10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2020

For several years, I had seen photos of this species posted by my friend Julio Álvarez, from the state of Jalisco, just to the west of my state of Michoacán. And yet, on the first Monday of 2020, a female Woodstar turned up at El Temascal, a site that never seems to fail to bring me some surprise. The first photo below is his.

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2020 Birds Mexico Species 257

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2020

Corey had an excellent weekend’s birding, adding three species to his year list for Queens, Eared Grebe , Tundra Swan , and Red-shouldered Hawk. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Last of October 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

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2020 2007 Owls Birds 276

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2020

Corey did get out for some socially distant birding this weekend and his Best Bird of the Weekend was a Yellow-throated Warbler at Cunningham Park, only his fifth record of the species in Queens. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of April 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds. How about you?

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10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2022

Despite what some outdated sources claim, the list of bird species reported for Costa Rica is much more than 860. The same can be said for Costa Rica’s first Red-breasted Merganser , a species first documented for the nation in 2020. Spectacled Petrel was one of the less expected species to occur, what else is out there?

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Costa Rica Species Panama Geese 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2020

The finch didn’t show up except for American Goldfinch , so he chose this common species as his Best Bird of the Weekend, as at least they showed up. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (First of December 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2020 Birds Experience Experiments 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

The prospect of identifying a certain number of species in a given amount of time pushes us to pay more attention to birds no matter what the circumstances (although I suggest keeping the exclamations about species identifications to yourself during such solemn situations as funerals, graduations, and watching episodes of The Sopranos).

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Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2020

A Saturday morning seawatch netted Corey a Cory’s Shearwater , a nice year bird, but he couldn’t get good enough looks at the two Great Shearwaters that went past for him to count them as a new species for his Queens list. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of July 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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2020 New York City Whales Whaling 262

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2020

That is the state of our 2020 year lists and general birding experience. Some of us have already enjoyed some New Year’s day bio-blitzing, but the first weekend of the year offers so much potential to become reacquainted with the species you haven’t seen since 2019. Embrace it… the opportunity, not the birds!

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10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

I finally chased down what has been a nemesis species for me at Webster Park, which seems to be one of Rochester’s most reliable winter finch hotspots. He also enjoyed Red Crossbills this weekend, but in Queens, only the second time he’s seen the species in his home borough and the first in over ten years!

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2020 Cooking Birds Experience 235

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2020

Corey had an easy time picking his Best Bird of the Weekend: either of the two Whimbrel that flew over him on Rockaway Beach on Sunday morning, his first of that species in Queens this year! The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Third of August 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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2020 Adoptable Birds Species 234

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2021

The data are in: the nesting season proved successful for some species of Florida’s wading birds and… less so for others. Note: Erika works for Audubon Florida. They depend on specific hydrological conditions in order to find enough food for their voracious chicks. If not, nesting can simply fail.

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2020 Florida Science Birds 257

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2020

They help me start the day, make a beautiful new beginning to each morning and even if many are the same species as the previous day, I am thankful for their presence. Hoffmann’s Woodpeckers are a common, everyday sight, similar to the Golden-fronted Woodpecker , they use the same snags as a larger species, the Lineated Woodpecker.

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Costa Rica 2020 Protesters Protesting 253

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

I was shocked to still find a number of shorebird species up at Braddock Bay, perhaps because of how much productive mud the dropping lake levels have exposed. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Last of September 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Hopefully, you’re looking forward to the month ahead!

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10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2020

Ivy and I couldn’t shake an owl out of Owl Woods but we walked away with all kinds of FOY species such as the unexpected Yellow-bellied Sapsucker calling high in a tree. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (First of April 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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2020 Owls Birds Family 208

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2020

I was thrilled to find more species than expected along the lake this weekend, especially a pair of foraging Hudsonian Godwits willing to be added to my county list. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (First of October 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Did you find time to catch any avian action?

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2020 Birds Experience Experiments 202

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

Of the 132 species he spotted he decided photographing a Common Nighthawk in Queens for the first time entitled the nighthawk to be his Best Bird of the Weekend. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of May 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds. I consider myself lucky to have seen a Blue-headed Vireo. How about you?

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10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2020

Factors like temperature, weather, and availability of food sources drive avian distribution, but the single most influential factor regarding how many species you might see this month is YOU. My business trip to Florida to host the Tests and the Rest Winter Conference 2020 was more than just a professional success.

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2020 Florida Ducks Owls 181

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2021

The checklist of the Louisiana Ornithological Society was at 485 as of August 2020.) Adventures of a Louisiana Birder: One Year, Two Wings, Three Hundred Species is an enjoyable memoir about birding, birding strategies, birding people, community, life and death, and Louisiana (with some Alabama thrown into the mix). by Marybeth Lima.

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Louisiana Species Mississippi Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2020

Learn to read the signs, and you’ll be able to tell the time of year just by which species cross your path… I had the chance to observe some interesting avian activity along the lakeshore this weekend, but the Eastern Bluebirds down in rural Pennsylvania were most distinctively colorful, which counts for a lot with me.

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2020 Pennsylvania Jamaica Birds 186

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2020

There’s something about the simple black, red, and white coloration of the species that makes it stand out as Best Bird of the Weekend. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Last of January 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2020 New York City New York Woodpeckers 186

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2020

But of the species they saw he most appreciated the Eastern Phoebe because it was the last of the “never-missed” species to be spotted. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of October 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

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2020 Birds Experience Experiments 176

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2020

2020 is almost over… finally. Rather than belabor the obvious, I’ll just point out that the global pandemic may have spawned a new wave of birders, but collectively we’ve seen far fewer species of birds. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Last of 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2020

The last weekend lived up to my meager expectations of delivering only common species, but I did enjoy the Carolina Wrens in my yard chattering away, undoubtedly in delight that their aggressive House cousins were occupied elsewhere. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Last of July 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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2020 New York City New York Birds 178

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2020

But the pandemic and an adjustment to Corey’s schedule to take advantage of off-peak commute times meant he was home and on his balcony on Friday afternoon when a Black Vulture went over, his first sighting of the species in Queens! The post Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of March 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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2020 Birds Experience Experiments 184

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2020

No matter where on this big, beautiful planet you live, you probably anticipate the passage of new species over the next thirty-one days. The post Where Are You Birding This First Weekend of May 2020? Get out there and greet them… as far as we know, birds don’t spread or suffer from COVID-19!

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2020 Suffering Birds Species 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2020

This is not to say that you won’t find great birds where you are, but only that they will likely be the resident breeders or wintering species you’ve already grown accustomed to. The post Where Are You Birding This Third Weekend of July 2020? Whatever your plans this weekend, make time to enjoy SkyWatch Friday.

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2020 Breeders New York Birds 173

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2020

One of the things Corey most enjoys about a new year is the way it resets your year list, giving you an excuse to pay a little more attention to the common species as you check them off your year list. Like Corey and so many others, I took the time to really appreciate the everyday species we jaded bird chasers typically take for granted.

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2020 Feral Sparrows Birds 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2020

Keep your eyes open, because new species may be showing up right outside your window. The post Where Are You Birding This Final Weekend of April 2020? If you have, please take a moment to appreciate another global phenomenon currently moving untold millions of individuals across the world: zugunruhe. appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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2020 Birds Humane Rights 175

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2020

His Best Bird of the Weekend was an Acadian Flycatcher in Forest Park on Sunday both because it’s a good bird for his home borough and because it was the final of the five Empidonax species that occur in Queens that he saw this year. The post Best Bird of the Weekend (First of June 2020) appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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2020 Breeders Birds Owls 173

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2020

The Avibase China birdlist counts 7 species of minivets for China – one of which is the Ashy Minivet. For Japan, there are only two species listed – again the Ashy Minivet, but also the Japanese Minivet (mostly called Ryukyu Minivet elsewhere), a Japanese endemic which is not on the China list.

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China Japan 2020 2019 252

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2020

These species should all be slam-dunks for Lake Cuitzeo in the fall. Still, what is bad for one species may be good for another. But, as always, new sites bring new species. Nor did I see any Green Herons , or Least or American Bitterns. Puddleglum indeed! That was to be suspected. How I wish I knew. And the Dowitchers!

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2020 Ducks Sparrows 2019 288

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. ” copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. The Portfolio of Birds is comprised of 87 2-page spreads. 167, Meadowlark line of sight–not p.67).

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2020 Birds North America Sparrows 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2021

January is the month where I allow myself to go only to my very best sites, and rejoice in even the most commonplace species. I correctly suspected that Lake Cuitzeo would be too dry this year to give me its usual 75+ species in the deep of winter. (It It yielded 88 on January 1st, 2020.) Ten of these were hummingbird species.

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2020 Ducks Birds Abandon 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2021

2020 was the worst of years, through and through. I did, however, manage one work trip to Acapulco, back in January, when we thought the wildest thing about 2020 would be the U.S. Indigo/Lazuli/Varied Buntings: As the 2020-2021 winter season began, I began seeing Indigo Buntings everywhere! presidential elections.

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Mexico 2020 2019 Turkey 186

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2024

Since this latter martin appears to winter in northern South America, and no one knows where the the Sinaloa Martin winters, it has been suggested that the two species might winter together there. I have now seen the species in eight different years. Of course, Paso Ancho is also a hotspot for many other beautiful species and endemics.

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Mexico South America 2020 America 242

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2022

Living on Earth ( PRX , 2020, 14 min.): Sidedoor ( Smithsonian , 2020, 25 min.): Fitzpatrick details the importance of bird conservation worldwide, what it’s like to discover a new species, how technology is improving our ability to study nature, and what makes him hopeful for the future of biodiversity.”).

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Zoos 2020 Massachusetts 2015 249

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.”

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Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279