10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2012

Little Blue and Tricolored Herons , Snowy , Great , and Cattle Egrets , a Laughing Falcon , Black Vultures, Blue-winged Teal , a Wood Stork , a nesting tree of Montezuma Oropendulas , and Ruddy Ground-Doves were just some of the species we saw on our short train ride into the refuge.

Honduras 213

Honduras Wildlife Monkeys Bats 213

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans; Raptor Ridge, 5-Jan. Collared Forest-Falcon – Micrastur semitorquatus; Raptor Ridge, 5-Jan. Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis; Curu, 4-Jan. Peregrine Falcon – Falco peregrinus; Lakeside Catfish farms, 11-Jan. Pale-billed Woodpecker – Campephilus guatemalensis; Curu, 4-Jan.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

Up to 256 bird species, deer, black bears, foxes, big cats, Gila Monsters, and 16 species of bats call this area of southeastern Arizona home. ( Peregrine Falcon. And, where’s there is flora diversity (prickly-pear cactus at the bottom and Douglas fir at the top), there is fauna diversity. Photo by © Mark Schraad. Cooper’s Hawk.

Arizona 188

Arizona Tucson Birds North America 188

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2023

Although the crake was a no-show (surprise, surprise), a Bat Falcon whizzed past. After getting off our boat, we decided to explore some nearby fields to see if we catch get any glimpse of a recently sighted Grey-breasted Crake. On our way out, we saw several Great Black Hawks patrolling the pastures.

Guyana 217

Guyana Trinidad Bats Falcons 217

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Photographing the Short-tailed Nighthawks involved exercises firstly in tracking their rapid, erratic and incredibly bat-like flight, and secondly in processing the remaining images once 99.99% were deleted. Once I looked through proper glass however, all doubt was blown to smithereens – it was a Bat Falcon.

Trinidad 130

Trinidad Bats Falcons Groups 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2021

Of course, various species of bats as well. In a couple weeks I’ll be keeping my ears alert for the flight calls of incoming shorebirds, they shall definitely be followed by a Peregrine Falcon. I’ve noted at least nine species of reptiles and amphibians, even our native opossum and squirrel.

Opossums 264

Opossums Barn Owls Reptiles Hunting 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2019

Those were some interesting additions to a day of birding that also gave us more expected ones like Bat Falcon, Black-collared Hawk, Bare-crowned Antbird , and 125 other species. Despite rain during part of the day, the other teams also did very well and we ended up with a final overall tally of more than 270 species.

Costa Rica 246

Costa Rica Birds Owls Bats 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

TRIP LIST ( multiple lists ): White-faced Whistling-Duck, Egyptian Goose, Spur-winged Goose, Helmeted Guineafowl, Heuglin’s Francolin, Mourning Collared-Dove, Vinaceous Dove, Laughing Dove, Black-billed Wood-Dove, Denham’s Bustard, Eastern Plantain-eater, White-browed Coucal, Senegal Coucal, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Dideric Cuckoo, Alpine (..)

Uganda 246

Uganda Senegal Africa Game 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2012

Highlights here (while drinking the thrillingly strong coffee) include Channel-billed Toucan , Crested Oropendola , Turquoise Tanager , Bat Falcon , Barred Antshrike , Blue Dacnis , Green Honeycreeper , Gray-headed Dove , Yellow Oriole , and a suite of hot hummingbirds that deserve their own report.

Trinidad 250

Trinidad South America America Ecuador 250

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

Birds came fast during the first few hours, including a wide array of classic Neotropical species such as Keel-billed Toucan , Bat Falcon , Bright-rumped Attila , Buff-throated Saltator , and Boat-billed Flycatcher. The following morning, we explored an area of secondary growth and edge near a recently tilled field.

Honduras 254

Honduras El Salvador Costa Rica Arizona 254

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2013

The dirt road winds along hillsides, next to vineyards and through the pine forest with a lot of bat boxes. On a small ledge, a Peregrine Falcon stands and looks towards us, framed by the cliff on its left, and the blue of the sea to its right. Enough is enough. I think that this one is probably my best looking Peregrine ever.

Spain 255

Spain Terrapins Eagles Europe 255

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2016

One website I found suggested a few others that may be true but I hadn’t encountered before, are young cranes actually called colts, or falcons eyas? They may be, but the names haven’t caught on. Conservationists pioneering translocation to a safe island managed to save the saddlback , but not the others.

New Zealand 150

New Zealand Parrots Rats Bats 150

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2019

Bat Falcon! During spring migration, we were happy to see several of each of these eastern birds forage in fruiting trees across the street. They were joined by more exotic Piratic and Sulphur-bellied Flycatchers.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Barn Owls Parrots Birds 203

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2017

Or, we might get super lucky and come across an antswarm attended by tinamous, antbirds, antpittas, and a forest-falcon. In the meantime, check the snags for Bat Falcon and watch for soaring Barred Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk , and maybe a hawk-eagle. A White Hawk that was not on the other side of the canyon.

Costa Rica 174

Costa Rica 2017 West Virginia Birds 174

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2021

Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans; Tirimbina, 9-Jan. Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis; Tirimbina, 9-Jan. Lineated Woodpecker – Dryocopus lineatus; San Joaquin de Heredia, 1-Jan. Crested Caracara – Caracara cheriway; San Joaquin de Heredia, 1-Jan. Yellow-headed Caracara – Milvago chimachima; San Joaquin de Heredia, 1-Jan.

Costa Rica 235

Costa Rica Parrots Birds Baltimore 235

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2019

The dirt road winds along hillsides, next to vineyards and through the pine forest with a lot of bat boxes. On a small ledge, a Peregrine Falcon stands and looks towards us, framed by the cliff on its left, and the blue of the sea to its right. Enough is enough. Dartford Warbler by Francesco Veronesi/Wikimedia Commons.

Terrapins 222

Terrapins Eagles Rats Europe 222

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

The best bird was one lovely Common Chiffchaff that was very hard to locate in the thick crown of an old juniper tree, followed by one mysterious small falcon. Up the dirt track next to a hilltop church is not particularly productive at this time of year. It disappeared behind a tree in a split second, showing me only its back view.

Greece 252

Greece Pelicans Geese Albania 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2021

289 Barred Forest-Falcon – Micrastur ruficollis. 292 Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans. 296 Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis. 297 Peregrine Falcon – Falco peregrinus. 289 Barred Forest-Falcon – Micrastur ruficollis. 292 Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans.

Woodpeckers 257

Woodpeckers Sparrows Parrots Ducks 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2017

In Costa Rica, even the super shy Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon is seen more often than the island pigeon with the snow-white cap. The Bat Falcon that joined us for breakfast. . Birds with white on them are much more likely to take the form of goodies like the Snowy Cotinga , or two species of tityras.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica San Jose Tigers Bats 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

279 Collared Forest-Falcon – Micrastur semitorquatus. 483 Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis. 557 Peregrine Falcon – Falco peregrinus. 279 Collared Forest-Falcon – Micrastur semitorquatus. To ring the changes the list has been through the “newest first” filter.

Woodpeckers 263

Woodpeckers Sparrows Parrots Blackbirds 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Regardless of whether you think field guide sequences should or should not reflect current evolutionary sequence, it’s comforting and easy to find falcons next to hawks, vireos next to warblers. It starts with water and wading birds and ending with meadowlark, blackbird, and bobolink.^ All plumage variations are clearly labelled.

Costa Rica 246

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2018

Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis; Sarapiqui, 1-Jan. Barred Forest-Falcon – Micrastur ruficollis; Arenal, 13-Jan. Collared Forest-Falcon – Micrastur semitorquatus; Sarapiqui, 7-Jan. Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans; Sarapiqui, 7-Jan.

Costa Rica 189

Costa Rica Parrots Woodpeckers Birds 189

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2021

The year list remains sluggish at 1489 , but the life list received a boost from the eBird taxonomy reshuffle and now includes 4076 species.

Woodpeckers 263

Woodpeckers Sparrows Blackbirds Parrots 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

A female Snowy Cotinga , another canopy species, surprised us by swooping down low to feed on fruits at eye level while a Bat Falcon had breakfast on a snag, and a Wilson’s Snip e, a great find, burst into view from underfoot.

Costa Rica 180

Costa Rica San Jose Lamb Farming 180

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2017

In the light of the moon I did see a bat and I was also surprised to see a firefly, which seemed really odd considering it is already October. We cleaned up all three expected falcons early but couldn’t find any hawks. But the first bird of the morning was not a bird most would consider nocturnal. No grackles!)

Dolphins 165

Dolphins Birds Canada Sparrows 165

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2018

The next morning was our travel day, but we spent a couple of hours with Franklin again, tracking down a Ferruginous Pygmy-owl, Striped-headed Sparrows, a pair of Bat Falcons, Laughing falcons, Dusky-caped Flycatchers, Panama Flycatcher, Striped Cuckoo, Rufous-napped Wrens , and a bird that was high on my target list, the Double-striped Thick-knee.

Costa Rica 113

Costa Rica Falcons Mexico Baltimore 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2019

Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans; Carara, 3-Jan. Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis; Carara, 3-Jan. Peregrine Falcon – Falco peregrinus; Villas San Ignacio, 7-Jan. Pale-billed Woodpecker – Campephilus guatemalensis; Carara, 3-Jan. Crested Caracara – Caracara cheriway; Carara, 3-Jan.

Costa Rica 113

Costa Rica 2019 Parrots Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

Collared Forest-Falcon – Micrastur semitorquatus. Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans. Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis. Prairie Falcon – Falco mexicanus. Mendon Ponds Park–Quaker Pond Trail. 01 Jul 2019. PN Carara–Sendero Quebrada Bonita. 14 Jul 2019. Jaco west rice fields.

2019 168

2019 Idaho Sparrows Woodpeckers 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

Amur Falcon – Falco amurensis. Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans. Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis. Collared Forest-Falcon – Micrastur semitorquatus. Yellow Bittern – Ixobrychus sinensis. Nanhui Dongtan (????). 07 Jun 2019. Chinese Pond-Heron – Ardeola bacchus.

2019 171

2019 Jamaica Eggs Woodpeckers 171

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

But the jawbone…that was from a bat! Oehlenschlager apologized that he couldn’t say the exact species of bat. It was either a big brown bat or a hoary bat. Oehlenschlager said that because two teeth were missing, he couldn’t give a positive id on the bat.

Bats 258

Bats Dissection Minnesota Owls 258

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2021

We only saw the first two, and in our effort to scour each broken limb for a perched raptor, we stumbled upon a Bat Falcon of all creatures. Bat Falcon in the now blazing sun. We kept our eyes peeled for any birds of prey – Savanna Hawk , Grey-lined Hawk and Common Black Hawk were all expected.

Sea Turtles 279

Sea Turtles Bats Turtles Trinidad 279

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2022

A Peregrine Falcon launches, ready and willing to utilize the relative invisibility afforded by twilight to bring a swift end to someone’s morning. Much smaller but no less deadly, a Bat Falcon dines on a bat in the mid-morning perched comfortably on a roadside stump. It almost looks as if the bird is underwater!

Trinidad 264

Trinidad Venezuela Bats Woodpeckers 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2020

137 Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans. 141 Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis. 142 Peregrine Falcon – Falco peregrinus. The year list stands at 1514 with the life list standing still at 4009. 1 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 2 Graylag Goose – Anser anser.

2020 229

2020 Costa Rica Blackbirds Woodpeckers 229

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2018

Laughing Falcon. Bat Falcon. Dressed to kill, the deadly Bat Falcon eats more than bats. Even so, warm, friendly weather can’t stop a birder from choosing Costa Rica’s best birds of Halloween. These are the winners: BEST COSTUMES. Lesser Ground-Cuckoo. Not convinced? HONORABLE MENTIONS.

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Bats Egypt Falcons 203

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2017

While I know falcons mostly as grim reapers of pigeons, as a beer drinker, I also happily endorse any agricultural implement inspired by the raptor’s most fearsome anatomical feature, particularly when it’s put to good use in the barley mow. A Peregrine Falcon resting on its sickle-like talons, about to put the hammer down.

India 177

India Falcons Farming Austin 177

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2021

You don’t want to miss a Bat Falcon. The more birds you check out and see, the more end up being lifers. It worked for me on several occasions in Thailand, it will also help in Costa Rica. Maybe You Do Want to Look at Shorebirds and the Sea?

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Transported Parrots Thailand 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2020

Bat Falcon – Falco rufigularis. Laughing Falcon – Herpetotheres cachinnans. Peregrine Falcon – Falco peregrinus. Red-crowned Woodpecker – Melanerpes rubricapillus. Red-rumped Woodpecker – Dryobates kirkii. Crested Caracara – Caracara cheriway. Collared Trogon – Trogon collaris.

2020 191

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Blackbirds 191