10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2022

I’m talking, of course, about “my” flock of American White Pelicans. No matter how many times I see them, this particular species remains breathtaking. I cross my fingers that they make it safely, raising voracious chicks before returning to the Sunshine State once more. Did I mention they’re huge?

Pelicans 225

Pelicans United States Arizona Canada 225

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

Last year, in November, I notched up a dozen species of butterflies, an impressive total anywhere in Europe so late in the year. They are, of course, a smaller more compact goose, but picking out the various distinguishing features (such as the yellow eye ring) at such range is invariably challenging, to say the least.

Greece 207

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Geese 207

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2023

The Latin species name alphonsiana refers to Prof. Of course, the Red-billed Leiothrix is a species native to Sichuan – in Britain, it is now discussed whether to regard it as an invasive species ( source ). The Latin species name ocellata (“marked with eylets”) for once works reasonably well.

Italy 185

Italy China France Eggs 185

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2022

The raising of these young chicks is not over yet! We are really enjoying the experience of observing another bird species that is black, white and red breed in our local patch. Of course the Pied Oystercatchers are also breeding at this time of year and we continue to monitor their progress along our coastline.

Family 147

Family Breeding Raised Experiments 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

Its mood is not helped by the ambiguous review on eBird: “Although not actually pale, this brownish songbird is one of the plainer thrushes in its range” The Latin species name of the Dusky Thrush is eunomos (I guess that is Greek, but whatever) – meaning well-ordered. One page is dedicated to the Long-tailed Shrike.

Blackbirds 193

Blackbirds Birds Indonesia Bhutan 193

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2021

With that logic those trees, if left to grow, should produce something of use to at least one or two species of birds. It’s been some years since I’ve seen any Short-tailed Hawks as the entire valley is now overrun with concrete – but I’m trying my best to create some sort of oasis for any species.

Opossums 264

Opossums Barn Owls Reptiles Hunting 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2023

In total, there are eight species of hornbills in Borneo – the best place to see them seems to be the Kinabatagan River area (also known as Sukau). Another paper reviews information on Oriental Pied Hornbills raiding the nests of various bird species in Singapore and even pet bird cages.

Rhinoceros 126

Rhinoceros Singapore Transported Hunting 126

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

Not a cover species The Black Kite is not actually black, but of course, misleading bird names are not exactly rare. It is mostly a question of economics – raising just one is troublesome enough given the resources required to feed and educate the chick. No surprise then that the species is listed as Vulnerable.

Iraq 130

Iraq Birds China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2021

If the avian realm had self-conscious, talking ambassadors, “spokebirds”, which species would partake in birding conferences? Some might even protest at being kept separate, raising their voices as they eye the main conference birds with hungry intent. The Rufous-naped Wren is a very animated, common species in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 231

Costa Rica Belize Guatemala Protesting 231

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2022

It is not particularly big but has a reported 430 bird species including migrants, though during my short stay it seems I missed most of the key attractions among them. Great White Pelican is not just the name of a non-existent glam-rock band but also of a bird species. Pel’s Fishing Owl, where were you?

South Africa 147

South Africa Africa Birds Fish 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2021

There are of course, many other birds which feed on flying insects, such as jacamars and trogons. Their name is no accident – Piratic Flycatchers closely monitor the nesting activities of pendulous-nesting species like Crested Oropendolas and Yellow-rumped Caciques.

Trinidad 210

Trinidad Abandoning Abandon Abandonment 210

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 30, 2014

When birds go from Least Concern to Near-Threatened to Vulnerable to Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature scale of species viability, people often race to raise awareness and save the at-risk species. And, of course, there’s a Twitter hashtag: #wingedwarnings. Which is good, and necessary.

Campaign 180

Campaign Raised Species Birds 180

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Maybe these people like challenges – at least here at the monastery, getting good shots of this species is quite easy. Me, as a management consultant, I sometimes have to pretend to like challenges but of course, I would rather have some easy tasks. Maybe they are not that much into birds?

Birds 208

Birds Germany India 2018 208

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

And apart from local people, primate researchers sometimes spot it, but it is a species seen by fewer than ten living birders. The rest of the 216 pages long book is devoted to various African bird families and half a dozen individual species. He has authored several other books and many articles, largely on natural history.

Congo 264

Congo Africa Madagascar Kenya 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

I tried to get a better idea of what exactly the definition of cuckoo-dove is but am still not very clear about it – Wikipedia only offers the rather formal definition “any of several species of bird in the genera Macropygia , Reinwardtoena, and Turacoena of the pigeon family.” But I may well be wrong.

Geese 147

Geese Birds Fish Sparrows 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

Not bad given that the 5 families in the inner circle of the laughingthrush family have a combined number of about 68 species. The Hainan version is sometimes considered a separate species, in which case it is classified as Near Threatened. And of course, I would have been wrong. This post shows some of them.

San Diego 204

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 204

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2020

Out of the approximately 26 species of snipes worldwide, two have been recorded on Trinidad. The trouble begins with the recognition of the fact that both species of snipe were formerly part of a single species – Common Snipe ( Gallinago gallinago ). Any snipe is a good snipe, they say. Only one has been seen on Tobago.

Trinidad 266

Trinidad Welfare North America Emotional 266

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

The waterfowl flock was made up of two very unique looking species: the Fulvous and Black-belled Whistling Ducks. Encompassing over 30,000 acres, the refuge protects birds of course, but also butterflies, mammals, and more. After noting as many species as possible, I high-tailed it back to the car. What made my eyes widen?

Ducks 117

Ducks Wildlife Texas Bald Eagle 117

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2019

Fortunately, the very abundant 2018 rains raised the water level to heights I had never seen, and so far, that seems to be making up for this year’s poor rains. During the winter migratory season, I can always count on seeing at least 70 species of birds. Each species is possible, but not common. All Wigeons.

Ducks 132

Ducks 2018 Pelicans Europe 132

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2017

One of the best things about our annual Lassen Park campout is that we get to see several species of birds that are rarely, if ever, seen in the Sacramento Valley. Many of those species also nest in the park. One of my favorite species is the Water Ouzel , more commonly known now as the American Dipper ( Cinclus mexicanus ).

Woodpeckers 101

Woodpeckers Sacramento Squirrels Raised 101

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

This is also why you very rarely find a photo of a giraffe on top of one of these posts – the other reason of course being that a giraffe photo would be relatively pointless in a birding blog. While 6 local species utilized these artificial nests, the Chinese Grosbeak did not, preferring its own construction.

Mountain Goats 147

Mountain Goats Singapore Giraffes Birds 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2023

Intimately linked to mature forest on a single island, the species – by this logic alone – faces an uphill battle. Both species face the same threats, but the Red-necked Parrot has proven to be more adaptable in terms of habitat and food; as it can often be found making use of agricultural land to feed on citrus.

Dominica 130

Dominica Parrots Groups Species 130

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2015

Eastern Bluebirds live in “ open country around trees, but with little understory and sparse ground cover ,” which today attracts them to fields, parks, yards, and even golf courses. Both species are notoriously aggressive, and out-competed bluebirds for the nesting cavities they needed to raise their young.

New York 160

New York New York City United States 2010 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2014

Sometimes, they even have the same species… I’m looking at you, House Wren ! And, of course, fruitcrows. While this low-density species may be declining across its wide range, BirdLife International still considers it of Least Concern. Like the Red-ruffed Fruitcrow.

Colombia 190

Colombia South America Argentina Ecuador 190

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2013

On a Big Year, every species counts equally, even the lowly House Sparrow. There are, of course, more big years happening this year. The following is not an exhaustive list, of course, but hopefully we will learn of more big years in the comments. That would be more species than are on his life list!

2013 195

2013 Los Angeles New Jersey North Carolina 195

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

These vestiges of forgotten species, some solitary, others joined in sad little troupes, are the work of sculptor Todd McGrain. Raised among birders, he was once sculpting an abstract duck figure when he happened upon Hope Is the Thing With Feathers , Christopher Cokinos’ elegy for extinct birds. Most species go extinct.

Birds 203

Birds Ducks DC Jordan 203

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2020

Luis Gonzalez is a Miami resident and IT major who was originally born and raised in Cuba. Luis is an avid eBirder and he likes to keep a good record of his lists, photograph as many species as he can, and he encourages others to do the same. Does that number seem a bit high for a winter count in the US? Why was it me?

Canada 165

Canada Cuba Miami Florida 165

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Back in 2009, Tai Haku sent us a fascinating post exploring a question that ecologists worldwide grapple with: can the translocation of rare species into niches left empty by extinction be successful or justified? It is extinct. It persists in captivity at a breeding facility on Guam and in a number of American zoos.

Puerto Rico 185

Puerto Rico Guam Virgin Islands Feral 185

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

The species that manage to colonize these islands evolve in competition with relatively few other species, developing survival strategies based on interdependence, co-evolution, and mutualism rather than adapting to deal with a broad range of predators and competitors. A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again.

Cuba 243

Cuba Columbus Parrots DC 243

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2019

Unlike several other gamebird species commonly raised and released for hunting in North America, the Northern Bobwhite ( Collinus virginianus ) is, of course, a native of the continent, though its natural range lies mostly in the southeastern quarter of the continent, and south into Mexico and the Caribbean.

North America 113

North America Vermont America Farm Animal 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

Unlike other bird races where participants keep tight-lipped about bird species as mundane as a House Sparrow , this event gives a prize to the team that helps the most. But isn’t all of that data sharing counterproductive for a bird race where the team with the most species wins?

Israel 171

Israel Costa Rica Eagles Raised 171

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2015

Two Great Horned Owl chicks had successfully fledged from Veteran’s Park at Baywalk , a small park that was once a three-hole golf course on Okaloosa Island. Of course, my lack of owl sightings were mostly my fault; I neither arrived at the park early, nor stayed late into the evening. Three owl species seen, many more to go!

Owls 150

Owls Florida Raised Family 150

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

It may be as sick as deliberately targeting an endangered species for death. Hunting sandhill cranes in the Eastern flyway will put those 100 whooping cranes at even greater risk of being brought down by gunfire, hunter education courses and handy color brochures notwithstanding. Speculation is useless in acts of vandalism.

2011 241

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 241

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2015

Even sparrows, if you choose the right species and play your cards right, can be elevated to ‘cute’ status. a sea gull.''” Of course, that raises an important question – what is the most interesting gull in the world? We tossed this idea around on Facebook for a while and came to few conclusions.

Seals 218

Seals Lifestyle Turtles Parrots 218

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

The story of the White-winged Guan , in some ways resembles the re-discovery of some species thought to be extinct. The decades of storage in a museum came after it was regarded as an extinct species. A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again. Most species go extinct. The Guan was declared extinct.

Collecting 268

Collecting Peru Neglecting Ecuador 268

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2011

Of course, the fun of a bird race increases exponentially by the quality and quantity of the species that might be seen. The species list for this rich expanse of avifauna represents nearly 75% of the Lone Star state’s 600 birds, with some teams spotting over 300 in a very intense 5 days!

Texas 159

Texas United States Houston Raised 159

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2013

The group has a worldwide distribution; 28 species living and two additional extinct. Both extinct species were island-dwelling and flightless, suggesting a propensity of the group to disperse over long distances , a characteristic that any birder in late summer is familiar with. Scarlet Ibis , photo by Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela.

North America 209

North America Charlotte Birds Miami 209