10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2011

Before my trip to Washington the only species of puffin I had ever seen in the wild was the puffin of the Atlantic Ocean, the appropriately named Atlantic Puffin. The first obstacle was getting to the general range of the species, which is the west coast from northern California to Alaska and across to Russia.* I love puffins.

Washington 227

Washington Protection Puffins Rhinoceros 227

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2012

In the last couple of weeks I’ve seen over 20 new species. Birds arrive, and immediately start the business of breeding, so they can raise a family and be gone before winter arrives. Birds like American Coots and Long-eared Owls in Arviat, to Bald Eagles in Whale Cove. Poor shot I know, but it is a rare bird for here.

Bald Eagle 222

Bald Eagle Breeding Whales Whaling 222

Critter News

FEBRUARY 9, 2012

Do whales deserve constitutional protection against slavery? PETA went on to request that the whales be freed and released to a habitat better suited to their needs. SeaWorld’s attempts to deny [orcas] the protection solely based on their species is the same kind of prejudice used to justify any enslavement. On Wednesday, U.S.

PETA 100

PETA San Diego Ethical Treatment Whales 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

Nice. ((** all names have been changed to protect identities and have been substituted with (almost) randomly chosen substitutes suitable for a family of Alpine Accentors.)) Dale studied scarlet macaws, and worked in their conservation, for three years in southern Costa Rica, followed by a year in the Caribbean working on Whale Sharks.

2011 235

2011 Breeders Deer Breeding 235

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

In August, we took a family trip to beautiful San Diego, seeing SeaWorld , LegoLand , and the San Diego Zoo. Additionally, there are still a few regularly-occurring Pacific pelagic species that I have never seen. But I took a day for myself for a 12-hour pelagic trip sponsored by Buena Vista Audubon. This was much larger.

San Diego 147

San Diego Los Angeles Cooking North Carolina 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

I am shocked to be writing this post already, and doubly shocked that I’ve seen six new species for Queens since I guessed what my next five Queens birds would be just eight months ago, back in March. Eastern Whip-Poor-Will : It’s kind of amazing how rarely this species is reported in Queens. I’ll make it three!

New York City 200

New York City Birds New York Blackbirds 200

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

Large areas of the islands are taken over as the breeding grounds of the Western Gull , a large bird that is without question the most ornery member of the family I have ever encountered. A great place to watch whales and pelagic seabirds. And it isn’t just on the ground or an occasional accidental hazard. Note about images.

Breeding 241

Breeding Stray Seals Whales 241

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2013

Now my Queens list stands at a whopping 302, which means I have actually added thirteen species since my last predictions. We had a family picnic at Fort Tilden less than two weeks after my last set of predictions and a single Purple Martin was flying low over the fields with Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows. Number 300 in Queens!

2012 171

2012 New York City Jamaica 2013 171

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 9, 2016

If you aren’t the one driving it’s worth keeping an eye out for Southern Right Whales wintering in the bay (the road is rather to twisty to be looking if you’re driving). But my target was, and I managed to find, a handful of Bank Cormorants, the only local species that had eluded me till that point. A sensible sign.

South Africa 124

South Africa Penguins Africa Whales 124

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2017

I started the year in Florida, traveled to India with the ABA in February, combined family and birding in an August trip to California, and in-between saw very good birds in New York and New Jersey. I tested the waters before my California pelagic, with a brief Atlantic Ocean voyage, a whale watching trip from Montauk, N.Y.

2016 167

2016 India Ducks Costa Rica 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family.

Africa 250

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 250

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2014

I actually have many targets, in a way, a I want to see lots and lots, but there is one species that the reason that the trip is even happening, the animal that has been pretty much the top of my animal bucket list for well over a decade. It’s a species that has bedeviled and bewitched me over the years. A beaked whale.

Sharks 231

Sharks Leopards Whales Whaling 231

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2018

There are important details within that dictum that we will ignore here, but this has to do with knowing when a characteristic doesn’t really tell you about the relative position of species on a “tree of life” vs when the characteristic works for that purpose. Rather, cladistics is a way of looking at the process of evolution of species.

Monkeys 196

Monkeys Gorillas Whales Whaling 196

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

In California I smelt the breath a Blue Whale as it passed feet beneath my boat. You may not get the species counts that the race delivers, but you’ll have memories burned into your skull. Ugandan Mangabeys were part of my family once. In Belize I cruised above reefs few people had ever seen.

Uganda 203

Uganda Sharks New Zealand Africa 203

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Elephants, whales, hippopotamuses, giraffes, and alligators use low-frequency sounds to communicate over long distances, often miles; and bats, dolphins, whales, frogs, and various rodents use high-frequency sounds to find food, communicate with others, and navigate. A Grateful Whale.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2011

It didn’t take long to be set right though, as I managed to get my first native species, the Polynesian Starling , while drinking a Coke on the waterfront of Nuku’alofa, the small town on Tongatapu which is Tonga’s capital. Tonga is famous for its whales, and there are opportunities to swim with them in the northern islands.

Tonga 221

Tonga Fiji New Zealand Parrots 221

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

Chacachacare was also the site of a US Army base, a leper colony, and before that, a whaling station. Walking along the beach and drifting sporadically into the dry forest, the first birds we heard were White-fringed Antwrens and Black-faced Grassquits – both are species not found on Trinidad but relatively common on Tobago.

Trinidad 253

Trinidad Netherlands Columbus Whales 253

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Eighteen-hour trips are the rule and only about four or five hours are spent in the prime area to see the species most birders are hoping to see. I’ve been on a whale-watching trip in Orange County , twice gone out to Santa Cruz Island , and even visited Protection Island off the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.

Whales 167

Whales Whaling Albatross Sea Lions 167