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

AUGUST 12, 2015

I get that you’re really angry, I mean, he was a popular lion and yes, his cute widdle cubs will probably die to, but I can’t help feeling you’ve kind of missed the point a bit, and well, ending all hunting in Africa will not solve much and maybe make things worse and… No, no, I’m not a hunter. I’m sorry.

Lions 201

Lions Hunting Sierra Leone Buffalo 201

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. I also spent a week in northwestern Costa Rica on a family vacation, a long weekend in Barbados, a week in Georgia, and two week-plus-long trips to visit relatives in southern California.

2019 137

2019 Barbados Uganda Costa Rica 137

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. You may not get the species counts that the race delivers, but you’ll have memories burned into your skull.

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

JULY 25, 2018

We were able to find a very nice RV park, just a couple of miles from one of my all time favourite birding hotspots, Billy Frank Jr, Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Today, I saw a handful of Mallards , two Common Mergansers, and a Wood Duck Family. USA species – 111. Australia species – 242.

New Zealand 110

New Zealand Seattle Qatar South Africa 110

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

DECEMBER 3, 2014

I actually have many targets, in a way, a I want to see lots and lots, but there is one species that the reason that the trip is even happening, the animal that has been pretty much the top of my animal bucket list for well over a decade. It’s a species that has bedeviled and bewitched me over the years. The African Wild Dog.

Sharks 170

Sharks Leopards Whales Whaling 170

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. Astounding because she picked up birding before she could speak and surprising because this ability was definitely not inherited from anyone in my family, myself included. And perhaps 20 others by sight. GAMES AND APPS.

Birds 276

Birds Game Wildlife Family 276

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

NOVEMBER 25, 2015

Early starts are the rule when monitoring endagered species in Mkuze Game Reserve, in South Africa, but there’s a particular urgency to this morning’s start. And the two species were not inclined to get on, by which I mean that Lions will kill other large predators including Painted Wolves. Resilience.

Wolves 188

Wolves Lions Dogs Vet 188

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? With a trip to South Africa on the horizon at the time, I thought I could handle it. Not a great place for a family vacation, though I think Duncan will disagree. Now, I’m not so sure. I’m already looking up birding tours of Borneo and pricing airfares.

Brunei 172

Brunei Birds Asia China 172

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2015

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. Our group got to see another species that is a master of camouflage on our trip for the Honduran Emerald. Later on, we saw a second one that was actually moving!

Honduras 242

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 242

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

I did that with Peacocks & Picathartes – Reflections on Africa’s birdlife (published by Penguin Random House South Africa ). In case you didn’t know, yes, there is an indigenous peacock living in Africa, the Congo Peafowl. He has authored several other books and many articles, largely on natural history.

Congo 264

Congo Africa South Africa Kenya 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

That is why it is such amazingly awesome news that the British Birdwatching Fair raised £242,000 to help conserve a species that could become the first recorded bird extinction in mainland Africa. Fish & Wildlife comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity. The proposal from U.S.

Ethiopia 145

Ethiopia 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2017

Starting in the mid-1990s, there was a “where to watch birds in…” series of five site guides written by Nigel Wheatley and covering South America (1994), Africa (1995), Asia (1996), Europe & Russia (2000) and Central America & the Caribbean (2001). Family accounts for all 142 bird families recorded from the region.

Africa 166

Africa Botswana Nigeria Namibia 166

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

MARCH 11, 2011

That larger clade is in turn sister to a clade containing the four remaining totipalmate bird families, which do still seem to be related, and which needed a new order name once pelicans were removed. But meanwhile, let’s look at the four avian families that comprise the brand new order Suliformes.

2011 151

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 151

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

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

Knowing that there are reserves with long lists of 600 or more species, I set my threshold at more than 600 birds… and found only a few such hotspots. In early November 2020, there were 15 countries with more than 1000 species eBirded so far. Other than that, there are barely a few hotspots with over 500 species.

Asia 266

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 266

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

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

APRIL 7, 2020

Local farmers view it as a threat to domesticated wildlife. The simple answer is monetary gain, there is a global black market for these items, regardless of the species’ vulnerability for extinction. We are cautioned to keep the location of the eagle a secret. Back to Lendrum–McWilliam interviews him. ” [loc.3014,

Falcons 200

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

” Writing about owls means writing about roughly 250 species (I counted 245 on the 2022 Clements spreadsheet, but I might have missed a few, and we all know that each classification system is different). These are behaviors that are most likely to vary across species and topics that make for compelling stories.

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2016

I’ll never forget my introduction to the mammals of Kruger National Park, South Africa. We –participants of the ABA South Africa Safari—were on a small plane when one Lori Conrad looked out the window and screamed, “There are elephants down there!” and everyone ran to Lori’s side of the plane. Believe me, I tried.

Rhinos 233

Rhinos Mammals Animal White Rhinos 233

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 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

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

4 The Love Of Animals

APRIL 20, 2012

Especially it is associated with dogs, which may raise kids of other species and even of scary and dangerous representatives of wildlife! Although, it is not for the first time when inter-species adoption occurs, but every single case is getting more and more exciting – animals can not only be friends, but parents and brothers as well.

Badgers 100

Badgers Tigers Zoos Porcupines 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

My best bird of the year is based on the sighting rather than the species. Obviously my best bird of the year is going to come during this trip, what with several species of endemic pitta and broadbill possible, not to mention 8 species of hornbill and numerous babblers, storks, kingfishers, trogons and even the endemic Bornean Bristlehead.

2013 167

2013 Birds Costa Rica India 167

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

APRIL 15, 2015

I was in contact with a group of birders for whom I arranged and guided an annual tour to Africa. We already had South Africa, Zambia and Uganda under our belts, but my clients’ request for the next year came right out of the blue: Ghana! We also knew we had discovered Africa’s next hot birding destination.

Ghana 188

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

In southern Africa, there are two species. The Spotted Thick-knee , Burhinus capensis is, is found across much of Africa, favouring open country and is perfectly suited to the dry sandy ground of the cape region, where this individual would almost certainly have been overlooked were it not for its bright yellow legs, eyes and bill.

2011 160

2011 Deer Africa Peru 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2013

There is a Linnet at Kissena Corridor Park in Queens, and though I bird this park regularly, the Linnet, a bird regularly found in Europe, Asia, and North Africa and also named in a sweet song by Stephen Sondheim (Green Finch and Linnet Bird from Sweeny Todd) has eluded me. I needed a book showing a Linnet. A miscellaneous pot indeed!

Ireland 170

Ireland 2013 Breeders Ducks 170

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. This bird represented only the second documented record of this species in Florida.

2012 143

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 143

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