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. Both were welcome additions.

San Francisco 238

San Francisco California Woodpeckers Turkey 238

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. It used to be considered a single species with the Broad-billed Hummingbirds that visit my garden in Morelia every day.

Mexico 263

Mexico Birds Turkey Sparrows 263

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I used to live in Botswana, where there are about 450 bird species in an area a few dozen miles from the capital; then somewhat naively moved back to Serbia with mere 250 species around the capital.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2013

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we can ease up on the turkey talk. I do regret that I saw no Wild Turkeys this weekend, only subdued, succulently prepared ones. Corey had way too many birds to choose from for his Best Bird of the Weekend, with exactly 100 species for the four-day weeekend. How about you? How about you?

2013 154

2013 Turkey New York Owls 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2021

At least most of the resident species can still be seen right along the road, you just have to keep an eye out for cyclists and vehicles on their way up and down the volcano. The following examples are some of the birding experience that awaits on Poas Volcano, Costa Rica: The Voices of Understory Birds. Just keep watching!

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Birds Cows Hunters 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2021

When you see a photo of a Snowcap, it’s easy to see why this species is a perennial top target for birding trips to Costa Rica. However, as with so many other bird species that must be seen to confirm their improbable existence, the Snowcap can be elusive. I’m sure several other species also occur.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2019

I recently despaired of ending this calendar year without seeing a single Wild Turkey when that species used to be so reliable in my part of New York. Luckily, we spied a large flock of turkeys from the highway between Syracuse and Binghamton. What was your best bird of the weekend?

2019 149

2019 Nevada Turkey New York 149

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2022

And I did manage to see a large number of new birds — 45 new species, to be specific. A surplus of quality birding experiences kept me from making my reports, which is embarrassing. I will start by telling you about encounters in Turkey with two special bird families. Turkey can get really hot in the summer. (It

Spain 162

Spain Turkey Mexico Agenda 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2020

This large, arboreal turkey-looking bird is endemic to Trinidad and recent estimates put their total numbers at around 300 individuals. What birders value most in this village does not frequent the shore, however. After stopping for afternoon coffee, our two-hour journey to Grande Riviere was made in pouring rain. And we were hungry.

Trinidad 251

Trinidad Turtles Turkey Fish 251

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2015

The feature distinguishes birds from other species; All birds have them, no other species do. Beaks vary across different kinds of birds, and this great diversity in beaks is part of the great diversity of the 10,000+ species of birds that exist today; Beaks thus facilitated the diversification of birds. So how did beaks evolve?

Alligators 243

Alligators Chickens Research Reptiles 243

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2014

New World vultures of the genus Cathartes ( Greater Yellow-headed , Lesser Yellow-headed and Turkey Vultures ) look much alike. Greater and Lesser Yellow-headed Vultures are so similar that for a long time were thought to be the same species. European Kestrels are known to see the urine trails their prey leave.

Mice 168

Mice Killing Turkey Mammals 168

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

I don’t consider my little garden to be a terribly birdy patch, although years of observation have resulted in my seeing 59 species there (64, if you count the White-throated Swifts , Black and Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks and Common Ravens that may fly high overhead). Días de precipitación = Days of precipitation.

Nashville 192

Nashville Mexico Turkey 2015 192

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2023

As such, it offers some unique birding experiences. Since I have limited experience with eastern Mexico, and even less experience with tropical species, I enthusiastically accepted. By week’s end I had 30 new species on my life list. Because of this, many of the species we saw are water-loving species.

Mexico 130

Mexico Tigers Cows Birds 130

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

Do you ever have those moments when you’re supposed to be paying attention to something serious, but you’re immeasurably distracted by the bird species around you? For me, that experience encompassed an entire trip to Picayune Strand. Located near Naples, FL, Picayune Strand is part of the wider Everglades.

Turkey 133

Turkey Birds Florida Experience 133

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 264

Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

processed the entire genomes of 48 bird species and compared nearly 42 million base pairs of DNA (Hackett et al. Now we move on to the Neognathae , which also has two very deep branches that lead to all the other living species of birds. Erich Jarvis discuss key findings. ). were revolutionary for using 32,000 base pairs!) This is why.

Family 279

Family Parrots 2014 Birds 279

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2019

Based on how naturally parrots and leafbirds (the real ones in Asia, not the figments that plague birders in every country) blend into foliage, I’d imagine that most arboreal avian species would want the same advantages. The first Turkey Vulture of the year is definitely the best one! How about you?

2019 115

2019 Asia Turkey Parrots 115

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? And why spend time only looking for one or two species when those hours could be used to put binos focused on a few dozen? Aren’t all birds worth watching?

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Panama Birds Nicaragua 203

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2019

I found myself in fine company on the hawk watch platform at Braddock Bay, where streaming flocks of Turkey Vultures were infiltrated by a variety of hawk species. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Did you join the party? What was your best bird of the weekend?

2019 115

2019 Turkey Birds Experience 115

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

Hundreds of both Glossy and White Ibis commute overhead, along with Great and Snowy Egrets , Little Blue and Tricolored Herons , and Black and Turkey Vultures. Suddenly, the entire trail system comes alive as birds begin their day. Snail Kite may also be spotted leaving their roosts near this trail during this time of year.

Wildlife 149

Wildlife Alligators Miami Florida 149

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

It’s fascinating stuff. Most of the chapters in The Bird Way focus on one or two scientists who has done extensive research on ‘outlier behavior.’

Science 257

Science Costa Rica Birds Research 257

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2011

Kirby Adams had a magical experience with his Best Bird of the Year and he blogged about it on his blog, Sharp Tern. While I had heard Yellow Rails in North Dakota in 2010, to see this Ohio Review Species fly, not once but twice, right in front of me was an incredible experience.

2011 163

2011 Ohio North Dakota Bald Eagle 163

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2012

Sure, their field guide, The Collins Guide , claims six species but two, the Corsican Nuthatch and the Algerian Nuthatch , have extremely limited ranges and one of those two isn’t actually found in Europe. That leaves only two species with a decent range and a distinct look.

Hungary 131

Hungary Europe Portugal Georgia 131

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2012

The birds themselves were not any species that would be entirely out of place where I live in North Carolina, but the geography of the peninsula is such that huge numbers of individual birds course southward with the wind at their backs this time of year. Something to work on, I guess. The raptors were great fun, though.

Virginia 159

Virginia North Carolina DC Louisiana 159

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2015

The count totaled 119 species, which is historically a very good number. 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? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed.

Bald Eagle 103

Bald Eagle Nashville 2015 Pelicans 103

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2017

We might not get the variety of a New Jersey autumn but we do get major numbers of species that winter in South America. However, this year, we opted for a site that could also give a chance at Great Jacamar and a few other key resident species in addition to migrants. Some were feeding on the ground.

Costa Rica 184

Costa Rica Parrots Farming Birds 184

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

Corey spent all day on Saturday blitzing across Queens with Carrie Laben and it was a wildly successful day with 87 species spotted including a Great Horned Owl that seemed not to know that owls are supposed to be hidden away during the day, fifteen Wilson’s Snipe (a new high count for Queens), and a Piping Plover. How about you?

2017 103

2017 Turkey Owls Birds 103

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

And I have lots of experience with my long lens drawing attention. I suspect that if I could have stood still for a bit, or even (gasp) wander away from the group, I could have seen many more species. But my bird of the day was a member of the wheatear genus, which I had recently met in Turkey. And yet, concerned they were.

Jordan 147

Jordan Israel Birds Turkey 147

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. Can we hit 200 ABA-countable species in four days next year?

Miami 175

Miami 2015 United States Florida 175

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2014

Mai Po Nature Reserve : world famous locale for shorebirds, waterfowl, waders, and wetland birds; wintering grounds for certain endangered species. The combination of these scheduled and informal birding efforts culminated in an amazing 135 species seen, many of which were lifers for me! SPECIES LIST. Deep Bay mudflats panorama.

2014 243

2014 Eagles Asia China 243

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2017

We spent a day on the beach, a morning on Turkey Creek, and took walks around the neighborhood. I remember my first months of birding; the excitement when discovering a new species, the challenge of recognizing field marks in my Sibley guide, the novel way I began to look at the world. I love hanging out with new birders.

Florida 100

Florida Fish Turkey 2013 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

We are entering the mixed colony of 11 species ( Grey , Squacco , Purple and Black-crowned Night Herons ; Great , Little and, recently, Cattle Egrets ; Eurasian Spoonbill (below) and Glossy Ibis ; Pygmy and Great Cormorant ). I do have experience with this species from Bodrum, Turkey; it is daring, bold and cocky, and is impossible to forget.

Greece 203

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 203

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2017

I go somewhere new, I’m excited about the experience, I write about it. In the summer, my bird lists mostly consist of mockingbirds and the ever-aloft Turkey Vultures , but winter in Florida is an excellent time to look for different avian varieties: the songbirds are back. But all birders know the value of your home turf, a.k.a.

Turkey 100

Turkey Birds Florida Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2019

eBird doesn’t offer such an option, so I used the second best: the species was observed in one month only. I counted them very roughly, but I do have a lot of experience estimating flocks. What qualifies a bird to be included in the top-5? My first criterion was that I observed it only once during the year 2018.

2018 122

2018 Serbia Greece Falcons 122

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2016

I was very pleased to discover that we had chosen to stay in a place smack dab in the middle of a juniper-pinyon forest, which meant that finding one of my main two target species of the trip, a Juniper Titmouse , was amazingly easy. You couldn’t miss them if you tried, despite their incredibly bland appearance.

Mules 103

Mules Utah Birds Deer 103

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2011

Turkeys, 3 or 4 species of woodpeckers, all kinds of song birds grace our view constantly. Stop by our blog for some nice shots and share the experience!! We feed them year around here and are “blessed&# to have a wild variety and abundance of birds. Almost time for hummers to make there appearance.

2011 150

2011 Deer South Dakota Costa Rica 150

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 29, 2006

332-3) Those are all compelling reasons to not feed your children meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, etc.) Sadly, Gillette's experience is not unique. Never mind that the bulk of the fat in Starbucks's beverages comes from the milk -- yes, milk ! -- of another species. What about other animal products such as dairy products?

Animal 40

Animal Meat Cows District of Columbia 40