10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2022

Of course, it should include an offer to join the ABA, perhaps at a discounted rate. Of course, anything that resonates with more birders is good, as the ABA needs additional members to address its financial problems. Such articles are fine, of course, but not at the expense of all content for beginning and intermediate birders.

Advocacy 264

Advocacy Portland Wildlife Science 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2013

BirdLife International believes that this might be maximum population the species can reach, as it seems to completely saturate its range. Occasionally the Tristan Thrush Nesocichla eremita will prey upon chicks from the two-egg nest of the Inaccessible Island Rail but this not enough in any way to threaten the species.

Science 240

Science Transported Shelters South Africa 240

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2012

Britain might have had new species to add to it’s list, then again maybe it didn’t. If you have time of course you might want to brush up on your field identification skills and knowledge of both bird topography, behaviour and migration strategies it all helps.

Morocco 250

Morocco Birds Science Tagged 250

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2018

More than 50 years ago, the Hawaiian Goose (Nene) was one of the first birds listed under the Endangered Species Act, part of the inaugural “ Class of 1967 ”. Under the Endangered Species Act, any listing, uplisting, downlisting, or removal from a list requires a formal “rulemaking” process.

Endangered Species 133

Endangered Species Species Hawaii 2018 133

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2013

Bluebird Man is about Alfred Larson, but you can be one of the film’s heroes by contributing to its production… There is something special about bluebirds, and it isn’t just because the world’s three species are only found in North America. There is something more. Preparing to band 3 Mountain Bluebird chicks.

Idaho 248

Idaho North America America Science 248

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2014

There is a fantastic paper just out in Science : “Sustained miniaturization and anatomoical innovation in the dinosaurian anceestors of birds” by Michael Lee, Andrea Cau, Darren Naishe and Gareth Dyke. The point is, of course, that whales are not cows. The paper that just came out in science has the following spectacular conclusion.

Camels 258

Camels Whales Whaling Apes 258

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Even the Latin species name soror (“sister”) indicates the similarity to another pitta species (blue-naped). The eBird description of the Small Niltava starts with the surprisingly dull statement that “size distinguishes this species from other niltavas” Who would have thought.

China 264

China Birds Pythons Eagles 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2014

It’s a gamble every year, of course. The many eyes on this particular citizen-science prize have also yeilded other results as well. The Ospreys have returned to Dunrovin.

Eggs 217

Eggs 2011 Falcons Science 217

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2024

Apparently, the species name rutila means “red, golden red, reddish yellow”, which sounds a bit like a contradiction in itself. It is well known that chicks of this morph immediately start having an identity crisis when combining the knowledge of their species name with the information gathered from a look in the mirror.

Killing 242

Killing Birds Breeding Breeders 242

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2019

During the decade, I submitted 1,219 checklists and observed 555 bird species, all in the U.S. After an initial period when all species are new, the lifers begin to follow a pattern. Thus, I can pinpoint my first pelagic trip, as it added 13 new species. Of course, you can use the data in many ways. and Canada.

Puerto Rico 223

Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Michigan North Dakota 223

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2023

This area offers Mexico’s greatest concentration of endemics, as well as very few species an American birder might have already seen up north. So I took him to Paso Ancho, of course. But I knew that quite a few charismatic species had failed to turn up. I hoped for a more complete survey of the site’s species.

Mexico 225

Mexico Oregon Squirrels Falcons 225

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Sadly, the HBW states that the species is “almost extinct in some areas in China owing to hunting and trapping for the cagebird trade and taxidermy” The Maroon Oriole looks much more interesting, though my photos do not really do it full justice. … Traill did this enough times that Shirley began to hide the scale.’

Nepal 237

Nepal Birds Owls Nigeria 237

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

Of course, the first step is to define what is a ‘vagrant bird,’ a discussion I really appreciated since I’ve noticed that we (as in birders in general) tend to bandy the term about interchangeably with ‘accidental,’ ‘exotic,’ ‘scarce migrant,’ and ‘MEGA MEGA.’

Compassion 264

Compassion Birds Eagles Science 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

And, as I have mentioned before , under-birded countries like Mexico provide lots of opportunities for amateur birders like me to make real contributions to science. Both species can theoretically breed in central Mexico, but in my experience are almost exclusively winter visitors. But obsessed I am. And it brought friends.

Mexico 246

Mexico Investigation Science Experiments 246

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2012

Of course, I’m not busy with that sort of thing every day…most of my day to day duties revolve around telling shadowy organizations like the AOU and ABA what to do. Sure, the AOU has the final say in whats a species, whats not, yadda yadda yadda… but who tells them what to say? But I digress.

San Diego 212

San Diego Mississippi Mexico Malaysia 212

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2013

Band-rumped Storm-Petrel: Pictured above, it is rumored that Band-rumped Storm-Petrel may actually consist of multiple cryptic species. Cory’s Shearwater : There has been much speculation over whether or not Cory’s Shearwater consists of two species; C. diomedea (“Scopoli’s” Shearwater) and C.

San Francisco 235

San Francisco Fox Sparrows California 235

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2013

And so, these goats ate the flora of the island: unique species of Indian paintbrush and woodland star, bushmallow and wirelettuce and morning glory. Also, they were infested by a species of ear mite unknown to science. And so, the goats grew small and nimble, shy and drought-tolerant, through natural selection.

Goats 211

Goats Bald Eagle Fox Feral 211

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2022

Quite likely, these birds are also the inspiration for Australian science communicator Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki. Honeyeaters are a large bird family (190 species) with a strong presence in Australia. Which of course is the perfect transition to that bird, the Common Myna. The Common Myna is an aggressive invasive species.

Australia 262

Australia Birds Feral Cats Kangaroos 262

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2024

The science-based approach that recognises the dilemmas and identifies the hard choices isn’t election material, I suppose. I was going on a quest for a single species – something I normally just don’t do. It’s not officially inside the National Park, but access is easier and the species tally isn’t too shabby, not at all.

Spain 246

Spain Ducks Morocco Europe 246

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

As if eBird, the marvelous citizen science produced database of bird sightings, wasn’t awesome enough, you can now have an eBird profile that is viewable by other eBird users. So, of course, I’ve spent a couple of hours uploading some more. It’s a simple but amazing idea. And, much to my delight, I won !

Kazakhstan 211

Kazakhstan New York Trinidad Science 211

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Not too many highlights, not too many species … hard to say whether this is just the usual nostalgia for a better but probably nonexistent past or a real phenomenon. This species is listed as vulnerable – similar to the Yellow-breasted Buntings, it is trapped on a large scale. Humans, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

Birds 264

Birds Japan Germany Ducks 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2012

Lago de Yojoa, Honduras, February 2009 Let’s say that you are a serious birder on your first trip to the neotropics and are hoping to see as many species as possible. We watched Purple Gallinules , Pied-billed Grebes , several species of swallow, Great-tailed Grackles , and every other bird that crossed our paths.

Honduras 240

Honduras Birds 2009 North America 240

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. So say Kevin T.

New Jersey 223

New Jersey Birds Science New York City 223

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2014

Then again, considering that the count list included more than 500 potential species, any effort to track down as many as possible for a single-day snapshot of avian diversity demands massive commitment, focus, and energy. Ismael, Corey, and I scouted these areas the previous day and turned up lots of great species.

Costa Rica 240

Costa Rica 2014 Birds Nashville 240

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2015

Here are some things I’ve learned from the Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean by Scott Weidensaul: The Burrowing Owl is the only North American owl species where the male is larger than the female, albeit, only slightly larger. The 39 owls include five endemic Caribbean species.

North America 255

North America Owls America Dominican Republic 255

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2014

The citizen science aspect is a big hit with many users, and eBirding areas with little existing data can be fun as well. Flycatcher Jen of I Used To Hate Birds has amassed close to 160 species in the last two years just walking and biking around Portland, Oregon, which is a number that deserves a toast if you ask me.

Birds 256

Birds Portland Oregon Wildlife 256

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2012

a miniature version of that well-established national citizen science project the Breeding Bird Survey. My route is full of this I, of course, cannot be made to take the blame for either of these unfortunate “incidences” For the first, I blame the North Carolina Department of Transportation. 49 species in 9.5

North Carolina 194

North Carolina Transported Morals Science 194

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2011

Before my trip to Washington the only species of puffin I had ever seen in the wild was the puffin of the Atlantic Ocean, the appropriately named Atlantic Puffin. The first obstacle was getting to the general range of the species, which is the west coast from northern California to Alaska and across to Russia.* I love puffins.

Washington 227

Washington Protection Puffins Rhinoceros 227

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2020

Others might require a life list or the ability to identify a specific number of species, or some other criteria. Of course, there are many birders who are not members of the ABA, but 12,000 is a modest number, even if the ABA has grown substantially since 2016. Of course, many eBirders live outside the U.S., million birders.

2016 264

2016 North America 2019 2020 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2024

Any place that used to be good for an interesting species last year is likely to have been turned into another construction site this year. I don’t think many other bird species are named after Japanese citizens. Also, there are quite some variations within each species – for details, see here. One, a Ryukyu Minivet.

Chicago 219

Chicago Birds Asia China 219

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2012

Like any obsessive birder, of course, I’ve found a way to make birding part of the job. Before the counts, I was hoping to break 100 species, but after 21 parks reported data back to me we’re up to 183 species! found 36 species, including Killdeer (in December!),

Mississippi 225

Mississippi Vermont Birds Maryland 225

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2017

He has recorded over 20 new bird records for Honduras, dozens of new butterflies, new orchid records and even new species for science. I’ve done what I can to support the bird industry and modern ornithology in Honduras with my book and bird-guide training courses. But there’s still something missing.

Honduras 188

Honduras Missouri Panama Birds 188

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2013

Email lists, blogs, websites, forums, Facebook groups, and of course eBird (see below) has completely revolutionized the way birders get their business handled. Not only is it a very impressive citizen science project that manages to marshal the legions of birders around Canada and the U.S., 2) The internet has changed everything.

San Diego 227

San Diego California Condor California Bald Eagle 227

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2017

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? Birders derive “value” from birding. How much do birders value a birding experience? Q: Why study birders and why use eBird?

Oregon 203

Oregon Washington Chad Birds 203

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

Of course, I jest a bit in the above paragraph because as a sometime New Jersey birder I have birded the Delaware Bay and seen sights such as the memorable image below, in which thousands of Red Knots, Dunlins, and Short-billed Dowitchers fly up as if connected telepathically. The visual beauty and textual facts are a strong combination.

Delaware 237

Delaware New Jersey Eggs Research 237

Critter News

AUGUST 24, 2011

Please note the vast generalizations here, but, in the areas of religion, at least orthodox religion and there are varying levels of how fundamental you want to go, there is only one species with a soul and that is the human. In the matter of science, and there are varying levels of this viewpoint, the human is the most advanced of creatures.

Humane 100

Humane Rights Stray Dog Stray 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2011

My birder’s brain struggled mightily to reconcile the odd shapes in the sky with any known species, but their call brought it all back. Gaily color-banded, I’ve no doubt each individual is well-known to science. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. They hopscotched across the water, long pink legs dangling. What a sight.

Florida 145

Florida Tail Banding Ohio Ducks 145