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Now that American Thanksgiving has passed, we in the States can join the rest of the world in turning our full attention to the upcoming Yule celebration. The impending season of giving can trigger intense anxiety punctuated by bouts of conspicuous consumerism, but you don’t need to succumb to rampant materialism. Why don’t you take [...]

Welcome to online retail heaven (or online retail hell if that’s the way you’re wired.) We hope everyone who celebrated the American observance of Thanksgiving enjoyed a delicious holiday. And to all of you, Happy Cyber Monday! You’ll find 10,000 Birds a pleasingly merchandise-light site, at least for the time being. What we’re selling right [...]

I know of no other day of the year when a larger percentage of Americans are likely to be eating the same foods, unless Halloween candy or Independence Day barbecue counts. Too many of us focus on the turkey, but bird watchers know that Meleagris gallopavo means so much more than a meal, no matter how [...]

November is normally a pretty dull month compared to some of the more extreme periods in our calendar year. The action doesn’t really heat up until right about now as we begin six or eight months of holiday preparation and celebration. I’ve enjoyed November so far, but have doubts about whether I’m ready for the [...]

We’re heading into the third weekend of November, which every year (so far) is followed by the fourth weekend of November. If you live in the United States, the fourth weekend of November is the only time of year your relatives might be interested in your ornithological information about Meleagris gallopavo, so be sure to [...]

Last week, I mentioned how odd the weather has been around here. By odd, of course, I mean absolutely lovely. I know these patterns are atypical for western New York. I’m still curious about what my fellow naturalists have noticed: has the weather been odd by you? How so? Enough phenology… let’s get down to [...]

How highly do you value a three-day weekend? For me, time of year exerts a significant impact on the worth of extra days off. Plus I work all the time, so I don’t really get a weekend! But this is about you, right? Does a three-day weekend in late fall mean as much to you [...]

The odd climate patterns lately have conspired with my already suspect grasp of phenology to completely baffle my sense of season. As I’m sure you’ve heard me mention once or twice, winter comes early–very early–to western New York. Yet we’ve barely seen a flake of frost so far. Even more peculiar, I think our foliage [...]

November has arrived, which means many of us in the United States are trying to figure out where we’ll be taking our turkey dinners towards the end of the month. Congrats to my neighbors to the north for already getting Thanksgiving out of the way and not making the holiday all about Meleagris gallopavo. If [...]

Happy Halloween! See how I assume you celebrate Halloween no matter where in the world you live? Must be the way you’re dressed… The best bird of my weekend was Tufted Titmouse, which has become more prominent here as we approach winter. I forgot how much bigger these birds are than the other species like [...]

The shadow of Halloween is falling over the United States as we speak, foreboding haunted hijinks for celebrants, especially the junior set. Have you ever seen anyone birding in costume or even done it yourself? Wearing camo while busting the ghosts of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers doesn’t count, but otherwise we’d all love to hear stories and see [...]

In the United States, so much seems to be happening towards the end of October. Not only is baseball hitting the very apex of what excitement it arouses, but the storylines in the National Football League are just beginning to manifest in reality rather than in the empty space between commentators. Kids can’t help but [...]

This last week has provided me a stark reminder of how volatile October weather can be in some places. Much of Central America, for example, has been fairly inundated by endless rain. That information doesn’t usually impact a New Yorker like me, but since I just got back from Costa Rica I found the inclement [...]

It was a gusty weekend in New York City and environs, with fall finally feeling like fall is supposed to feel.  Sparrows have almost completely taken over for wood-warblers and temperatures are finally waning as is only proper.  How was your weekend? Mike was in Costa Rica this weekend after what felt like an interminable [...]

Do you know what I love about October? Pumpkins! Everywhere you look in the United States around this time of year, giant orange squashes are just loafing around, killing time until their inevitable trip to the mulch pile on November 1. Pumpkins feature in some pretty tasty dishes, but once I discovered how much better [...]

What a weekend. New Yorkers enjoyed gorgeous, summer weather and will next enjoy a growing sense of dread as temperatures first wane then plummet. What did you enjoy this weekend? The best birdof my weekend was a Brown Creeper that hung around long enough for me to share with generally nature-numb friends and family; what’s [...]

Whatever you’ve been waiting for, this weekend may be it. I’m hardly attuned to the specific interests of residents of the other continents, but I know my North Americans pretty well and the United States  has much to appreciate right now. We’ve got thrilling competition scheduled in our most awesome sport, while playoffs rage in [...]

Sometimes a person should keep his fool mouth shut. Before the weekend began, I opined about how October felt like a real fall month as compared to the capricious climate swings of September. Then the freezing rain began! So much for my weekend… Unless you like House Sparrows more than I do, you won’t be [...]

Is it still September? Only a bit more of the ninth month remains, which is probably for the best. September is a month of massive flux in both social and climatic terms. While saying so long to summer hurts, autumn in the Northern Hemisphere deserves our full attention. Anyway, October still boasts some excellent migrations! What [...]

Fall has officially fallen around here, yet somehow we’ve gotten off to an uplifting start. Finally getting out to look at some birds at the start of the season may just herald an auspicious autumn! I got out to the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory banding station to observe some masters at work. The catch of [...]