10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

According to Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World , a handsome volume written by James Hancock, James Kushan and Philip Kohl and published by Academic Press in 1992, Geronticus eremita “once nested in the mountains of central Europe, across northern Africa and into the Middle East. But this range is now much reduced.

Morocco 226

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 226

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2024

Jacob suggested the Wagbachniederung, a well-known wetland that is particularly popular amongst photographers for being one of the few locations in Germany where Purple Herons breed. We still focused on the birds of course and saw quite a good number of species, although few were unexpected.

Squirrels 200

Squirrels South Africa Germany Ducks 200

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2024

Tucked away at the extreme eastern end of the Mediterranean, Cyprus is regarded politically as part of Europe, but when it comes to birds it’s very much Middle Eastern in flavour, with a number of species that are hard or even impossible to find in Europe, plus a trio of endemics. It was strange to hear it here in Cyprus.

Cyprus 168

Cyprus Breeders Falcons Hunters 168

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

And so, I went on the American Birding Association Safari to South Africa. That was easily fixed by adding a post-Safari trip to Eastern South Africa, led by dashing Rockjumper guide Clayton Burne, to my itinerary. I was not on one of those lucky groups, but I did get to see a Secretarybird on my Eastern South Africa trip.)

South Africa 253

South Africa Africa Leopards Penguins 253

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Birdlife South Africa has previously done two of these types of trips before, previously called Flock to Sea – Namibia in 2013 and Flock to Nowhere in 2017, in partnership with MSC Cruises. About half of all breeding Wandering Albatross nest on the Prince Edward Islands. Marion has a fascinating history with invasive species.

South Africa 263

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

According to the HBW, there are 41 species of African Barbets and 34 species of Asian Barbets. There are also 14 species of New World Barbets and 2 species of Toucan-Barbets (all in South America). The Crested Barbet (Kruger Park, South Africa) looks a bit like a pointillist painting gone wrong.

South Africa 207

South Africa Africa India China 207

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

You can’t say the same about migration: you can’t say that every book about birds is necessarily about migration, for the simple reason that only about 4,000 bird species migrate (with some 1,800 of those traveling long distances). (Well, purely physical attributes play a part, too: they’re pretty good looking.).

Alaska 209

Alaska Breeding Kenya Africa 209

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. In the summer, they are the highest altitude breeding songbird in North America. So let’s look at this sampler, shall we? So let’s look at this sampler, shall we? Southeast Arizona Sky Island Spring Sampler.

America 263

America Arizona North America Texas 263

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

From one side, the reserve is under the attack of spreading arable fields, from another by numerous wind generators and it is no easy task to support the surviving breeding birds within its borders. After my trip, I followed the news of this species closely. He asks if the wind generators can influence the bird numbers? Males reach 1.2

Gazelles 257

Gazelles India 2012 Pakistan 257

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

The Collins Bird Guide covers Europe, North Atlantic islands, much of North Africa and the Middle East. There was one odd reprint in 2018, when the Subalpine Warbler was split into the Eastern and Western species, but the changes in the guide weren’t sufficient to call it a 3rd edition, so it remained the updated reprint of the 2nd edition.

Europe 255

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 255

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2023

This leaves Shanghai in June with basically just the year-round species and the summer breeders, maybe with a few added ultra-lazy individuals of migratory species. Fortunately, there are a few more such breeding species than most Shanghainese are aware of. Such as the Black-winged Cuckooshrike.

Birds 130

Birds Eggs Breeders Breeding 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. Which leaves only East Africa. And it shows.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

Black-tailed godwits winter in large numbers on the estuaries of both Norfolk and Suffolk, and we know that nearly all these birds breed in Iceland. They are of the race islandica , a sub species of the nominate race, limosa. In breeding plumage islandica godwits develop a deeper red plumage than their limosa cousins.

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

Thus, this study on the feeding ecology of African Harrier-hawk is imperative for understanding the species adaptation to environments and also a crucial factor to be considered while examining their economic status.” I guess blushing is easier if you have a bald face like this species. Thanks for pointing it out though.

South Africa 147

South Africa Niger Birds Mice 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2016

A couple of years ago Adam posted a story on this site that so entranced me that when I went to South Africa a bit over a year ago the location he described was top of my bucket list. But I did visit it, and saw many of the incredible species he described, one of which, my major target of the day, was the Drakensberg Rockjumper.

South Africa 102

South Africa Africa Family Groups 102

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

Hence, I was quite surprised with a brave, almost exciting paper by Brown, Forbes and Symes: “Recent history of the Egyptian Vulture in Southern Africa” (Vulture News, 2000). During my lifetime, this species was rare in my native Serbia, too. Conservation Africa Balkans Egyptian Vulture vultures'

Sudan 227

Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 227

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2015

I’m a big fan of the antelopes, a group that is most commonly associated with Africa but which also occurs in Asia and, if you stretch the term to be cladistically meaningful, Europe and North America. The crest on the back becomes erect during breeding displays. The delicate markings if two male Nyala.

Africa 167

Africa Hunters Goats Sheep 167

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2020

What happens when you put a naturalist in a kayak, adrift in Africa? I have read canoeing articles from Africa and knew that the Nile Crocodile ( Crocodilus niloticus ) pays no attention to the boat and, in theory, as long as I’m inside I’m safe. There are no crocs around here,’ said a smiling bartender. Oh, my big mouth!

Botswana 189

Botswana Africa 2001 Fish 189

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2020

Anyway, I don’t even have an app for the European birds at the moment, but for the Birds of Southern Africa. This is an uncommon species here – only about a dozen birds overwinter in the country annually. published in the US as “Birds of Europe”), shows only a male in breeding plumage. Oh, who’d go back home now?

Serbia 271

Serbia Birds Ducks Cyprus 271

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity. Colorful bills and heads seem quite popular among Letaba’s bird species – see the African Jacana (blue and black) … … the Striated Heron (yellow and blue) … … and the Yellow-billed Stork (yellow and red).

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2015

Well, I’m finally back from Africa. So I’m afraid retrospective posts on my overall trip will have to wait till I can organise my thoughts, although safe to say if you like birds you could do a lot worse than southern Africa. The beach isn’t just a roost, it’s a breeding site. Boulders Beach.

Penguins 155

Penguins Seychelles Albatross Africa 155

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

Other species have certainly expanded their ranges, but never in such a rapid and global scale. The Cattle Egret is native to Africa, where it is a familiar sight among herds of large mammals. For reasons that are not quite clear, this species underwent a massive range expansion. This species is primarily an insectivore.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2019

In the end, I truly did set out to reduce the number of birds that I feature here from 1302, my years total species, down to 10-12. Our first Day In South Africa, I spotted the Burchell’s Courcal, as it flew across the road in front of us we entered Kruger National Park. I present to you, my favorite birds of 2018.

2018 162

2018 Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2017

Birds of Kruger National Park covers the 259 species most frequently seen in the park, about half of the total number of birds documented there. This still leaves the user flipping through sections, looking for the species in question, though I don’t think there are many species with this habitat overlap.

Ecuador 173

Ecuador Wildlife Reptiles Birds 173

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Add more than 350 pairs of White Pelicans to that picture, numerous herons and up to 700 pairs of Pygmy Cormorants breeding in the same reedbeds (cover photo)… It must be bursting with activity in spring, but I was there in mid-September. In all that swirling of swallows, I am not certain was there a third species, so I keep watching.

Greece 252

Greece Pelicans Geese Breeding 252

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2012

There I found a study which showed that the ingenious little birds had found a protein source that allowed them to coincide their breeding with times of man-made, rather than natural seasonal abundance. They are popular as caged birds and escapees have established a number of feral populations beyond their normal ranges. Clever things!

Asia 191

Asia Feral Breeding Africa 191

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

Even in the tropics there are few birds that excel some of our own in elegance and beauty of plumage and we have an unusually large number of species considering the smallness of the area they inhabit. ” (Woodward brothers, “Natal Birds”, 1899) The mighty Drakensberg Mountains run along the western boundary of KwaZulu-Natal province.

Mozambique 188

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 188

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

I don’t think I’ve ever done a post on my home patch of Cape Town, South Africa. So much so that the two species are placed within their own family, Chaetopidae. The species is insectivorous and nests amongst the scree and boulders on the steep mountain slopes.

South Africa 244

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 244

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. We have both resident and migratory species, and this post will briefly discuss each of the 20 species of African bee-eaters.

Africa 264

Africa Gabon South Africa Uganda 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. I have only seen this species in the massive and beautiful Korup National Park in Cameroon.

Sierra Leone 268

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 268

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2013

For birders heading off the coast of the eastern United States and attempting to tackle the mess that is the Band-rumped Storm-Petrel complex, a group of up to four cryptic species, this is a very real possibility. Breeding, migration (twice a year), and molting. When one is breeding, the other is not. The four actions?

Breeding 163

Breeding United States Bears Africa 163

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

It was not a flycatcher at all, but an exotic (and equally bizarre) from Africa, which certainly escaped from someone’s cage or perhaps even migrated from the small breeding population of escapees in southern California. Superficially similar to Fork-tailed Flycatcher, especially if you don’t know that this species exists!

San Francisco 171

San Francisco San Diego Connecticut South America 171

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2012

Cape Petrels, also known as Pintados (Spanish for painted) or in the vernacular Cape Petrels, are a common species of fulmarine petrel from the Southern Ocean. They have a circumpolar distribution, breeding in vast numbers in the islands around Antarctica, as well as on Antarctica itself.

New Zealand 158

New Zealand Albatross South Africa Brazil 158

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2012

There are two species in the Old World woodpecker genus that sounds like birds that birders would never be able to see. Sadly, I have never seen a Red-throated Wryneck , which is only to be expected for a bird found only in sub-Saharan Africa, considering that I have not yet set foot on that continent.

Hungary 173

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 173

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

Or else I’d be tempted to mention that the cold rainy weather has given way to a massive heat wave and drought, or that the summer doldrums this year are more boring than ever, or that it is so unfair that Corey is more than 100 species ahead of me in his year list, or that I really would enjoy some nice birds for a change!

Germany 175

Germany Russia Iceland India 175

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

Ethiopia , a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. The Abyssinian Empire was the only African nation to survive what is now known as the Scramble for Africa, and was never colonized (it did endure 6 brutal years under Fascist Italian occupation).

Ethiopia 269

Ethiopia Eritrea Africa Mammals 269

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2015

In February of 2013, I wrote a piece outlining my thoughts on which exotic bird species should be added to the American Bird Association (ABA) checklist. My number one choice at the time was Egyptian Goose ( Alopochen aegyptiacus ), an adaptable sheldgoose from Africa that was rapidly becoming established in peninsular Florida.

Los Angeles 154

Los Angeles Miami San Francisco Florida 154