10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Construction is still ongoing at Nanhui, there are constant rumors that key birding sites will be made inaccessible … you have to take every Nanhui visit as it is your last (yes, another clichee). Still, there were a few birds there this September. Still, there were a few birds there this September. A juvenile male.

Birds 242

Birds LACS France Japan 242

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2022

It didn’t take too long after the big rain event at the end of January for Roebuck Plains to flood and the birds to arrive. The highway out of Broome towards Derby has also become great for bird-watching. Sadly, one of the first birds that we saw was a recently deceased Barn Owl. Intermediate Egret in breeding plumage.

Barn Owls 197

Barn Owls Cattle Ducks Reptiles 197

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2023

May is a busy month for birds migrating through Shanghai – and of course, last May was completely missed due to the lockdown. So, I spent a lot of time birding this month, and to keep this post at a manageable length, it mostly only covers the first half of May. The video is notable for the bird basically refusing to move at all.

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Birds Raised Cattle Mammals 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2021

The very best wetland birding around Belgrade, Serbia, is not to be found in the locally famous and tourist-promoted Obedska or Carska Bara Ramsar areas, but at Beljarica Backwaters and the fish farm triangle of Centa, Baranda and Sakule villages, in the Tamis River floodplain. mi, to the Vrbovski turnoff.

Farming 264

Farming Birds Fish Boars 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

Chinese Penduline T**s are not particularly woke birds. White’s Thrush is described as “burly” on eBird – not entirely unjustified, I guess, but this description fails to capture the way the intricate patterns of the bird make for great camouflage and also for its own kind of beauty. Maybe the grandparents help.

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Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 211

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2023

It is kind of rare to see a Fairy Pitta during Shanghai’s spring migration as those passing through are all adults rather than inexperienced chicks, and they are in a rush getting to their breeding grounds – but I was lucky. This should not be a problem in Shanghai as the pitta has not been reported to breed here.

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Birds China Research Tenant 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2019

Birdwatchers tend to like the rare, the exotic – yet many common birds are exciting as well. With that in mind, I would like to introduce what might be the 20 most common birds of Shanghai. Today`s species are just the first 10 by alphabetical order. But the way it is, familiarity breeds (relative) contempt.

Germany 133

Germany Cattle Blackbirds Birds 133

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2020

No, I am not going to tell you about some blood-sucking bird with hypnotic powers. I am only responding to my subjective impression of a single species’ appearance here; specifically, that of the Bronzed Cowbird. But the bird is cool, and I need the photos to prove my points. I hope you will forgive my rather lurid title.

Birds 157

Birds Blackbirds Mexico Cattle 157

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

In Tobago’s wetlands and forests we see the seasons changing in the faces of the birds. The first step in preparing for the breeding season is getting ready for courtship. The often overlooked Cattle Egret has legs that turn bright pink during this brief courtship period. Even its eyes change colour!

Cattle 194

Cattle Bears Breeding Animal 194

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2023

And now for something completely different – birds. Like the Eastern Crowned Warbler (which eBird mysteriously calls a “boldly marked songbird” despite its similarity to about 50 other warbler species) … … and the Arctic Warbler (or maybe some other warbler looking very similar).

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Birds China Taiwan Raised 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Instead of going on about zip lines and other modern, adventure tourism attractions, the birding crowd talks about taking photos of Resplendent Quetzals , seeing dozens of hummingbird species, and the seemingly odd absence of raptors in Costa Rica but nope, we don’t really talk about extinction. Resplendence.

Costa Rica 228

Costa Rica Species Panama Birds 228

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

This bird species is known to travel large distances around Australia. They are no doubt breeding here once again this year. They are quite possibly here to breed once again. All of the station access is flooded from the highway and the birds are lining the tracks. Wedge-tailed Eagle -bigger than the cattle!?

Geese 261

Geese Eagles Australia Breeding 261

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2022

Another paper on Taiwanese birds found that “the urban Crested Goshawk bred 34 days earlier on average than the rural population with significantly higher nesting success”, concluding that “the urban Crested Goshawk population benefits from high food supply and low predation risk.”

Birds 147

Birds China Eggs Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

With the lockdown lasting until the end of May (ironically thus pretty much including the whole spring migration – the divine sense of humor is a rather malign one, I am afraid), June still had the freedom of birding anywhere in Shanghai, not just inside a smallish compound. Accessorizing for birds.

Singapore 147

Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, experts have determined that the current rate of bird extinction is somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 times the background rate. The Gray Crowned-Crane is a new addition to the list of the world’s Endangered species, creeping up a category from Vulnerable.

Endangered Species 200

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 200

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2020

Like many of you, I had plans for this year’s spring migration: to bird the very best tour of the Balkans, heading for northeastern Greece. First, 800 km of driving from Belgrade through Bulgaria to very NE corner of Greece and the Dadia Forest National Park with its 36 species of diurnal raptors, out of Europe’s 38.

Greece 247

Greece Bulgaria Birds Serbia 247

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

This can mean some interesting birding, if you can bear the Shanghai heat … Of course, the egrets and herons described in my last post are still around. Cattle Egret … though some of them seem to want to hide (which is really difficult for a white bird). Sanderling: A bird with strong work ethics.

Tigers 191

Tigers Breeding Cattle Bears 191

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2021

Have you ever birded a place so young that birds still have no names ? … – part 2 – Once I finish this writing, with a strange mix of emotions I will put the Lynx field guide Birds of Colombia to the bookshelf for the first time, more than half a year after I received it. Black-collared Swallow by Tyler Ficker.

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Dolphins Colombia Otters Birds 263

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2021

It gave us a chance to hopefully add a few new birds to our 2021 bird list and see the lush green land after recent rainfall. Since the rain started the birds have left town and been elusive. This particular bird species is not common around Broome, but easily found in Derby. Little Egret. Kimberley Flycatcher.

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Breeding 2014 Cattle Australia 248

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2022

Around this time of the year, the first few waders are back in Shanghai from their breeding grounds far further up north. Generally, being back here early is not a very good sign – it may indicate a failed breeding attempt, as suggested for Asian Dowitchers in a paper on their presence in Lianyungang somewhat further north of Shanghai.

Cattle 147

Cattle Portugal Buffalo Breeding 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

The Latin species name cruentus , “blood-stained” has the same background Blood Pheasants mainly feed on mosses – not many bird species do this as mosses are not very nutritious. One of the threats to the Blood Pheasant comes from overgrazing by cattle.

Kansas City 130

Kansas City Kansas Livestock Eggs 130

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2022

This whole area floods during the wet season and water remains throughout the year most years and attracts a lot of bird-life. It is worth having your windows open as you drive slowly in and check all of the many boab trees for bird-life. All of the surrounding trees, especially if they are in flower, offer a great variety of birds.

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Geese Ducks Breeding 2015 211

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2021

This lake, with a surface area of up to 150 square miles in good years, is my go-to site for dozens of waterfowl and shorebird species, so I take its health personally. It is also a vital wintering and migratory site for most of these species, so I imagine they take its health very personally, as well.

San Francisco 264

San Francisco 2018 Mexico Ducks 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

Not professionally – these people come in SUVs and probably never recapture their gas money from the fish they catch (though come to think of it, neither do I with my bird photos). This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway). One strange thing about Chongming is the inevitable presence of people fishing. End of side note.

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Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2018

Serbia has 317 eBirded species so far, or 89% of the 356 in the national checklist. The country has one eBird hotspot with 200+ and 48 with more than 100 bird species. Spring migration March to April , 270 eBirded species. Breeding season May – June , 261 eBirded species (yet, only about 242 breed in the country).

Serbia 164

Serbia Geese Owls Macedonia 164

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2022

On that glorious day, I observed ten critically endangered birds, representing 8% of their Costa Rican, or 2% of their global population!! In my previous post , I dealt with Rancho Naturalista Lodge itself and birding within their private reserve. But, let’s start at the beginning.

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Costa Rica Nicaragua 2019 Farming 248

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2020

The bird got very nervous when I approached, trying to strike me with its beak through the net. Herons and egrets are easily the most visible birds at Nanhui, particularly in summer. And indeed, if you only see a single Little Egret posing on a tree in the early morning, the bird can look quite majestic.

Singapore 180

Singapore Fish Cattle Species 180

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2018

All of our visits since then for a holiday have been during the cooler months and it is interesting to observe which birds remain in the area all year and which arrive later in the year. The drainage channels are a good place to stop and observe a huge variety of birds as you can see in the header photo. Cattle Egret.

Cattle 114

Cattle Geese Birds Australia 114

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2020

Just under a fortnight ago, I saw a report on the local bird alert of a sighting of a group of approximately 20 Nacunda Nighthawks at a wetland not more than 20 minutes from where I live. Striated Heron in breeding plumage – extra plumes and blue lores. We had no idea if the nighthawks would hunker down or flee. Great Blue Heron.

Livestock 227

Livestock Ducks ALA illegal 227

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

The official definition of CR status says the species could be gone within ten years, or could lose 80 per cent of its population within three generations – whichever comes first. CR being the highest category in the Red List , if I want to see some of those birds, I better hurry! Locals being vegetarians, why are there no birds?

India 250

India Sudan Ukraine Camels 250

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

If you like birds on posts, if seeing “little brown jobs” posing nicely in the distance as you drive or walk along a dirt road only to have it fly away as you approach makes you deliriously happy, then North Dakota is the place for you. I wanted to see prairie birds and I wanted to experience a new state. Scott Barnes, N.J.

North Dakota 147

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2020

I soon encountered many of the local birds that I have become very familiar with over recent weeks. When I returned to the small dam where there had been so many Australian Wood Ducks earlier in the day I discovered that the eleven cows had been joined by two Cattle Egrets. Two Cattle Egrets with four cows!

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Buffalo Fish Koalas Cattle 166

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2016

I’m one of those people who thinks all birds are beautiful, from the drab House Sparrow to the pink Roseate Spoonbill. Yet, there is one bird that looks like a piece of fallen sky as it zips around eating summer insects, one bird whose blue color is so perfect that birders and non-birders alike can’t help but stare.

Nevada 100

Nevada Idaho United States Alaska 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

In short, the accepted view used to be that a small breeding population of Egyptian Vultures inhabited Southern Africa, but has vanished facing the spread of towns, roads and farms. It was not the first note I have published, but was the only one about a bird I have never laid my eyes upon!

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Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 236

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

Its crown was so thick, I could spot the movement, but only rarely the bird itself and never the whole bird, once it would be only its back, once its head, once just legs… slowly, I was putting this puzzle together. The first birds to spot from the boat were Common Terns furiously defending their newly built nests on floating logs.

Greece 200

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 200

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2012

Have you ever enjoyed one of those brilliant birding expeditions, the outing where every target species takes its cue with machine precision? The lush pastures of the Aripo Livestock Station sustained herds of happy Buffalypso , a special breed of T&T beef cattle named for their Water Buffalo heritage and Calypso-happy country.

Trinidad 183

Trinidad Birds Fast Food Cattle 183

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2020

Having observed the Cattle Egret in breeding plumage at the Derby Poo Ponds on June 19th we found ourselves at Windjana Gorge first thing the following morning. We soon added Sandstone Shrike-thrush to our 2020 bird list and it is a great place to find them without too much walking. A couple of crocodiles. Northern Fantail.

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2020 Australia Cattle Groups 264