10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

I sample birding on Poas more often than at other sites in Costa Rica because it’s close to home and makes for a worthwhile guided day trip from the San Jose area. Recently, while guiding on the slopes of Poas, without too much effort, we had more than a hundred species. This Red-faced Spinetail was one of them. Two hundred?

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica Species San Jose Birds 100

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.

Species 167

Species New Zealand Ducks Game 167

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).

Costa Rica 217

Costa Rica Species South America America 217

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2020

While the 480-odd species recorded within T&T may outstrip our fellow Caribbean islands by leaps and bounds, it pales in comparison to the massive lists of mainland South and Central America. T&T boasts a fascinating level of biodiversity, however the relatively small size of the islands puts a limit on individual species diversity.

Trinidad 260

Trinidad Family America Species 260

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

Today the reserve contains mature forests, secondary forests, rivers, lagoons, small waterfalls, agroforestry productive areas, and functional gardens; which are the habitat of more than 350 species of birds.

Costa Rica 246

Costa Rica Sanctuary Bats Woodpeckers 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2019

Of course, the California Condor is listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and it has been famously subject to some of the most ambitious conservation efforts (including litigation ) ever undertaken for a bird. One management tool used by FWS is reintroduction of an endangered species into its former range.

California Condor 227

California Condor California Endangered Species Oregon 227

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2020

An endemic species restricted to southern Costa Rica, the tiny range of this local bird makes it susceptible to any alterations to its already limited habitat. As with other birds featured on the album, the song of this species can be heard in a composition created by a local artist, in this case, NILLO.

Costa Rica 241

Costa Rica Nicaragua Cuba Mexico 241

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2022

There are many many podcasts and I have only sampled a small number, so if there are episode suggestions, please leave them in the comments. Below are some fairly recent episodes that I have enjoyed and that may be of interest to others. All can be listened to for free online via the links. Fresh Air ( NPR , 2021, 46 min.):

Zoos 216

Zoos 2020 Massachusetts 2015 216

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 23, 2023

The White-eared Barbet is another bird species with an annoyingly sensible Latin species name, leucotis (white-eared). Obviously, my job as a blog post writer would be a lot easier if there was a racist slave-trader named Ernesto Leucotis who somehow got a bird species named after him. But the same species was never found again.

South Africa 147

South Africa Africa 2018 Birds 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2021

I don’t know whether head brewer Chris Schell – a Delmar native with a decade of craft brewing experience – is a birder or not, but each beer is adorned with trippy, vaguely sci-fi depictions of birds by Boston artist Ian Tartasky , some of which seem to be identifiable to species.

New York 264

New York Boston 2019 Collecting 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

At least most of the resident species can still be seen right along the road, you just have to keep an eye out for cyclists and vehicles on their way up and down the volcano. This shimmering mega species is regular on Poas and, when feeding, is often joined by the Black Guan , an arboreal black turkey-like bird with a blue face.

Costa Rica 261

Costa Rica Birds Cows Hunters 261

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2021

Of the thirty or so members of the family Icteridae that go by the name “oriole” on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean, several species are partial enough to fruit that they even visit feeders that offer it as jelly, as the sugar-preserved form usually reserved for human consumption is known.

2017 210

2017 Portugal Europe Africa 210

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

The northwestern spread of this non-native species made it to my yard a few years ago. The lightest shade of lavender coincides with a 0 – 2% frequency of sightings, the next darker shade 2 – 10%, the next 10 – 25%, the next 25 – 40% and the darkest (almost black) shade is a 40 – 100% occurrence of the species.

Breeders 180

Breeders 2002 North America Bahamas 180

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2021

Thus, the sample appears to skew young (late-30s) relative to my impression of the overall age of the birding community, likely a consequence using eBird as the pool of potential respondents. Thus, birders like natural areas close to home with rare species, and perhaps some ducks. This is not a surprising result.

Minnesota 264

Minnesota Research Pennsylvania Ohio 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 14, 2020

According to eBird , just over 200 species have been observed at the refuge and just under 1,000 checklists have been submitted. I decided to walk Willard Springs trial , a two-mile loop that provides a nice sample of the various habitats on the refuge , including wet prairie, marsh, meadow, and pine forest.

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Washington Portland Birds Deer 163

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2016

From the Abstract and summary: Changes in climate can cause populations of species to decline, to increase, or to remain steady. looked across species of common birds in Europe and the United States. The difference in the jitteryness of the lines has to do with sample size. Reminder: This study looked at the more common species.

North America 118

North America Europe America United States 118

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2015

A new paper out this month attempts to paint the most comprehensive picture yet of the origins and diversification of the American sparrows, wood-warblers, blackbirds, cardinals, tanagers, and their kin, an enormous group of birds more than 800 species strong. A female Western Spindalis ( Spindalis zena ) on Grand Cayman © David J.

Sparrows 257

Sparrows North America South America Blackbirds 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

. … Here at 10,000 Birds 20 July – 26 July is Invasive Species Week. We use the term “Invasive Species” in the broadest sense, to encompass those invasive species that have expanded beyond their historical ranges under their own power, by deliberate introduction, or by unintentional introduction.

Woodpeckers 273

Woodpeckers Illinois Science Chicago 273

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Cocoa Woodcreepers are the largest species of woodcreeper in T&T, and they have a proportionately massive bill. Can they ascertain how profitable a specific tree would be by some sampling method? We just needed to find somewhere that was less cluttered to allow us some chance of seeing birds! And so, we continued.

Trinidad 162

Trinidad Eagles Bears Litter 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2013

It has also found its way to Japan where it is considered to be an invasive species. Now and then individual catfish of various species hunt nearer the surface and larger catfish such as the American Channel Cat will take a duck or other water bird. The range of size of sampled catfish ranges from 0.9

Fish 206

Fish Birds Whales Whaling 206

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

In the late nineteenth century, Eugene Schieffelin, a wealthy New York drug manufacturer, resolved to introduce to North America every species of bird mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. … Here at 10,000 Birds 20 July – 26 July is Invasive Species Week. It’s one of the stories every birder knows.

New York City 196

New York City New York North America Species 196

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2015

The Moustached Kingfisher was known by only three samples– one female “collected” in the 1920’s, the other two females “collected” in the 1950’s, according to an Audubon Magazine article. The justification was ridiculously laughable: in order to further study the species. How its diet changed seasonally? How it raised its chicks?

Collecting 240

Collecting Wildlife Rehabilitation Solomon Islands Texas 240

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

How can two species interbreed into a new species? They took blood samples from the birds in order to extract DNA. If the birds had been breeding, the scientists say that they would have found genetic “intermediates&# – birds with genes from both species. Hey, science people (scientists?),

Sparrows 154

Sparrows Science Breeding Species 154

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

With binoculars around my neck, I am leaving home, wondering which will be the first species on my year list. By contrast, the wild Rock Pigeon, Columba livia livia , is an ill-numbered species that I have seen only a few times, in mountain gorges or Mediterranean islands, further away from villages. New Year’s Day 2014.

Feral 257

Feral Meat Species Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

Here in Morelia, it seems laughable that I once only had access to less species than I could count on one hand. While they are only a fraction of the 359 hummingbird species in the world, I have seen fully 20 of these within an hour of my current home. This Dusky is Tierra-Caliente-only. And this is the Plain-capped Starthroat.

Minnesota 129

Minnesota ALA Mexico California 129

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2020

Because NAOC is so large, it is more accurate to say I sampled small parts of the enormous event. He modeled likely future suitable habitats in a climate change scenario for a number of bird species of conservation concern. Last week, I “attended” the virtual North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC). Dr. Tom White of the U.S.

Puerto Rico 256

Puerto Rico Parrots Protection Ecuador 256

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2014

It varies in appearance across its enormous range, and a new genetic study — Dispersal and speciation in purple swamphens (Rallidae: Porphyrio) — bolsters the case that this “supertramp” is actually a superspecies that could be split into six different species. Above: Swamphen in Australia by James Niland).

Papua New Guinea 194

Papua New Guinea Philippines New Zealand Florida 194

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2018

The Northern Spotted Owl is a “ threatened ” species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and it was famously the subject of extensive and protracted litigation in the late 1980s and early 1990s, mostly relating to forestry management plans in the Pacific Northwest. A sample of this process is here.)

Owls 121

Owls Endangered Species Oregon Friends Of Animals 121

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

Other species have certainly expanded their ranges, but never in such a rapid and global scale. For reasons that are not quite clear, this species underwent a massive range expansion. In the east, this species can be found along the east coast of Africa, the Nile Valley,and into parts of the middle east and India and southeast Asia.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2016

Author Ray Reedman writes from a British point of view, with some time devoted to the birds of North America, Australia and other former colonies but the bulk of the space given over to European species.

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North America America Birds Science 126

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2017

The guide presents 69 species and 1 subspecies, from “NEW WORLD VULTURES: Cathartiformes” to “OSPREY: Pandioninae” to “FAMILY: Accipitridae” (Kites, Hawks, Eagles, Hawk-Eagles), to “FALONIDS: Falconidae” (Falcons, Forest-Falcons, Caracaras, Kestrels, Merlin). Here’s a sample of Plate 30, Bat Falcon and Orange-Breasted Falcon (pp.

Mexico 168

Mexico America North America Falcons 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2014

It’s bad enough to be an invasive species — the term shows a major fall in public esteem from the days when acclimatization was the rage. Nonetheless, this week will be chock full of invasive species. Conservation Invasive Species Week Montana Plants' The yellow flower behind it is common tansy, another invasive.

Montana 164

Montana Goats Sheep Species 164

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

So I was delighted to get the chance to review Like a Butterfly , a short film from director Frank Neveu that chronicles the life of the species in French Alps. The undoubted highlight, though, was the trip to Neuschwanstein.

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McDonalds Germany Animal Birds 194

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2014

Most species are so relaxed down here, getting images of birds is like shooting fish in a barrel like the above Tricolored Heron. One young vulture even charged towards the otter as if to sample a bite. So spending a day in balmy Florida yielded lots of great birds. Maybe it’s the whole retirement community atmosphere?

Otters 169

Otters Turkey Minnesota Florida 169

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

There are the endemics, which are odd in their own way, and then there introduced species, which are so varied in their type and origin that you get the feeling you’ve arrived at the aftermath of a small zoo that escaped. What is surprising is quite how many species did end up here, and how economically unimportant they were.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Possums Rabbits Ferrets 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Below is a sampling of my first day out, Sunday morning, with this new lens. I am always very excited to catch up with a Mangrove Warbler … I just hope someday it will become a species all by it’s self. Here is one of three large groups of peeps, mostly all Least Sandpipers. This is going to be so much fun!!

Pelicans 140

Pelicans Seattle Oregon Branding 140

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2013

As Duncan explained, the birds in the following photographs (bar the last two which were taken on nearby Kapiti Island) “dropped by our house a few times to sample our offered apples (one of the views has Wellington Harbour in the background).” ” Imagine parrots in your back yard!

New Zealand 167

New Zealand Parrots Possums 2010 167