10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2015

How is your 2015 year list looking so far? Wow, those are a lot of Oriental Pratincoles ! If you’re around 300 species, you’ve been keeping pace nicely with Noah Stryker. Only halfway through the first month of the year, and he’s already left most of us in the dust!

2015 181

2015 Birds Species 181

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2015

My lobbying must be more effective than I thought because the Green Heron has been named as the American Birding Association Bird of the Year for 2015 ! More than ready for its close up, this Green Heron is very pleased to be the 2015 ABA Bird of the Year! I certainly can’t think of a better pick. You know how I know that?

2015 182

2015 Birds Sparrows Fish 182

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2015

Destinations Costa Rica Year List 2015' I could say that I also hope to see a Masked Duck but that nemesis is so nefarious, I need to not want to see it to eventually scope one. Maybe I can check one out at next year’s Space Coast Birding Festival.

Costa Rica 167

Costa Rica 2015 Panama Birds 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2020

On the label of this week’s wine — the 2015 Casa Santos Lima Valcatrina from Portugal’s Alentejo region — is a Common (“Ring-necked”) Pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus ). Casa Santos Lima: Valcatrina – Vinho Regional Alentejano (2015). Stay healthy, everyone. Good birding and happy drinking!

2015 171

2015 Portugal France Europe 171

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2020

Belted Kingfisher (Reno, USA, Jan 2015). Crested Kingfisher (HongAn, China, Jun 2015). Ruddy Kingfisher (Singapore, Nov 2015). Stork-billed Kingfisher (Singapore, Nov 2015 and Taman Negara, Malaysia, Nov 2019). Black-capped Kingfisher (Nanhui, China, May 2018). Brown-hooded Kingfisher (Bateleur and Mkuze, Nov 2018).

South Africa 250

South Africa Singapore Malaysia 2018 250

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

Check out the 14-21 August 2015 Regional Migration Forecast. Fortunately for those of us in North America, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has gotten into the business of issues migratory forecasts. Curious about the first Birdcast of the season? I’m still too focused on summer to worry about the birds of fall.

2015 154

2015 North America Jamaica America 154

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2015

It’s just that Birdwatch Magazine is running its Birders’ Choice Awards 2015 and we are–for the first time in our 12-year history–on the ballot for Blog of the Year. Is 10,000 Birds your favorite bird blog? We certainly hope so, not that we are insecure or anything.

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2015 Birds Species 150

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2015

The photo above depicts three fledglings I encountered on the morning of March 31, 2015. We saw ravens in southern Manhattan through the winter and spring of 2015 (I even saw one with a bagel , confirming that they are right at home here in New York). But let’s back up for a minute. I think that’s something to celebrate.

New York City 265

New York City New York 2015 New Jersey 265

4 The Love Of Animals

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015

We love Best Friends, and are so excited for Strut Your Mutt 2015! I’m strutting as part of a local rescue team (you can support my goal here if you want), but you can walk as an individual, start your … Continue reading → The post Strut Your Mutt 2015 appeared first on 4 The Love of Animals.

2015 100

2015 Rescue Animal Cats 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2015

Happy New Year, nature lovers! No matter how many phenomenal birds you spotted or how many glorious ecosystems you explored in 2014, your year list is now reset to zero (though most of you probably rectified that matter on New Year’s Day!) A pristine weekend lies before you like an untroubled field of freshly fallen snow.

Baltimore 240

Baltimore 2015 2014 Birds 240

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2015

Nearly everywhere in the world, birds are on the wing, not just traveling to and from their daily haunts but returning to their ancestral circuit. Based on the the time of year, many people I know are also on the wing. So best of luck to any and all creatures striving towards a distant horizon right now.

2015 239

2015 Birds Woodpeckers Family 239

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2019

The 2015 Valravn Old Vine Zinfandel is a dark, blood-red wine showing incarnadine flashes in the glass. Valravn Wines: Sonoma County Old Wine Zinfandel (2015). The post Valravn Wines: Sonoma County Old Wine Zinfandel (2015) appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Four out of five feathers (Excellent).

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2015 Denmark California Fowl 125

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2015

So many sexy snow birds pop up this time of year: Snow Buntings , Snow Geese , Snowy Owls … But if you’re like me, you couldn’t get out to see them this weekend. Too much snow! Between work and shoveling, I had no chance to get out birding.

2015 221

2015 Geese Birds Owls 221

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2020

Collared Finchbill (Zhenjiang, China, Oct 2015). Sunda Woodpecker (Singapore, Dec 2015). Almost abstract bird patterns. Blue Tit (Visselhoevede, Germany, Jul 2018). “You`re so juvenile!” ” Budgerigar (Ayers Rock, Australia, Dec 2016). European Bee-eater (Hluluwe, South Africa, Nov 2018).

South Africa 249

South Africa 2018 China 2019 249

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2015

Signs of spring are evident everywhere winter once held sway. Actually, signs that winter won’t release its icy grip so readily are also apparent… my traditional Easter family hike was canceled on account of snow. Sure, we could have survived the blustery flurry, but I’d rather hide until the last remnants of winter blow away!

2015 214

2015 Jamaica New York Birds 214

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2015

Get excited, bird lovers… a team with an avian appellation is headed to the Super Bowl! For the second year in a row, the Seattle Seahawks will represent the NFC, the Pacific Northwest, and bird lovers everywhere in pursuit of the NFL championship. Congrats, bone breakers!

Seattle 213

Seattle 2015 Birds Experience 213

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2015

For many in the birding community, Miami is a destination meant only for ticking off ABA-countable exotics such as Spot-breasted Oriole or Red-whiskered Bulbul. For others, it is simply a launching point to Everglades National Park or the Florida Keys.

Miami 178

Miami 2015 United States Florida 178

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2015

Here in the United States, we are gripped by March Madness. While this epic basketball tournament can make people pretty crazy, the real madness is how much this weekend felt like winter instead of the gateway to spring.

New York City 210

New York City 2015 United States New York 210

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2014

… 10,000 Birds is a Scrub Jay level sponsor of the 2015 Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. Sign up for Space Coast ! And sign up for my field trips! You won’t regret it, especially when we spot a Black Rail ! … Destinations festivals Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival'

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Wildlife Bald Eagle 2015 New York City 157

4 The Love Of Animals

MAY 28, 2015

This weekend is the 2015 Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge Western Regionals. The dogs compete in several canine … Continue reading → The post 2015 Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge Western Regionals appeared first on 4 The Love of Animals.

2015 100

2015 Dogs Breeding Animal 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2015

What’s so great about April? A better question might be to ask what isn’t great about April. This month introduces change for the better, movement from one state to another, and a season that unfolds magically week after week. Also lots of birthdays in my family, which is cool. And also birds, also cool!

2015 207

2015 Birds Family Experience 207

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

Alas, the team named for a bird fell short of the crown in Super Bowl XLIX. While many human beings felt anguish and rage at the loss, most avifauna appeared unperturbed. The non-Seahawk birds that caught my eye this weekend were Northern Cardinals , which always look their best burning crimson against a blanket of white snow.

ALA 205

ALA 2015 Birds Humane 205

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2015

You might not sense it yet, but excitement is in the air. Somewhere deep in the tropics, a warm, fat, contented bird is beginning to feel the merest inkling of restlessness. Even in the midst of paradise, this itinerant soul cannot remain happy for long. “Is this all there is?” ” the bird will ask.

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Protest Protesting Protesters 2015 215

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2015

That’s where I saw mine for 2015 but there are still plenty of other species lacking from the year list. That 600th species was a Streaked Xenops , an especially uncommon bird in Costa Rica usually seen at Tapanti National Park. Streaked Xenops.

Costa Rica 154

Costa Rica 2015 Species West Virginia 154

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2015

Pelagic trips are a gamble on the vastness of the ocean. They can be incredibly dull or amazingly exciting on smooth seas or big waves. They can bring awesome rarities or nothing much at all. Rarely, you run aground.

New York 224

New York Iceland 2015 Ducks 224

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2015

North American bird lovers may take special satisfaction that a team named for the mighty Osprey is battling for the NFL championship in this weekend’s Super Bowl. But does being a birder mean that you have to automatically root for the bird-themed team? What do you think?

2015 213

2015 Birds 213

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2015

Now that we’ve gotten February out of the way, the time has come to face facts: the next mass migration is not that far off. Is it too soon to start reviewing warbler songs?

2015 201

2015 Birds Experience Experiments 201

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2015

Every weekend deserves at least a little excitement, but I’m finding it difficult to get too worked up about another ice-rimed February weekend. So much for going out like a lamb! At least this miserable (YMMV) month is coming to an end.

Lamb 212

Lamb 2015 New York Falcons 212

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2021

2015 – 28 March. As I have for years now, I will now ask the same question of midwesterners and northeasterners that I ask every year: When did you see your first Eastern Phoebe of 2021? And was it late or early? 2021 – 13 March. 2020 – 15 March. 2019 – 17 March. 2018 – 30 March. 2017 – 12 March. 2016 – 18 March. Enjoy spring!

2019 261

2019 2017 2018 2020 261

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2015

Dragging salutations for the New Year half way through January may be stretching the point just a little too far, but I was otherwise engaged during my last post where best wishes for 2015 would best have been wished. In fact, 2015 dawned without me (I am ashamed to admit). Have a great 2015. and included a lifer rallid.

Ghana 173

Ghana Soreing 2015 Campaign 173

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2015

As members of an international community of nature lovers, we all experience the weekend in different parts of this wide, wide world. Consequently, only those of you who live in the northern temperate regions can appreciate how I’m feeling about this dreadful month.

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Iceland 2015 Birds Experience 197

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2015

Most folks in the Northern Hemisphere feel a sense of exultation at the thought that spring officially arrives this weekend. Of course, spring weather may not arrive exactly as scheduled. I’m not sure how those of you south of the equator feel about this weekend or, frankly, so many things. What does the third weekend of March mean to you?

2015 208

2015 Birds 208

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2015

Chuck Palahniuk wrote, “The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend.” Why he was so cynical about a meaningful exchange of beautiful moments and memories, I’ll never know.

2015 191

2015 Birds Experience Experiments 191

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2021

The first words describing this species in Wikipedia are “poorly-documented” Before 2015, when I first saw it in Paso Ancho, it had only been reported twice on eBird outside of its Sierra Madre Occidental breeding range: once from Taxco, Mexico, and another report from Nicaragua.

Nicaragua 264

Nicaragua 2015 2016 Mexico 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2015

Keep your eyes to the skies for exotics like this Red-masked Parakeet ! Here in the United States, we’ve just observed (not celebrated, mind you) Tax Day, the annual IRS tax filing deadline.

United States 201

United States 2015 Collecting Birds 201

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2015

Patrick’s Day weekend teaches us many lessons, more than a few of which concern parades, alcohol, and nationalism as fashion. But this time of year also reminds us that as you stand gazing hopefully at the season ahead, you are still mired in the one that is ending. Transitions, like Irish whisky, can make us moody.

2015 189

2015 Owls Birds Experience 189

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2020

2015 – 28 March. As I have for years now, I will now ask the same question of midwesterners and northeasterners that I ask every year: When did you see your first Eastern Phoebe of 2020? And was it late or early? 2020 – 15 March. 2019 – 17 March. 2018 – 30 March. 2017 – 12 March. 2016 – 18 March. 2014 – 29 March. 2013 – 24 March.

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2020 2017 2018 2019 246