10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Not that I don’t enjoy seeing new species myself, it’s just that they are an easy target and I am nothing if not lazy and mean spirited. But there is one kind of tick that I genuinely do enjoy, and as I do more and more birding it becomes harder and harder to get; new families.

Family 163

Family Wombats Uganda Fiji 163

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. Then we went back, on entirely unplanned trips in January. (My

Jordan 192

Jordan Mexico Ohio Spain 192

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. ’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. Now we move on to the Neognathae , which also has two very deep branches that lead to all the other living species of birds. Open Jarvis et al.’s

Family 279

Family Parrots 2014 Birds 279

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

Every place has its common birds, the species that do very well in a given habitat. As we like to say, these are species that are “hard to miss”, birds that, if you are watching, will be seen. In northern habitats, they could be Common Ravens, geese , or chickadees. Looking for parrots at sites with rainforest?

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. A ground-dove from another day. Costa Rican Pygmy-Owl. Wrenthrush Zone.

Costa Rica 251

Costa Rica Birds Owls Geese 251

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 next morning is for the Kerkini Lake, one of the youngest national parks of Greece, protected only ten years ago, in 2006 and inhabited by 11 amphibian, 27 reptilian, 44 mammal and 312 bird species.

Greece 251

Greece Boars Woodpeckers Eagles 251

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2015

Midsummer birding can become boring if you focus solely on species counts. Canada Geese are never as interesting as when escorting those adorable goslings! 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.

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

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. Over 200 species of birds can be found on the refuge, depending on the time of year. Despite all this red tape stuff, I am still making some time for birding. Nisqually NWR.

Fox 124

Fox Washington Bald Eagle Geese 124

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. What a marvelous sight my seventh goose (and 313th species) for Queens was! The morning wasn’t a total loss though.

Puerto Rico 121

Puerto Rico Geese Canada Porpoises 121

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. Luis is an avid eBirder and he likes to keep a good record of his lists, photograph as many species as he can, and he encourages others to do the same.

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. For those of you following along on my “ Little Big Year” the numbers are as follows: Little Big Year species – 814. USA species – 111.

New Zealand 112

New Zealand Seattle Qatar South Africa 112

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2014

There is a huge variety of bird-life and by visiting at different times of day I have found over 65 species, with the highlight so far being the Black Bittern that I wrote of last week. 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.

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

DECEMBER 15, 2017

And I think it’s safe to say the other two North American crow species aren’t showing up in New York any time soon. 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.

New York 124

New York Portland Washington Geese 124

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2018

Even before we had reached the lake we had encountered forty bird species in forty minutes, so we knew we were going to have a good day! 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.

Ducks 100

Ducks Australia Geese 2009 100

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

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

APRIL 13, 2013

Always bringing her camera along, Erika is building her life-list by trying to check off at least one new species each week in her field guide. There were people at the basin, and the most popular species of the day, the semi-professional photographer, was already plentiful that morning. Her blog can be found at: [link].

DC 191

DC Washington Birds Geese 191

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

The grass is green, the wildflowers are spectacular and now we have numerous species of dragonfly to enjoy as the season starts to change. 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. Masked Lapwing protecting a nest.

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. Jackbirds are young South Island Saddlebacks.

New Zealand 104

New Zealand Parrots Rats Bats 104

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

Located about 20 miles from Lakeview, Oregon, and sitting at an elevation of 5100 feet, this 208 acre lake is home to many species of fish, including Largemouth Bass, Crappie and Bluegill. This is one of several families of Western Grebes stayed out in the middle of the lake all day. Lets see what fun species I can find over there?

Dogs 103

Dogs Mules Deer Oregon 103

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2016

On my recent short family vacation to Miami, I was granted a single day to get out and really bird like a madman. The reason the location is remaining undisclosed is that reliable Mangrove Cuckoos are difficult to find in the American Birding Association area and are a very sought after species. We needed countable species!

Florida 117

Florida Miami Birds Owls 117

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

The Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching offers two types of information: Species Accounts–descriptions of 112 birds within 15 families as they appear over and on the water, and Where to Watch, brief descriptions of 47 sites on the North American eastern coast and interior recommended for seawatching. No rails or gallinules.

Ducks 230

Ducks Groups North America North Dakota 230

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2016

Tawny Frogmouths are actually more closely related to the Nightjar family. The dam was very full and there were numerous species of birds present. Most were similar to what we had seen in September, with the addition of Magpie Geese in the flooded long grass. Tawny Frogmouth before it changes shape!

Shelters 100

Shelters Geese Australia 2010 100

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. But one of the species I most wanted to track down because they are one of my favorite boreal birds, Olive-sided Flycatchers, were absent. Wait, what?

New York City 161

New York City New York Canada Woodpeckers 161

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2017

I saw Painted Wolves again, my favourite species ever. In particular they evoke the New Hampshire lake my extended family descends upon each summer and has done so from before I was born. The Orange-fronted Parakeet is a critically endangered species that I came agonisingly close to seeing but didn’t. I went to Ethiopia.

United Arab Emirates 100

United Arab Emirates Ethiopia 2016 Singapore 100

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

OCTOBER 18, 2016

Primates are exceptional among the mammals, living amphibians (which represent only a small part of the original amphibian family tree) are pretty noisy too. It is costly, it determines mating success, it defines and controls territoriality, and in some species may be communicative in other ways as well.

Primates 169

Primates Groups Collecting Bats 169

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. Do neighbors refer to you as bird species + Lady or Guy? She added more corn. Are you the local Goose Lady?

Bald Eagle 242

Bald Eagle Deer Minnesota 2000 242

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2011

The adults of most species will still care for the chicks no matter how much you touch them. The first few years for female ducks and geese are kind of practice rounds. Try to get it too another family group or contact a wildlife rehabber. Try to get it too another family group or contact a wildlife rehabber.

Fox 265

Fox Birds Raised Geese 265

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2013

Seeing 525 species was nice, as was the fact that I birded in four countries, nine of the fifty states in the United States, and fifty-one counties. I want to reach 500 birds in the ABA, get my Queens list to 295, see a total of at least 500 species, and get my World Life List to 1,100. But how did I see so many species this year?

2012 143

2012 Czech Republic Hedgehogs Hungary 143

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2012

This species occurs from Australia up to South East Asia, but is common nowhere and the Daintree is one of the best places to see this massive heron. We then saw another speciality of the area, a juvenile Great-billed Heron. As you can see from my photo, however, the light wasn’t really doing us any favours.

Australia 156

Australia Asia Geese Eagles 156

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Hunting sandhill cranes in Kentucky is a bad idea from a public relations standpoint, considering the growing cadre of birders and nature enthusiasts for whom cranes are a touchstone species. Initiating a hunting season on a large, charismatic species like a crane is no way to resuscitate hunting. Isn’t that neat?

2011 244

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 244

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Other birds with webbed feet, including ducks and geese, have only three webbed toes; the hallux (which in birds is usually the “hind toe&# and in humans, the “big toe&# ) is free. But meanwhile, let’s look at the four avian families that comprise the brand new order Suliformes.

2011 152

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea California 152

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

The Refuge is now home to nearly 200 species of birds, over 50 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles and amphibians, and a wide variety of insects, fish and plants. The refuge offers opportunities for hiking and biking trails, canoeing and kayaking on Swan Lake, bank fishing, and family friendly programs and events.”

Fish 143

Fish Wildlife Hunting Louisiana 143