10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

It was also great to finally travel overseas again, meet a lot of people I did not know (and some I did), to be in a new country… and not just the new country, but its best birding area, where almost all local hotspots are yellow (150+ species) and several are ochre (200+ sp.), impressive for Central Europe.

Austria 296

Austria Factory Asia Battery 296

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2021

birders are rare, so the recent release of a “ National Survey of Birdwatchers: Nationwide and Flyway Comparisons ” is notable. The results: “The most important attributes in the choice of birdwatching trips were: (1) travel distance; (2) chance to see rare or unusual bird species; and (3) the naturalness of the area. Paul, MN 55108.

Minnesota 264

Minnesota Pennsylvania Ohio United States 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Terns of North America covers 19 species of terns, noddies, and skimmers that breed and are regular vagrants in the United States and Canada (like many books titled “North America” the geographical coverage stops at the northern end of the Mexico border). .” Note that these are not all species accounts!

North America 200

North America America Breeding Species 200

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2020

While the 480-odd species recorded within T&T may outstrip our fellow Caribbean islands by leaps and bounds, it pales in comparison to the massive lists of mainland South and Central America. There is simply not enough real estate for multiple species of toucans for example. T&T has three resident species of manakins.

Trinidad 256

Trinidad Family America Species 256

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2021

The arrival of those migratory species was my motivation for spending a Monday around our church last week. It was kind of this Clay-colored Sparrow (left) and Chipping Sparrow (right) to position themselves so well for comparison purposes. Happily, nobody would struggle to identify a Lark Sparrow.

Sparrows 201

Sparrows Falcons Woodpeckers Species 201

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2024

Given that according to the HBW, the species prefers dense primary and secondary montane forests, the note that the bird also forages among kitchen waste (in the same HBW entry) seems somewhat incongruous. Fish & Wildlife Service has a web page for this species – but it contains absolutely no information.

Burma 196

Burma India Indonesia Thailand 196

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2022

As a birder, I’ve found this place to be a complete treasure trove for many species difficult to see elsewhere. Personally I’ve seen over a hundred species over several birding trips there, the overall species list for the location is approximately 160 – a tally that will only increase.

Trinidad 236

Trinidad Squirrels Birds Parrots 236

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

It covers 403 species: 172 nonpasserine species and 231 passerine species in the Species Accounts, 198 species beautifully illustrated by the author in the Plates section. The scarcity of information on the young of some avian species is astounding.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 253

Wildlife Rehabilitation Family Birds Collecting 253

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2022

At this moment, Baihualing is the eBird hotspot in China which has by far the largest number of species – 486. With 398 species, Nanhui is trailing far behind despite being covered by a much larger number of checklists (2225 compared to 608). So, it is certainly justified to cover this spot in more than one post.

Litter 209

Litter China Abandoning Abandonment 209

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

For easier comparison, confusingly similar pairs are shown on the same page, side by side. Each species is described only by features that may (although not always) be seen in flight; those impossible to notice in flight are omitted. This kind of information is normally given very little space – if any – in standard field guides.

Europe 238

Europe Asia Cyprus Turkey 238

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2024

Familiar, but beautiful regardless: Blue-headed Parrot Another small parrot species landed on a tree in the distance. It was a Black-headed Parrot , a species that I had meagrely attempted to see in Trinidad once without success.

Guyana 206

Guyana Parrots Trinidad Monkeys 206

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2021

21 species is less than 6% of the total number of hummingbird species in the Americas.) All but one of those times, the ID occurred because I got a brief glimpse of this species’ unmistakeable long-tailed male. Here’s another female Broad-billed Hummingbird , and a Dusky Hummingbird for comparison.

Mexico 205

Mexico America Species Family 205

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2021

Just last year, 5 new bird species and 5 new subspecies were discovered in a few short weeks of fieldwork on the islands of Taliabu, Peleng and Batudaka. In recent years Indonesia has been competing with the Andes as the region giving rise to the biggest number of undescribed bird species (naturally, all of them endemics).

Indonesia 264

Indonesia Timor Brunei Guinea 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2023

The official Ontario bird checklist, produced by Ontario Field Ornithologists , June 2022 listed 506 bird species**, putting it in the top tier of U.S. Small Species Accounts: Each species is allotted one page (with certain exceptions) offering basics–bird names and size, one or two photographs, and a one-paragraph description.

North America 207

North America Birds Owls Canada 207

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

There are 35 raptor species that have a presence in the United States and Canada, 56 (more or less) if you count by subspecies, and they are all covered in admirable, exhausting, unbelievable detail in B irds of Prey of the East: A Field Guide and Birds of Prey of the West: A Field Guide by Brian K. Species Accounts.

North America 189

North America Mississippi Bald Eagle Falcons 189

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

A Peregrine Falcon was seen in the distance, one of the day’s few species I could also have seen in Mexico. But I had been waiting all morning to see one species… and it turned up just before my limited time was over. With its nine-foot wingspan, this species was at the top of my wish list. Go if you possibly can.

Spain 147

Spain Birds Mexico Eagles 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 30, 2020

The juvenile Pied Oystercatcher gives you a glimpse into its development when it stretches a wing out and when it stands close to its parents for size comparison. Pied Oystercatchers are not a species that we observe flying very often at all. Adult and juvenile Pied Oystercatcher. Juvenile Pied Oystercatcher having a stretch.

Eggs 165

Eggs Breeding Family Protection 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2018

It divides countries into categories, where the next category has 200 more species. In some cases the data are outdated, e.g. Costa Rica has 900 and not 800 species, but I made no corrections, remaining faithful to the original map data. Shown as a list, it looks like this: Less than 200 bird species: Antarctica; oceanic islands.

Equatorial Guinea 193

Equatorial Guinea Costa Rica Central African Republic Guyana 193

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

From Nature, “ Discovery of species-wide tool use in the Hawaiian crow “: Only a handful of bird species are known to use foraging tools in the wild. Two of these species could be detected only in the interior region in 2012 surveys. Here we show that another tropical corvid, the ‘Alal? ( Although the ‘Alal?

Hawaii 162

Hawaii Research Center 2012 2000 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2020

But, in comparison with most of my sightings, these Anis looked almost gaudy. Black-chested Sparrow is one of Paso Ancho’s flagship species. And I, for one, choose not to let the lack of a few species ruin my enjoyment of many more. Later in the morning, the light got better, and so did my photos. A Golden Vireo showed up.

Sparrows 162

Sparrows Cooking Squirrels Meat 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2022

Well, you could look up other North American swallows on eBird, for comparison. Assuming that several of the observers involved had made multiple observations, that probably represents only around one hundred people having ever reported this species, even though it breeds in a country bordering the United States. Could the be?

Mexico 147

Mexico Penguins United States Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2015

This means that any comparison of results obtained in different years may not reflect the success of a birder’s endeavours but rather the variation of the overall birding conditions of the respective years, which are outside the sphere of anyone’s influence. Frustration all around. Which is fair enough.

Feral 195

Feral Asia Species Florida 195

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2021

It was an unexpected bird tour, without too much planning and aimed at a few target species, of which we saw most, but the main one eluded us… Early morning, leaving the last houses behind… and a Little Owl awaits us on a traffic sign. To allow for a better comparison, all three soared in the same thermal.

Serbia 235

Serbia Romania Eagles Falcons 235

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

We all have invasive species on our minds this week, which should serve as an inspiration to those of us interested in expanding our personal range. Whatever Corey will be doing surely pales in comparison, so let’s not even talk about it. Maybe invasion is on my mind because I’m on the eve of an amazing voyage.

Colombia 160

Colombia Breeders 2014 Birds 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2015

You can see some of my older Lassen Park posts featuring several other species from this beautiful park here. This week I am reporting on the Cassin’s Finch ( Haemorhous cassinii ), another western species found nesting in Lassen Volcanic National Park. This is the male of the species (click on photos for full sized images).

North America 166

North America America Research Species 166

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2019

I don’t think we ever saw the second one but the first one twice, as photo comparisons between my sightings seem to show the same individual. Then again, I’ve seen one there this fall, back in September of a passage bird, and it was a new species for me somehow in Nassau County. So, this was better?

New York 130

New York Hunting Birds Species 130

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2020

Having more than 1300 bird species, including over 75 endemics, it is hard to resist the lure of India – something I know from personal experience. The 100 Best Birdwatching Sites in India allows you to focus on species (Index at pg. India is a huge and logistically frightening country. 295), reserves and states (starting from pg.

India 241

India Lions 2020 Groups 241

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Finally in 1799, the first visitors on this volcanic land were a group of French seal hunters who were after the fur seals that can be found hauled out on the beaches for fur and oil, which almost wiped out the local population of the species. Marion has a fascinating history with invasive species.

South Africa 263

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

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. During some seasons, millions of male pheasants are killed.

South Dakota 100

South Dakota Hawaii United States North America 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2015

Birding by Impression is a conscious, deliberate method of identifying and recognizing birds based on the study and evaluation of “distinctive structural features and behavioral movements” and comparison with nearby and similar species. It is not a handbook, though it approaches species from a collective viewpoint. “BBI

New Jersey 169

New Jersey Birds Science New York City 169

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2021

I tested the 12s at my usual stomping grounds where I am used to local species and landscape, at their usual distances from the observer, so I could immediately spot a different experience. So I asked myself would a higher magnification (than my usual 8x) prove to be a significant improvement?

Birds 264

Birds Raised Rights Experience 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2015

Combined, I netted eighteen species of shorebirds in the two days, a tally that included my favorite shorebird, featured above, a juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher. Here a Semipalmated Sandpiper helpfully provided a comparison shot with the White-rump. One of these days this will be a picture of a much more rare species… …

Jamaica 162

Jamaica Wildlife New York City New York 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2015

I figured that it is only fair and right to include the male Mountain Bluebird ( Sialis currucoides ) for comparison. Lassen Volcanic National Park is also home to approximately 57 species of mammals ranging in size from the tiny shrew to the North American black bear. Click on photos for full sized images.

United States 172

United States Mammals Squirrels Bears 172

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2018

Major extinction events that are geologically instantaneous have been followed by periods of time with reduction of species or unstable habitats that last for hundreds of thousands or millions of years. There are about 10,000 species of them, after all, which is a lot for a vertebrate. But, that is also a naive view.

2018 101

2018 Science Humane Species 101

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2018

The flocks of shorebirds are huge and you can easily observe several species of shorebirds in a few minutes. The shorebird species are almost sorted for you! These large flocks of larger species may not produce all of the species in Roebuck Bay and you will need to check other beaches that have the smaller shorebird species in them.

2018 114

2018 2015 2016 Australia 114

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2018

The hope and claim is that transferring this process to gull identification works more easily and just as accurately (at least for species) as an examination of plumage and molt patterns. Species Accounts. Gulls Simplified covers 25 species. From the Laughing Gull species account. These vary according to species.

North America 198

North America El Salvador America Nicaragua 198

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2019

From the Amazon basin through the towering Andes to the endemic-rich Choco, it is possible to observe 600 species in two weeks and even 800 in three weeks – they could all find themselves on your life list. The next question is which is the best bird guide for the country? I haven’t birded South America yet.

Ecuador 146

Ecuador South America 2006 Venezuela 146