10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2012

Nassau County, New York, March 2009 After having fully explored the trail around the West Pond at Jamaica Bay , we four bird bloggers agreed to load up Patrick’s car and head over to Jones Beach to see what kind of birds we could find there and some other locations in Nassau County.

New York 160

New York Butcher Geese 2009 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

At least that’s where I added this species to my New York list. Corey went for a walk at Jamaica Bay with his family on Saturday evening, after the rain had stopped in New York City and went out again, alone, on Sunday morning before the rain picked back up. What was your best bird of the weekend?

Charlotte 264

Charlotte New York City New York Jamaica 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2014

The trees are of one species and nearly devoid of insect life, the only plants are ornamental or lawn, and the amount of cover at ground level is virtually nil. Almost every year there are a few birds that stick around at Bryant Park long after they are gone from the rest of the New York City area. And the noise! Pretty nice!

New York City 251

New York City New York Birds Sparrows 251

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Starlings, they’ll dutifully explain, are ruthless invasives that have been responsible for the serious declines of several beloved native species, like the Red-headed Woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ) and the Eastern Bluebird ( Sialia sialis ). A starling with nesting material at Normanskill Farm in Albany, New York, in May.

Farming 235

Farming New York Unwanted Breeding 235

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Like any birder visiting a new place, I had a target species list I was hoping to seek out during the one day I had available between business commitments. The experience was marvelous — but it also weighed heavily on me. You can read more about the study at The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times , among others.

Species 192

Species Los Angeles Science 2000 192

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2022

One of the rites of passage I underwent as a birder following my move from New York City to upstate New York was my first winter excursion to the rolling, snow-covered grasslands north of Albany to look for Short-eared Owls ( Asio flammeus ).

Owls 256

Owls New York New York City Cuba 256

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2021

Of all the species he saw he had one that was easily his Best Bird of the Weekend, as it was a new bird for him in New York State. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. That’s because very early on Saturday morning he chased a Wood Stork in Suffolk County.

New York 264

New York Sparrows Birds Breeding 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2021

All the best birds in my corner of New York over the last few months have been shorebirds, which explains why I dragged myself once again to Rochester’s fabled East Spit to bag a rare local Baird’s Sandpiper. Not only did I pick up that little brown job, but I found plenty more species that looked verrrry much like it.

California 264

California New York Birds Experience 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2016

What is the best bird you’ve seen in New York State and why has it stayed in your memory? This is the question I posed to 10,000 Birds readers in celebration of Corey’s first book, the ABA Field Guide to Birds of New York (by Corey Finger, author, and Brian E. So, I treasure every sighting. Or a sequel.)

New York 100

New York Bald Eagle New York City Birds 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2020

While birders were out birding the coast of Queens on Friday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay hit New York City, Corey was stuck working. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. If you spend any time in the NYC Metro area, you know what I mean!

2020 264

2020 New York City Whales Whaling 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

I wonder what he would have made of the extraordinary peregrinations undertaken by this species in 2021, with birds turning up well north of their usual range in an event the American Birding Association has coined – with hashtag – #spoonbillsummer? Still, I was looking for a wine as pink as a spoonbill to celebrate our sighting.

New York 264

New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2013

Out of over 30 respondents, almost everyone wanted money for better facilities, paid staff, on-call veterinarians, emergency vehicles, food, and protected land – from Terry and Lindsay in California to Cindy in Michigan, from Sally in Kentucky to Mickie in South Dakota, and Lisa and Lia in New York. wrote Laura, on Long Island.

Wildlife 255

Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Oklahoma Michigan 255

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

I was shocked to still find a number of shorebird species up at Braddock Bay, perhaps because of how much productive mud the dropping lake levels have exposed. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Hopefully, you’re looking forward to the month ahead!

2020 247

2020 Connecticut Virginia New York 247

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

It was a very pleasant experience. The nightjar was singing loudly, almost incessantly, and from the snippets of conversation I could hear it was obvious that the new birders had no clue they were listening to it (New York birder eventually pointed this out to them). Florida Canyon, AZ. Here are a couple excerpts.

San Francisco 261

San Francisco New York Ethics Experience 261

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2014

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was one of the many species of wood-warblers he saw this weekend, which was amazing for neotropical migration in New York City. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?

New York City 227

New York City Kentucky 2014 New York 227

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2021

Of the species I spotted at Carbon Canyon Regional Park the bird I most appreciated was the California Thrasher , especially the one that cooperated for some portrait photography. Mike absconded from New York the day I returned and despite missing his connecting flight he is safely in Alaska right now.

Alaska 262

Alaska California New York Birds 262

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2021

And what could be better than a new bird-themed brewery opening up less than two miles down the road from me? I first noticed The Warbler Brewery in the Albany, New York suburb of Delmar back in November, a little over a week before their grand opening the day before Thanksgiving.

Boston 264

Boston New York 2019 Collecting 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2015

The Marine Nature Study Area in Oceanside is one of the premiere places in New York to get great looks at a variety of saltmarsh species without having to slog through a saltmarsh. It was an exciting experience to see this heron going about its business from close range, close enough that I could hear the crabs being crushed.

New York City 243

New York City New York Hunting Sparrows 243

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2015

Our travels this weekend took us on the New York State Thruway, which passes through Montezuma NWR. Corey had quite a few species to choose from this weekend but decided that his Best Bird of the Weekend was the simple Tree Swallow. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

2015 218

2015 Jamaica New York Birds 218

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

Suffice to say, migrants were having no part of the Arctic chill enveloping Western New York, which means we’re still mired in the first wave of spring arrivals. Of the 132 species he spotted he decided photographing a Common Nighthawk in Queens for the first time entitled the nighthawk to be his Best Bird of the Weekend.

2020 206

2020 New York Birds Experience 206

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2020

I know that June has a poetic reputation for perfect days , but July in upstate New York may offer the ultimate summer nights. The stifling temperatures of a New York City heat wave did what even the height of the COVID epidemic failed to do: they prevented Corey from doing a single dedicated birding outing this weekend.

2020 187

2020 New York City New York Birds 187

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2014

It’s all over but the year bird counting, so take stock of any species you’ve added this weekend. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was New York State’s first Couch’s Kingbird in the incongruous location of the West Village in Manhattan. And that’s a wrap. Birding best bird weekend'

2014 200

2014 New York Falcons Birds 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2014

So the massive project I’m working on reaches its climax this weekend, and my laptop is still broken… so here is a New Zealand bird story that is in the New York Times of all things! It’s seems the media has learnt of the amazing Counting Robins of Zelanadia. A North Island Robin on a cache.

New Zealand 198

New Zealand New York Times New York Experience 198

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2015

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a new bird in New York State for him, a difficult feat when approaching 400 species checked off the checklist. But New York’s first chaseable Crested Caracara was well worth the effort, even though it took two visits to Orange County to see it!

2015 179

2015 New York Florida Birds 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2011

On a recent family trip to Jones Beach, on New York’s Long Island, I had the opportunity to observe a small flock of gulls bathing, resting, and preening in some shallow brackish water that had collected behind the beach. I need to go find some sparrows or some other species that are really easy to deal with… a.

New York 212

New York Collecting Sparrows Family 212

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2021

Consensus is forming that the bird is a Gray-breasted Martin , a rarity that isn’t expected even in south Texas, much less New York. Whatever species it turns out to be it is Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you?

Texas 209

Texas New York Owls Birds 209

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2012

My weekend was devoted to a seemingly endless celebration of my son’s 8th birthday, which meant that my best bird was bound to be a backyard species. Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Osprey in New York State this year, seen perched on a nesting platform at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in early morning fog on Saturday.

2012 193

2012 Jamaica New York Woodpeckers 193

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2014

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a relatively common species though it was uncommonly cooperative. 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. How did you fare? What was your best bird of the weekend?

2014 182

2014 Bats New York Sparrows 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2011

As part of the Wildlife Conservation Society Birds of Brazil giveaway we asked readers of 10,000 Birds to name the bird in Brazil that they would like to see more than any other species. What follows are the responses that readers offered, a veritable aviary of sought after species. It is a really neat bird that I have not seen before.

Brazil 241

Brazil 2011 Birds Penguins 241

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2020

Corey enjoyed a foul-weather seawatch on Saturday morning and birded a couple of locations Sunday morning before leading a walk for New York City Audubon in Forest Park. There’s something about the simple black, red, and white coloration of the species that makes it stand out as Best Bird of the Weekend.

2020 197

2020 New York City New York Woodpeckers 197

Animal Person

MARCH 18, 2009

The New York Times presents us, this morning, with "Equine Alternative" regarding the recent discovery that horses decided to allow themselves be domesticated by humans for our mutual benefit, earlier than we had thought (3500 BC, and we preciously thought it was more like 2500 BC). And that fact gives rise to a thought-experiment.

Experience 100

Experience Experiments Horses Kazakhstan 100

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. Birding best bird weekend'

2014 180

2014 New York California Birds 180

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2012

Though birds sing because it is a biological imperative I find it hard to believe that they don’t get some basic enjoyment out of the experience as well. I would add a third – for the sheer joy of it! I know I do! The dawn chorus is a delight to the ear, a celebration of having survived the night to welcome the sun.

New York City 206

New York City Birds New York Breeding 206

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2011

The first time I saw a Western Tanager , it was in New York. Moreover, at the time I had no inkling that I’d be moving to Montana in two and a half years – in fact, it would be nearly a year before I decided to go to grad school and entertained the notion of leaving New York at all.

New York 180

New York Montana Breeding Fish 180

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2013

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was his first Black Guillemot in New York State and it only took him two tries on the same day to get it! He is very relieved to finally get a guillemot in New York because the species was coming close to becoming a state nemesis bird for him. Birding best bird weekend'

2013 172

2013 New York 2014 Birds 172

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2014

It is the first record of this invasive species for New York City and it served as a nice contrast to the hordes of pigeons in the neighborhood. 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?

New York City 184

New York City 2014 Breeders Virginia 184

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2014

But on the topic of snow, Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was the first Snowy Egret of the year in New York State, one he found at Baisley Pond Park in Queens, a rather unusual location for the species to begin with, much less at the very beginning of spring. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?

2014 177

2014 United States New York Birds 177