Breeding 179

Breeding Stray Seals Whales 179