10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

A late Northern Parula was nice, his first Canvasback of the season was pleasant, and sweeping the scoters is always fun, but his favorite bird of the weekend was an Ipswich Sparrow. Yes, the pale subspecies of Savannah Sparrow is always a cool treat and Corey greatly enjoyed finding one at Breezy Point. What is 10,000 Birds coming to?

2020 264

2020 Sparrows Birds Experiments 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2019

It’s a rush any new birder experiences: that of every species being a lifer. Once you’ve been around the birding block a few years, your appreciation for the lifer experience deepens greatly. Which is why we all eventually turn to the one way to combine old-birder experience with new-birder opportunities: travel.

Spain 214

Spain Europe Sparrows Mexico 214

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2012

The bird was a sparrow, that much was clear, but it didn’t seem to fit any of the easily boxes the other North American sparrows can be fairly easily sorted into. Superficially, it resembled the Black-chinned Sparrow of the southwestern United States with its gray chest and chestnut streaked with black back.

New Jersey 255

New Jersey North Carolina Sparrows Connecticut 255

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2021

Hope Cemetery was much improved by a number of Chipping Sparrows and a single errant baby Snapping Turtle. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. As grumpy as these daily 30-degree temperature swings are making me, you have to wonder how the birds are reacting.

United States 264

United States Turtles 2010 Birds 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2021

White-throated Sparrows don’t generally stand out unless they turn up at my feeder in sharp plumage, which they did on Sunday. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. At least my summers are mild. What was your best bird of the weekend?

Birds 264

Birds Sparrows Experience Experiments 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

On Friday morning he unsuccessfully chased a LeConte’s Sparrow and a Connecticut Warbler in Queens but had his second ever encounter with Virginia Rail in Queens as well as a Yellow-breasted Chat. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2020 268

2020 Connecticut Virginia New York 268

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

If Mexico City itself was not high enough, the mountains to the south rise above 12,300 feet and I was there looking for a Sierra Madre Sparrow to confirm a sighting of this rare and local sparrow from 15 years ago. Just to let you know, the sparrow did not show and I had to make do with some specialty Mexican warblers instead.

Costa Rica 248

Costa Rica Taiwan Mexico Honduras 248

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

In this first installment, I will focus on my impressions and experiences in the highlands portion of our tour. The experience of seeing a pair feeding and calling in the mountains of Honduras felt like a much more genuine birding experience to me. Trips Honduran birding La Tigra motmot'

Honduras 254

Honduras El Salvador Costa Rica Arizona 254

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

The Best Bird of my weekend was a partially leucistic House Sparrow that added some flavor to an otherwise drab feeding flock. A February Grasshopper Sparrow in New York is, if not unprecedented, really, really unusual. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you?

2013 207

2013 United States Sparrows New York 207

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2014

From atop a terrific sledding hill, I enjoyed watching American Tree Sparrows lend class and native charm to flocks of House Sparrows. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Hope you enjoyed at least part of the excitement! What was your best bird of the weekend?

2014 209

2014 Sparrows Birds Experience 209

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2011

So much for my weekend… Unless you like House Sparrows more than I do, you won’t be impressed by my best bird of the weekend. Corey, on the other hand, pulled a Philadelphia Vireo that Will Raup spotted at the Coxsackie Creek Grasslands Preserve while Corey was busy looking at a Song Sparrow.

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Philadelphia 2011 Sparrows Birds 206

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2020

But my experience suggests there is a fair amount of geographical overlap between the two ranges in my area. Its insect-like buzz reminds me most of the Grasshopper’s Sparrow’s song. Yellow Warblers are altitudinal migrants within the state of Michoacán, wintering in the lowlands and summering in the highlands.

Honduras 359

Honduras Mexico South America America 359

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2021

He added several goodies over the weekend, but none were better than a self-found Lark Sparrow at Fort Tilden, which was easily his Best Bird of the Weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

Birds 246

Birds Sparrows Experience Experiments 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2014

If you read my weekly posts bookending theweekend birding experience, you know that I pay close attention to phenology. The way the ebb and flow of each season impacts out experience of the natural world must inform our efforts to observe avifauna if we want to optimize our experience. How about you?

2014 191

2014 New York California Birds 191

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

Corey added two year birds to his list this weekend, a Dickcissel and Clay-colored Sparrow. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. The latter is his Best Bird of the Weekend both because he photographed it and because the Dickcissel was a heard only flyover. How about you?

New York 236

New York Birds Sparrows Experience 236

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2012

Luckily, swarms of songbirds arrived on time, including one very handsome Fox Sparrow. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. As promised, I finally made it up to Owl Woods and the Braddock Bay area. Too bad the hawks and owls couldn’t make it too!

2012 214

2012 United States Fox New York 214

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2012

I really do like the short birding outings I experience at Van Saun Park in Paramus, New Jersey, once or twice a week before I head in to the office. I’ve gotten to know where to expect to find the common birds and sometimes I spot something new for me in the park, like a Vesper Sparrow or an Eastern Bluebird.

New Jersey 207

New Jersey Sparrows Experience Experiments 207

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

An expanse of habitat as vast as Murchison Falls NP in Uganda, as excessively generous in beauty and biodiversity, permits endless ways to experience both its birds and animals. Plus, the food, service, and accommodations meet the highest standards. Mind boggling, I answer! Beaudouin’s Snake-Eagle … wow!!

Uganda 244

Uganda Senegal Africa Game 244

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2013

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a Clay-colored Sparrow at Jacob Riis Park in coastal Queens, the only really noteworthy find among the hordes of sparrows that were around on Saturday morning. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you?

2013 189

2013 Sparrows Birds Experience 189

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2024

My only other experience with an Audubon Club field trip anywhere, on a cold October morning in the American Midwest, was frankly kind of a bust. But this one was a wonderful experience. This one was a Song Sparrow. We went to Woodside’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and a restricted-access section, at that.

San Francisco 246

San Francisco California Woodpeckers Turkey 246

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2014

Hordes of House Sparrows and Rock Pigeons are more than willing to push you around rather then let you have that choice morsel you just found. Still, the experience of seeing birds so close is hard to match. I sure appreciated this Swamp Sparrow. Once you’ve landed though, you are in a bizarre situation. And the noise!

New York City 257

New York City New York Birds Sparrows 257

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2014

In honor of fall, and of the Chipping Sparrow that just smacked itself (thankfully not too hard) against my balcony window, here’s a blast from the past: Oct. Or was I, like so many birders, doomed to eternal restlessness, always investing somewhere else with the glamor of new birds and new experiences? Could I go home again?

San Diego 208

San Diego Sparrows Breeders 2009 208

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his only year bird that crossed his path, a nice Clay-colored Sparrow at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

2012 198

2012 Sparrows Birds Experience 198

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2013

During my time in NYC, I had the opportunity to enjoy White-throated Sparrows , which are much more common downstate than in my part of upstate, at the Greenburgh Nature Center. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. However, I don’t take any of it back.

2013 209

2013 Sparrows Birds Experience 209

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2012

My most recent outing netted me three new species for my Hudson County list – Nelson’s Sparrow , Blackpoll Warbler , and Golden-crowned Kinglet. Nelson’s Sparrow - two of them! Nelson’s Sparrow is a worthy addition to any county list. I did appreciate this Song Sparrow though.

New Jersey 211

New Jersey Sparrows Birds Species 211

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2016

Corey could have chosen his first Pine Siskins of the year in New York, a Red-headed Woodpecker , a late Osprey , or a Vesper Sparrow as his Best Bird of the Weekend this weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Can Snowy Owls be far behind?

2016 219

2016 New York Woodpeckers Birds 219

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2011

You see, for various reasons, I’ve been unable to put myself in the proper place to experience the kaleidoscopic madness of spring migration. These birds were enticingly smaller than the House Sparrows that just fledged, so I grabbed my downstairs bins (you also have optocs stashed strategically throughout your house, right?)

Nashville 227

Nashville Tennessee 2010 Canada 227

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2020

While appreciating the action at my feeder, I happily noted one White-throated Sparrow adjacent to but not mixed in with the basic House Sparrows. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

2020 189

2020 Feral Sparrows Birds 189

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

A juvenile White-crowned Sparrow is an expected bird in late fall in New York State but it is always nice when one sits still for a digiscoping session. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How did you fare? What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2014 194

2014 Bats New York Sparrows 194

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

The Shoebill serves as the symbol of the magnificent wildlife experiences Uganda offers visitors, which may seem a bit odd. Having finally seen this iconic species, I can assure you that the experience wildly exceeds expectations. After all, the Shoebill isn’t endemic to the country; only Fox’s Weaver currently holds that title.

Uganda 299

Uganda Africa Penguins 2019 299

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2013

Alas, I had no time outdoors this weekend, which leaves House Sparrows sheltering a giant wreath as my Best Bird of the Weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

ALA 199

ALA United States 2013 North America 199

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2011

A wonderful Audubon magazine article on birds’ bills (“ Pecking Order “) notes that individual Great Tits in England experience a change in bill shape between summer and winter as their primary food sources shift. These are neither sparrows, nor finches, but tanagers.

2003 259

2003 Sparrows South America Family 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

I had just arrived at the water hole at Forest Park and was sitting on a log watching White-throated Sparrows forage in the leaves when the wren flew in and landed next to the log to my right. But that was just the start of my experience with this wonderful little wren.

2008 209

2008 Sparrows Rights Experiments 209

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 20, 2013

Though Corey originally picked a Field Sparrow at Edgemere Preserve (like the one pictured above) as his Best Bird of the Weekend, an afternoon outing with his family back to Edgemere Preserve so Desi could chase after crickets and grasshoppers led to his revised Best Bird of the Weekend, a fortuitous find. How about you?

St. Louis 203

St. Louis 2013 United States Arizona 203

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2020

Was it the Seaside Sparrow that bizarrely popped up on a rock jetty? If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Best of the prosaic bunch was a Black-and-White Warbler looking extra sharp against the drab gray and brown of bare branches at Firehouse Woods. No, it was neither of those.

2020 215

2020 New York Birds Sparrows 215

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

I love sparrows, so seeing a feather-worn Vesper Sparrow this past July filled my heart with joy. I wanted to see prairie birds and I wanted to experience a new state. We saw sparrows–a total of 14 species–and we saw many other great prairie birds, and we often saw them perched on posts.

North Dakota 190

North Dakota Sparrows Birds Blackbirds 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2011

The experience served to remind me why some people devolve into Larophiles but, don’t fear, I have not sunk to that low and disturbing condition myself (at least not yet). I need to go find some sparrows or some other species that are really easy to deal with… a. Which one of these birds is not like the others?

New York 228

New York Collecting Sparrows Family 228