10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Instead of going on about zip lines and other modern, adventure tourism attractions, the birding crowd talks about taking photos of Resplendent Quetzals , seeing dozens of hummingbird species, and the seemingly odd absence of raptors in Costa Rica but nope, we don’t really talk about extinction. Resplendence.

Costa Rica 223

Costa Rica Species Panama Falcons 223

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

Osborn, a passionate field biologist who participates to the core of her being three re-introduction projects aimed at saving three very different, endangered species: Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (‘Alala)*, and California Condor. She never finds her long days observing her falcons, crows, and condors boring.

California Condor 184

California Condor Falcons California Coyotes 184

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2024

Adult Audouin’s Gulls now passing show heavily abraded plumage after breeding I covered the main species in my 23rd June article “When the sea becomes a desert”. This is Eleonora’s Falcon ( Falco eleonorae ). It is a bonus but simply standing on top of a cliff feeling the cool sea breeze on your face is sufficient reward.

Falcons 304

Falcons Breeding Family Groups 304

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2013

Since there are only nine species of Raven in the world, Corey and I are going to host a quickie for the coolest corvids of all this week. Common/Northern Ravens are welcome, but anything touching the other eight extant species is especially appreciated. We look forward to your Ravens and Falcons!

Falcons 150

Falcons Atlanta Baltimore ALA 150

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

On 11 November 2012 I was leaving Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake after a fruitless morning of trying to photograph birds in a snowstorm and poor light when a female Prairie Falcon ambushed this Northern Shoveler on the water not far from the causeway on which I was driving. Here she is making one of her very low passes over the duck.

Falcons 118

Falcons Ducks Utah 2003 118

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

What is a falcon, really? Based on their physical attributes and lifestyle, falcons enjoyed a very long run as a founding member of the order Falconiformes, along with the rest of the diurnal raptor-y type birds like vultures and eagles and hawks and hawk-eagles. Laughing Falcon, photo by Renato Espinosa. Like falcons?

Falcons 124

Falcons Lifestyle Eagles Parrots 124

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2022

A large, bulky falcon cruising overhead could only be a Peregrine Falcon. As soon as we noticed it, a Merlin appeared from nowhere and headed directly for the Peregrine, divebombing the larger falcon. As per usual falcon procedure, it all happened much too quickly for me to get a decent photograph!

Trinidad 246

Trinidad Falcons Ducks Livestock 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2022

There aren’t many places in the world where one can observe rainforest-dependent species against the stunning blue backdrop of the ocean. It is almost as if the island is filled to the brim with these exotic species, and they are overflowing onto the Caribbean Sea! The archetypical rainforest bird – Channel-billed Toucan.

Trinidad 264

Trinidad Venezuela Bats Woodpeckers 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2024

One always wants to see as many species as possible in a single day, whether on an ocean island with few species, or in Suffolk, England. It was in this latter region that he reports seeing 60 species on his first outing of this year. But how many species can one see over a few hours in the highlands of central Mexico?

Mexico 220

Mexico Birds Woodpeckers Sparrows 220

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2021

This may seem like government agency hair-splitting, but the calls needed to be made not to the wildlife division of the wildlife agency, but to the exotic species division of the wildlife agency. The bird is a captive-bred Peregrine/Gyrfalcon hybrid owned by people with an Exotic Species Permit.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 264

Wildlife Rehabilitation Tethering Giraffes Alabama 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2022

Since most of the rain happened the evening of the 8th and the following morning, many sites had good weather on the morning of October Global Big Day and because of that, local birders still managed to identify well over 700 species in Costa Rica (!). and ended later that eveing with a final total of 154 species.

Costa Rica 272

Costa Rica San Jose Falcons Owls 272

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2015

Each year, I hope to identify at least 600 species. That 600th species was a Streaked Xenops , an especially uncommon bird in Costa Rica usually seen at Tapanti National Park. That 600th species was a Streaked Xenops , an especially uncommon bird in Costa Rica usually seen at Tapanti National Park. Streaked Xenops.

Costa Rica 154

Costa Rica 2015 Species West Virginia 154

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2024

Well, the Latin name of the species is Tyrannus savana and what better savanna to photograph it in than the Rupununi? Jabiru Maguari Stork Double-striped Thick-knee I spent considerable time getting lost photographing these species in this otherworldly landscape as the dawn progressed.

Guyana 219

Guyana Giraffes Brazil Trinidad 219

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

It was Montagu who first realised that the “Ring-tail hawk” and the gray male Hen Harrier were the same species, and that the bird he called the Ash-coloured Falcon was a different species to the Hen Harrier, an impressive achievement at that time. Eleonora’s Falcons still breed on Sardinia today.

Falcons 229

Falcons Wounded 2003 Killing 229

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

As mentioned in many other posts on this blog, the avifauna of Trinidad & Tobago consists of several species and family groups occurring very interestingly, in threes. Short-tailed Nighthawk (above and below) Overall, this species seems to be poorly known, which is understandable given its habits. Well, kind of.

Trinidad 130

Trinidad Bats Falcons Groups 130

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 10, 2024

Although the bird was found a while ago, it had still been seen the day before I went to check out the site with my mother (not a birder but interested in birds), who, in an unlikely coincidence, came across this species a few days earlier when looking through my bird guide and decided that she would really want to see this species.

Reptiles 219

Reptiles Falcons Groups Species 219

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

The evening was drawing to a close and we had just checked on the roosting nighthawks and were about to check another field for shorebirds when we spotted a lone Aplomado Falcon perched on a distant tree. We observed it as it changed perch and attracted the ire of the resident Tropical Kingbirds , eventually forcing the falcon to depart.

Falcons 288

Falcons Experience Experiments Birds 288

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2024

There are bird species with the power of personality and feathered friends with super migratory prowess. Some of us are captivated by the fierce stares of hawks and the raptorial majesty of a diving falcon. I live in Costa Rica, a place that makes up for the lack of cardinals with trogons, motmots, and like 900 other bird species.

Costa Rica 245

Costa Rica Birds Parrots New York 245

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2017

Instead it’s one you’re likely to turn to on coming home after a long day to find out a bit more about one of the species you spotted – or to consult before a trip to learn the little quirks of a target species. Birds of Prey: Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, and Vultures of North America by Pete Dunne with Kevin T.

North America 103

North America Falcons America Eagles 103

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 258

Florida Miami Falcons Birds 258

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2022

One of the reasons that I usually start each year’s species list with a visit to the wetlands of Lake Cuitzeo is that the site offers so many species that I can find nowhere else. Not all the colorful species have feathers. There are several, almost identical, species of Flycatchers in the Myiarchus genus.

Eagles 222

Eagles Falcons Sparrows Species 222

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

An associated issue is that the Belize and Costa Rica guides share many of the same descriptions of species, written by Howell. Similarly, descriptions of species repeated across volumes do not lose their accuracy with each publication. Other species are splits and lumped and have had their names changed. Why are these issues?

Costa Rica 221

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 221

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2021

We only saw the first two, and in our effort to scour each broken limb for a perched raptor, we stumbled upon a Bat Falcon of all creatures. Bat Falcon in the now blazing sun. The area is known for being a breeding area of the enigmatic Rufous Crab-Hawk and it was the first place I saw the species, many years ago.

Sea Turtles 262

Sea Turtles Bats Turtles Trinidad 262

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2024

I was excited to land my first Laughing Falcon , a charismatic species that I had been drooling over for years. A lek of which species? Readers of my last post here would be familiar with the writer missing this species after visiting a known lek. Unbelievably, after seeing over 70 species, it was not yet noon.

Guyana 225

Guyana Ducks Falcons Woodpeckers 225

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

We have observed huge flocks of Galahs there on previous visits and other times there are more bird species, but only one or two of each species. Whistling Kites and Black Kites were active in the area too due to the nearby fire and we observed a Brown Falcon perched in a nearby tree. Small dam at Cockatoo Creek.

Cattle 274

Cattle Ducks Zebras Australia 274

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2021

It was an unexpected bird tour, without too much planning and aimed at a few target species, of which we saw most, but the main one eluded us… Early morning, leaving the last houses behind… and a Little Owl awaits us on a traffic sign. Red-footed Falcon by Martin Mecnarowski/Wikimedia Commons. Did I mention Great Bustards ?

Serbia 245

Serbia Romania Eagles Falcons 245

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

We did just that and were treated to a parade of species both in front of and behind the house. Out back, a water feature at the edge of the forest saw visits from several Painted Buntings, Olive Sparrow and a few other species during the heat of the day. Gartered Trogon. and Zone-tailed, Gray, Broad-winged, and White Hawks.

Costa Rica 200

Costa Rica Philadelphia Falcons Owls 200

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2024

The festival headquarters is located on the southwest side of Mission Bay, overlooking a marina with nearby Black-crowned Night Herons and frequently plays host to several falcon species, and a short walk to the San Diego River. Granted, it is a large county spanning many different habitats, but San Diego County garners 515 species.

San Diego 209

San Diego Sea Lions Lions Birds 209

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2013

In a move that’s sure to stir controversy far beyond the borders of California, federal officials have announced that h enceforth, fledgling Peregrine Falcons won’t be relocated from nests built on bridges in the state. But it also means that some baby falcons are likely to plunge into a watery grave. What do you think?

California 188

California Endangered Species Falcons Jordan 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2015

Since we’ve covered some generalities already, once a month I’ll be exploring how a species, genus, or family of birds got its name, and how those names fit in with our larger understanding of, and relationship with, birds. At the request of blog management, I’m embarking on a series of posts on the names of birds.

Falcons 260

Falcons Eagles Meat Geese 260

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

Today the reserve contains mature forests, secondary forests, rivers, lagoons, small waterfalls, agroforestry productive areas, and functional gardens; which are the habitat of more than 350 species of birds.

Costa Rica 247

Costa Rica Sanctuary Bats Woodpeckers 247

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2022

Gazetted as the “nature monument” in 2013, one of the few remaining – Bojcinska Forest by the village of Progar covers 670 ha / 1650 ac, with around 108 bird species and some 60 species of mammals. Also, there was a Black Kite awaiting us, as well as one Red-footed Falcon sitting on a dead oak branch. And that is where Q.

Croatia 234

Croatia Serbia Shelters France 234

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2015

I am inside the city of Belgrade, checking the theoretically possible Peregrine Falcon site. Yet, not a trace of a falcon. ” Falcons do hunt pigeons, we all know that, but what is a Kamikaze pigeon? That is why Belgrade is not proud of its falcons and why I am not telling you more about them. One Feral Pigeon.

Switzerland 197

Switzerland Serbia Feral Falcons 197

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Now I break (and think that I should put a „I break for birds“ bumper sticker), bins… a falcon! An Eleonora’s Falcon , light morph, makes several circles above the Olive grove and it is gone. I am exhilarated – I have had only a handful of chances to observe this species! Such a fascinating species.

Greece 231

Greece Falcons Madagascar Africa 231

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2021

The arrival of those migratory species was my motivation for spending a Monday around our church last week. This handsome immature male Broad-tailed Hummingbird was only my third sighting of this species at this site. But a majestic pair of Crested Caracaras gave me my first sighting ever of this species near our church.

Sparrows 211

Sparrows Falcons Woodpeckers Species 211

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2023

Some 320 species have been recorded here, and in springtime it is possible to observe more than 150 bird species in a week. Last but not least, there were three species of shrikes, Red-backed , Lesser Grey and at least 2 Masked Shrikes , possibly 2 more, an entire family (not all were showing so well).

Greece 235

Greece Pelicans Stray Dog Tortoises 235

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2021

Similar to 2020, more than 32,000 people participated, 78,000 checklists were submitted, and more than 7,200 bird species were identified. In Costa Rica, despite there seeming to be less enthusiasm than previous GBDs, enough local and visiting birders dedicated most of the day to binocular use to give us a fantastic total of 731 species !

Costa Rica 260

Costa Rica 2020 Species Falcons 260