10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2012

On this final day of 2012 it is time, just like it was on the final days of 2010 and 2011 , to share your Best Birds of the Year. Here, without further ado, are your Best Birds of 2012, in no particular order. I even managed to shoot a video with hands trembling of excitement, probably a first of the species.

2012 133

2012 Ghana Ireland Costa Rica 133

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2012

It is one of several species I saw while backpacking here 12 years ago but haven’t seen while living here. Rock Wren ( Xenicus gilviventris ) ( CC 57 Andrew ) The alpine relative of the Rifleman is one of the harder species on this list, but not impossible. This is one species I have never seen, period.

2012 166

2012 New Zealand Birds Penguins 166

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

Hunting and disturbance, deterioration, fragmentation and destruction of habitat were the forces behind the decline of this, once widespread species, making it Critically Endangered on the IUCN Global Red List. The year was 2012, January 2012, and in the entire Kutch District, it was estimated that there were only about two dozen birds left.

Gazelles 246

Gazelles India Pakistan 2012 246

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2012

Oil begins to wash up on the beaches throughout May and June of 2010 May 6, 2010 Oil washes ashore on the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast, an important nesting and breeding area for many bird species. January 27, 2012 Reports leak that BP chose to hide its own internal estimates of the scale of the spill.

2010 223

2010 Louisiana 2012 2011 223

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2012

My family took our annual post-Easter Egg hunt hike at Powder Mills Park, where I spied several gorgeous matched pairs of Wood Ducks along with lots of different woodpecker species.

2012 177

2012 Eggs Hunting Woodpeckers 177

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2021

In April 2012 I wrote about A close encounter with a Wedge-tailed Eagle. There is definitely some beauty to the colouring of this species at this stage of their lives. I can’t use that heading again! This time the Wedge-tailed Eagle was closer and only involved ourselves and no other creatures. Wedge-tailed Eagle in flight.

Eagles 260

Eagles 2012 Species Birds 260

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2013

They wanted to put together a book about The World’s Rarest Birds , but were finding that it was pretty difficult locating photographs of the 590 bird species considered Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered or Endangered. Hold not one, but two international photo contests, one in 2010 and one in 2012. The solution?

United States 175

United States 2012 2010 Birds 175

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2012

Corey had several good species to choose from this weekend but most appreciated trying to get decent shots of alternate-plumaged Herring Gulls in bright sunlight. Corey and I both pondered birds that are extremely ordinary for us. Not an easy task! How do you think he did?

2012 171

2012 Birds Experiments Experience 171

4 The Love Of Animals

DECEMBER 7, 2012

9, 2012, at 8 p.m. These big cats are a species under constant threat from poachers and farmers who fear that the leopards are attacking their livestock. With GPS to track the big cats’ location and WCS camera traps already in place, if successful, the expedition will offer a deeper understanding of the rare and beautiful species.

Snow Leopard 100

Snow Leopard Cats Afghanistan 2012 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2012

While I saw a number of tasty shore species, I most appreciated the behemoth Great Black-backed Gulls , which I’ve missed since I’ve moved upstate. Summer can be boring from a birding standpoint or it can be very, very interesting. How has yours been so far?

2012 169

2012 Birds Experiments Experience 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2012

My weekend was devoted to a seemingly endless celebration of my son’s 8th birthday, which meant that my best bird was bound to be a backyard species. My liver lingers on in the same (sorry) state in which it entered the weekend. Can you say the same?

2012 170

2012 Jamaica New York Woodpeckers 170

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2012

Catherine Hamilton has been the first to get all three species correct in the last two diabolical wood-warbler quizzes. If she gets three in a row it will show she is the best birder in the world and Felonious Jive will suffer the sad misfortune of dropping to second place.

2012 160

2012 Suffering Species Birds 160

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2012

A Bay-breasted Warbler was my best bird of the weekend though I could have chosen almost any of the 64 species I spotted. Mike was with his kids doing the theme parks in Florida and had as his best bird one of his Florida favorites, a White Ibis. What was your best bird of the weekend?

Chicago 167

Chicago 2012 Florida Birds 167

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2023

I began recording my bird sightings with photographs in late 2009, and since then I have seen (or at least heard) a fair proportion of species recorded within my home country of Trinidad & Tobago. I first caught sight of one while birding a mangrove swamp in 2012. Well, let me explain. Will it be upstaged by another?

Birds 258

Birds Trinidad 2020 2009 258

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015

Way back on 16 May I managed to see my 312 bird species in Queens to add to my Queens list. Somehow I forgot that the last time I predicted what the next ten species I would see in Queens would be was back on 30 December 2013, when my list was sitting at 302. The godwit was my forty-first shorebird species in Queens.).

2010 160

2010 2013 2011 2012 160

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2012

The risk of extinction for Amazonian birds has increased substantially: 07 June 2012 The risk of extinction has increased substantially for nearly 100 species of Amazonian birds, reveals the 2012 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ update for birds released today by BirdLife International.

Parrots 191

Parrots 2012 Birds Humane 191

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2012

My focus during my June 2012 visit was obviously on the hummingbirds. Between them, Trinidad and Tobago boast 17 species, of which several of which are extremely rare or accidental and one — the endangered White-tailed Sabrewing — can only be found in Tobago and.

Trinidad 227

Trinidad Lions 2012 Species 227

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2012

Choosing among the hawks, eagles, and owls at the raptor residence (alas no rehab for these irreparably injured birds of prey) and the active late winter species in the park seemed impossible, until an impressive Pileated Woodpecker put on a powerful display of excavatory activity. Woodpeckers FTW!

ALA 163

ALA 2012 Woodpeckers Eagles 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2012

As long as it persists, this Western species will prompt every birder within 400 miles to consider, however briefly, taking a run to see it. The rosy-finch isn’t even that far from me, but I’d rather see this species in the Rocky Mountains. Have you thought about chasing this rarity?

Botswana 162

Botswana 2012 United States Birds 162

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2012

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a more interesting species of warbler, likely the last Northern Parula he’ll find in Queens this fall. I must not be getting out enough, because I was thrilled to find a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers : usually butter-butts are distractions, not attractions. How about you?

2012 158

2012 United States Birds Experiments 158

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2012

I’ll admit that I rarely reach 20 bird species a day, especially this time of year. Speaking of Birdchasers, Rob Fergus may not be a medical doctor, but his prescribed 20 Bird Minimum Daily Requirement seems to be a sure cure for what ails most of us. Be honest: how often are you reaching that mark?

2012 162

2012 Medical Owls Birds 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2012

I, on the other hand, will be lollygagging with the usual Western New York winter species. Corey will be experiencing birding bliss all weekend long at the mighty, mighty Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. Lucky you if you’re there too! What will you be doing this weekend and where will you be birding?

Tanzania 163

Tanzania 2012 New York Branding 163

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 10, 2014

I wasn’t having any luck at all though I was enjoying the typical assortment of wetland species that make we New York birders a bit jealous of our southern compatriots. And there it sat until 2012 when the Florida Ornithological Society’s Records Committee reviewed the status of several introduced species in 2012.**

Feral 175

Feral Florida Ducks Texas 175

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

From Nature, “ Discovery of species-wide tool use in the Hawaiian crow “: Only a handful of bird species are known to use foraging tools in the wild. Two of these species could be detected only in the interior region in 2012 surveys.

Hawaii 162

Hawaii Research Center 2012 2000 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

A new species of barbet was discovered in 2008 in Peru by a team of ornithologists that were recent graduates of Cornell University. The new species is described in the July 2012 issue of The Auk. The Sira Barbet has as its scientific name Capito fitzpatricki , in honor of the director of the Lab of Ornithogy, Dr. John W.

Peru 160

Peru 2008 2012 Species 160

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2012

Even if you’re not ticking new sightings, pay attention to your FOY birds, the first of year sightings that commemorate the phenological passage of assorted avian species in and out of our life. I gave up year listing a couple of annums back even though I’ve rung up some banner bird bounties in 2010 and 2011.

Zimbabwe 157

Zimbabwe Atlanta 2012 2011 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Greater Rheas, a species the Germans call Nandu, are very popular in Germany and frequently kept in zoos as well as private enclosures. Their current population stands at more than 150 birds (I have no recent population estimate, but there were 129 in 2012, up from 100 in 2011), and they are spreading slowly but consistently.

Germany 235

Germany 2000 South America Birds 235

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2012

Forget March Madness… this is when things get crazy for those in sync with the endless sojourns of countless species. With the arrival of May, we turn from bird love to migrant mania. Make the most of this special time!

2012 160

2012 Florida Birds Species 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2022

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes – Coracina novaehollandiae are a common bird species around our home in Broome, Western Australia. The only other similar species is the White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike , but it is a much smaller species and the call is quite different.

Australia 213

Australia Zebras 2014 2012 213

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2011

I can’t wait to explore outer space at the 15th Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival from 25-30 January 2012! Well, if I don’t get to go to outer space and see space-birds what the heck am I doing from 25-30 January 2012? 140,000 acres and 330 species of bird sounds great to me! Checking out any (many?)

Wildlife 170

Wildlife Florida 2012 Birds 170

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2014

It was July of 2012. I didn’t know what species of woodpecker it was, but I knew it was just in the clearing on the other side of the road. Black-backed Woodpeckers are non-migratory, although there have been documented intermittent irruptions of the species outside their normal range. It was a cool 48 degrees.

Woodpeckers 168

Woodpeckers California Chad South Dakota 168

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2012

But on his boat ride around lower New York Harbor and Jamaica Bay on Sunday he found himself appreciating the Herring Gulls more than any other species. From Orange-crowned Warbler to Razorbill , from Lapland Longspur to Red-necked Grebe , from Northern Shrike to Gray Catbird , Corey had a heck of a weekend. Is he becoming a larophile?

2012 155

2012 Jamaica Birds New York 155

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2013

In fact, the last one was back on 15 May 2012 when my Queens list stood at 289 and I guessed what my next eleven birds would be that would get me to 300. Now my Queens list stands at a whopping 302, which means I have actually added thirteen species since my last predictions. John’s the Divine Cemetery.

2012 157

2012 New York City Jamaica 2013 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2012

Finishing a year with 372 species is nothing to sneeze at and the fact that I added twenty-five birds to my ABA list was nice. I begin 2012 with 284 birds on my Queens Life List , 478 birds on my ABA Life List , and 1,048 birds on my World Life List. Will 2012 be as kind a year to me as 2011? What did I see? And burrowing!

2011 167

2011 Puffins United States 2012 167

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2014

Despite our near constant doom-and-gloom prognostications we still manage to see wood-warblers, though most of April is spent looking at the several species that are early arrivals, mostly species that winter in the southeastern United States and therefore can get back to we northeasterns rather quickly.

New York 212

New York United States New York City Louisiana 212

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2013

Hence, in land-locked Serbia, it has been recorded only three times: in 1857, one was shot at the Morava River; in 1993, one was observed by a bird photographer Rastko Aleksandrov at the Centa fish farm, north of Belgrade; and in 2012, a team of Croat and Serbian ornithologists found one at the Belgrade city rubbish dump.

Serbia 180

Serbia Croatia Hungary 2012 180

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2014

The Veliko Ratno Island birdlist is about 170 species long, of which more than 90 were observed from the Dorcol Promenade. Highlight species: Ferruginous Duck , Goosander , Red-breasted Merganser , Red-crested Pochard , Greater Scaup , Velvet Scoter , Black-throated Diver. If that is the case, why come here at all?

Serbia 223

Serbia Ducks Birds Eagles 223