10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2021

Corey spent a long weekend in his hometown in upstate New York, celebrating Christmas in July (to make up for missing Christmas in December due to the pandemic). But none of them were as good as his first Roseate Spoonbill in New York State, which he managed to twitch, family in tow, on his way back to Queens on Sunday evening.

New York 255

New York Virginia Birds Family 255

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 245

Charlotte New York City New York Jamaica 245

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2020

No, I haven’t lost track of the calendar — though that’s quickly becoming a more common experience in our new reality — but occasionally life gets in the way of blogging, which is what happened this week. I don’t have a proper post ready for you today, meaning there’s no customary Birds and Booze story and review for now.

Collecting 264

Collecting Connecticut New York Industry 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2021

So far, the closest Roseate Spoonbill to me in Albany, New York has been a bird discovered in the last week just over the border in western Massachusetts – but I don’t really care about my list in that commonwealth enough to cross the state line, even if it is for a spoonbill.

New York 263

New York South Carolina North Carolina Massachusetts 263

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. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

California 264

California New York Birds Experience 264

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 256

New York Sparrows Birds Breeding 256

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2020

Sliding into mid-August in New York feels like the easing into a Jacuzzi: the heat may be intense to start, but the good times are just getting started. 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 263

2020 Jamaica New York Birds 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2014

The book I am writing is the New York edition in the new series of American Birding Association field guides. Officially called Field Guide to the Birds of New York , it is scheduled for publication in October of 2015. Inspiration books field guide New York' And the references I use!

New York 197

New York New Jersey Colorado Pennsylvania 197

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 262

Boston New York 2019 Collecting 262

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

Corey enjoyed a long weekend in Narrowsburg, New York, along the Delaware River at the New York-Pennsylvania border. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?

Bald Eagle 201

Bald Eagle Delaware Pennsylvania United States 201

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2022

For Rogers, the finding of the sparrow is not just about the rarity of the find or the decline of breeding Henslow’s Sparrows in New York State, though she is proud of the first and concerned about the second. She frames her story with first a Doonesbury comic strip (remember Dick Davenport, the bird watcher?)

Connecticut 263

Connecticut Sparrows Birds New York 263

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 245

Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation Oklahoma Michigan 245

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2014

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. Still, the experience of seeing birds so close is hard to match. Sometimes they are a very surprising species. Often at least one of the them is an Ovenbird. Ovenbird in Bryant Park.

New York City 211

New York City New York Birds Sparrows 211

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 205

Owls New York New York City Cuba 205

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.

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San Francisco New York Ethics Experience 219

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

And there’s a good chance that, while they’re at it, they’ll trot out that dubious bit of trivia about the starling being brought to America as a part of some scheme to introduce all the birds mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare to New York City’s Central Park.

Farming 183

Farming New York Unwanted Breeding 183

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2021

This has been the oddest May migration in memory, at least around upstate New York. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. The beauty of May, however, is that there are always birds, even if they’re not the ones we expect! What was your best bird of the weekend?

New York 220

New York Birds Experience Experiments 220

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!

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2020 New York City Whales Whaling 234

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Red-breasted Nuthatch at Jones Beach State Park, New York Ron Pittaway’s famous winter finch forecast includes some some non-finch irruptives, including Red-breasted Nuthatch. Birders across the United States are delighted by the “yank-yank” of Red-breasted Nuthatches on sixteen percent of their outings.

United States 265

United States Owls Atlanta North Carolina 265

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2021

He also chased and dipped on a Spotted Towhee in Nassau County, which would have been 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. What was your best bird of the weekend?

New York 227

New York Birds Owls Experience 227

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2021

What I have is a typical Upstate New York winter, so this weekend was about adding more typical Upstate New York winter birds. Corey made a second attempt this weekend at seeing New York State’s first Ferruginous Hawk , which has been seen regularly in the Black Dirt region of Orange County.

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New York Birds Experience Experiments 177

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

On Sunday morning, he followed up on a Golden-winged Warbler report from the day before and successfully connected, making Connecticut Warbler the only regularly occurring wood-warbler in New York that Corey hasn’t seen in Queens this year. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2020 218

2020 Connecticut Virginia New York 218

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2014

Spring happens to be peak raptor migration season in Western New York, so I spent some time at one of the nation’s premier hawkwatch platforms. He was rewarded by an extremely rare New York State Willow Ptarmigan. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

2014 167

2014 New York Birds Experience 167

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2021

Mike absconded from New York the day I returned and despite missing his connecting flight he is safely in Alaska right now. (At If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. So that will be my Best Bird of the Weekend. At least, I hope he is.) What was your best bird of the weekend?

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Alaska California New York Birds 222

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 201

New York City New York Hunting Sparrows 201

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2013

Back in 1979 New York State birders were pleased with the first record of Mississippi Kites in the state when two visited Staten Island and spent nearly two weeks fattening up on the periodical cicadas that emerged in great numbers that year. The sound of so many cicadas is just awesome, as is the sight of so many cicadas.

Mississippi 174

Mississippi Brazil New York City New York 174

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 161

2015 New York Florida Birds 161

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 160

2020 New York City New York Birds 160

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? Birding best bird weekend'

New York City 190

New York City Kentucky 2014 New York 190

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 167

2014 New York California Birds 167

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2013

Another new Queens bird for Corey!) Isaac Grant, who is doing a New York City big year and was on the boat as well, was just as relieved to get the bird within New York City’s boundaries. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.

New York City 169

New York City 2013 Nashville New York 169

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2012

I found the experience of authentically aggressive heat rather refreshing, but much prefer my moderate New York summers! If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2012 169

2012 United States New York Birds 169

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

2014 168

2014 Bats New York Sparrows 168

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2014

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. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. The calendar year 2014 has just about run its course.

2014 173

2014 New York Falcons Birds 173

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

Rumors of fall migration in Western New York must be greatly exaggerated. Corey leveled-up as a New York birder by adding lucky #300 to his Queens list. 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'

Ecuador 150

Ecuador 2013 New York Birds 150

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2015

Our travels this weekend took us on the New York State Thruway, which passes through Montezuma NWR. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Sure, we could have survived the blustery flurry, but I’d rather hide until the last remnants of winter blow away!

2015 182

2015 Jamaica New York Birds 182

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2011

As I’m sure you’ve heard me mention once or twice, winter comes early– very early –to western New York. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Yet we’ve barely seen a flake of frost so far. This seems at least a couple of weeks off what I expect.

2011 182

2011 New York Birds Experience 182