10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017

It’s a well-known fact that southeast Arizona in summer is awesome. My first birding trip ever was to Arizona. This was a wonderful re-introduction to the desert species I was seeking. It was time to drive south and up, to the Sky Islands of southeast Arizona. At least for birders.

Arizona 103

Arizona Lovebirds Phoenix New Jersey 103

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. Southeast Arizona Sky Island Spring Sampler. So let’s look at this sampler, shall we? Want to see an Elegant Trogon on a Naturalist Journeys tour?:

America 264

America Arizona North America Texas 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2013

Clapper Rails , as currently defined by the AOU, occur along the coasts of North and South America and Caribbean islands, and inland in southern California and Arizona. In California and Arizona, however, Clapper Rails are brightly colored and occur in both salt and freshwater environments.

Species 228

Species Cuba North America Louisiana 228

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2021

As of mid-November 2021, the Collaborative had submitted more than 4,200 checklists (up from 1,700 in 2018) and has observed 691 species in the United States (up from 618). Thus, there are now seven states with 200+ observed species. The state with the largest increase was Arizona , with 139 species added.

West Virginia 210

West Virginia United States Puerto Rico Minnesota 210

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2019

Of course, the California Condor is listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and it has been famously subject to some of the most ambitious conservation efforts (including litigation ) ever undertaken for a bird. One management tool used by FWS is reintroduction of an endangered species into its former range.

California Condor 231

California Condor California Endangered Species Oregon 231

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2022

So here are some numbers: As I write this, on March 24th, my 2022 list includes 239 species, all from within the state of Michoacán. The latest species I picked up is the Spotted Wren , a rather common endemic here that I had somehow managed to not see, until three turned up in my garden this morning.

Mexico 198

Mexico Arizona Horses Texas 198

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2019

Most birders that have spent any amount of time chasing down our fine feathered friends have learned that most cities waste treatment facilities are incredible magnets for many species of birds. One of the small cities south of Tucson Arizona, Amado, has a very small pond, right along highway 19, also known as the Nogales Highway.

Pelicans 163

Pelicans Tucson Arizona Groups 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2019

Now that Jeanne and I have finally settled on Tucson, Arizona at least for a while, I will pick up where I left off at the end of 2018. Arizona, specifically the South East portion of the state, will be my “beat” for the rest of this year. This area has no less than 17 eBird hotspots recorded, many of which boast nearly 200 species.

Arizona 143

Arizona Tucson Florida 2018 143

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

In fact, the overwhelming majority of federal land is in just 11 western states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). BLM land is particularly important for conservation of the Greater Sage-Grouse and other sageland species.

Virgin Islands 223

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Nevada 223

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2021

In Costa Rica, with around 50 hummingbird species on the list, we have our fair share of minute feathered stars. I feel fortunate to see one or more of this species on a daily basis. Being smaller than the other species, it seems to sneak in and out of their territories. Cinnamon Hummingbird. Plain-capped Starthroat.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica South America Arizona Species 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2019

Now that Jeanne and I have settled here in Tucson, Arizona, we have been questioned by our friends dozens of times….Why 10 countries, over 1300 bird species, and now I have limited my various twitches to just one county, Pima, which pretty much surrounds the greater Tucson Arizona. Why Tucson? I want to establish a base here.

Tucson 113

Tucson Arizona Sparrows Florida 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2022

We might have limited space but we make up for it with a massive amount of biodiversity including well over 900 bird species on the official Costa Rica bird list. It was something that truly caught me by surprise, a bird usually heard or seen in Mexico or certain, out of the way gulches in Arizona.

Costa Rica 226

Costa Rica Latvia Albatross Netherlands 226

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

When you think of Southeast Arizona Birding, and the unique birds that can be found there, it conjures thoughts of roadrunners, hummingbirds, trogons, and the many other desert residents. We are right in the middle of the fall migration, so new and unusual species is not without some expectations. Here is our Purple Gallinule!

Tucson 145

Tucson Arizona Florida Rights 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

For most avian migrants heading south towards Mexico, Central and South America, crossing thru the Arizona desert areas can provide very few water, food and resting areas. This 90 acre lake, managed by Arizona Fish and Wildlife is about a 45 mile drive from Tucson, and 9 miles from Mexico, as the Chihuahuan Raven flies.

Mexico 135

Mexico Tucson Arizona Ducks 135

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2020

Yes, it’s the same species that so many North American birders have looked for around the San Pedro River (myself included) and like those Arizona birds, our urban Gray Hawks likewise use riparian zones. In Costa Rica, the urban raptor can take more than one form but usually, the local avian top predator is a Gray Hawk.

Costa Rica 307

Costa Rica Mice Arizona Squirrels 307

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2018

This is a water reclamation plant, so the water is not quite as sweet as the name might suggest, but it certainly is a magnet for a lot of bird species. Deborah and I had a wonderful morning, and found 39 species. I spent quite a bit more time in the area this time and was able to see a total of 55 species. Stay tuned!

Tucson 128

Tucson Arizona Blackbirds Texas 128

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2013

I had the pleasure of paying this national park a visit on a trip to Arizona in late May, and I was immediately struck by how important this species of plant is to this ecosystem. Thriving in a hostile, rocky, arid environment, these cacti are oases for nearly all vertebrate species that have evolved to live in the Sonoran Desert.

Arizona 165

Arizona Tucson Miami Shelters 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2019

In a check of the eBird hotspot list for Santa Rita Lodge, it shows a life list there of 170 species, and approaching 13,000 check lists submitted. Most days you will get a good look at the Arizona Woodpecker. There is a variety of seed feeders, suet and peanut butter blocks, and most importantly, over a dozen hummingbird feeders.

Arizona 145

Arizona Turkey Woodpeckers Sparrows 145

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2020

It’s not like when a birder is visiting Arizona and hoping for “the trogon” (aka Elegant Trogon ) because when a birder walks in Costa Rica, there are nine of these eye-catching beauties to look for. Like several other species, this fancy one evolved to live in the humid forests of southern Costa Rica and adjacent Panama.

Costa Rica 222

Costa Rica Panama Arizona Protection 222

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

Honesty requires that I confess to having seen none of these species. These species are visually very similar, with subtle differences in their tail patterns. These species are visually very similar, with subtle differences in their tail patterns. Females of both species are mostly coppery-brown, with red bellies.

Mexico 193

Mexico Indonesia Arizona North America 193

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2013

After nearly a week of traveling through Arizona’s very dry southeastern corner, I decided to make a detour to Flagstaff for a change of pace, a change of scenery, and a chance at seeing an assortment of birds more typical of the Great Basin than the Sierra Madre of Mexico. Truly, a must see species in North America.

Arizona 140

Arizona Woodpeckers Phoenix Birds 140

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

I know humans as a whole are a powerful species, but really, we do not have that much control over hummingbird migration ( Trumpeter Swans , maybe, but not hummingbirds). Some of the unusual species we’ve documented here in Minnesota in the fall include Magnificent Hummingbird (above), Costa’s Hummingbird and Green Violetear.

Arizona 251

Arizona Minnesota Compassion Welfare 251

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

Many Nearctic species and families reach their southern terminus in the Northern Central American Highlands, such as Common Raven , Red Crossbill , Steller’s Jay , and even Brown Creeper. Alex also masterfully worked another tricky species into view for us during that first afternoon, Ruddy Crake (a close relative of the Black Rail ).

Honduras 224

Honduras El Salvador Costa Rica Arizona 224

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2017

FWS began releasing captive-bred condors from the program into the wild in the early 1990s, with considerable success: once down to 22 birds, there are now approximately 275 wild condors in California, Arizona, Utah, and Baja California, as well as 165 in captivity. But they disagreed on the means to obtain that shared goal.

California Condor 108

California Condor California District of Columbia Utah 108

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2018

rufifrons occasionally strays to southern Texas or Arizona, but on the whole, they are seldom seen north of the border. They can frequently be seen in mixed flocks and each group has its own favourite species with which they like to associate. The Rufous-capped Warbler, B. 10,000 Clicks: Photo-galleries and ID Features.

South America 100

South America Argentina Stray Arizona 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2012

Common species like Lesser Goldinch , White-winged Dove , and Verdin quickly gave way to more rarified fare. The attraction of Southeastern Arizona in summer stems from the presence of certain highly range-restricted species. Where else can you see something like that?!

Tucson 154

Tucson Arizona North America Zebras 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2018

Just about anywhere a birder ventures, the miniscule members of the latter family can be seen, and in most tropical locales, it’s not just one species. Unlike much of the eastern United States, a dozen or even two dozen species of hummingbirds can be present in habitats south of of the Tropic of Cancer. The female.

Costa Rica 223

Costa Rica Nicaragua Panama Honduras 223

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

These arid hills, cloaked in a mosaic of deciduous scrub and desert vegetation, form a northern outpost for several Neotropical species while also harboring several key endemics and southwestern Nearctic species. Think Arizona meets Costa Rica with a Mexican twist.

Mexico 200

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Bats 200

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2016

Alas, now that the Arizona Cardinals have fallen to the Carolina Panthers, we face the prospect of a Super Bowl without bird-themed football teams. I got a good dose of seaducks this weekend up at the mouth of Irondequoit Bay; the most interesting species amidst the mixed flocks was a lone Bufflehead hobnobbing with Common Goldeneyes.

ALA 101

ALA Arizona 2016 Horses 101

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2018

As of mid-October 2018, the Collaborative had submitted more than 1,700 checklists and observed 618 species in the United States. The heat map is revealing: Unsurprisingly for a site founded and run by two New Yorkers (one of whom literally wrote the book on birding New York), the Empire State boasts the highest number of species (316).

Rhode Island 114

Rhode Island United States West Virginia Puerto Rico 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2017

Spring is in the air, and all around the Baja desert I am seeing a plethora of species, all looking for love, in what appears to the right places. A member of the small Ptiliogonatidae family of silky-flycatchers, of which there are only three other species besides our local Phainopepla , Phainopepl nitens.

Costa Rica 107

Costa Rica Panama Nevada Guatemala 107

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2021

In 2012, I reviewed The Jewel Hunter , an absorbing narrative in which author Chris Goodie travelled throughout Asia, Africa, and Australasia to observe and photograph every Pitta species in the world. Hummingbird species, on the other hand, number in the hundreds. Jonas D’Abronzo.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Brazil Bolivia Ecuador 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2014

There’s a new proposal before the American Ornithologists’ Union’s North American Classification Committee to split Painted Bunting into two species (yay! — maybe, more later) and to name the new species “Eastern Painted Bunting” and “Western Painted Bunting” (no!).

Mississippi 274

Mississippi Mexico Alabama North Carolina 274

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2018

We are now headed to Tucson, Arizona, where we will park the 5th wheel for an extended amount of time, possibly as long as March 1st. The Audubon’s Paton’s Hummingbird Center sounds like it is really amazing, and the Sonora-Arizona Desert Museum, and its surround grounds looking to be another great spot, and this is just the beginning!

New Mexico 113

New Mexico Mexico Tucson Costa Rica 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Instead, they are summer visitors, moving up to Colorado in the warm months to breed before returning to wintering grounds in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. During the summer breeding months, Lark Bunting males – a sparrow species – are jet black, their white wings contrasting beautifully with the dark bodies.

Colorado 102

Colorado Legislature Arizona North America 102

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2013

Hybrids between separate species are rare. But they do spark an interesting and somewhat controversial debate that inevitably leads back to the same old question of what constitutes a species. Suspected hybrids between heron species, whilst extremely rare, have been documented for some time.

Arizona 176

Arizona Florida Cattle California 176

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

Osborn, a passionate field biologist who participates to the core of her being three re-introduction projects aimed at saving three very different, endangered species: Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (‘Alala)*, and California Condor. Sophie Osborn’s stories are personal and inspiring, but this is more than a personal memoir.

California Condor 189

California Condor Falcons California Coyotes 189