10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2011

While I often tease Corey about how many albatrosses we have down here in New Zealand, the fact is that the United States has three species of Albatross that breed within its boundaries, albeit one of them only very rarely, and visit the western shores of North America. It took ages, but it was a constant delight.

Albatross 174

Albatross Hawaii New Zealand Japan 174

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2013

For the most part the Black-footed Albatross is an all-American bird, with 97% of their population breeding in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (in the District of Hawaii), and a few others breeding in islands owned by Mexico and Japan. I was lucky to work with the species on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals.

Albatross 157

Albatross Hawaii North America California 157

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2012

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters The commonest of the two shearwater species you can find on the island, this species has burrows all over the place. They are also one of the more vocal species on the island, braying like lost souls under the house we lived in. You can see more shots of Christmas Shearwaters here. These guys get around!

Albatross 126

Albatross Hawaii Japan New Zealand 126

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2021

They covered so much water so quickly, so effortlessly, I understood how they could wander from Hawaii to Costa Rica, make steady constant progress over countless kilometers of waves and deep blue water. A world birder who has seen literally thousands of species, Pirjo had hoped to connect with this small striking gull.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Dolphins Sea Turtles Turtles 264

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 175

California Condor Falcons California Coyotes 175

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2012

There cannot be many ABA area breeding birds harder to get than those that only breed on the remotest tips of the north of North America and then fly off to places that aren’t on the major continental flyways. You can encounter them from Hawaii across to French Polynesia and Fiji.

Fiji 180

Fiji North America Hawaii America 180

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2021

For example, Danny Bystrak (Breeding Bird Survey) and Dave Ziolkowski (Bird Banding Lab) of the USGS indicated that changes would not have a substantial negative impact on their programs, and would be just a “minor annoyance.” Some species have taxonomy that is in flux while others are stable.

Birds 264

Birds Russia Hawaii Woodpeckers 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2011

The birds are not allowed to breed on the runway, but many loaf around on it. The most dominant tern species on Tern Island is the Sooty Tern. Around 100,000 of these terns breed on almost every available space on the island, and walking through groups of them is a deafening and quite painful experience. Click to enbiggen.

Hawaii 173

Hawaii Breeding Wildlife Eggs 173

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2016

Since then their range has spread across the United States and southern Canada, and they remain a sought-after game species. While the females are much drabber by comparison, their gold/tan color and black spotting makes them stand out from other species as well. In Hawaii, they are found as high as 11,000 feet !

South Dakota 100

South Dakota Hawaii United States North America 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

Other species have certainly expanded their ranges, but never in such a rapid and global scale. For reasons that are not quite clear, this species underwent a massive range expansion. In the east, this species can be found along the east coast of Africa, the Nile Valley,and into parts of the middle east and India and southeast Asia.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2012

Aplomado Falcon ( Falco femoralis ) by Jon David Nelson Shakeups for shearwaters and murrelets Xantus’s Murrelet ( Synthliboramphus hypoleucus ) has been split into California-breeding Scripps’s Murrelet ( Synthliboramphus scrippsi ) and Baja-breeding Guadalupe Murrelet ( Synthliboramphus hypoleucus ).

Falcons 172

Falcons Parrots California Hawaii 172

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

Then a little later there was a spot of bother with DDT, but we pulled out of that one ok, with a toolbox that would surely stand us in good stead if we only had the will to use it – legislation and literature, captive breeding programs, nest platforms. A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again. We could do it!

California Condor 196

California Condor Guam Whaling Whales 196

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2011

Last week I introduced the Great Frigatebird , one of five species of man-o-war bird. I got rather carried away showing all the plumages you can see around a breeding colony, which means I had to split my post on the species into two. Male coming into land at nest. Frigatebirds are masters of life on the wing.

Albatross 163

Albatross Philippines Hawaii Hunting 163

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Its genus name refers to supposed similarities between it and the African mousebirds , and its species name refers to waxwings. Here’s the only known video footage of that species: Kauai Oo. Hawaii Oo ( Moho nobilis ), depicted by John Gerrard Keulemans in 1893. Spellman et al. Christopher Taylor has more.

Saudi Arabia 213

Saudi Arabia 2008 Indonesia Colombia 213

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Pough “with illustrations in color of every species” by Don Eckelberry, Doubleday, 1946. The National Audubon Society Birds of North America covers all species seen in mainland United States, Canada and Baja California. The press material says it covers over 800 species, so you know I had to do a count.

North America 278

North America America California Condor Birds 278

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

Take Hawaii, for example. Fearing that a natural disaster, introduced species, or disease could wipe this fragile population out, the U.S. The population of Millerbirds on Laysan has doubled , and breeding seems to be going well. A recent survey of the birds suggests that the effort has been a success.

Cambodia 143

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 143

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2012

So while we are dealing with Hawaii and all, let’s change how one rule is applied! Let’s stop treating restorations of native species (be they condors, Aplomado Falcons , or whatever) in the same way as we treat introductions of exotics. The rules of the game, and what you can and cannot count, are the domain of the ABA.

California Condor 150

California Condor Rescue Hawaii California 150

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2011

This particular example of flexibility comes from Tern Island, in French Frigate Shoals to the north of Hawaii. Although the islands are a cramped home to 18 species of seabird, the dominant and most charismatic of these are the two species of albatross, the Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses.

Albatross 178

Albatross Hawaii Seals Parrots 178

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

So, while waiting for evolution to produce new birds for our life lists is inadvisable, we sometimes catch a break and every few years get a new species or two when some genetic research or study of breeding distribution presents enough evidence to split what was once considered a single species into a few new ones.

Ohio 113

Ohio India Hawaii United States 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2014

And, sometimes, I use chip notes to try to lure a bird in, using just a couple of notes and only if I was sure it would not be interfering with a breeding bird or other birder’s enjoyment. You can easily scroll through the 940 species of bird included, which covers the United States (including Hawaii) and Canada.

New York 174

New York Battery Hawaii Woodpeckers 174

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2011

Here they second only to the kiwi (which are a family as opposed to a single species), and that is because the people here decided for some reason to name themselves after these flightless blind and rather elusive ground birds. (I I guess New Zealanders really like flightless birds.) They require constant monitoring and management.

New Zealand 180

New Zealand Parrots Sanctuary Sheep 180

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2016

The name of these terns comes from their utter fearlessness on their breeding grounds, which was sadly taken for foolhardiness. I was lucky enough to have the chance to spend time with four species on French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands , on the aptly named Tern Island. One of these species was the Brown Noddy.

Breeding 100

Breeding Groups Species New Zealand 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

Birders who have been to California might be familiar with the latter two, indeed we would be close to the Poor Knights Islands later in the day, the site of the only breeding colony of Buller’s Shearwaters in the whole world. The final large petrel species is another gadfly petrel, albeit a much larger one than the Cook’s Petrel.

New Zealand 174

New Zealand Albatross 2011 Cooking 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2018

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to some of the largest assemblages of breeding seabirds in the United States. Invasive species , particularly rodents, have long been a problem on the Hawaiian archipelago. Implementing mitigation measures identified for selected species. They are also disease vectors.

Mice 102

Mice Albatross Honolulu Rats 102

Animal Person

NOVEMBER 21, 2010

And managing means killing them, breeding them, and otherwise fiddling with their populations. It has entertaining stories, includes animals people care about because they like them (and also addresses that concept), and it describes how the numbers of various species decreased to the point of being classified as "endangered" or worse.

Polar Bears 100

Polar Bears California Condor Bald Eagle Lions 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Several years ago, I read about the enormous colonies of breeding birds in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and I did some research to satisfy my curiosity. ( Google Scholar is an excellent resource and free full-text PDFs can be located for many papers, particularly when research is taxpayer-funded. It is helpful to have a sample paper.

Transported 113

Transported 2011 Research 2012 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2020

I think it’s a good assumption that Peter Pyle updated and wrote species descriptions, particularly for the Hawaiian birds. These are the species that immediately come to my mind, and I probably missed some. Paul Lehman and Larry Rosche updated the map, with Lehman doing the data work and Rosche on graphics.

North America 224

North America America 2020 Hawaii 224

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 15, 2022

The Latin species name of the Kalij Pheasant is leucomelanos , meaning “white” (leukos) and “black” (melanos, both Greek words). A bit surprisingly (at least to me), the Kalij Pheasant has been introduced and established as a gamebird in Hawaii. To be safe, they just use both spellings on the species page.

Rhode Island 147

Rhode Island South Dakota North Dakota Maryland 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2016

Why else would I have chosen a nice breeding plumaged Magnolia Warbler as my feature image in December if not to lure you in?] But if you look through the haze of reds and yellows and curvy bills on songbirds, you will see the horrific implications of the inclusion of Hawaii. American birders, on the other hand, obviously are.

Hawaii 156

Hawaii Albatross Europe North America 156

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Decades later, Richard Pough’s Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds (I happily own the 1948 edition) included nest and egg descriptions for each species as well. And photographs of feathers in the species accounts, which surprised me. Text retrieved from the Hathitrust Digital Library. The first is accomplished well.

Eggs 227

Eggs United States Sparrows Birds 227

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2011

Christmas Shearwater ( Puffinus nativitatis ) on Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii. The Christmas Shearwater is a smallish, dark chocolate brown shearwater that lives and breeds in remote areas of the tropical eastern Pacific. They mostly feed on squid, which they hunt by diving.

Kiribati 200

Kiribati Hawaii Hunting Breeding 200