10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2024

So yes, I needed to see this beast, this flying door, this scourge of all things’ geese, this modern Roc. The rooms are floating in a pond and the pond provides a home for a Eurasian Beaver family. Skeins of Greylag Geese completed the picture. Our eagle makes Baldy look imparfait, even a bit manqué. The omens were bad.

Beavers 140

Beavers Netherlands Eagles Bald Eagle 140

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

It also summarizes the vagrancy status of every bird family in the whole wide world, which makes it fun to read as well as superbly educational. The Family Accounts are the fun part of the book. The Family Accounts are also a deeply informational, documented source of information for researchers. Next time, I’ll know why.

Compassion 258

Compassion Birds Eagles Science 258

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. In 2008, Nick Sly published a review of Hackett et al. titled Avian relationships – What do we know? Now it’s late 2014, six and a half years later, and here’s what we know today. Open Jarvis et al.’s Ratites, Tinamous, and Fowl.

Family 279

Family Parrots 2014 Birds 279

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

The best test of that proposition, of course, is to repeat it to any one of the hundreds of thousands of birders who have, say, a family. When he isn’t traveling the world in search of birds, art, and excitement, Rick Wright lives in northern New Jersey with his family, Alison Beringer and Avril Huang, and their black lab puppy, Quetzal.

New Jersey 242

New Jersey Guatemala France Birds 242

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2023

Then we threw together a semi-planned family-related trip to the States in early December. This meant I saw some truly domesticated species there, like these Graylag and African (domesticated Swan ) Geese : Fortunately, all the other birds I saw there were truly wild. But my wife’s and my lives have been rather chaotic of late.

Jordan 192

Jordan Mexico Ohio Spain 192

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

I tried to get a better idea of what exactly the definition of cuckoo-dove is but am still not very clear about it – Wikipedia only offers the rather formal definition “any of several species of bird in the genera Macropygia , Reinwardtoena, and Turacoena of the pigeon family.” But I may well be wrong.

Geese 147

Geese Birds Fish Sparrows 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2022

In northern habitats, they could be Common Ravens, geese , or chickadees. You’ll probably hear them first, like so many others of their family, they aren’t shy about making some noise. As one might expect, signature birds take many forms. Bird in southern Asia and there are mynas and magpie-robins.

Costa Rica 147

Costa Rica San Jose Asia Geese 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2022

It’s all good and yet at the same time, there are still birding moments made special by seeing life birds, seeing and hearing birds do things we had never imagined, or losing oneself in the fantastic noise made by a flock of parakeets, geese, or migrating thrushes. Wrenthrush Zone.

Costa Rica 250

Costa Rica Birds Owls Geese 250

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2015

Canada Geese are never as interesting as when escorting those adorable goslings! I’m excited to be camping with my family in the Adirondacks this weekend. However, even the most jaded among us should be able to appreciate the appearance and behavior of fledglings and juveniles.

Breeders 158

Breeders 2015 Geese Canada 158

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 259

Falcons Eagles Meat Geese 259

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2016

By the cliffs we find several Eurasian Crag-Martins and a consolation species – a family of Golden Eagles in the air! The WBW remained elusive like a bear (for me at least – a month ago, Georgos met a mother with two cubs, took a few photos, then dropped down and played dead). Enough of the mountains. Should I add, a lifer, too.

Greece 251

Greece Boars Woodpeckers Eagles 251

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

Despite my best efforts and despite seeing around 200 Canada Geese , I had no luck with the Specklebelly. I saw lots of Canada Geese – about 450 – but no Greater White-fronted Goose. It didn’t take too long for my reverie in my birding Eden to be disrupted by an unleashed dog that flushed the geese.

Puerto Rico 121

Puerto Rico Geese Canada Porpoises 121

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

This location is great as it is close to Jeanne’s Family, as well as a very short drive to the Billy Frank Jr. This cold weather and snow does not seem to have much effect on the huge number of ducks and geese, but the smaller song birds, all seem to wake up much later in the days, and only after it has warmed up a bit. Nisqually NWR.

Fox 124

Fox Washington Bald Eagle Geese 124

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2017

Magpie Geese arrived in the Broome area and bred close to the main highway and have now moved off to deeper water. On several occasions recently we have had to stop on the highway to let families of birds go across from one wet side of the road to the other wet side of the road. Adult and Juvenile Black-winged Stilts.

Breeding 100

Breeding Geese Australia Eggs 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2014

Barnacle Geese and their downy-grey cygnets were everywhere, grazing alongside picnickers and sunbathers. Still, I was glad to be able to snap some shots of these very special (at least to me) geese. Sweden was one of the most memorable places on this trip, and ending our stay here with these geese sent us off on a high note.

Sweden 165

Sweden Denmark Geese Finland 165

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

But I do have rules about whether I can have said to have visited a country, ie does the country “count” which I have inherited from my family, particularly my Dad. My favourite was a family of Hartlaub’s Babblers on the Namibian side, and a bright jewel of a Malachite Kingfisher on the Botswanan side.

Botswana 162

Botswana Lesotho Bald Eagle Elephants 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2015

Regardless of the temperatures I got out and about both mornings on my own and in the afternoons with the family. The Snow Geese at Big Egg Marsh were fun to photograph as they landed on the field on Saturday. There were lots of birds around and my camera was in overdrive! They won’t be around too much longer.

Bald Eagle 181

Bald Eagle New York City Birds Geese 181

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

Marlow Lagoon is an excellent place to observe the Kingfisher family and often I will see a Sacred Kingfisher sitting on the power line near the entrance. There have been a pair of Green Pygmy-geese at the lagoon as well recently and they float around among the water-lilies. Straw-necked Ibis and Green Pygmy-geese.

Geese 167

Geese Australia Parrots Dogs 167

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

The last weekend of January found me in the frosty Pacific Northwest, meeting some long over due work and family obligations. Nearly 800 acres of wetlands and tidal flats provide diverse habitat for the local birds, as well as large numbers of migratory species, including thousands of ducks and geese. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.

Wildlife 104

Wildlife Seattle Bald Eagle Geese 104

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2014

The day before the marmot encounter, I spotted an American Robin on my lawn; the night before that, the distinctive sound of a small flock of Snow Geese sounded from the sky above my apartment, heading north. For yes, it is that time again. The one thing that a traditional nature documentary often lacks is real characters, to its detriment.

Woodchucks 230

Woodchucks Chipmunks Rodents Seals 230

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2018

There was a family of Comb-crested Jacana with two very small chicks running on the vegetation in the lake and several Green Pygmy-geese families too. The header photo shows the large Australian Shelduck swimming in the lake over three hundred metres from us on the far side.

Ducks 100

Ducks Australia Geese 2009 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2020

The bird family that got his attention was originally the herons, egrets and other wading birds, but as time went on New World warblers, woodpeckers and ducks fueled the passion further.

Canada 165

Canada Cuba Miami Florida 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2018

In the winter this place is alive with thousand of ducks and geese. Today, I saw a handful of Mallards , two Common Mergansers, and a Wood Duck Family. This Western Wood Pewee was going back and forth with a mouth full of bugs as well. Here are a couple of the babies that have wandered off from mom.

New Zealand 112

New Zealand Seattle Qatar South Africa 112

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2017

Fermentation of Uncommon Crow is carried out exclusively with a local strain of Brettanomyces , the wild yeast family we’ve encountered before in some other sour beers. Two juvenile American Crows , undoubtedly begging for blackberries near Lake George in Washington County, New York.

New York 124

New York Portland Washington Geese 124

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2013

The Grebes were gone, but present were the ever ubiquitous Canada Geese. Some people, one or two of my family members included, hate Canada Geese with a passion that rivals their hatred for mosquitoes (if you’re from Maine, or New England at all, you know that hatred runs deep). Weather is weird.

DC 190

DC Washington Birds Geese 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

The open plains are now busy with young Magpie Geese and numerous other waterbirds and the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers are busy feeding up before migration. So, it is not just a Broome supermarket car park that is great for finding Tawny Frogmouth families, but Derby airport also has Masked Lapwings breeding in their grounds!

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Protection Cows 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2016

There are a few, mostly confined to domestic or game birds that people may be familiar with at all stages of their lives – young pigeons are squabs, ducks are duckings, swans are cygnets, geese are gosling. They may be, but the names haven’t caught on. This adult still has some brown on the neck, but fully developed wattles.

New Zealand 104

New Zealand Parrots Rats Bats 104

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2017

Magpie Geese were breeding close to the main highway south of Broome and so were the Whiskered Terns , White-winged Black Terns , Purple Swamphens , Comb-crested Jacanas , Wandering Whistling Ducks and Plumed Whistling Ducks. The more brightly coloured female bird remained at the back of the family group as they swam to shore.

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Raised 2017 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 17, 2011

The interplay between birders and their non-birding loved ones ring true, especially between the Steve Martin character and his family. Owen Wilson could have really shone as a character that was a huge deal in the birding world but a real loser in his family life but his performance was flat. What didn’t I like?

Colorado 243

Colorado Geese Family Owls 243

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2011

The first few years for female ducks and geese are kind of practice rounds. Experienced Canada geese will corral young from less experienced females and you’ll find rafts of 20 goslings tended by a four adults–safety in large numbers. Try to get it too another family group or contact a wildlife rehabber.

Fox 265

Fox Birds Raised Geese 265

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2014

My string of winter-only visits to the Adirondacks is over now, happily, because of a three-day weekend with the family in Montreal. In one of the few areas with a decent amount of open water I was surprised to see Canada Geese with young. Wait, what? It was nice to see Gray Jays without snow on the ground.

New York City 161

New York City New York Canada Woodpeckers 161

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

Sandhill Cranes calling somewhere on the south end of the lake, Western Grebes calling to one another, Canada Geese honking away noisily, and somewhere above me, Red-wing Blackbirds roosting in a pine tree called out, in their harsh gargling cry. This is one of several families of Western Grebes stayed out in the middle of the lake all day.

Dogs 103

Dogs Mules Deer Oregon 103

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 14, 2011

Feeding birds is generally regarded as a harmless past-time, a wholesome way for people to share nature and enjoy wildlife with the family. She started feeding the ducks and geese that used the open water in the 1980s. However, more and more news stories are popping up this year of communities cracking down on bird feeding.

Bald Eagle 242

Bald Eagle Deer Minnesota 2000 242

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

Also known as the Flyeater, this tiny bird is the only representative of the Australasian warbler family found in mainland Asia, and very similar to my own Grey Warblers in New Zealand, even their songs. Straight off the bat we found a Little Grebe and a small flock of distant Cotton Pygmy-geese !

Thailand 102

Thailand New Zealand Bats Family 102

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2012

Still, we did manage to find some other impressive waterbirds, including Royal Spoonbills , Great Egrets , Striated Herons , Nankeen Night-herons (quite a good location for members of that family actually), Great Cormorants , Green Pygmy Geese and Australasian Darters.

Australia 156

Australia Asia Geese Eagles 156

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2016

Tawny Frogmouths are actually more closely related to the Nightjar family. Most were similar to what we had seen in September, with the addition of Magpie Geese in the flooded long grass. The first impression you may get when you observe a Tawny Frogmouth is that it is some sort of Owl , because it can look similar.

Shelters 100

Shelters Geese Australia 2010 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2012

I figured a Pacific Loon is a Pacific Loon no matter how far away it is and made the hour-drive from JFK Airport after dropping my family off Saturday morning. So the loon being seen in East Moriches, out in Suffolk County on Long Island, was very tempting despite the fact that most folks who found it were getting distant looks. And scanning.

New York 135

New York Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 135