4 The Love Of Animals

NOVEMBER 24, 2011

Nat Geo Wild is airing an amazing show tonight called Shark Attack Experiment: LIVE! It is home to some of the most concentrated and diverse shark populations in the world, including species with a reputation for attacking people, such as great white, bull, tiger, black tip, ragged tooth and dusky sharks. Will you be tuning in?

Sharks 100

Sharks Experience Experiments South Africa 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

Over a decade since I was last there, I am finally heading back to Africa late this year. As has been the case every time I’ve been to Africa before, I won’t be there just for play. Volunteering provides a very different experience to tourism though. Conservation Africa Offbeat Birding volunteering'

Uganda 160

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

I’m sure you’ve all heard of Africa’s famous Big Five , but do you know there is also an equally fascinating Little Five ? Africa is famous for its large, charismatic mammals, and the Big Five epitomize the most sought-after of these fantastic beasts. This blog post will discuss both the Big and Little members of these quintuplets.

Buffalo 195

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 195

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2012

Before self-rule it was administered by South Africa and known as South-West Africa. After a brutal colonization that included genocidal campaigns against the Herero (80% killed) and Nama (50% killed) tribes, the Germans lost control when South Africa invaded soon after the declaration of the First World War.

Namibia 243

Namibia Angola Lovebirds South Africa 243

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2019

I saw 863 species of birds, bringing my life list to 1,820. I birded Uganda, which was my first time on the continent of Africa. Such travel brings a lot of birds and the 863 species I saw this year is the most species I have ever seen. How can I narrow down the eight-hundred-sixty-three species to ten?

2019 137

2019 Barbados Uganda Costa Rica 137

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

Growing up within an hour of one of the world’s premier shorebird destinations -- West Coast National Park in South Africa -- helped for sure. Getting to know the subtleties in differences between closely related species takes years of dedication and practice. For me, there’s a few things that drive this fascination.

Florida 183

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 183

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2015

Excellent 10,000 Birds posts have been written about Pico Bonito and Honduras by Corey and Carlos , so I’m going to focus on some of my most memorable experiences. We saw a smaller member of the potoo family, Northern Potoo , Nyctibius jamaicensis , at Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge, boating and birding the Salado River.

Honduras 242

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 242

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Finally, the Similan Islands are perhaps one of the most beautiful islands in the world and form a stunning backdrop to this species, one of the loveliest pigeons in the world. The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY. Carlos’s BBOTY – the Nicobar Pigeon. I also blogged about that dreamy day.

2014 183

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 183

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Paging through a fieldguide, it’s always with a sense of dismay and sadness that I come across reference to an extinct species. Islands, for various reasons, experience more extinctions than continents (with Africa being the only continent not suffering a bird extinction!). Challenging road conditions to reach Lake Bemanevika!

Madagascar 231

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 231

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2011

The countryside too is full of signature European species like European Bee-eaters, European Rollers and Great-spotted Cuckoos … Within a shortish drive of the lodge is an unusual birding spot called Pulo do Lobo or The wolf’s Leap. This is worthwhile to pick up some rocky terrain species and the scenery is stunning.

Portugal 169

Portugal 2011 Deer Birds 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2011

In fact Punta Cana is a shining example of how large hotels can conduct their operations in a sustainable manner whilst contributing significantly to the preservation of birds, wildlife and habitats. Fish & Wildlife comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity. The proposal from U.S.

Dominican Republic 180

Dominican Republic 2011 Birds Deer 180

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2011

By age 2 she could identify over 10 species of birds in our Johannesburg, South Africa, yard by call alone. Publications like Ranger Rick and National Geographic Kids can also satisfy their curiosity through their kid-friendly articles on birds and wildlife. My 8-year old daughter got interested in birds from a VERY early stage.

Birds 276

Birds Game Wildlife Family 276

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

Birding has been an all-consuming interest for Patrick Cardwell since boyhood days spent in a wildlife-rich environment. In this epic post, Patrick depicts just how dynamic the pelagic birding is off Cape Point in South Africa.

Albatross 177

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 177

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Nowhere else in Africa do the preconceived ideas of the continent really exist in such living detail; tall, red-robed Maasai herding their skinny cattle, endless grasslands studded with flat-topped Acacia trees and grazed by herds of zebras and wildebeest, and dramatic volcanic calderas brimming with big game and fierce predators!

Tanzania 209

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 209

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

The majority of wildcats live today in Africa, and virtually none of them have provided the DNA from which supposed histories of domestication have been constructed by researchers. I new him because we enlisted his Dryfus Lion and one of his tigers to carry out experiments with bones (this is something archaeologists do).

Feral Cats 252

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 252

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2013

Geladas are the sole survivors of a once abundant branch of primates that historically foraged across the grasslands of Africa, the Mediterranean and India. A harem system would indicate that the males gather and forcibly retain the affections of their females, as is the case with the savanna baboon species, but not with Geladas.

Ethiopia 159

Ethiopia Primates Mammals Fur 159

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

This makes it a particularly exciting time in New Zealand as the Rugby World Cup begins in two days, and the competition is being held right here in New Zealand (I would imagine they might be more excited if they hadn’t just lost two matches to Australia and South Africa, their big rivals in the Tri-Nations).

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Birds 157

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

Collins Birds of the World is “ a must for the travelling birder ,” as the BBC Wildlife Magazine reviewer has put it. But when I felt familiar with perhaps half of the species around my town, I started to feel that my field guide is now too bulky and too hefty to carry, and that was the era before smartphones and phone apps.

Birds 236

Birds Botswana Africa Ecuador 236

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

The book is produced by WILDGuides, Ltd, the excellent book company responsible for over a dozen photographic guides on Britain’s natural life ranging from dragonflies to plant galls as well as books on Africa, Australia and other areas we all want to visit, and was published this summer by Princeton University Press.

Ireland 140

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 140

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2021

I birded savannas of Southern Africa, I birded India and Central America, and I always missed having a local mammal guide with me. No, Madagascar is the most famous for an endemic group of mammals: lemurs, sifakas, indri, aye-aye – in total, 112 endemic species and subspecies of lemurs alone! Yet, those bird guides are hefty.

Madagascar 233

Madagascar Mammals Lemurs Seychelles 233

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Frigatebirds (Fregatidae) Five species of frigatebird ply the planet’s tropical skies and seas. Ringer Cormorants and Shags (Phalacrocoracidae) Cormorants are more speciose than other families in the order; 30-40 species range widely on every continent and many islands. Corey Mar 12th, 2011 at 8:29 pm Now wait just one second.

2011 151

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 151

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

All twitchers will experience it at some stage or another. For those that might not fully comprehend, the birding slang-term to “dip” or to “dip out on” a bird is to go looking for a particular species and not find it. Anita still makes impolite noises when the name of this species comes up.

Norway 222

Norway Delaware Pennsylvania Philadelphia 222

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. I’m wondering as I write if you are shaking your head, uneasy that all these FACTS will interfere with your love of observing owls, an experience that easily borders on the mystical for some of us. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially –especially when reviewing books like A Field Guide to the Wildlife of South Georgia or Far from Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds.

Penguins 277

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 277

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

Great wildlife preserves, reserves and parks exist for a number of reasons. Madikwe , in South Africa, wasn’t a site of importance before it came into existence. Having been to some other parks in Africa, it’s an improvement. Black-backed Jackals are awesome and smaller than you’d think.

South Africa 141

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 141

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2012

What this land-locked country lacks in endemic birds it more than makes up for in accessibility of tough species, numbers of birds and the overall wildlife experience. It is also home to the largest concentration of African Elephants on the planet and over 450 bird species. We are currently filming in Botswana.

Botswana 199

Botswana Zebras Lions Elephants 199

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

They were still listed as Endangered, but wildlife management measures taken in this park were clearly working. We are entering the mixed colony of 11 species ( Grey , Squacco , Purple and Black-crowned Night Herons ; Great , Little and, recently, Cattle Egrets ; Eurasian Spoonbill (below) and Glossy Ibis ; Pygmy and Great Cormorant ).

Greece 189

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 189

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

My best bird of the year is based on the sighting rather than the species. Hornbills are spectacular under any circumstances, but when a pair lands in a bush beside you at eye-level and begin mutual preening , it makes for a spectacular experience. Only trouble is, which of the seven species I saw this year do I pick?

2013 167

2013 Birds Costa Rica India 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2011

One such controversial bird is the Veraguan Mango , a small hummingbird species that was, until very recently, believed to be a Panamanian endemic. Veraguan Mango by Carlos Bethancourt Although the Neotropical region supports fewer bird families than Africa, there are considerably more bird species here than anywhere else on earth.

Panama 199

Panama Costa Rica 2011 Cleveland 199

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Adam will be leading 10,000 Birds readers on an amazing odyssey into Africa starting… now! To the uninitiated, Africa conjures up images of underdevelopment, poverty and hardship. I was fortunate to have been born and raised in Africa, and although I have traveled extensively around the world, it remains my home and in my blood.

Papua New Guinea 212

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 212

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

This bird spent the 2011-2012 winter at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in northern California, migrated someplace exotic and distant in February, and returned to the same pond at the beginning of this month. It was a heart-pounding scene straight out of Jurassic Park, an odd experience for a laid-back pursuit like birding.

2012 143

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 143

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2020

Will the threatened species make it through if there are no birding tourists to make those birds and their habitats valuable to local people just the way they are (as opposed to tropical timber)? What will be left of birding tourism? I was trying to find that answer for a while and it turned into a very annoying experience.

Uganda 240

Uganda Bolivia Ecuador Indonesia 240

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

Every section is excellent, Going from back to front, the Species Natural History section is where to go for answers to all your questions about penguins and then some. The introductory Penguin Who’s Who introduces each species visually. And that’s just the top section!

Penguins 191

Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 191

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2013

I got slightly sidetracked there, because I’ve been thinking about Africa quite a bit since last week’s post, particularly since it’s been a long time since I was there and long past the time I should have gone back. This species was common as muck at Mweya, a safari lodge in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Uganda 150

Uganda Congo Birds Africa 150