10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

August is possibly the best month there, because you gradually observe the rise and fall of numbers of various migrating species, which use it as a stopover site to fatten up ahead of the long hauls further south. Before I start, my readers are already asking themselves why are they familiar with the name of this locality?

Serbia 296

Serbia Boars Otters Birds 296

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2021

When you bird afar and wander wide, you carry a field guide to the birds of the region you are exploring, a pair of binoculars, likely a camera, perhaps a spotting scope and a tripod too, plus clothing, medicines, toiletries, electronics, money and documents… Did you notice the missing item?

Madagascar 263

Madagascar Mammals Lemurs Seychelles 263

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Over the course of the following hour or so we observed many different species *coincidentally* alight on the wall near to the body of the fallen yellowlegs. Elephants, peccaries, and corvids have all been documented processing the death of (as we put it) a loved one. Life departed from yet another little body, and all were notified.

Elephants 278

Elephants Ducks Humane Family 278

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2020

Just yesterday I learned that the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ) is the only breeding bird found in New York that has been documented nesting in every month of the year. This bit of trivia was given in an article in my local bird club’s monthly newsletter about the ongoing breeding bird atlas in New York State.

Barn Owls 270

Barn Owls 2017 Rodents Owls 270

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 258

Cuba Columbus Parrots DC 258

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

In the late nineteenth century, Eugene Schieffelin, a wealthy New York drug manufacturer, resolved to introduce to North America every species of bird mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. … Here at 10,000 Birds 20 July – 26 July is Invasive Species Week. It’s one of the stories every birder knows.

New York City 219

New York City New York North America Species 219

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

I know humans as a whole are a powerful species, but really, we do not have that much control over hummingbird migration ( Trumpeter Swans , maybe, but not hummingbirds). Some of the unusual species we’ve documented here in Minnesota in the fall include Magnificent Hummingbird (above), Costa’s Hummingbird and Green Violetear.

Arizona 252

Arizona Minnesota Compassion Welfare 252

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit! Thanks to that bird’s choice of hunting grounds and David having plenty of time to watch it, he has documented the bird chasing everything from motmots to large woodpeckers as well as occasional visits from the parents.

Costa Rica 251

Costa Rica Birds Thailand Farming 251

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2023

In the latest instalment of the ongoing documentation of the curious recurrence of the number three in the avifauna of Trinidad and Tobago, we arrive on the triad of Grassquits. For the uninitiated, while on a deep dive into Trinbagonian ornithology a few years ago I noticed groups of three popping up in multiple places.

Trinidad 241

Trinidad Venezuela Brazil Groups 241

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2021

A friend of mine has been begging me to come over to document a nesting pair of Plumbeous Kites in her property but life has gotten in the way thus far. Some species have already fledged their young and are in the process of feeding the juveniles. I managed to get one picture of both birds – but both were obscured by foliage.

Raised 264

Raised Breeding South America Family 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2018

There are an additional 1,200 acres of surrounding protected refuge, supporting a documented 525 bird species! In the park proper, 358 species have been recorded. One of the highlights of birding in this Texas state park is the chance to see five owl species that breed here. Photo by © KS Nature Photography. Stygian Owl.

Texas 181

Texas Owls Barn Owls Hunting 181

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

In fact, this is probably a species that has substantially expanded its original range through the pet shop route and the resulting escapees. In fact, it seems to be one of the species employed by past ornithologists to establish their own monument in the shape of a subspecies. A challenge for young birders, maybe. On the ground?

South Africa 261

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 261

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

It’s always tragic when a species goes extinct. But that tragedy is compounded when the species at risk is a country’s national bird. A field team recently discovered a juvenile Manumea (and documented it with photographs). For more info on both species, check out this video from Samoa’s Ministry of Environment.

Samoa 184

Samoa Bald Eagle Campaign Hunting 184

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2014

I was chatting with Gordon about this and we discussed how drones could be a safer way to get photos of birds or document birds for breeding surveys, but he was quick to point out, “You and I already have an idea of what a safe distance would be to test that out with an active bald eagle nest. Here’s a guy harassing Osprey.

Bald Eagle 215

Bald Eagle Mississippi Eagles Ducks 215

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. Some remained stored for decades before a researcher would pick them up and inquired about these poorly documented specimens. The decades of storage in a museum came after it was regarded as an extinct species.

Collecting 270

Collecting Peru Neglecting Ecuador 270

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2019

Species with small ranges ( e.g. , single island endemics) or tiny populations ( e.g. , endangered species) are especially vulnerable. Nevertheless, the 2017 CBC tallied 1,934 birds of 82 species, both of which were low counts for past CBCs ( e.g., the 2016 CBC had 2,579 birds, 97 species).

Puerto Rico 255

Puerto Rico 2018 2017 Virgin Islands 255

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2022

This endearing and very familiar species grabbed the attention of all present, including the official event photographer from the THA! And yes, there was an official photographer sent to document us documenting birds – see the post here. Our little group managed a final tally of 56 species!

Trinidad 262

Trinidad Falcons Ducks Livestock 262

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”

Penguins 279

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279

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 285

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 285

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

I follow my friend, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for International Bird Rescue, Cheryl Reynolds to the release site where we document the event. If you spot one of these blue banded birds, you can help by reporting it and contribute to this important citizen science project helping the conservation of this amazing species.

Bird Rescue 225

Bird Rescue Pelicans Rescue California 225

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2013

This species was discovered (shot, actually) in the 19 th century, only to be lost through the entire 20 th century. The Forest Owlet is an endemic species of this mountain range. We don’t really know – if we put aside already well documented habitat destruction. Trips endangered species India owlets owls'

India 260

India Owls Tigers Endangered Species 260

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2016

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Northern Central America covers 827 species, including resident, migratory, and common vagrant birds. The end result is that the whole “biographic” area (NCA plus southern Mexico and northern Nicaragua) is home to 41 endemic bird species.

El Salvador 235

El Salvador America Costa Rica Honduras 235

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2013

Hybrids between separate species are rare. But they do spark an interesting and somewhat controversial debate that inevitably leads back to the same old question of what constitutes a species. Suspected hybrids between heron species, whilst extremely rare, have been documented for some time.

Arizona 189

Arizona Florida Cattle California 189

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2020

It’s similar with birds: good birds never come if you have a way of documenting them. This is an uncommon species here – only about a dozen birds overwinter in the country annually. Now, that fits the bird I saw, but soon I will realise another issue: in Serbia, this species was recorded only once!

Serbia 296

Serbia Birds Cyprus Ducks 296

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2022

Even so, in the short term, it can be hard to accept that hundreds of species are close to being extinguished from this irreplaceble tapestry of life, that hundreds more are headed for the same eventual abysmal stop. We would see how species that used to be common, even abundant, became remnants of their former, robust populations.

Costa Rica 277

Costa Rica Parrots Albatross Protection 277

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2012

In New York City we get them as migratory overshoots though they do stick around and attempt to find a mate on occasion (and there has been documented breeding of the species in the state). They winter in Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America.

Florida 188

Florida New York City Dominica United States 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2012

The directionally-challenged Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch that Corey documented so lovingly continues to abide where rosy-finches never do. As long as it persists, this Western species will prompt every birder within 400 miles to consider, however briefly, taking a run to see it. Have you thought about chasing this rarity?

Botswana 167

Botswana 2012 United States Birds 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas.

Sparrows 246

Sparrows Italy Kyrgyzstan Asia 246

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2023

The Jay’s enthusiasm for acorns is well documented, and they will start harvesting them as soon as they are ripe, flying off with as many as six or seven in the gullet and another in the bill. Not only eggs but nestling birds of many species fall prey to the Jay.” It’s a different matter in the spring.

Norway 236

Norway Ghana Japan Eggs 236

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

One of these clades holds a diversity of Old World species in several distinct groups, including an Australasian clade, the green-pigeons, the emerald- and wood-doves, the imperial-pigeons and fruit-doves (favorites of mine), and the subjects of our investigation today, the 15 known members of the Raphini. ” Beehler et al.’s

Solomon Islands 279

Solomon Islands Guinea Mauritius 2006 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2014

The socioecology of Monk Parakeets: Insights into parrot social complexity by Elizabeth Hobson, Michael Avery, and Timothy Wright, is a new paper in Auk , with this abstract: In many species, individuals benefit from social associations, but they must balance these benefits with the costs of competition for resources.

Parrots 232

Parrots Dogs Primates Research 232

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2011

And one of the things you do is to study old documents, and you have this old book, this very very old book, that chronicles the life and times of some historic people in some historic period, but you don’t know exactly when it is from or where it was written. Imagine you study history.

Mammals 265

Mammals Europe Groups Family 265

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012

The brilliant orange coloration and rich, haunting song of the Spot-breasted Oriole ( Icterus pectoralis ) makes this species one of my favorite permanent residents in southeastern Florida, even though it is an introduced exotic. How can an introduced species be a favorite among birders? Don’t they compete with native birds?

Miami 186

Miami Costa Rica Florida 2005 186

10,000 Birds

APRIL 17, 2012

Oil begins to wash up on the beaches throughout May and June of 2010 May 6, 2010 Oil washes ashore on the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast, an important nesting and breeding area for many bird species. We documented the relocation of several turtle nests. Traces of hydrocarbon poisoning are showing up in fish species.

2010 261

2010 Louisiana 2012 2011 261

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 259

China Birds Pythons Eagles 259

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2011

For some reason my son is absolutely into fish, and the duck pond might hold ducks of various species and sorts and shapes and colours, and pink flamingos too. You might think now that it is due to his birder genes being hard at work drawing him there, but you’d be mistaken. He doesn’t go there for the ducks, but for the fish.

Zoos 214

Zoos Elephants Tigers Ducks 214

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2013

Brown-crested Flycatcher ( Myiarchus tyrannulus ) is a widespread bird species of scrub and wooded habitats with a range extending from southern Texas and the southwestern United States, through Central America, and down south all the way to northern Argentina. In Florida, the species shows up annually (and in multiples!)

Florida 205

Florida United States Texas Alligators 205