10 great birds with bad names
Some avian monikers just don’t pass the sniff test.
Jesse Greenspan
Jesse Greenspan is a Berkeley-based freelance journalist who writes about history and the environment. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Scientific American, Audubon, the History Channel, and other outlets.
Jesse Greenspan on social media
297. Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, California
A site in the San Francisco Bay Area where you can see bitterns, rails, shorebirds, raptors, and many other birds.
291. Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve, Oakland, California
This hillside land near Berkeley is a good spot to look for West Coast specialty passerines, including Wrentit, Oak Titmouse, and California Thrasher.
Birding the world: What drives big listers
A half-century ago, no one had seen even 4,000 bird species. Now, some birders are homing in on the 10,000-species mark.
233. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens, New York
On the outskirts of New York City, this refuge protects coastal wetlands that support sizable breeding populations of waterfowl, wading birds, songbirds, and Osprey.
141. Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York
An urban haven for kestrels, sparrows, and other open-country birds.