10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

You can’t say the same about migration: you can’t say that every book about birds is necessarily about migration, for the simple reason that only about 4,000 bird species migrate (with some 1,800 of those traveling long distances). (Well, purely physical attributes play a part, too: they’re pretty good looking.).

Alaska 255

Alaska Kenya Georgia Russia 255

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 279

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2024

Taking inspiration from Matthiessen’s 1967 book (long out of print), which combined his natural history essays with species accounts by Ralph S. Species Profile, Black-necked Stilt, p. 57; © 2024 by Pete Dunne and Kevin T.

North America 264

North America America 2006 Delaware 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2015

I reviewed the New Jersey volume in May 2014 and, being in Florida at the moment, I thought this was a good time to take a closer look at both the Florida volume, published just last month, and the Colorado volume, published in June 2014. (I This is clearly done to allow readers to view similar species opposite each other.

Colorado 265

Colorado Florida New Jersey North America 265

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Photo: This area holds 3 to 4 breeding pairs of White-tailed Eagles , which represents the biggest density per square mile anywhere in the country. Wigeons are only migrants and not a breeding species in Serbia and August is a bit too early for any longer distance duck movements. Photographed by Szekeres Levente. and one ad.).

Serbia 189

Serbia Eagles Protection Ducks 189

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2017

In early 2014 the rainfall was good and flooded the main highway south from Broome and made for some excellent birding from your car. The area remained flooded for several months in 2014 and there was significant road damage, but over the months the birding improved as more and more birds arrived in the area.

Geese 100

Geese Breeding Eggs 2014 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

When I went to Honduras in 2014, I was advised to use The Birds of Costa Rica by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean (2014) and The Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America by Steve N.G. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America covers 827 species, including resident, migratory, and common vagrant birds.

El Salvador 235

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 235

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2014

But my failure to find a rare species doesn’t mean that I saw nothing of note. One bird in particular got my pulse racing for a bit before I figured out I was looking at the most common species on the beach, albeit in a form that is exceedingly odd.

Florida 231

Florida Panama Wildlife 2014 231

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. This species has also eliminated the need for childcare – the chicks emerge from this pile on their own and never even get to see their parents. Similarly, the Grey Shrikethrush is neither a shrike nor a thrush.

Australia 236

Australia Koalas Parrots Birds 236

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Why are these issues?

Costa Rica 245

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 245

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. In March and November, Common Cranes are a possibility.

Serbia 254

Serbia Ducks Birds Eagles 254

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2019

The striking Golden-cheeked Warbler nests only in the hills of central Texas near Austin but a substantial part of those breeding grounds have leveled in favor of development. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) declared the Golden-cheeked Warbler “ endangered ” under the Endangered Species Act. On December 27, 1990 , the U.S.

Austin 208

Austin Texas Endangered Species United States 208

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

There is another area of the Queens County CBC where a team will also likely see Monk Parakeets , Myipsitta monachus , but I am seriously determined to count that bird for my area, Coastal Flushing, a section of northeast Queens, New York, that includes Whitestone, home of one of the loudest invasive bird species in the U.S. And cell towers.

Chicago 238

Chicago New York City New York Illinois 238

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

The northwestern spread of this non-native species made it to my yard a few years ago. The following maps I created on eBird show the dramatic growth in the spread of the Eurasian Collared-Dove from 2002 to 2014. I am always alarmed when I see rapid expansion of a non-native species of any kind.

Breeders 196

Breeders 2002 North America Bahamas 196

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

The Kerkini Lake National Park is my favourite birding area in the whole of the Balkans and while I’ve been here in April and again (migration), September (migration), October (coffee break), December and January (wintering), this was my first time in the breeding season, in May. But nowadays, they, too, breed here, about 20 pairs this year.

Greece 203

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 203

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2014

Though hardly common, Great Gray sightings are a yearly occurrence in Western Montana, and it is one of the twelve species of owl known to breed in the state. As a result, its territory in the Rocky Mountains extends far south of the bulk of its range. Photos courtesy of Asta So. *I Birding Great Gray Owl owls'

Owls 253

Owls Minnesota Montana 2014 253

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

Third, observing and photographing breeding birds and their young have become acts of ethical confusion as birders, photographers, and organizational representatives debate the impact of our human presence on the nesting process. Some chapters focus on one species (Yellow Warbler), some on several related species (Chickadees and Nuthatches).

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

Conservationists at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) have been using remote controlled drones to watch the nests of endangered breeds and monitor the progress of reintroduced species. Over time, it’s these physiological changes that can disrupt animals’ breeding or rearing habits.

Idaho 209

Idaho Bears Protection Birds 209

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2020

There are more than 1100 plant species, the most valuable being the 76 endemics. Also, there are 58 mammal species represented in the park, which is home to the largest Brown Bear (50+ animals; bear watching can be arranged through the NP authorities, find the link below) and Chamois populations in Serbia.

Bears 264

Bears Serbia Birds Mammals 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

In fact, in New York State, other than a small breeding colony west of Rochester, there are very few records of Eurasian Collared-Dove. That is, that was it until 22 June 2014, when David Ringer found one on the west side of Manhattan. Nonetheless, this week will be chock full of invasive species.

New York 167

New York New York City North America Bahamas 167

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2016

So close to the pole only a handful of bird species can survive, and even so, death toll is very high, hence their populations must be huge (millions). There are 11 species of birds that breed in the Ross Sea region. On the Balleny Islands Antarctic Fulmar , Antarctic Prion and Cape Petrel also breed. And the Mammals.

Russia 189

Russia Penguins Whales Whaling 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2014

The photo above is a breeding-plumaged Myrtle Warbler by Kelly Colgan Azar. A thread on BirdChat two weeks ago reminded me of a fascinating paper that went up online last fall and was published in the January 2014 issue of Evolution: Migration, mitochondria, and the Yellow-rumped Warbler (Toews et al.).

United States 265

United States 2011 Guatemala North America 265

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2014

For obvious reasons it has listed under “other names” in field guides “Zebra Duck” and it is easily identified from all other duck species in Australia by its distinct stripes. It is a species we have not seen in flight dispersing to a new location, but they often fly up and back down rather vocally if disturbed.

Ducks 176

Ducks Zebras Australia Shelters 176

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2015

Oh, and I need to sort out about 4000 photos and add 250 year birds to 2014 and 400 to 2015… So , yeah, I’m kind of in a state. African Penguins, or Jackass Penguins as they are sometimes known, are one of those species of penguin you’ll find away from the frozen wastes of Antarctica. Boulders Beach.

Penguins 158

Penguins Seychelles Albatross Africa 158

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? Phillipps’ Field Guide (I’ll be using this shortened form of the title) covers 673 avian species, including 59 endemics, and 53 species that have not been documented yet for the area but which may show up in the next few years. Now, I’m not so sure.

Brunei 198

Brunei Asia Birds China 198

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2023

Way back in 2014, when I saw my first Chestnut-sided Shrike-Vireo near the little town of Pino Real, and shared the sighting on a birders’ chat group, it took just over a month for the first biologist/ornithologist to visit me. It seems he had looked long and wide for this species. Here’s one of those Grass Wrens.

Mexico 259

Mexico Cuba Species Turkey 259

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2016

For example, years ago, Eiton Tchenrov postulated that the wild progenitor of the domestic dog, some subspecies or another of wolf, could benefit from overlapping its breeding territory with human hunters. This often applies in animal behavior and ecology, and this often comes about in relation to predator pressure.

Alligators 144

Alligators Leopards Protection Rabbits 144

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2015

In February of 2013, I wrote a piece outlining my thoughts on which exotic bird species should be added to the American Bird Association (ABA) checklist. In 2014, the Florida Ornithological Society Records Committee (FOSRC) voted to add this species to the Florida state list. The ABA Checklist Committee quickly followed suit.

Los Angeles 154

Los Angeles Miami San Francisco San Antonio 154

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 167

2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2014

Four teams with renowned birders from United States, South Africa and United Kingdom will travel through the diverse and endemic bird rich region of Northern Peru, from May 12 thought May 20, 2014. It is the month of May when Black and White Tanagers , Gray-capped Cuckoos , and Slaty Thrushes begin to leave the region to unknown destination.

Peru 160

Peru United Kingdom South Africa 2013 160

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2021

The Indigo was even on its way to becoming my default species for any indescript female LBJ. But, until 2020, I almost never saw it, which is frustrating with such a loud species. It is one of those interesting few species that winter in South America, but only migrate as far north as Mexico to breed. Photo from 2019.

Mexico 197

Mexico 2020 2019 Turkey 197

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2018

Covering 1,261 species with data and taxonomy current up to August 2017, the field guide is an exciting achievement. And, then there are the more familiar birds–Wood-warblers, sandpipers, hawks–some species migrants, some species with a wide range. Can you guess which of the species cited above are endemic?

America 214

America El Salvador Costa Rica Honduras 214

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2014

The second edition of the National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition has one of the longest book names in bird bookdom: National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition: Now Covering More Than 1,000 Species With the Most-Detailed Information Found in a Single Volume. This volume is no exception.

North America 184

North America America Family Falcons 184

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

North America 279

North America America California Condor Birds 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Birds of the Iron Gates: While the best birding season here is the breeding period (May to June), the Iron Gates is also an important migratory stopover and wintering area. The Woodchat Shrike, Boljetin, June 2014. The Forgotten Road does not exist on the GPS screen either.

Serbia 226

Serbia Turtles Romania Eagles 226

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

There are three species of ptarmigan, all found in Alaska. Unlike other grouse species, the male Willow Ptarmigan remains with the female throughout the breeding season to help raise the chicks. Partners in Flight estimates that there are nearly 50 million breeding Willow Ptarmigan throughout the world.

Alaska 109

Alaska Finland Indiana Russia 109

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2015

It returns to Broome with a mottled breeding plumage pattern and gradually changes its moult during its stay. This past breeding season the pair that inhabit this area of reef successfully raised three young birds and the last chick finally left its parents at the end of 2014 and they now have the area to themselves once again.

Birds 145

Birds 2014 Australia Breeding 145