10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2013

This particular species is not native to New Zealand (similar to its status in North America). A European Starling in New Zealand made the news this week. The woman in the video found it as a chick at a few days old and hand reared it. The bird is now bonded to humans and an ambassador to her class and the bird has quite the vocabular y.

New Zealand 214

New Zealand North America Laws Raised 214

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2020

All Together IPA is a collective project initiated by Other Half Brewing Company of Brooklyn, New York to raise proceeds for bar and restaurant workers who are living without their usual income due to the widespread shutdown of the food and drink business in response to the pandemic.

Collecting 264

Collecting Connecticut New York Industry 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2022

American White Pelicans spend their winter months along the Gulf states, California, parts of Arizona, and Mexico down into Central America. I cross my fingers that they make it safely, raising voracious chicks before returning to the Sunshine State once more.

Pelicans 264

Pelicans United States Arizona Canada 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2013

It was great fun watching them raise their young that summer. References: 1 Birds of North America Online. Both of these species show gregarious flocking behavior except when nesting. I was lucky enough a few years ago to spot a Lesser Goldfinch building a nest in a nearby tree while checking my Bluebird boxes.

California 223

California Species North America Oregon 223

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2014

Perhaps the most complicated and bizarre mating system is that of the Rheas of South America. They live in flocks in the open country shrubland of Southern South America. All chicks never know their mothers, most are raised by their father, but some never know neither and are raised by an unrelated foster father.

South America 190

South America Eggs Raised America 190

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2013

Rough-legged Hawks (or Buzzards ) don’t seem to generate much excitement here in northern North America. And yet they do not. They are magnanimous lords of the winter fields, and don’t care at all about our folly in preferring flashy Snowy Owls or the mere rumors of Gyrfalcons , or even silly little snack-sized finches.

North America 239

North America Owls Protection Hunting 239

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

I was fortunate to have been born and raised in Africa, and although I have traveled extensively around the world, it remains my home and in my blood. Approximately 2,300 bird species inhabit Africa, however as impressive as that sounds, much smaller South America boasts nearly 1,000 species more.

Papua New Guinea 255

Papua New Guinea Equatorial Guinea Madagascar Tanzania 255

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2013

Their remarkable survival skills, evolved over thousands of years, rely on a chain of stopover feeding grounds and habitats for breeding and raising young – but break any one link and the survival of the entire species is threatened. Climate change is the biggest threat to migratory birds this century.

Maryland 271

Maryland Penguins Birds Wildlife 271

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2020

But when raised, they seem to have a sort of weird cape. In other words, they never raise their own young. Instead, they lay their eggs in other species’ nests, and let those nest-making birds (often significantly smaller than the cowbirds) raise their young. But in most light, they appear to have a shiny black color.

Blackbirds 218

Blackbirds Mexico Cattle Birds 218

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Thus, the cattle we raise for meat and dairy are sometimes called Bos taurus while the extinct wild form is always called Bos primigenius. Some time after the Spanish encounter with the Turkey, birds were brought back to Europe where they were raised and became an important source of food and fancy feathers. According to R.D.

Turkey 260

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 260

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

I don’t know how many of you ever raised chickens but the old joke went something like this. v=fHSgyxRQXvg References: 1 Birds of North America Online _ Poop Week is a week of themed posts on 10,000 Birds that cover the intersection of poop and birding, a fertile precinct if there ever was one. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHSgyxRQXvg

Bald Eagle 250

Bald Eagle Chickens North America Birds 250

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2011

Note the raised crests as the female (on the left) turns to face the larger male (on the right). v=v1XAFo_uVgk References: 1 Audubon California ; 2 Birds of North America Online a. Like the breeding activity of many species this spring, the grebes were late, probably due to the unseasonable weather. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1XAFo_uVgk

California 257

California Eagles North America Blackbirds 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2011

They occur mainly in western and southern portions of North America, breeding inland in colonies on remote islands and wintering along warm southern coasts 1. They begin feeding by dipping that huge bill into the water and scooping prey into their pouch, water flowing out of the pouch as they raise it back up to horizontal.

Pelicans 165

Pelicans Fish California Condor North America 165

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2012

Ferret 492 — a black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes — raises her head from a black-tailed prairie dog’s burrow, sniffs the April night. The ferret raises her head again — up periscope — and hesitates. No coyotes in sight right now, the Great Horned Owls are off in the cottonwoods closer to the river.

Ferrets 228

Ferrets Prairie Dogs Coyotes Kittens 228

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2015

Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it sometimes takes a “village” of rehabbers to save threatened wildlife. For the next two and a half weeks Sue continued to raise them, along with four other swifts she had in care. Timing is everything when it comes to releasing Chimney Swifts.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 230

Wildlife Rehabilitation Canada Wildlife South America 230

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

Those of us who were raised in the four-season north (here in Michoacán one could define, at the most, three seasons) tend to think of avian migration in terms of seasonal temperatures. For us, it’s all about birds moving north during the warm season to breed, and south to escape the winter cold.

Mexico 255

Mexico Alaska Falcons Raised 255

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2011

I mention all of this because we in North America, especially the southern part of North America, have storks too. This begs the question, how did the Wood Stork end up in the Americas with relatives so far away? Mycteria as a genus dates from the Miocene, at minimum 5 to 7 million years ago.

Pedigree 193

Pedigree North America South Carolina Brazil 193

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2013

In North America we only have three regularly occurring ibis, the aforementioned White Ibis and the two species of the genus Plegadis , White-faced Ibis and the far reaching Glossy Ibis , a species we share with every continent save Antarctica making it one of the world’s most cosmopolitan bird species.

North America 250

North America Charlotte Birds Miami 250

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2013

Speaking of birds in nests, five Chilean Flamingo chicks who were raised by a human “surrogate dad” at a British wildlife center have now graduated to joining the adults in the center’s colony. The hope is that their presence while inspire the grown-ups to breeding success.

Michigan 178

Michigan Chile Tennessee North America 178

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

This special place is also one of the last bastions of wild rainforest on the Pacific coast of Central America, hosts many endemic plants and animals, and as one may surmise, is pretty awesome for birds. This foot-shaped piece of land in southern Costa Rica is just about as far from San Jose as you can go without leaving the country.

Costa Rica 257

Costa Rica San Jose Sharks Monkeys 257

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2012

I’ve family to raise and no time for modeling.” Some of these birds, breeding up here at 73 degrees north will winter at the tip of South America, Tierra Del Fuego, 54 degrees south or so. “Do you mind? ” The Baird’s Sandpiper is by far our most numerous shorebird here in Arctic Bay.

South America 211

South America Eggs Family Raised 211

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

While this allows for the delightful prospect of Thanksgivingakkah, with attendant turkey dreidels and whatnot, it does raise certain perennial questions of the nature of time itself, as applied to birding. Rosh Hashanah, the New Year of the Jewish calendar, has come relatively early season-wise this year.

Livestock 208

Livestock Psychology North America Turkey 208

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

This added layer elevates Birding Under the Influence: Cycling Across America in Search of Birds and Recovery from a book of fun birding and travel adventures to a more complex memoir about the ways in which birding spurs self-reflection, motivates life change, feeds a need for wonder, and creates community. The absolute craziness of it all?

Los Angeles 246

Los Angeles Massachusetts Birds New York City 246

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2012

They reside there at the top of a small mountain sanctuary as mythical as my first remembrances of ancient thunderbirds, living, mating, and raising young. The World Center for Birds of Prey ( The Peregrine Fund ) in Boise, Idaho, most famous for its Peregrine Falcons , also has a vital population of California condors.

California Condor 262

California Condor California Idaho Utah 262

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Rightly or wrongly, there’s an hierarchy of extinct birds in North America, in the United States in particular. North America certainly doesn’t want for wood-warblers, many of whom are more dramatic that the little canebrake dweller. Dribs and drabs through the 80s. Nothing but ghosts since. Sadly, probably not a lot.

South Carolina 233

South Carolina Cuba Missouri Mississippi 233

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2016

Chimney Swifts are remarkable birds who are having a harder and harder time finding brick chimneys in which to nest and raise their families. They are among the most difficult birds for wildlife rehabilitators to raise, so if any fall down your chimney their best chance of survival is to put them back up there again.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 187

Wildlife Rehabilitation Sanctuary Connecticut South America 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2015

With its red, white, and blue plumage, it is also clearly the most “patriotic” bird in America. Both species are notoriously aggressive, and out-competed bluebirds for the nesting cavities they needed to raise their young. It’s true, there was some push-back when naming the bluebird.

New York 160

New York New York City United States 2010 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2024

Being a westerner — raised in California, and now living in western Mexico — I was perhaps most excited about the migratory birds that breed in eastern North America. Then, around 4:00 p.m., I know of only one place to see a wintering American Redstart in Morelia, where I live.

Mexico 246

Mexico Birds Raccoons Baltimore 246

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2014

The National Wildlife Refuge system is one of America’s greatest treasures. Create a second fund-raising stamp for wildlife watchers. It preserves habitat, protects wildlife. and provides diverse nature experiences for visitors from around the world. According to the latest (2013) report by the U.S.

Ducks 263

Ducks Wildlife Hunting Hunters 263

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2012

You can argue that large waders of Florida are flashier or that the secretive Bachman’s Sparrow elicit more respect, and sure, Pine Warblers nest as far north as southern Canada so how can they really be southeastern, but if you raise these points I think you fail to realize how truly prolific Pine Warblers are in the south.

North Carolina 197

North Carolina Jordan North America Raised 197

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

The person with the average income can’t afford to raise a family, traipse off to Attu Island for a week in the hope of snagging a couple of ABA ticks, buy the newest Nikon or Canon camera body and then reserve a spot on that Antarctic cruise they have been meaning to do.

United States 210

United States Endangered Species North America Protection 210

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 20, 2011

The eastern Yucatan and the corresponding regions (with respect to sea and air temperature) of western Mexico and Central America are very different in their geological configuration and other features. Well, imagine raising the sea level 20 meters (and yes, that is more than a little bit possible).

Penguins 250

Penguins Birds Cooking Fish 250

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2011

The song referred to is that of the Wood Thrush , one of the natural world’s most beautiful singers, and a familiar sound to anyone who has spent time in the forests of eastern North America in summer. Sadly, the thrushes that breed around my parents’ house are likely not very successful in raising young.

Tennessee 169

Tennessee North America New York Raised 169

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2012

Crowned Lapwing For such a huge area of land with great expanses of pasture, prairie and field, I find it odd that the Americas only host 2 species of Lapwing. Masked Lapwing Africa is the spiritual home of the Vanellus family, boasting as many as 14 species including the abundant Crowned Lapwing.

Brazil 182

Brazil Protection Family Africa 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

Howell and Jon Dunn list “overall size and structure” as the fundamental first step in gull identification in their classic Gulls of the Americas (though they then go on to describe endless variations of plumage patterns). This isn’t a new idea. Species Accounts. Gulls Simplified covers 25 species. Range Maps.

North America 214

North America El Salvador America Nicaragua 214

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Clapper Rails are common but rarely seen birds across the islands and on my own island are common in a range of habitats that may surprise readers used to seeing them in wetlands in North America. There are any number of concerns one could raise. How ecologically similar are the two species?

Puerto Rico 244

Puerto Rico Guam Virgin Islands Feral 244

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Mentioning New Jersey often raises a snicker or a run down of all the drama and negative stereotypes that swirl around the Garden State, most of which are typified by the MTV hit show, “Jersey Shore.” ” While certain New Jersey decisions may be dubious, their state bird, the American Goldfinch, is a beautiful choice.

New Jersey 150

New Jersey United States Legislature Iowa 150