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Seth Ausubel is one of the best birders in Queens and when he is not out birding he is often in pursuit of herpetological delights or cool insects. He has contributed a great guest post to 10,000 Birds before and regularly tolerates Corey on birding outings. Here he describes an outing in search of a [...]

Maybe Staten Island isn’t all bad. After all, I recently tracked down my first-for-New York State White-winged Dove in the forgotten borough of New York City. The bird has been coming to a private feeder – where a young birder named Anthony Ciancimino happens to live – for well over a week now.  White-winged Doves, [...]

We at 10,000 Birds have mentioned before the unpopularity of the Wild Turkeys of Staten Island.  Sadly, it seems that someone has taken the hatred to a whole new level.  Police are looking for a driver who apparently intentionally drove into a flock of turkeys in Dongan Hills, Staten Island, on Monday.  Won’t somebody think [...]

When I first saw the post on the New York State listserv about the Hooded Crow on Staten Island I wasn’t going to twitch it.  Why?  It had to be an escaped bird or at least one that didn’t make it to the southernmost borough in New York City under its own power but by [...]

Residents of Staten Island, the borough of New York City most New Yorkers would rather cede to New Jersey, apparently don’t like their Wild Turkeys.* Their fate hangs in the balance of a “turkey attitude” survey being developed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation to gauge how annoying residents find them. Anecdotal evidence suggests [...]

This past Saturday, when I was supposed to be upstate spending time with my family, an unfortunate chain of events led to Daisy and I staying in the city for the weekend.  Another, completely unrelated chain of events led a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher to spend at least part of the weekend, that is, Friday evening, in [...]

Last Sunday was a very weird day of birding that went in completely unexpected directions.  I slept in late, and by late I mean the sun was well up and the world was well lit by the time I left my apartment and walked to Forest Park for some digiscoping.  While at the park I [...]

When one is trying to see as many birds as one can in a year without resorting to an automobile one must not only see as many as the expected birds as possible but must also chase the rarities that can be chased. Chasing rarities, of course, is normal for any big year, but when [...]

On Saturday, before the Western Reef Heron had fortuitously reappeared, Daisy and I journeyed through the boroughs of New York City seeking out birds.  Our last stop was Great Kills Park, more properly known as the Staten Island Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Wait, what? Staten Island?  Is that even in New York? [...]