10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2017

The lack of human visitors that frequent the area, is likely to be one as well. Both White Faced, and White Ibis join Black-necked Stilts, Greater Yellowlegs , and Spotted Sandpipers to wade in the shallow flooded fields along side our resident Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. I did get to see my first baby American Avocets.

Ducks 113

Ducks Mexico Livestock Bears 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2022

The subtitle of Jackie Higgins’ book Sentient: How Animals Illuminate the Wonder of Our Human Senses , aptly sets forth her thesis – though the “wonder” it refers to could equally well be used to describe animal (not just human) senses, as she shows in fascinating detail.

Humane 264

Humane New York Owls Hunting 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2012

Whilst catfish have around 100,000 taste buds, rabbits around 17,000 and humans approximately 9,000, birds rarely exceed 100 of these receptors. Chickens come in at around 24, pigeons have around 40-50 and some duck species may have a whopping 400. Ducks are the avian leaders of bill touch. Let’s talk about taste.

Mammals 261

Mammals Mozambique Birds Colombia 261

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

But within a couple of decades, it’s effects on both wildlife and humanity became apparent. A curious Laysan Duck takes a stroll at Midway Atoll. Laysan Ducks don’t seem to be as tied to water as other ducks, which makes sense considering the limited habitat available. Somebody won a Nobel Prize.

Albatross 253

Albatross Endangered Species Bald Eagle Alaska 253

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2012

Cormorants and darters have gotten a bad rap throughout human history. They eat all our gamefish and scare off the ducks and their guano is a threat to human health. Bald Ravens. Snakebirds. Devil Birds. They’re seen as bad luck, as fish gluttons, as evil spirits. Well, that last part is true, at least.

South Africa 181

South Africa Africa Ducks Fish 181

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

Hopefully, this role gives the birds some protection, as indicated here : “Himalayan vultures are highly respected within the Buddhist culture of the Tibetan plateau, playing a unique role in a centuries-old sky burial tradition (feeding of human corpses to vultures at specific sites) that is followed by about four million Tibetan people.

China 264

China Falcons Stray Owls 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2016

In 2015 a Federal Duck Stamp Task Force was convened under the auspices of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) consisting of seventeen individuals. b) Recommendation : Work with all groups to identify synergistic opportunities for promoting broad conservation benefits of the Duck Stamp. 1) Action : U.S.

Ducks 100

Ducks Hunters Hunting Wildlife 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2011

Beyond natural events, bird-life that requires fresh water takes advantage of the water that we provide due to human habitation. Broome Poo Ponds maintain the golf course greens as well as keep a lot of Plumed Whistling-Ducks happy! Happy ducks in Broome in June!

Feral Animals 231

Feral Animals Australia Feral Ducks 231

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

For example, it wasn’t until this year that the Mallard, with its strongly differentiated males and females and semi-migratory habits, was definitively separated from the non-migratory Mexican Duck, in which males and females are almost identical. These are a male and a female Mexican Ducks. A male Mallard from Munich.

San Diego 253

San Diego San Francisco Baltimore Mexico 253

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

They are endemic to New Zealand, but unlike many endemic species that have not suffered at the hands of humans, in fact they have expanded their range as forests have been opened up for pasture. They are the only endemic duck species that hunting is permitted for, in fact, the other species being either too rare or outright extinct.

New Zealand 194

New Zealand Sanctuary Suffering Ducks 194

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2014

Arid and swept by winds that would drive a good woman mad, the area is not so friendly to human settlements, but it is the ideal home for its scattered herds of pronghorn and lone soaring Golden Eagles. How could a lake in such a location fail to call out to waterfowl? Ring-billed and Herring Gulls cruised low along the banks.

Geese 231

Geese Montana Ducks Falcons 231

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2012

The sitting duck of a crow was surrounded by a group of teenagers who were not eco-friendly. Sometimes the human capacity for both cruelty and compassion can balance out in the life of a single bird. Somehow one day Russell ended up standing in the parking lot between them, his wing broken and hanging.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 247

Wildlife Rehabilitation Montana Compassion Rescue 247

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2014

The Sunda Teal is a brown duck. This may make it very popular amongst European birders who can relate, but it doesn’t make it much of a deal within such an illustrous group as the dabbling ducks. Birds dabbling ducks Indonesia waterfowl' Muara Angke – the place where you get to scan THIS for Black Bitterns and rails.

Los Angeles 165

Los Angeles New York City Timor Indonesia 165

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Humans, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I have to say that the pattern suits the buntings much better than humans, though, and hopefully, it is also more pleasant for them to wear. This species is listed as vulnerable – similar to the Yellow-breasted Buntings, it is trapped on a large scale.

Birds 264

Birds Japan Germany Ducks 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

Contrary to alleged preferences among humans, the golden-headed cisticola has a shorter tail during the breeding season ( source ). Like many humans, the species is “socially monogamous but sexually promiscuous” ( source ). You will not find the Australian Wood Duck in the HBW, as they prefer the name Maned Duck for it.

Australia 259

Australia Koalas Parrots Birds 259

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2013

A large number of ground squirrels – Columbian by my best guess — would emerge in the morning and evening birdy hours, apparently not dissuaded from their business by the presence of nesting Red-Tailed Hawks nearby, and proceed to form a most welcome distraction from the tedious business of waiting for the duck to deign to appear.

Chipmunks 240

Chipmunks Squirrels Rodents Montana 240

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2012

They are tolerant of humans and often nest and hunt in residential areas and suburban parks if suitable trees for nests and roosts are available. Western Screech-Owl ( Megascops kennicottii ) photos by Larry Jordan It’s been an interesting winter in my neck of the woods.

Owls 239

Owls California Jordan Sparrows 239

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2012

This company has a whole host of products for law enforcement, but the above Super Talon can be a state of the art way to detain suspects who resist arrest…or way to humanely detain pigeons…I’m sure this works well for netting larger birds like ducks and geese and is certainly a humane method for rounding up a wayward swan as opposed (..)

Industry 220

Industry Wildlife Coyotes Battery 220

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Human access is very limited to the lake, with very few hiking trails around the lake, mostly to the south area, which provides good viewing points to much of the lake. On my last couple of visits, California Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Ruddy Ducks, Common Gallinule, Western Grebe, Eared Grebe and Pied-billed Grebes were on the water.

Mexico 187

Mexico Tucson Arizona Ducks 187

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2012

The water this Northern Pintail is in has human poo in it, which completely ruins the experience of seeing this bird. The first place I started birding a lot was a sewage treatment plant…I still equate the smell of human waste with great birds. What’s better than finding a Tufted Duck? Oh wait, it doesn’t.

San Francisco 254

San Francisco North Dakota Oakland Birds 254

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

For once, eBird gives a good description of the Asian Glossy Starling, calling it a “Fierce-looking, large songbird” As are humans, this species is fairly urbanized – it “sometimes enters urban areas to roost, e.g. in Singapore” (HBW). Lucky ducks.

Singapore 264

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

I occasionally get to see the Redhead duck near my Mexican home of Morelia. Mute Swans seem equally adapted to human presence in Europe. Only a pair of Mandarin Ducks ! And I did manage to get my first glimpses of some of the species listed in my European bird guides. I also managed to see some I did not expect.

Austria 182

Austria Switzerland Europe Geese 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

For all that, though, migration here is still largely a water-based show, with the most spectacular signs of springs coming in the forms of ducks, geese, and swans. It’s natural that the geese will take their fill of the smorgasbord human activity has laid in front of them.

Geese 237

Geese Montana Breeding Pelicans 237

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2013

Despite all the people, the birds were incredibly active, rarely shy, and a reminder that natural wonders like the cherry blossoms interact with more than just us humans. Stretching over the water, big boughs dangled their flowers below, so a passerby literally had to duck their heads to avoid the bloom.

DC 248

DC Washington Birds Geese 248

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2012

Quitting the woods for the Reservoir, I added bright-plumaged Ruddy Ducks and Northern Shovelers , a plethora of Double-crested Cormorants , and a pair of Pied-billed Grebes. Besides the waterthrush, my warbler success was limited to Palm and Pine — not bad, but far from unexpected. Those pesky metaphors cropping up everywhere.

Chicago 235

Chicago Litter Louisiana Montana 235

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2011

The absurdity of mob rule is summed up well, I think, by the idea of a fully healthy human male saying out loud, as evidence of a woman being a witch, that “She turned me into a newt!&# But what, exactly, is a newt? Newts are salamanders, or, more precisely, newts are aquatic salamanders with a land-living juvenile phase.

Salamander 185

Salamander Pythons North America Europe 185

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 20, 2013

On our visit there were several hundred Pink-eared Ducks, Grey Teal, Pacific Black Ducks and Hardheads. Pink-eared Ducks through the poo Ponds fence. There is very little human presence in the area so all of the “treasures” were mainly natural apart from a piece of a broken glass bottle.

Australia 211

Australia Zebras Ducks Parrots 211

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2012

As far as ducks go, even common species like Mallard enjoy lots of support. flocks of grackles can grow so large and indifferent to humans that they dominate public parks. Although Mute Swan are just as threatening to other birds in their environment, they are just too beautiful to be reviled. In some parts of the U.S.,

Columbus 243

Columbus United States Birds 2004 243

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2022

Still, most of the birds were locals, including Fulvous Whistling-Ducks , Black-necked Stilts , and a lone American Avocet (still with a bit of breeding color). Among my many encounters was a pair of adolescen t Black-necked Stilts , doing what adolescent humans also do… showing off, and fussing with each other. And birdy it is.

Mexico 255

Mexico Breeding California Groups 255

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2014

The great crush of humanity that accompanies any visit to one of these world-famous destinations has never been my cup of tea. Soon after the waders I my ears and eyes were assaulted by nearly 300 Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. People, and by that I mean the general population, come to Orlando typically for one reason only.

Florida 232

Florida Rattlesnake North Carolina Ducks 232

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2024

In our early birding days, Erik and I had one of our most hilarious bird-related fights while looking at a flotilla of ducks in Mission Bay yelling at each other about field marks before realizing we were looking at two different ducks. Whether you want a short walk or a longer hike, San Elijo Wetland can offer that.

San Diego 246

San Diego Sea Lions Lions Birds 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2023

Ducks and grebes paddled around, Anhingas swam beneath the surface, occasionally appearing with a skewered fish. I had been visiting the ponds for the ducks, but stayed for the general ambience. These small crocodilians pose no threat to humans, but I had never before seen one in these ponds.

Ducks 147

Ducks Fish Humane Species 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2021

In an effort to better understand the “human dimension” of its conservation efforts, several surveys were conducted, including the National Birdwatching Survey (NBS). But only 13% purchased a Duck Stamp. “A Thus, birders like natural areas close to home with rare species, and perhaps some ducks. This is not a surprising result.

Minnesota 264

Minnesota Pennsylvania Ohio United States 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Kinabalu (at 13,455 feet the highest peak in southeast Asia), and human development that has resulted in freshwater rice fields, secondary forest, and oil palm plantations, this means that Borneo offers an incredibly high degree of biodiversity. (I So, we start with Megapodes (scrubfowl), Pheasants, and Partridges, then on to Ducks.

Brunei 233

Brunei Asia Birds China 233

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2021

In the final bits and pieces of green space that dot a typical human dominated landscape? Seasonally, a good number of ducks were there too along with loons and other choice waterbirds. That makes sense. I mean, who comes to Costa Rica to bird on city streets? In remnant riparian zones? It’s the same everywhere.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Falcons Farming Woodpeckers 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2013

The most obvious place that cryptozoology and ornithology overlap is in the area of Lazarus taxa and would-be Lazarus taxa — the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Eskimo Curlew, Pink-headed Duck , and the like — birds that no one doubts existed once, whether or not they exist today. Now why should this be? Unexplained!

Apes 197

Apes Primates Woodpeckers Whales 197

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2011

The task of wrestling this topic down into something that the human mind can manage, without losing sight of the big picture because it’s snowing in Buffalo, is likely to be the task of a lifetime for many science communicators. Few issues of our day are as huge, in scope or in implication, as climate change.

Netherlands 182

Netherlands Buffalo Science Penguins 182