10,000 Birds

JANUARY 28, 2015

Although it was formerly abundant and geographically widespread, Trumpeter Swan numbers and distribution were greatly reduced during the early fur trade and European settlement of North America (1600’s to 1800’s), when it was prized for its skins and primary feathers 1. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq1bx7Ic2FY. v=kq1bx7Ic2FY.

North America 178

North America Iowa Wisconsin Michigan 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

Here’s a photo of a House Finch nest before the eggs hatch and the hatchlings start producing fecal sacs. v=fHSgyxRQXvg References: 1 Birds of North America Online _ Poop Week is a week of themed posts on 10,000 Birds that cover the intersection of poop and birding, a fertile precinct if there ever was one.

Bald Eagle 250

Bald Eagle Chickens North America Birds 250

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

I think most of us in North America have come to the somewhat disappointing conclusion that fall migration is pretty much finished for the year. Foraging in the willows with the Palm Warblers was true-blue neotropic migrant still slumming it in North America, a Blackpoll Warbler. You’re done.

North America 225

North America North Carolina Tennessee South America 225

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

The Bank Swallow ( Riparia riparia ) is North America’s smallest swallow. References: 1 Birds of North America Online. It can be distinguish from the Northern Rough-winged Swallow by its dark breast band and the white of the throat curling up behind its ear. Click on photos for full sized images.

North America 199

North America 2014 California America 199

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

The nickel was placed in the nest for the photo to show me the size of the egg for identification purposes, then removed. Even though the female lays only two eggs per nest attempt, they enjoy a protracted breeding season in which multiple nesting attempts can occur every 30 days, and in Southern locations, nearly year round.

Hunters 192

Hunters Hunting North America Game 192

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2014

The featured image above shows a female incubating eggs from my first resident breeding pair back in 2007. The four to six eggs are white and unmarked. It’s not as clear as the photo of the eggs above but I did not want to disturb the female as she was circling the nest to resume her duties.

Eggs 167

Eggs North America 2007 Woodpeckers 167

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

Isla Rasa was declared a sanctuary in 1964, and egg-collecting and disturbance during the breeding season are discouraged. If you want to learn a lot about bird species, I find “Birds of North America Online” the best resource on the net. References: 1 Birds of North America Online , 2 BirdLife International.

San Francisco 160

San Francisco North America Seals Sanctuary 160

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2012

Today, the species has all but disappeared east of the Mississippi River and has declined in western parts of its range, most likely caused by the expansion of the House Wren which destroys and removes their eggs from nest sites 1. References: 1 Birds of North America Online. This is what I am used to seeing.

Mississippi 173

Mississippi North America Eggs America 173

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

” And then I found out that bird song doesn’t just belong to the males, that there are female birds who sing too, only not so much in North America, and my mind was blown.**. They’re just like us–they talk with their hands (er, wings) and their feet and some are even crafty!” And, that’s it.

North America 279

North America Research Birds America 279

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2011

The female chooses the nest site, builds the nest, lays around 10 eggs over a two week period and incubates them for about a month. References: 1 Birds of North America Online a. entrance hole. The male seldom sticks around once the female begins incubation. The young are born precocial and leave the nest within 48 hours.

Jordan 172

Jordan North America Abandon Abandoning 172

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2012

Photo Essay: Green-rumped Parrotlets from Egg to Adult Wednesday, 18 July An unusual auk baby. Baby Mute Swans – “immutabilis morph” Cavity Nesting Birds of North America and Their Babies!

Costa Rica 173

Costa Rica Albatross North America Birds 173

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

In North America and the Caribbean, they are found mostly in suburban, urban, and agricultural areas where grain, roost, and nest sites are available. They usually lay two eggs per clutch and most often, successive clutches will be laid while adults are still attending fledglings! This next map is data from 2007 through 2008.

2002 190

2002 Breeders North America Bahamas 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2012

The female alone incubates the usual 4 to 6 eggs for about two weeks beginning the day the last egg is laid. Here you can see two chicks have already hatched, one egg is split open with the chick ready to emerge and one egg has a hole in it pipped by the chick from the inside. i Kamakawiwo?ole’s

Washington 197

Washington Eggs Israel California 197

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2024

Being a westerner — raised in California, and now living in western Mexico — I was perhaps most excited about the migratory birds that breed in eastern North America. And then there was a Green Heron , not only showing us its nest, but also an egg. Then, around 4:00 p.m., And yet, there it was. But what could I do?

Mexico 233

Mexico Birds Raccoons Baltimore 233

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2015

They nest on large inland lakes in western North America and migrate to the Pacific coast in winter, however they maintain local populations year-round in California. They normally lay 3 to 4 eggs per clutch. Click on photos for full sized images.

California 145

California North America Eggs America 145

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Within a group, 1–7 male co-breeders compete for matings with 1–3 joint-nesting females who lay their eggs in the same nest cavity. References: 1 Birds of North America Online a. Most Acorn Woodpeckers are cooperative breeders and live in family groups of up to a dozen or more individuals.

Woodpeckers 192

Woodpeckers Breeders North America Groups 192

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2013

In North America, at least in the eastern part of it, we celebrate the return of the Baltimore Oriole to parks and farms this time of year. The two dozen species are, nearly to an individual, long bodied and bicolored. Troupials raise their own chicks, generally 3 to 4 per clutch, they just steal the nest in which they raise them.

Baltimore 194

Baltimore Broker North America Raised 194

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2013

The White-headed Woodpecker is a non-migratory bird found in mixed coniferous forests dominated by pine trees in far western North America. White-headed Woodpeckers usually lay 4 to 5 eggs in a clutch and we’ve seen at least three different nestlings here now. References: 1 Birds of North America Online.

Woodpeckers 154

Woodpeckers North America America Eggs 154

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2015

The Brown Pelican occurs in both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America and northern South America. They nearly disappeared from North America between the late 1950s and early 1970s because of pesticides entering the food chain. Brown Pelicans in non-breeding plumage.

Pelicans 157

Pelicans North America Peru Chile 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2012

She will be a great fit on 10,000 Birds and I ask you all to give her a warm welcome (and feel free to ask her about those robin eggs that it seems like half of North America wants to know what to do with).

2009 157

2009 North America Bird Rescue Rescue 157

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2014

References: 1 Birds of North America Online. This is an excerpt from that report: “Because much native nesting habitat has been converted to agriculture and stored grains provide an essentially limitless food resource, tricolors have since the 1980s nested in large numbers in association with dairies.

Blackbirds 200

Blackbirds California 2014 Sacramento 200

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2011

This happened to me recently on a birding trip, with somewhat egg-on-the-face results. Bill has led birding trips all across North America and has spoken or performed at more than 100 birding and nature festivals worldwide. I was on a birding quest trip with my friend Geoff Heeter.

2011 241

2011 Michigan Birds Ohio 241

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2015

When I first approached the nest tree I saw an adult squirrel climbing the snag near the sapsucker entrance and, knowing that squirrels will eat bird eggs and nestlings, I was quite concerned. References: 1 Birds of North America Online. Click on photos for full sized images. It should be here later today.

Squirrels 157

Squirrels Woodpeckers North America Eggs 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2015

Photo Credit: Invasive and Exotic Species of North America (www.invasive.org). Some of these snakes had evidence of birds in their stomachs and some were gravid with up 55 eggs nearly ready to be laid. I volunteered to help with the first python round up in 2010 when the first large African Pythons were captured. Rock Python.

Pythons 196

Pythons Florida Mammals Reptiles 196

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2020

Instead, they lay their eggs in other species’ nests, and let those nest-making birds (often significantly smaller than the cowbirds) raise their young. So that is a negative mark on both their records. In contrast, the Brown-headed Cowbird is a same-continent invasive species.

Blackbirds 164

Blackbirds Mexico Cattle Birds 164

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2015

Western Bluebirds ( Sialia mexicana ) like the male shown above, as well as Eastern Bluebirds ( Sialis sialis ) and Mountain Bluebirds ( Sialis currucoides ) have all benefited from 90 years of nest boxes and bluebird trails, monitored by thousands of bluebird enthusiasts across North America.

Tenant 162

Tenant Illinois Farming North America 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

North American Peregrine Falcons have also enjoyed an impressive population rebound in recent years. Most birders are familiar with this story; back in the day, the pesticide DDT was in widespread use all over North America. While DDT is still used some places in the world, it has largely disappeared from use in North America.

Albatross 235

Albatross Endangered Species Bald Eagle Alaska 235

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2016

Northern Flicker nestlings hatch slightly asynchronously as the adults begin incubation one to two days before the last egg is laid. According to Birds of North America Online , on day 10 or 11 their eyes are beginning to open. They also have this strange looking white fleshy fold at the jaw hinge, and a white egg tooth.

North America 103

North America Eggs America Birds 103

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2012

Cliff Swallows migrate to North America from their wintering grounds in South America to nest in large colonies, sometimes numbering in the thousands. It is illegal for any person to take, possess, transport, sell, or purchase them or their parts, such as feathers, nests, or eggs, without a permit.

San Diego 165

San Diego illegal California South America 165

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology. 266-67).

Dissection 255

Dissection Birds Europe Eggs 255

Critter News

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

Animal rights advocates have singled out the crates, known as sow stalls, as inhumane, and several states have moved to ban or restrict their use not only in pork production, but also in the production of eggs and veal. There are alternatives we think are better for the welfare of sows.”.

McDonalds 100

McDonalds Gestation Crates Gestation Veal 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

Harrison, and Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds, 2nd ed. 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. These books are concerned with behavior. The identification guide by Paul J.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 285

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 285

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

But the Kentish Plover was sheltering its young under its body, and the Little Ringed Plover was incubating an egg — right in the middle of downtown Madrid! But the Great Swallow-tailed Swift is one of the largest Swifts in North America. These two shorebirds are exceedingly common in western Europe.

Austria 169

Austria Spain 2019 Germany 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2018

Pairs average 59 successful copulations per clutch, starting 14 days before, and peaking a few days before, the start of egg-laying 1. Pairs copulate most often in early morning, at the same time as egg-laying 1. References: 1 Birds of North America Online.

Eggs 121

Eggs North America Fish America 121

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2011

July, as all northern hemisphere birders appreciate, is the month when the egg timer flips and everything starts pouring back out again in a steady stream south. Ponds and estuaries fill up with passage waders and the birding gets good after the summer lull as we rise slowly and surely towards the fever pitch of autumn.

Poland 157

Poland 2009 France Europe 157

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

And, I started daydreaming about encountering something a little different, maybe a Horned Frog, Ceratophrys cornuta, a large, squat green and brown frog of South America, with a wide mouth large enough to eat other frogs as well as reptiles. Amplexus can last from a few seconds to a few hours to a few months.

Reptiles 202

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 202

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2012

A nest wasn’t found until 1903, which set off a craze for Kirtland’s Warbler skins, nests, and eggs. I say this not only because he is president of the Grosse Pointe Audubon Society and because his official bio says he “has traveled across North America and to Cuba, Iceland, and Thailand to view and research birds”.

Michigan 254

Michigan Bahamas Endangered Species Research 254