10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2018

But also, most of us who are still communicating on blogs and not on Instagram have … erm … matured enough to appreciate beauty beyond the obvious, and have thus turned our attention and affection to other species. Like the fine, fine sparrows. Or that dapper yellow spot on W hite-throated Sparrows. No warbler-neck.

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Sparrows New York City New York 2011 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2019

Although Bobolinks are a very rare migrant, lots of other birds are possible, more than enough to rack up hundreds of species over the course of the year. Each January, I hope to identify at least 600 species over the next 12 months, this year, I’m hoping that Marilen and I (aka Team Tyto ) will find 700.

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Costa Rica Species Birds New York 202

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Any day of birding in New York State that includes a sighting of a Vesper Sparrow is a better-then-average day. The precipitous plunge of Vesper Sparrow populations has been largely because of changing land use practices. The Vesper Sparrow is named for its tendency to sing in the evening, right before the end of the day.

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Sparrows North Dakota United States Downers 165

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2018

For example, we might just enjoy the calls and antics of those White-throated Sparrows while searching for a Harris’s. Most of all, I love showing people birds, species both common and mysteriously evasive. Whether a birder is eager for eyefulls of common species or needs to test the birding Zen and.

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Costa Rica Species San Jose Birds 192

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. A prime example is the 1958 Chinese campaign to eliminate sparrows, considered pests because they fed on grain. Various experts are enlisted in support of this idea.

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Bald Eagle Montenegro Campaign Turkey 164

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

In response to the decline last year saw the first ever World Sparrow Day and tomorrow, 20 March, is the second annual World Sparrow Day. In response to the decline last year saw the first ever World Sparrow Day and tomorrow, 20 March, is the second annual World Sparrow Day. Wicked, right? Hat-tip to Stella.

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Sparrows 2011 Deer New York 208

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2024

But, as most of our readers know, the phrase “trash birds” usually refers to those species that one sees so often that they become tiresome. This is a species that has very much learned to cohabit with humans, causing its population to explode into new areas. Central Mexico has, of course, its own trash birds.

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Mexico Portland Humane Sparrows 196

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2021

Right now, though, we can watch and listen and enjoy. What I enjoy–almost more than any other moment of my birding year–is that special spring day when White-Crowned Sparrows deign to visit my humble home en route to their boreal breeding grounds.

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New York Sparrows Birds Breeding 261

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2021

In that sense, June is no different than any other month, right? I’ve continued my inconsistent effort to pick off the species I need for my Monroe County list. eBird) had it that the best place to find Clay-colored Sparrow is a particular conifer plantation on a particular farm road in the rural western portion of the county.

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Sparrows Birds Farming Experience 234

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2022

They are places where we invest most of our birding time and rightly so; mature tropical forests are where we find the highest number of species. Additional bird species prefer the sun-drenched vegetation of open fields and other edge habitats. Stripe-headed Sparrow and Other Dry Forest Birds. Pied Puffbird.

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Costa Rica Farming Sparrows Birds 271

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

Most days, that seemingly random place is right at home. Some call them trash, tours might not visit, but they can host more than the expected and common species. Some such vegetated spots can also attract oddball birds, species that wander to find a home in urban circumstances. This image is from a different site.

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Costa Rica Sparrows Birds Rodents 260

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2022

With 85 species in 6 hours, I’d like to think it was well repaid. That’s me on the right. While I can claim full credit for the sparrow, Jonathan got the next one. This particular bird turned up against a very bright sky, so these photos are not as good as those of the sparrow. In case you were wondering.

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San Diego Turtles Mexico Sparrows 257

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

I am not only surprised but shocked at my second lifer of the month right here in Monroe County. A late Northern Parula was nice, his first Canvasback of the season was pleasant, and sweeping the scoters is always fun, but his favorite bird of the weekend was an Ipswich Sparrow. A subspecies as Best Bird of the Weekend?

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2020 Birds Sparrows Experience 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2022

Also, I had found my first viable acorns for 2022 on a previous outing, and hoped to find acorns from other species in this particular oak-rich forest. (I Perhaps it was right. I love this species’ comical look, so I’ll indulge myself with several photos. And now it is minding mine. Which explains the name.

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Sparrows California Woodpeckers Species 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

These and several other species might end up being armchair ticks if and when we take a closer look at their evolutionary history. Taxa that could end up being split into one species occurring north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and one south of the isthmus. (2). Two subspecies of the same species that differ within Costa Rica. (4).

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Costa Rica Species South America America 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Recently, while guiding on the slopes of Poas, without too much effort, we had more than a hundred species. Such a birdy day and yet, one that still lacked quite a few species. Poas itself seems to be pretty straightforward but I wondered how far down both sides of the mountain should be included in my species list. Two hundred?

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Costa Rica Species San Jose Birds 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

But Morelia is part of a large relatively homogenous ecosystem, while the La Escalera area sits right on the junction of our highland pine-oak forest system and the lowland tropical thorn forest biome. Double the ecosystems, double the species. And, in birding as in real estate, the key is location, location, location.

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Sparrows Species Birds Rights 335

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2020

What better selection than the various birds of the Kenyan highlands, right? Especially if they are competing for attention with multiple species of large mammals at a watering hole. Speaking of sparrows, we managed to see several species, many of which were within Nairobi city limits. Isabelline Wheatear.

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Sparrows Mammals Game Parrots 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2021

Surrounded by native plants and at the edge of the woods, her feeders were always hotspots for interesting migratory and wintering species. On this particular day, I wanted to see one species and one species only: the Purple Finch. I never expected another opportunity to see a Purple Finch in 2021.

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Florida Breeding Birds Sparrows 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Not a bad video of a young White-crowned Sparrow , right? The sparrow was remarkably cooperative and that is an important aspect of getting decent video. Don’t plan on using this set up to document a rarity that is hiding deep in the brush, though it does work for distant species that might be beyond the range of your SLR.

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Birds South America Sparrows America 275

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

The obvious choice was the Mallard , that plucky familiar northern hemisphere species that is the father of the even more familiar domesticated duck. In fact, as the species was quickly identified as as creating hybrids with Grey Ducks, the opinion was by the 1920s that the species shouldn’t be released further.

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Species New Zealand Ducks Game 168

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2023

I am only including them in this post to give you my real-life Kabul experience … Four species are the most easily seen in the few urban parks (into which women are not actually allowed to enter – I am not sure about female birds). I did not actually go to Afghanistan for birding.

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Afghanistan Birds Feral Zoos 182

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2022

Towhees are large, ground-hugging sparrows that occur only in North America. Just to complicate things more, four members of the Melozone genus are called Ground-Sparrows rather than Towhees.). The first was strange only on a personal level, as I had never before seen a juvenile of the species. Our towhees are weird.

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Mexico North America 2015 Sparrows 219

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2023

The official Ontario bird checklist, produced by Ontario Field Ornithologists , June 2022 listed 506 bird species**, putting it in the top tier of U.S. Small Species Accounts: Each species is allotted one page (with certain exceptions) offering basics–bird names and size, one or two photographs, and a one-paragraph description.

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North America Birds Owls Canada 222

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2015

Each year, I hope to identify at least 600 species. That 600th species was a Streaked Xenops , an especially uncommon bird in Costa Rica usually seen at Tapanti National Park. That 600th species was a Streaked Xenops , an especially uncommon bird in Costa Rica usually seen at Tapanti National Park. Streaked Xenops.

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Costa Rica 2015 Species West Virginia 154

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

This is my best place to pick up species that inhabit, or visit, the border between the Hot Country thorn forest and highland pine-oak forest habitats. It wasn’t the most colorful species of the day. Backlighting showed off the rusty crown of this Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow. But its rump was somewhat bright, I suppose.

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South America Sparrows Mexico Bears 203

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2022

Some of the more conservative Light-vented Bulbuls in my compound were trying to make the wearing of a tie mandatory for the species. But the stars of the month were some breeding Eurasian Tree Sparrows. Anyway, back to the somewhat less interesting birdlife within my prison-compound. So, I took these photos for them.

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Birds Sparrows China Abandon 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2021

We are too far into the year for many FOY sightings, but not quite far enough for most migratory species to make their return appearances. No surprise to that; these two species always initiate the migratory season here. I’m no expert, but I strongly suspect Rusty Sparrows only hunt for grubs when they are feeding babies.

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Louisiana 2000 Mexico Groups 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

However, a birder can also stay right at the house and see birds all day long. We did just that and were treated to a parade of species both in front of and behind the house. Out back, a water feature at the edge of the forest saw visits from several Painted Buntings, Olive Sparrow and a few other species during the heat of the day.

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Costa Rica Falcons Birds Philadelphia 203

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Oh, I brought the binoculars, all right, which birder in his/her sane mind leaves home without it, but we were going to a peninsula with no obvious birding spots, and most birding will be done by accident, from the roadside. The lake IBA has about 230 so far eBirded species. A great day, thanks to Clive.

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Greece Eagles Turtles 2019 239

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2022

White-tailed Kite in action- a classic airport species in Costa Rica. Turf farms in wooded regions are wide open oases for grasspipers and other species adapted to natural lawns. These are the three main species that urge us to scan a grassy field with puddles in September and October. Odd habitats attract odd birds.

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Costa Rica Ecuador North America Peru 162

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2020

On the northern birding calendar, October is a time for sparrows, cool weather, and tired fall leaves. It’s when Orange-crowned Warblers share the Goldenrod with lisping and chirping sparrows, when hardy Yellow-rumped Warblers dominate the Parulid scene. In Costa Rica, a lot of those birds fly right overhead.

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Costa Rica South America Colombia Paraguay 273

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2024

That day, he limited himself to showing us Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Rose-throated Becard, Grey-collared Becard, Spot-breasted Wren, Olive Sparrow, Hepatic Tanager, Blue Bunting and Stripe-crowned Warbler. The day was only minutes old and we already had 32 species on the day list.

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Parrots Woodpeckers Industry Fast Food 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2021

But winter, with our many migratory visitors, and spring, with the height of our dry season pulling many non-urban (and some unexpected) species to the birdbath, can make even my back window a thrilling spot. Earlier in the day in which I write these words, I saw 21 species, all without leaving my home and yard.

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Nashville Sparrows Virginia Rights 161

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2021

And many of these species are also strikingly beautiful. A tropical tree called Jocote ( Spondias purpurea ) is in full fruit right now, so almost all of these birds’ ivory bills were dyed a light pink color. Those are very unripe Jocote fruits, along with a Stripe-headed Sparrow , in the header photo above.).

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Mexico Blackbirds Sparrows Owls 180

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2020

Luis is an avid eBirder and he likes to keep a good record of his lists, photograph as many species as he can, and he encourages others to do the same. The birds in questions were the aforementioned Canada Goose and three happily foraging Chipping Sparrows. punch line to a bad birding joke, right? Why was it me?

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Canada Cuba Miami Florida 171

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into. Superficially, it resembled the Black-chinned Sparrow of the southwestern United States with its gray chest and chestnut streaked with black back.

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New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 231