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. But the opportunities to see new species become more difficult with each one seen. Those Snowy Egrets ? For my U.S.-only

Spain 192

Spain Europe Sparrows Mexico 192

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2021

I’ve continued my inconsistent effort to pick off the species I need for my Monroe County list. eBird) had it that the best place to find Clay-colored Sparrow is a particular conifer plantation on a particular farm road in the rural western portion of the county. In that sense, June is no different than any other month, right?

Sparrows 218

Sparrows Farming Birds Experience 218

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2021

While I knocked down plenty of first of spring birds this weekend, I most appreciated the appearance of a species that hangs around all winter. White-throated Sparrows don’t generally stand out unless they turn up at my feeder in sharp plumage, which they did on Sunday. At least my summers are mild.

Birds 224

Birds Sparrows Experience Experiments 224

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. 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. And the noise! Pretty nice!

New York City 211

New York City New York Birds Sparrows 211

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. Corey had a few really good birds this weekend.

2020 218

2020 Connecticut Virginia New York 218

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. Many Nearctic species and families reach their southern terminus in the Northern Central American Highlands, such as Common Raven , Red Crossbill , Steller’s Jay , and even Brown Creeper. We were off to a great start.

Honduras 211

Honduras El Salvador Costa Rica Arizona 211

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. That honor goes to the Gray-crowned Crane , a very sexy species in its own right. Having finally seen this iconic species, I can assure you that the experience wildly exceeds expectations.

Uganda 258

Uganda Africa Penguins 2019 258

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

If conditions are right, the Palm Beach Agricultural Area can be teaming with various shorebird species such as Spotted, Solitary, Upland, Buff-breasted, Least, Semipalmated, Western, and Pectoral Sandpiper, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Long-billed Dowitcher, and Black-necked Stilt. They especially like live oaks.

Florida 252

Florida Miami Falcons Birds 252

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2011

Most of these birds are small, finch-like species with thick, conical bills for cracking seeds or eating insects. These are neither sparrows, nor finches, but tanagers. ” For these reasons, it is perhaps no surprise that bird bills have played a prominent role in their classification. (PDF:

2003 209

2003 Sparrows South America Family 209

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2023

Yet, I was not aware of any of Arjan’s big year updates in English, so I had no clue where he was or how many species he managed to see. After 3 months of South and Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Australia, Arjan’s count stood at 2,060 species. I’ve had so many incredible experiences.

Papua New Guinea 246

Papua New Guinea Guinea Suriname Brazil 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2022

In addition to providing many people with wonderful life experiences, these birding visits have helped increase our understanding of local bird distribution. In addition to discovering more vagrant sparrows and warblers, I hope we can also get more coverage for such regions and situations as these: Long Range Pelagic Trips in the Pacific.

Costa Rica 257

Costa Rica Birds Albatross Protection 257

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2021

It was a very disorienting experience. I saw 57 species in the area, which is pretty good for the church neighborhood. Three species especially stood out. I used eBird’s species map option to confirm that in other recent years, only a few Cedar Waxwing sightings were reported in Mexico from January to May.

Turtles 227

Turtles Mexico Sparrows Branding 227

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2012

Those two parks, combined with some nice birding from the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway along the edge of Bayonne Golf Course on the east side of Bayonne, have gradually increased my Hudson County bird list to 124 species, good for a tie for twelfth all-time on eBird for those keeping score at home. Nelson’s Sparrow - two of them!

New Jersey 167

New Jersey Sparrows Birds Species 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2012

Birding the Dry Tortugas in late April has always been high on my bucket-list of the best birding experiences in North America. Day-trips to the Dry Tortugas are of course possible but the best way to experience the islands is on an extended 3-day guided tour. That means I used to be very young. Almost infantile.

Florida 243

Florida Kentucky France North America 243

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 172

San Diego Sparrows Breeders 2009 172

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2024

As I have mentioned repeatedly over the past months, life this spring has gone topsy-turvy in central Mexico, as we experience what has certainly been one of our driest years in history. I have now seen the species in eight different years. Of course, Paso Ancho is also a hotspot for many other beautiful species and endemics.

Mexico 208

Mexico South America 2020 America 208

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. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

2014 161

2014 Sparrows Birds Experience 161

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. There’s more than one song per warbler? How do they know?

North America 278

North America Research Birds America 278

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2021

Corey enjoyed getting out around Queens on both Saturday and Sunday morning, and managed to get his total species in the borough to an all time high for January, with 115. 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.

Birds 194

Birds Sparrows Experience Experiments 194

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2013

The recent American Ornithological Union (AOU) decisions to split Sage Sparrow (RIP) into Sagebrush Sparrow and Bell’s Sparrow has the Birdosphere buzzing on everything from field marks, vocalizations, status and distribution to historical records and hypothetical patterns of vagrancy. Photographed off Hatteras, NC.

San Francisco 174

San Francisco Fox Sparrows California 174

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 167

2014 New York California Birds 167

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 168

2014 Bats New York Sparrows 168

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2012

Southern Florida offers many unique wintering birds, but perhaps none more so then the sparrows that call different parts of Florida their winter homes. The flight shot of the male Eurasian, taken by Tom Dunkerton, shows the unique plumage that is completely diagnostic to that species. Think Grasshopper Sparrow !

Florida 167

Florida South Dakota Sparrows Wildlife 167

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2023

Indeed, even though I just celebrated 40 years of living in Mexico, we have never been to Cabo San Lucas, and our only experience with Cancún was going though immigration in that city’s airport. Two Olive Sparrows , endemic to Mexico’s coasts, foraged in the shady brush. But now it is considered to be a separate species.

Mexico 237

Mexico Birds Turkey Sparrows 237

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2011

I was not only intrigued by their appearance but also astounded by the diversity that they showed, even within species. 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). What do you make of this one?

New York 179

New York Collecting Sparrows Family 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2015

Many of these species were very high on my life bird wish list, and the country itself would be a totally new experience: a vibrant and enchanting culture, a varied and tasty cuisine, and stunning and new landscapes. Boldly patterned and full of character, this endemic sparrow was the highlight of my first day in Mexico.

Mexico 173

Mexico Owls Birds Sparrows 173

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2022

My first experiments involved rooting cuttings of several of Michoacán’s dozens of Salvia species. But starting a mini-forest around the edges of our church’s one-acre lot would require more than cuttings, and local reforestation nurseries only offer a few conifer species. Rusty Sparrow. A male Indigo Bunting.

Mexico 224

Mexico ALA Collecting Sparrows 224

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2015

But of all the species he spotted he felt either of the two Grasshopper Sparrows at Kissena Park in Queens was his Best Bird of the Weekend. After all, the two birds doubled his total number of Grasshopper Sparrow sightings in his home borough! How about you?

New York City 150

New York City 2015 New York Sparrows 150

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

The prospect of identifying a certain number of species in a given amount of time pushes us to pay more attention to birds no matter what the circumstances (although I suggest keeping the exclamations about species identifications to yourself during such solemn situations as funerals, graduations, and watching episodes of The Sopranos).

Costa Rica 259

Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 259

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

About 120 species have been recorded so far. The good side of this popularity is presence of restaurants and inns (from personal experience I can recommend a place for carnivores called Vodopad – By the waterfall). About 180 species have been recorded so far. Almost 230 species have been recorded so far.

Serbia 259

Serbia Woodpeckers Owls Eagles 259

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. According to my list, which somehow ended up being the official group list, we saw 41 species in about four hours. This one was a Song Sparrow.

San Francisco 200

San Francisco California Woodpeckers Turkey 200

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2020

One of the things Corey most enjoys about a new year is the way it resets your year list, giving you an excuse to pay a little more attention to the common species as you check them off your year list. Like Corey and so many others, I took the time to really appreciate the everyday species we jaded bird chasers typically take for granted.

2020 142

2020 Feral Sparrows Birds 142

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 154

New Jersey Sparrows Experience Experiments 154

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

All species are from the ABA area, and all groups must meet at least one of these criteria: (1) the group “represented a good opportunity to build core birding skills,” (2) the authors thought it was a group that needed “a refreshed treatment,” (3) the authors were intrigued by the group and wanted to present it using their unique format.

Birds 190

Birds Groups 2015 North America 190

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2022

This is my best place to pick up species that inhabit, or visit, the border between the Hot Country thorn forest and highland pine-oak forest habitats. It wasn’t the most colorful species of the day. Backlighting showed off the rusty crown of this Rusty-crowned Ground-Sparrow. But its rump was somewhat bright, I suppose.

South America 190

South America Sparrows Mexico Bears 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2011

Also, I somehow doubt that whether I am stuck at work or not really influences how everyone else experiences spring but this is my blog post so I can use whatever criteria I want to measure how well spring has gone. Not much of a vignette but I have a nice picture of the sparrow so I feel that I had to mention it. How exciting.

New York City 163

New York City New York Walruses Sparrows 163

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2015

The warm, sunny climate beckons a wide variety of passerines, raptors, and shorebirds to spend the winter, inflating the species diversity to the extent that Miami-Dade can go toe-to-toe with counties in Texas and Arizona during this season. Song Sparrow is a genuine rarity in Miami-Dade.

Miami 166

Miami 2015 United States Florida 166