10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2013

I can hardly begin to describe the surreal experience that unfolded before me. It is truly a magical place, an experience like none other. Still, there are plenty of other birds and animals to see along the way, including Glaucous and other gulls, geese, herds of sheep and Icelandic horses. Patience, thus, is key.

Iceland 243

Iceland Puffins Europe Birds 243

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2012

What this land-locked country lacks in endemic birds it more than makes up for in accessibility of tough species, numbers of birds and the overall wildlife experience. Specials include birds like African Pygmy Geese, Racket-tailed Roller and Western Banded Snake-eagle. We are currently filming in Botswana.

Botswana 259

Botswana Lions Zebras Elephants 259

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2012

Though Corey had a host of good birds to choose from (again) he has decided that his Best Bird of the Weekend was the one he found because he took the time to scope through a ginormous flock of Canada Geese : a diminutive Cackling Goose at Blue Chip Farm in southern Ulster County, New York.

Polar Bears 205

Polar Bears 2012 Bears Geese 205

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Babita Tours has many years of experience organizing tailor-made wildlife tours for private groups in this wonderful country. Commoner species include Bar-headed Geese , parakeets, shrikes, mynas and minivets. If you have never thought of India as a birding destination, I’d urge you to give it a good look.

India 260

India Wildlife Tigers Rhinoceros 260

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2016

Barnacle Goose is my choice for the next bird, because we discovered one lone bird among all of the hundreds of Canada Geese , Greylag Geese and Eurasian Wigeon at Freiston Shore and it was as if it was a test to see if we would notice “the odd one out”! Canada Geese , Greylag Geese and Eurasian Wigeon.

2016 209

2016 Geese Ducks Birds 209

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2021

Here’s a quote about bird lungs from Britannica: “Himalayan geese have been observed not only to fly over human climbers struggling to reach the top of Mount Everest, but to honk as they do so.” Both falconers and wildlife rehabilitators have to study, gain experience, and jump through various hoops in order to get their licenses.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 264

Wildlife Rehabilitation Tethering Giraffes Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2015

I was to go inland to Pocosin Lakes NWR, home of massive flocks of Tundra Swans and Snow Geese. We saw both, though the goose flock was too distant to pick out the Ross’s and Cackling Geese that are usually tucked within. This is my second ridiculous mink experience. The second was better. All in all a fun trip.

North Carolina 225

North Carolina Alligators Geese Owls 225

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2011

We know that big birds like waterfowl such as ducks and geese benefit from the flying-V. In fact, such flocks demand a higher energy cost and, based on my personal experience with Columba livia , a great tolerance for trash birds. Waterbirds like pelicans and cormorants make the most of the chevron formation as well.

Pelicans 162

Pelicans Geese Ducks Experiments 162

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

Despite my best efforts and despite seeing around 200 Canada Geese , I had no luck with the Specklebelly. I saw lots of Canada Geese – about 450 – but no Greater White-fronted Goose. After all, birding under a highway is not exactly my idea of a pleasant experience. The morning wasn’t a total loss though.

Puerto Rico 176

Puerto Rico Geese Canada Porpoises 176

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2022

During winter, the refuge is full of noisy Cackling Geese.) eBird keeps improving, and it the additional features consistently add to the birding experience. I didn’t actually climb onto the roof of the visitor center, but I did go back and forth along the platform that overlooks the marsh, checking the various waterfowl.

Portland 264

Portland Oregon Washington Geese 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

I observe them, but feel I still lack experience to tell with certainty the SEO from LEO in flight. Numerous Mute Swans , Greylag Geese among them, together with Mallard , Gadwalls , Eurasian Wigeons , Eurasian Teals – practically the full hand of dabbling ducks at this lake. And the citizens of Kikinda are justly proud of it.

Serbia 247

Serbia Owls Rodents India 247

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

Most of them based in a single attractive, historic, and easily walkable city or town, my tours, under VENT’s Birds, Nature, and Culture rubric, always see plenty of birds: hoopoes and rollers in France, Great Bustards and bean geese in Germany, Fulvous Owls and Black-capped Swallows in Guatemala are just a few examples.

New Jersey 246

New Jersey Guatemala France Birds 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2018

Nikos said: “I may have about an hour before breakfast and can take you to see the geese.”. Kostas Papadopoulos observing Lesser White-fronted Geese at Kerkini. Lesser White-fronted Geese, of course. I counted them very roughly, but I do have a lot of experience estimating flocks. How do you find lions in Africa?

Greece 190

Greece 2017 Pelicans Geese 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2013

The Grebes were gone, but present were the ever ubiquitous Canada Geese. Some people, one or two of my family members included, hate Canada Geese with a passion that rivals their hatred for mosquitoes (if you’re from Maine, or New England at all, you know that hatred runs deep). Weather is weird. Mallard in a lovely place.

DC 248

DC Washington Birds Geese 248

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

Less and Gilroy sort through the exogenous (external) and endogenous (internal) factors thought to cause vagrancy and the scientific experiments that have sought to prove their significance with patience and plain language as well as charts and photographs. Next time, I’ll know why. It’s not always easy reading.

Compassion 264

Compassion Birds Eagles Science 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2012

Does anyone here have personal experience visiting the Charles M. Moreover, children can watch nest cams without adult supervision so a parent’s lack of knowledge or interest is no boundary to the child’s education, the way it would be if learning required a visit to the park or an investment in binoculars.

Montana 210

Montana Geese Blackbirds Canada 210

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 6, 2019

My commitment cannot be questioned after making FOUR separate trips to comb through hundreds of Canada Geese until I finally teased out some smaller Cackling Geese. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Things can only get better from here!

2019 127

2019 Geese Sparrows Canada 127

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2015

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was either of the two Cackling Geese that he found at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens on Sunday morning. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Not anymore! What was your best bird of the weekend?

2015 150

2015 Geese 2014 Birds 150

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Taking Amy birding is an extremely rewarding experience, as she seems to know the calls of every bird species that exists. Early on in my experience with the group, my church work took me to Veracruz, a tropical city on the Gulf of Mexico coast, and I got to visit a mangrove forest near that city with Luis.

Mexico 243

Mexico Birds California Spain 243

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

I was pleasantly surprised to see that Colusa NWR was beginning to fill its impoundments during this drought, and there were quite a few ducks and geese present. I have put together a video to help you feel the experience I was a privy to on this beautiful fall morning at the refuge. Click on photos for full sized images.

Wildlife 182

Wildlife San Francisco Sacramento North Dakota 182

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2024

A first-winter Red-breasted Goose at Cley, North Norfolk As a general rule, geese are birds of subtle, even dull, plumage. All the so-called grey geese – Greylag, Bean, White-front, Lesser White-front, Swan – look very much alike, and it takes experience to identify them by their calls and their shape and size.

Bulgaria 130

Bulgaria Geese Romania Estonia 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2019

The economic impact of refuge visitation is broad: Recreational visitors pay for recreation through entrance fees, lodging near the refuge, and purchases from local businesses for items to pursue their recreational experience. This spending supports economic activity throughout the local economy.

Wildlife 279

Wildlife Maryland San Francisco Minnesota 279

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2016

I couldn’t quite turn a runt among Canada Geese at Genessee Valley Park into a Cackling , so my best bird had to be a flyover Sharp-shinned Hawk. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Erratic weather patterns signal flux. Cherish them! What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 124

2016 Geese New York Canada 124

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2019

He didn’t see a ton of birds but he did appreciate the number of Snow Geese flocking up at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Luckily, a Carolina Wren took kindness upon me by singing at my office window. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2019 127

2019 Lamb Lions Jamaica 127

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2012

Now, he’s sharing some information sure to improve your experience of American historical sites… When I’m not writing about sports teams and bird logos , birding ephemera , or stumbling into first state records , I’m helping protect Civil War-related national parks with the non-profit National Parks Conservation Association in DC.

Mississippi 225

Mississippi Vermont Birds Maryland 225

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2012

Carrie had been at Jones Beach pretty recently , but was happy to return, while I’m not sure that John had ever been, but he certainly seemed to enjoy the experience. The goose, instead of leading us on a wild goose chase, decided to swim up close and then past some Canada Geese , as if to show off its tininess.

New York 160

New York Butcher Geese 2009 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

I got my owl fix last weekend but spent the bulk of the week chasing a rare pair of Greater White-fronted Geese around Monroe County. Fortunately, I finally tracked them down yesterday, hiding out amidst teeming masses of Canada Geese. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

Geese 100

Geese 2016 Owls Canada 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2018

I miss living close enough to the ocean to see these great little geese on the regular. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. I was all set to stay home, but a crisp and bright Sunday morning called me to the lake, where I picked up my annual Brant.

2018 113

2018 Geese Birds Experiments 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2014

The incredible lighting at dawn in the Pantanal is an experience in of itself. Screamers are most closely related to waterfowl such as ducks and geese. I will also never forget the experience of rolling out of bed, walking down a couple miles and back, and having breakfast at around 8:00AM with a day list already over 100 species.

Brazil 165

Brazil Paraguay Blackbirds Birds 165

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2011

Now it was nice to see our first Green Pygmy-Geese for the year, but nothing is as good as a Jacana! They go everywhere in a line and it was actually in the media this week that some scientists had been experimenting with them to see what caused them to follow each other. They removed some hairs from their tail end and the line failed!

Cattle 160

Cattle 2003 Birds Geese 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

While at Jones Beach State Park on Saturday, co-leading the digiscoping field trip (with Clay Taylor from Swarovski Optik ), I had a couple of experiences that made me wonder exactly how it is that birders find birds. The bar was covered with shorebirds, gulls, geese, and cormorants.

New York 191

New York Birds Sparrows Geese 191

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

This is the story of Fox’s experiences on board the Achiever, the research vessel of the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. She is one of the best nature writers I’ve encountered in recent years, able to paint experiences with emotional immediacy. Although we are not close nor on a direct course, the geese are skittish.

Fox 100

Fox Albatross Geese Bald Eagle 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

The Snow Geese at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge will soon be winging their way north, so he spent some quality time with them, his best birds of the weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. I suspect though that once we get past the Ides of March (beware!) link] Donna S.

2011 133

2011 Deer Owls Birds 133

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2019

Lesser White-fronted Geese, of course. I counted them very roughly, but I do have a lot of experience estimating flocks. With one Black Stork near them, some 80 LWfG were foraging in the distance, where the sun was just now clearing the mist. Then 20 more joined them, so I entered 100 in my notebook.

2018 159

2018 Serbia Falcons Greece 159

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 5, 2011

Looking down on the Hudson River from 212 feet in the air is an experience worth having and there is plenty of time to look down at the river or at the gorgeous views in every direction on the 1.28-mile mile long walkway.

Transported 157

Transported New York City New York North America 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

Given my west coast experience, I have made dedicated birding trips to several of the more predictable birding hotspots. Lifers includes Gambel’s Quail and Neotropic Cormorant, but the real highlights were the morning fly-out of Sandhill Cranes and the evening fly-in of Snow Geese. Geography is destiny.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco Portland United States Puerto Rico 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2017

For the first week of the year Corey has enjoyed catching up to some of New York’s visiting rare geese and making their acquaintance in 2017. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2016 100

2016 2017 Geese New York 100