In the dictionary, the word harry is defined as meaning to harass, annoy, or prove a nuisance to by repeated attacks. Randy Finley of Wildlifist generously shares with us a photo series that shows exactly how the Northern Harrier earned its evocative name… On a recent chilly late December morning, I was visiting the Lower [...]

Luisa Elena Betancourt is an artist with a MFA from Washington State University which she got through the Fulbright program in 1992. She contacted Corey to ask permission to use a Masked Trogon image from the blog for an art show and Corey agreed provided she would write a post for 10,000 Birds about how [...]

Timothy Barksdale is a birder, Prairie Chicken documentarian, and wildlife videographer well-known for his stunning Adventures with Birdman. He’s got a different view on how bird watchers should respond to The Big Year than the one Corey recently expressed here. We’re pleased to share his thoughtful perspective and plea for your consideration… Dear Friends and [...]

Alex Washoe is a freelance writer and bookseller in Seattle, WA.  who can be found regularly at the bird and wildlife blog Birdland West. However, he’s been known to share his perspicacious avian observations around the web, including right here! Last time, Alex asked us to Consider the Chickadee. Today, he talks about a crazy woodpecker… A [...]

Robert Gallardo is well-known to many readers of 10,000 Birds as an outstanding Neotropical nature guide, author, and manager of La Chorcha Lodge. He is also the Vice-President of the Honduran Ornithological Association. A Spanish version of the following article appeared in the 9/4/11 edition of the Honduran publication, La Tribuna. Everyone talks about human [...]

Dave Magpiong is a birder, father, Special Education teacher, and founder of the Fledging Birders Institute, “a non-profit environmental education organization with the dual mission of enhancing the healthy development of our youth with the profound benefits of birdwatching AND promoting public awareness of avian diversity and factors which threaten it thereby fostering a societal bird conservation ethic.”  He [...]

Mark Carter is an independent professional birding guide and wildlife surveyor living in Alice Springs, Central Australia. Originally from Scotland, Mark has lived and worked in continental Europe and North Africa before settling in Australia’s “Red Centre” to work for the Northern Territory Parks Service. In 2008 Mark founded the annual Red Centre Bird Week [...]

I first met Paul Guris, owner of See Life Paulagics, fittingly enough, on a pelagic trip out of Freeport, New York in February of 2006.  It was my first pelagic trip, we nearly swept the east coast alcids, we saw a Western Gull, and I had a great time.  Paul is a great trip leader, [...]

If we can all agree on one thing, it’s that chickadees and tits are terrific birds. Who, after all, doesn’t love a chickadee? Not for nothing did 10,000 Birds readers elect the chickadee as the Most Beloved Backyard Bird of 2008; if we had run elections in other years, chickadees would no doubt have been [...]

I first met Jacob Drucker within a month of my moving to New York City.  He was with a group of young naturalists pulling invasive plants out of Forest Park.  Since then I have only been able to stand back and watch in awe as he has become an amazingly good birder, with the advantage [...]

Lloyd Spitalnik is a well-known New York City based birder and an exceedingly accomplished bird photographer. His work has appeared in such publications as Audubon, Natural History, Birder’s World, Wildbird, Birding, The New York Times, the New York Daily News, and WWF Songbird calendars.  Lloyd is one of three men responsible for the annual Jamaica Bay Shorebird [...]

Steve Walter is a New York nature photographer, birder, and long-time member of the New York City Butterfly Club.  Readers of 10,000 Birds who pay attention will remember him from when he showed Patrick and me some really cool damselflies out in Suffolk County.  This blog post is written by Steve and by writing it [...]

Seth Ausubel is one of the best birders in Queens, New York, and Corey is ever-so-thankful that Seth does not use eBird because that way Corey can pretend that he is the top lister in the borough.  Seth is generous with his knowledge, and, knowing this, Corey cajoled him into providing this post about one [...]

Some of the most popular birds in the world are parrots, particularly the large, multi-coloured Ara Macaws. Found throughout South America in ever-dwindling numbers these extremely beautiful birds – threatened by habitat destruction and collection for the wild bird trade – are often difficult to see and hard to find. UNLESS that is you get [...]

Whilst I have left the comforts of a salary long behind me by leaving the airline I worked for, fortunately (I suppose, he says grudgingly) two of my birding mates are still there putting in the long hours and seeing some fantastic birds. One of them, Redgannet, is a ‘Beat Writer’ here on 10,000 Birds, [...]

Whilst I have left the comforts of a salary long behind me by leaving the airline I worked for, fortunately (I suppose, he says grudgingly) two of my birding mates are still there putting in the long hours and seeing some fantastic birds. One of them, Redgannet, is a ‘Beat Writer’ here on 10,000 Birds, [...]

In this guest post Clare and Grant Morton update us on the shorebird work they’re doing in and around the world-famous shorebird site of Broome in Western Australia. Clare’s particular interest is monitoring and protecting the nests of the birds nesting along the beaches, and she also keeps a close look-out for flagged/banded shorebirds which [...]

A week or so ago I was sent an email by a reader named Jimer asking if I’d like to see some photos of a Red-tailed Hawk being whalloped by a mockingbird. The photos, she said, were a little bit distant which they indeed turned out to be (good, but a little distant). She added [...]

The intersection of avians and professional athletics in America can be fascinating, especially when looked at through the right lens. Nick Lund, who blogged first at birdDC and then the interview-driven Birdist, has always offered an engaging, if not slightly askew view of teams and their bird logos. This is Nick’s second 10,000 Birds guest [...]

In January of this year we posted a ‘Welcome Wednesday’ post by Mike Pope, an ex-pat South African living in Kuwait whom I’d birded with in September 2008. Mike is Chair of the Kuwait Ornithological Records Committee (KORC), runs the excellent Birding Kuwaitwebsite, is a superb photographer (genuinely, his photos are as good as most [...]