10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2012

This title basically means I get paid to watch birds (like the above Indigo Bunting I digiscoped with my iPhone and Swarovsksi Scope) before wind farms, solar panels and pipelines go under construction (or sometimes I get to id bird parts found post construction). ” So how does this happen?

Arkansas 229

Arkansas Science Farming Woodpeckers 229

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2019

When did birding become so intimately intertwined with technology? Obviously, those who seek the best views often aspire to the best optics, which we can all agree are modern miracles of science. But beyond space age gear and technical fabrics, birding also seems to demand a strong, unbroken connection to the internet.

2019 198

2019 Uganda Science Birds 198

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

According to his Wikipedia entry, he was a strong but unsuccessful supporter of women attending the university, so he is one of the better people to name a bird species after. As I saw both of them at the same spot in Tengchong, I wonder whether the bird below is a result of a pairing of the two morphs. A bad one, admittedly.

Nepal 216

Nepal Birds Owls Nigeria 216

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Birding tends to be an extremely freeform activity, demanding only we pursue our bliss to the best of our means and ability. This, the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count , is one of those times: tell us how you contributed to citizen science. What was your best bird of the weekend? How about you?

2013 181

2013 Science Ducks Birds 181

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2023

But then, birdwatching is boring most of the time, too – all the periods when there are no birds … As by now usual for me, the trip was done with Alpinebirding , which helped reduce the time spent not seeing any birds. Humans are not always bad for birds, only about 95% of the time.

Birds 225

Birds Science Humane Species 225

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2013

To all you hardy naturalists who have already logged Christmas Bird Count hours in service to citizen science, I salute you! Those of you willing to eschew creature comforts to tally birds across your ice-rimed count circles are my heroes. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2013 184

2013 Shelters Science Birds 184

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Birding for the Curious: The Easiest Way for Anyone to Explore the Incredible World of Birds by Nate Swick brings birding back to its roots—a simple, joyous way to enjoy nature using our eyes, ears, hands (for sketching), and brain. There are now no excuses except a lack of curiosity. And, nobody wants to admit that.

North Carolina 263

North Carolina Birds North America Owls 263

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2024

Unfortunately, this makes it sound a bit more interesting for birding than it turned out for me – though admittedly, I spent less than a day there. And the area was recommended to me, so most likely my limited birding skills are to blame, rather than the birds themselves. ” That seems a bit unfair to me.

Eggs 246

Eggs Birds Japan Myanmar 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2014

Many readers of 10,000 Birds are more than the casual birdwatcher…they are hopeless bird junkies. Truly depraved birding addicts. The question for the addict is, how does one keep birding fresh? Tired of birding the same polluted parks? Tired of birding the same polluted parks?

Birds 247

Birds Portland Oregon Wildlife 247

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

Birds are a subset of dinosaurs (See: Honey, I Shrunk the Dinosaurs. Prior to the extinction of all of the other dinosaurs, resulting from a cosmic impact event about 65 million years ago, the ancestors of modern birds were different from modern birds in many ways, but also similar in many ways. So how did beaks evolve?

Alligators 258

Alligators Chickens Birds Reptiles 258

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

The experience was marvelous — but it also weighed heavily on me. That’s because I’d already seen the conclusions contained in a study that Audubon (my employer) was preparing to release, a study about birds and climate change. Birds are finely tuned to the climatic conditions that support them.

Species 197

Species Los Angeles Science 2000 197

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2013

My life experience allows for a generally calm and balanced demeanor. I know for a fact that science is correct in stating that they don’t suck the milk of goats. Then again, science is definitely wrong in stating that goatsuckers have legs. You will clearly see a nice bird, but you will see no legs whatsoever.

Goats 236

Goats Indonesia Science Experience 236

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It took me a while to wrap my mind around the concept of Birds and People , Mark Cocker and David Tipling’s book that, in 592 pages, explores the intersection of just that—birds and us. Nor have I overlooked “sightings” of birds in movies mouthing other birds’ calls. I’m not sure why.

Egypt 243

Egypt Birds Albania Eagles 243

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2020

Faithful 10,000 Birds readers will remember Suzie as our wildlife rehabilitation beat writer. Suzie wrote about her experiences as a bird rehabber in Flyaway: How A Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings (2009) and used those experiences as the source for her fictional children’s book, Hawk Hill (1996).

Wildlife Rehabilitation 278

Wildlife Rehabilitation Bald Eagle Eagles Wildlife 278

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2015

There is GISS and there is Birding by Impression and they are not the same. GISS—general impression, size, shape—is intuitive, the result of an unconscious cognitive process derived from experience in the field. Experienced birders can identify birds using GISS; all birders can identify birds if they adopt the BBI approach.

New Jersey 190

New Jersey Birds Science New York City 190

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2015

Science is fairly well established that yawning can spread like wildfire among groups of humans, as well as a few other mammals. New research suggests that the phenomenon of contagious yawning can also be seen in birds. In the other study, the birds—which seem to be great mimics of videos—were shown footage of budgies yawning.

Mammals 157

Mammals New York Science Birds 157

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. Bird communication is a complex and evolving science.

North America 279

North America Birds Research America 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2017

Birders derive “value” from birding. But does the value of a particular trip come from the number of birds seen, viewing a particular species, seeing an endangered species, catching a glimpse of a rarity, adding a lifer, or something else? How much do birders value a birding experience?

Oregon 203

Oregon Washington Chad Birds 203

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

Erika is a first year graduate student studying Ecosystem Science and Conservation at Duke. In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. Dry Tortugas National Park: Bird Banding Sooty Terns. Brown Noddy.

Florida 217

Florida Birds Groups Breeding 217

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

I truly do hope I am not tiring 10,000 Birds’ readers too much with my obsession with Michoacán’s ongoing drought, the disappearance of Lake Cuitzeo (Mexico’s 2nd largest lake, in normal years), and our own micro-endemic Black-polled Yellowthroat. But obsessed I am. Had I thrown a rock, I would undoubtedly have hit one.

Mexico 246

Mexico Investigation Science Experiments 246

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2012

Knowledge is more likely to be shared via shared experience than the exchange of data, though both happen. But early in the process of learning about the Efe I made a foray into the literature available in the 1980s of orientation and navigation, and this included the literature on birds. Le-Qing Wu and J.

Compassion 252

Compassion Research Cooking Transported 252

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2012

How to Be a Better Birder is a very different kind of birding book, and, once you think about it, the perfect book to be written at this particular moment in the birding universe. But, think about it: how much has been written about the process of birding, the skills required to find birds and to learn about birds in the field?

New Jersey 263

New Jersey Science United States 2012 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

In 2018, I read an article in Birding magazine by Jeff R. It was later re-published on the All About Birds website.) Manker’s thesis is that ornithology is an excellent gateway to students becoming science majors in college and, more broadly and longer-term, conservation-minded citizens. Think about it for a minute.

2018 264

2018 Agenda Science Massachusetts 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

The magnificent history and diversity of birds on Earth came into sharper focus this month with the publication of 28 new scientific papers in Science and other journals. One of the central papers, Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds (Jarvis et al. Open Jarvis et al.’s

Family 279

Family Parrots Birds 2014 279

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

Last week a mystery bird from New Jersey rightly caused a fair bit of confusion among birders of the Garden State and beyond. The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into. New Jersey mystery sparrow.

New Jersey 254

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 254

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2015

There are many charismatic endangered birds that capture people’s hearts and imaginations: the colossal California Condor , the evocative Red-crowned Crane , and the adorable Spoon-billed Sandpiper come to mind. This is a short series that brings attention to these incredible birds, and my various adventures to try and see them.

California Condor 240

California Condor Ecuador Blackbirds Parrots 240

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2012

It is thought that the gray morph mimics a bird eating hawk. And, thus, they can learn that the Cuckoo is not really a bird-eating raptor. She has an advantage once the intended host birds are on to the other morph. Science 3 August 2012: 578–580 a. And thus, the second female morph has emerged in these Cuckoos.

Hungary 185

Hungary 2012 Science Eggs 185

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2014

Other bloggers were writing about birds and nature back in 2003, some even before then, and many of us found a communal spirit sparked by comments and crosslinks that carried into the world we wrote about. Remember the blog carnival craze? The great struggle then, as now, was reaching new readers and cultivating an engaged audience.

2003 264

2003 Reptiles 2000 2008 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2011

It has been almost six months since we introduced the Beat Writer concept to 10,000 Birds. Since then there have been some major changes here at the ol’ blog and we thought it was time to update everyone as to where we are at with this grand experiment in group bird blogging. Greg’s beat is Bird Evolutionary Biology.

Science 164

Science Minnesota Monkeys Humane 164

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2012

Nick Lund , formerly at birdDC and then the Birdist , should be no stranger to readers of 10,000 Birds. He’s previously shared his surprisingly strong feelings about the bird logos of NFL and MLB teams. Like any obsessive birder, of course, I’ve found a way to make birding part of the job.

Mississippi 192

Mississippi Vermont Birds Maryland 192

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2018

Zamorano University may be regarded as one of the crown jewels of Latin American higher education, particularly in the areas of agriculture, environmental management, and food science, but this idyllic campus excels for more reasons than simply academics. Add bins and coffee, shake well, and you have the recipe for bird watching nirvana!

Honduras 177

Honduras Birds Kentucky Owls 177

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 17, 2017

With only a few weeks left before we turn the page on 2017, birders around the world have been burning their proverbial candles at both ends to observe as many birds as possible. Did you partake in any Christmas Bird Count excitement this weekend? Sign me up for a Memorial Day Bird Count any year! How about you?

2017 124

2017 Science Birds Experience 124

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

New Year’s resolutions from birding friends are starting to trickle in as I write this review. It is the last day of 2015, time to select the bird of the year past and set goals for the bright open future, when everything is new again. The process is called “Wide-angle birding: Be the bird, see the bird.”.

Birds 190

Birds Groups 2015 North America 190

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2023

I recently asked ChatGPT some questions about the best birding locations in the United States and the results were decidedly mixed. Here are the queries and the ChatGPT responses are below: What is birding? What is a “nemesis bird” in birding? What is a “big year” in birding?

United States 147

United States North America Birds America 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

They also remind me why I love birding in Michoacán. I would love to know how the order spread across these regions, since that spread must have involved either crossing oceans or the frigid regions that these birds avoid. Both are large, stocky birds, with a large head and long, squared-off tail. Those are good numbers.

Mexico 240

Mexico Indonesia Arizona North America 240

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

Few people can imagine (or even take seriously) the life of a birding guide at a lodge in the tropics, so I thought it would be a nice exercise to outline what an average day for me was like at Cristalino Lodge. While setting up my scope, I immediately start to call out birds. “ Scarlet Macaws to the left about 300 feet out.”

Otters 160

Otters Parrots Birds Brazil 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 13, 2012

NARITA, JAPAN, DECEMBER 2012 – The art and science of layover birding deserves more rigorous study and perhaps a federal grant. While planning a much-needed escape from the Western Hemisphere to Singapore, I had to explore the layover birding potential of Narita International Airport, one of two airports serving Tokyo.

Japan 138

Japan Stud Birds Ducks 138