10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2024

But no, my story today is about the birds that come in to breed on the heather moorland which dominates the high ground. Oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus are present everywhere, flying to and fro, chasing rivals or freaking out with some potential predator that gets too close.

Puffins 224

Puffins Raised Breeding Africa 224

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2024

It’s a bird that rarely occurs inland, and outside the breeding season it spends its time far out to sea. In March, as the days start to lengthen, so the wandering birds return to their breeding cliffs. Adult pairs are very site faithful, and if their breeding is successful, they will return to the same colony year after year.

Russia 210

Russia Breeding Alaska Wildlife 210

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2024

The bright yellow shrivelled-up skin of the naked head is most repulsive…and yet it must be repeated few birds present a finer sight when on the wing… ”. The most recent estimates suggest that some 1,500 pairs breed in Spain. That’s about half of the entire European breeding population. Its stronghold is the Iberian Peninsula.

2004 226

2004 Spain Italy Agenda 226

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2024

A section in the Appendix, “Rare Shorebird Vagrants,” lists 16 additional species that do not show up annually in North America but who have more than ten records; the list notes where the species breed and where their vagrant paths have taken them within North American borders.

North America 259

North America America 2006 Delaware 259

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

Perhaps the most curious thing about the Great Spotted Cuckoo is its distribution, for it is both a non-breeding Palearctic migrant to Africa, and a trans-Africa migrant. According to The Birds of Africa Volume III , “In much of the tropics present throughout the year, with breeding and non-breeding birds usually indistinguishable”.

Cyprus 214

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 214

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2016

In Costa Rica, June is breeding bird count season. As one might expect with a breeding bird count, it also gives me an idea of which birds are where, and whether or not other species are still around (side benefits for guiding on that same route as well as future Big Days).

Breeding 101

Breeding Costa Rica Birds Panama 101

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

These birds are often present in Broome on the green areas, like the school sport’s fields, golf course and the local parks. They are often in large groups in these areas when they are not breeding. They will often fly at both people and other animals in defense of their eggs and young.

Breeding 144

Breeding Cows Eggs 2012 144

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2021

The adventure of the second European Breeding Bird Atlas, or EBBA2, was the topic of one of my first posts here at 10,000 Birds: In a warm Catalonian March, Barcelona is filled with sunlight and full of Rose-ringed and Monk Parakeets. In a very short time, we get two responses, two birds calling from opposite directions.

Europe 264

Europe Denmark Breeding Russia 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2013

A breeding bird atlas is a special kind of book. For the nature lovers and birders who participate in breeding bird surveys, the atlas represents hours, often hundreds of hours, of volunteer time spent within a community of citizen scientists doing what they love, observing birds. So, what exactly does a breeding bird atlas contain?

Pennsylvania 226

Pennsylvania Breeding Sparrows Birds 226

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2023

Frequently the field guide presents a curated selection of species on the same plate to illustrate key differences essential to nailing a positive identification. The largest and bulkiest of the three is the more or less ever-present Streaked Flycatcher. In reality these species are rarely in the same place at the same time, however!

Trinidad 146

Trinidad Abandoning Abandonment Abandon 146

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2023

The Marsh Sandpipers are currently feeding up ready to migrate and breed in the Northern hemisphere. Marsh Sandpipers are a smaller and more delicate version of the Common Greenshank , which are also present in smaller numbers. Below you can see a photo for both species for a size comparison.

Australia 130

Australia Breeding Species Birds 130

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2024

White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) Notwithstanding the fact that nearly all of the endemics and other native species are extinct the islands of St Helena and Ascension remain very popular for birdwatchers and especially photographers because they are both major breeding sites for seabirds. BirdLife international has designated St.

Madagascar 205

Madagascar ALA 2000 Birds 205

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

This year we have continued to monitor the breeding of several pairs of Pied Oystercatchers along the coast in Broome from Gantheaume Point to Willie Creek on the south side. The first eggs were laid in the first week of July, which is the case each year. They are also very good at hiding as we have learnt over the years!

Breeding 158

Breeding Eggs Camels Shelters 158

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2014

After Gumear Falls Road I crossed Route 209 to the Linear Park and tracked down an Alder Flycatcher that is always present there, my eighth flycatcher species of the morning. I was home by noon after what was undoubtedly my most successful search for some of New York’s coolest breeding birds ever!

Breeding 152

Breeding New York Downers Breeders 152

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2021

barbata , but present name has priority. perdix , and also that race przewalskii (sometimes subsumed within suschkini , but generally paler) was basal to other taxa included within the present species. ” According to the HBW, the diet of the Pine Bunting during breeding season is mainly invertebrates.

China 245

China Austria Birds ALA 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2021

On our recent walks along Cable Beach checking on the pairs of Pied Oystercatchers that are currently breeding we have often observed a Little Egret. The water is clear and it would be easy for the Little Egret to see the fish that are present. There is only ever one Little Egret and it runs around in the shallows of the Indian Ocean.

Fish 222

Fish Australia Breeding Species 222

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

The Black-tailed Godwits that we observe here in Australia breed in east Siberia and Mongolia. It also has a bi-coloured bill unlike the Asian Dowitcher , which is also present amongst our flocks of shorebirds. In non-breeding plumage they are almost brown, but add a reddish brown colour when they are in breeding plumage.

Mongolia 147

Mongolia Australia Asia Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

The first step in preparing for the breeding season is getting ready for courtship. Gifts are presented, heads are bowed, and tails are cocked. The shift in season is mirrored by the animals, some migrate, others sprout antlers, others prepare for hibernation. Are we ready to welcome the next season?

Cattle 181

Cattle Bears Breeding Animal 181

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2022

We had encountered a Yellow-billed Spoonbill in the area last year that appeared to have a stick embedded in its breast, but we have no idea if this is one of the birds now present. We know that Yellow-billed Spoonbills breed further south and no doubt start to roam around once they leave the breeding colony.

Breeding 183

Breeding Ducks Species Birds 183

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2024

The species is a cooperative breeder – chicks from previous breeding attempts help bringing up the next batch of chicks, like baby-sitting teenagers, though the latter are not related to the kids they babysit and also mainly do it for money, so I guess these two things are not really comparable at all. ” Hurray for science.

Killing 170

Killing Birds Breeding Breeders 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2022

Willie Wagtails are present across much of the mainland and they are a large fantail. The shorebirds are starting on their Northward migration to go and breed and the Dollarbirds that have bred here over our wet season are also now departing to the North.

Australia 243

Australia Breeding Species Birds 243

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

Though I usually do not mention this in public presentations, as kids (or fathers) might be present in the audience. So, as a preemptive strike, I present to you the Golden-headed Cisticola. Contrary to alleged preferences among humans, the golden-headed cisticola has a shorter tail during the breeding season ( source ).

Australia 184

Australia Koalas Parrots Birds 184

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

Fortunately, lots of other cute birds were present. These little Tyrant Flycatchers, present from Mexico through Colombia, never fail to charm, with their jaunty crests and characteristic “chewY-chewY!” Oh well, I’ll just have to come back again in another month. Tufted Flycatchers could be poster-birds for cuteness.

Colombia 220

Colombia ALA Canada Mexico 220

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2023

A vagrant Isabelline Wheatear was present on the island the day before I arrived, so I felt that I at least deserved the warbler (another Isabelline Wheatear was found a few days after I left Texel, so they are clearly messing with me). I also saw Eurasian Woodcock , Northern Goshawk , and Hen Harrier in the vicinity.

Birds 228

Birds Groups Ducks Rights 228

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

Tallamy presents data to demonstrate the stark difference between native trees and exotic trees in their ability to support insects. The latter figure very significant when you remember that many breeding passerines depend on the humble caterpillar to feed themselves and their offspring. Black capped Chickadee.

North America 263

North America Wildlife Mammals Breeding 263

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2024

Nobody knows whether the single pair bred successfully – it seems unlikely that they did – but they were present throughout the summer. Bempton’s gannets are fascinating, as the first-known nest on the cliffs here was recorded a century ago, in 1924. The colony built up slowly.

Puffins 181

Puffins Eggs Fish Culling 181

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2022

They are present throughout much of Australia and as their name would suggest they have a black face! They are often nearby and breed locally, but we don’t always have them at the water. Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes – Coracina novaehollandiae are a common bird species around our home in Broome, Western Australia.

Australia 223

Australia Zebras 2014 2012 223

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2020

Presented in numbers, Bird Families of the World has 2417 field guide style paintings, plus 797 bird photos, followed by 252 distribution maps. The text deals with Related Families, Similar Birds, Description, Habitat, Food, Breeding, Conservation and Relationships. Because this book is nothing short of spectacular. It weighs 3.7

Family 292

Family Birds South America Breeding 292

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2020

The annual parade of birds is happening and the feathered participants are dressed in their best breeding suits. Now is when we can venture into the closest park and see birds of the deep woods, species that breed far from town. Now is the special time that birders look forward to all year long. Summer Tanagers also migrate.

Costa Rica 204

Costa Rica 2020 Spain Panama 204

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2019

They are not present in Western Australia or the Northern Territory, so not a bird species that we get to observe very often. They head north from Victoria and New South Wales to Southern Queensland and return in July and August to breed. Yellow-faced Honeyeaters migrate in huge numbers between March and May.

Australia 204

Australia Breeding Species Rights 204

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2022

Both Plumbeous Kite and Fork-tailed Flycatcher are present for the southern winter, the former breeds here, the latter tends to bring their young with them. A member of the “trilling” (and thrilling) subspecies group of the Long-billed Gnatwren is present throughout Trinidad, and is yet another headache-inducing species.

Trinidad 236

Trinidad Squirrels Birds Parrots 236

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2021

Pretty uncommon and greatly outnumbered by the Mourning Warbler but still present in brushy habitats of the highlands. Not nearly as common as some other wintering warblers but still present and regularly encountered with mixed flocks in forested habitats. MacGillivray’s Warbler. Blackburnian Warbler. Worm-eating Warbler.

Costa Rica 225

Costa Rica Kentucky Louisiana Parrots 225

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2024

Martin said that he had noted that the birds were paired, as there was courtship feeding going on, with individual birds returning to their partners to present them with a choice bug. The word swooping is often misused, but no other bird swoops quite like a Bee-eater. There was probably an 18th somewhere around that we didn’t manage to see.

Greece 130

Greece Investigation 2014 Breeding 130

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2024

Explaining the increase in the number of sightings is difficult, as the Siberian breeding population is declining. The Red-breasts tend to keep together, though within the White-front flocks, and it always takes some time with the scope to pick them out, even when there are hundreds of birds present.

Bulgaria 130

Bulgaria Geese Romania Ukraine 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2019

One of the ironies of birding in North America is that the easiest way to see many species that breed on the shores of the Arctic Ocean is to go to tropical coastlands. Whimbrels, Sanderlings, and Semipalmated Plovers are all species that breed in the extreme north, but there they were in the suffocating heat of Lázaro Cárdenas.

North America 121

North America Mexico Breeding America 121

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Introduced breeding species and species recorded only as escapees now have all species illustrated (they were not in the #2) and those illustrations larger than before. Forget occasional escapees, there is an established feral population successfully breeding in the north of Germany, which was 131 birds strong last year.

Europe 252

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 252

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Some Floridians to this day claim that all Grey-headed Swamphen present in their state were born in Kenya (in birding circles, these are known as “birthers”), and that the species should thus be removed from the American list. In 2013, it was even included in the birdwatching list of the American Birding Association.

China 258

China Kenya Florida India 258