Intervention!

You might not think that folks try to string Belted Kingfishers into Green Kingfishers like this one...but folks do, trust me. The people who are prone to doing this are, without fail, serial offenders of attempting to make common birds into less common birds. The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive has broken his long silence at 10,000 Birds and talks about these people...these stringers. But this is no long-winded whinge session...he is trying to bring these hapless stringers into the light of good birding. Read all about it right here.

Always In Motion Is The Future

The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive often ponders the future of birds, and this time he has done it within the Birdosphere.  Will it be a future without Swainson's Hawks?  Will agricultural pests swamp the continent?  Will there even be agriculture?  Will Swainson's Hawks farm agricultural pests on their own? Find out more over at 10,000 Birds.

Presenting the Snow-fronted Goose

Behold. Chilling, isn't it?  The post is up now at 10,000 Birds.

New Birding/New Year

Black-and-white Warbler. I have no reason to post this photo, but I like it. South Padre Island, TX.

Felonious Jive, The Great Yet Disgusting Ornithologist, has put up one last post for 2014 at 10,000 Birds. Have you found that your bird life has gotten a bit stale? He has some tips for spicing things up. Check it out!

The Plateau Effect

Many of us recognize this bird, a young male American Redstart, to be a wonderfully easy bird to identify. However, a significant number of birders not only struggle to identify birds like this, they will always struggle with birds like this. The Plateau Effect plagues birders everywhere...but why? The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive examines this today at 10,000 Birds...take a look.

Chill Back On The Playback

Rufous-capped Warbler, no playback required. Florida Canyon, AZ.

Some birders pull a lot of shit that make them seem completely oblivious. We here at the BB&B camp try to stay on top it, but the workload is a bit much. Today, the torch has been passed to The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive, and he takes the playback-addicts to task over at 10,000 Birds. 

Call It A Comeback

Though many birds continue to decline (like Marbled Murrelets, above), some species that were on the brink of disappearing a few decades ago are coming back strong.

It's Extinction Week over at 10,000 Birds. The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive covers some imperiled U.S. birds that, luckily, are making a recovery and are still with us today....but they easily could have gone the way of the buffalo. Read the post!

The California Breakdown

Have you felt an itch lately? Maybe it's that Yellow-billed Magpie, Island Scrub-Jay, California Gnatcatcher, Ashy Storm-Petrel or Ridgway's Rail that you need to scratch. You must be thinking about doing some birding in California. The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive breaks down some of the most productive regions, and what to expect, over at 10,000 Birds.

Intro To Bird Blogging

So, here you are...a birder. But not just any birder. A birder with knowledge. With ideas, and enthusiasm. With photos of a preening Swainson's Hawk that you want to do more with than just add to your Flickr stream. With the courage to proudly display your nerdery to the whole world. With, perhaps, a sense of humor (gasp!). You may be thinking of starting a blog...but what comes next? The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive gives the low-down on bringing your new baby blog into the Birdosphere over at 10,000 Birds.

10,000 Oranges

The orange is a fruit of great import to Felonious Jive, the Great Ornithologist. Go to 10,000 Birds and see what the good word is.

And as a side note, for some reason my camera cannot correctly expose a photograph with a male Orchard Oriole in it. I don't know why. Very frustrating.

A Time To Refresh

The Great Ornithologist, Felonious Jive, reaches out to the birding community today at 10,000 Birds. He knows birding is hard. He knows pelagic birding is harder. Yes, he even knows that you have trouble separating Pink-footed and Buller's Shearwaters (above), even though they look so different in the field guide. Check out his West Coast seabird refresher for dealing with some of the more frequent miscues, and how to avoid them.

Felonious Jive's Split Alert/Pelagic Season

Ten years from now, will we have six species of "Northern Pintail" on our hands?* Photographed at Radio Road, Redwood Shores, CA.

Nerds. The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive has reared his oversized head once again at 10,000 Birds. Birders need not have fear this time; instead of lampooning birder fashion or our lack of social skills, he is dishing out a bit of wisdom on potential splits on the horizon. Nothing is a sure thing, but it's good to be kept in the loop...educate yourself/judge Felonious mercilessly right here.

In other news, Seagull Steve is kicking off his West Coast pelagic season as a leader for a Shearwater Journeys boat out of Bodega Bay this Friday, August 30. I'm replacing Peter Pyle...which will surely disappoint everyone. There is still room on the boat, so come join us! Watch Steve Howell make me look like a newb birder! It's been very birdy offshore this year...fingers crossed for Hawaiian Petrel, Great Shearwater, etc. Deets about this trip and the rest of the 2013 trips are over here.

* = No. No we won't.

A Pewee Deformitee

The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive has done it again. See and read all about this unlucky pewee (and other birds with unfortunate bills) today at 10,000 Birds.

On Alien Invasions: The Truth Is Out There

Hey nerds. Still recovering from getting lifer Common Cuckoo and my state Connecticut Warbler in a three (3) day span. I love fall. In even more exotic realms, The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive reflects on misidentifications and Pin-tailed Whydahs and their ilk right here, up now at 10,000 Birds.

Felonious Jive Ensnared In Birding Row

The Salton Sea trip was, in Borat parlance, Great Success. My car did not die, I saw a lot of birds, a few rare birds, and I even got a year bird; this Semipalmated Sandpiper (photographed at McDonald Road).

While I was away, The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive made a few notes on how to be a better online birder at 10,000 Birds. Some pundits have considered his notes to be a formal declaration of hatred of all nonbirding humanity. Is this really what he said? I'll let you decide.

Shorebirding

We can all agree that a Black-necked Stilt is an easy identification...so why can't that apply to it's other cousins? Photographed at Radio Road, Redwood Shores, CA.

Shedding Tears For Shorebirds is up at 10,000 Birds. Now you can learn all about how to get over your phalarope phobias and ringed-plover reservations.

Does anyone think I shouldve titled it "Sharting For Shorebirds"? That may be more accurate...just a thought.

Showdown In Arroyo Grande

The Great Ornithologist Felonious Jive wrote about Ivory Gull related heartbreak and heartache yesterday on 10,000 Birds...read all about it here. Oh, and some (mostly) good news on the Endangered Species front over here.

Above are a bunch of birds that are not endangered nor Ivory Gulls, including Thayer's Gull (foreground) with a phalanx of Black Skimmers for contrast. Santa Barbara, CA.