10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

On my 21-day Kenyan safaris we reckoned to find around 600 species of birds and around 60 mammals, both impressive totals. In 2023 I attempted to keep a year list of mammal encounters: the list barely exceeded 20 species, while it became complicated by seeing bats and voles that I was unable to name specifically.

Fur 183

Fur Bulgaria Otters Estonia 183

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2024

Given that according to the HBW, the species prefers dense primary and secondary montane forests, the note that the bird also forages among kitchen waste (in the same HBW entry) seems somewhat incongruous. Fish & Wildlife Service has a web page for this species – but it contains absolutely no information.

Burma 197

Burma India Birds Indonesia 197

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

Ducks and divers The bottom of the city is, naturally, the lowest point or course of the Danube (around 74 m / 240 ft above sea level), the best area being the confluence of the Sava and the Danube, around the War Islands Reserve. Although many of them can be found in city parks, too, at the top of Avala your chances are higher.

Serbia 297

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Ducks 297

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2023

This is how it looks like: Or at sunset: A species I did not come for from Shanghai is the Black-crowned Night Heron. Its species name graydoni is in honor of Philip Newenham Graydon (1864-1940), a British planter in Sabah. Why that makes Mr. Graydon worthy of having a bird species named after him is a mystery to me.

Birds 215

Birds Eagles Elephants Rhinoceros 215

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Sadly, the HBW states that the species is “almost extinct in some areas in China owing to hunting and trapping for the cagebird trade and taxidermy” The Maroon Oriole looks much more interesting, though my photos do not really do it full justice. … Traill did this enough times that Shirley began to hide the scale.’

Nepal 160

Nepal Birds Owls Fish 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

They were my target species, and I remember being delighted in not only seeing them well, but finding feeding flocks that were remarkably unconcerned about being watched. Shooting remains a major threat to this population, for the Italians are still passionately keen on hunting. Here they were easy to overlook.

Morocco 223

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 223

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2017

It’s Christmas Bird Count season, and if you know Christmas Bird Counts you have probably heard the tale of how Frank Chapman invented this winter tradition to replace the older and considerably less optimal for birds tradition of the Christmas side hunt. Or specific members thereof. And I’m not even talking about dinner.

Ireland 131

Ireland New Zealand Hunting Cooking 131

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2015

We call it a “mouse gradation year” I was not able to find a catchy English term for “gradation year” – it’s what happens when a certain species showing population cycles reaches a peak year. Then of course, there are the predators. Gotta be mouse gradation.

Fox 164

Fox Rodents Gophers Germany 164

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2020

One of the many things I did not know about Delhi is that it is the capital city with the second-largest number of bird species (after Nairobi). House-hunting, apparently. This species constantly looks like it is very concerned about something, though I have no clue what that is. Black Kite. Black-necked Stork. Crested Lark.

Cattle 200

Cattle India Birds Sanctuary 200

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 206

Lions Hunting Sierra Leone Buffalo 206

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2022

While preparing an article this week for a local newspaper on the nighttime denizens of Tobago, it crossed my mind that I never considered owls as a group, far less target species for any particular outing (except for a select few, upon which I shall expound here). This resulted in my only photograph of this species to date.

Trinidad 273

Trinidad Owls Barn Owls Abandon 273

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

Of course, unless you live on Venus, we all know that this year is far from normal and so is the birding news. With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit! Want to see a high quality video showing 53 species only be found in Costa Rica and adjacent western Panama?

Costa Rica 211

Costa Rica Birds Thailand Family 211

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

That honor goes to the Gray-crowned Crane , a very sexy species in its own right. Of course, we did, soaking in that slate blue beauty long enough to observe a successful hunt and more of its rangy, awkward flight. Having finally seen this iconic species, I can assure you that the experience wildly exceeds expectations.

Uganda 261

Uganda Africa Birds Penguins 261

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2021

Not all the birds, of course, but many of the distinctive and conspicuous species. T&T has five recorded species of woodcreeper, all resident. I’ve seen this bird hunting, actively denuding dead branches in pursuit of what lies beneath. But this book taught me about eagles, owls, storks and herons.

Trinidad 178

Trinidad Laws Family Hunting 178

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2021

For example, hunting is not permitted in most NPS wilderness areas, but it is often allowed in wilderness areas managed by the other agencies. Of course, as places that are largely “untrammeled by man,” wilderness areas also have birds ( 591 species according to one study ) for birders willing to leave roads and infrastructure behind.

Puerto Rico 251

Puerto Rico Alaska Protection Research 251

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

It is estimated that tens of thousands of shorebirds continue to be taken annually by hunting clubs on just these three islands. This practice is a throwback to more than a century ago when gunners hunted shorebirds throughout the Americas. Shorebird hunting within these areas continues to be unregulated to the present time.

Hunters 237

Hunters Barbados South Carolina Hunting 237

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

A Barred Cuckoo-Dove showed somewhat atypical behavior or had not read its eBird entry about it being “seldom seen out in the open … quick to flee when approached” Of course, Hongbenghe, Yunnan is quite far away from Chicago. The Crested Serpent Eagle is another species bound to suffer from a naming error in perpetuity.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2015

Because of its distance to the mainland, Hawaii is home to over 60 species of endemic birds. Over time, the webbing in its toes has decreased, and its longer lakes and shorter wings also make walking easier for this species. Ah Hawaii, land of beautiful beaches, surfing, warm weather, and unique birds.

Hawaii 156

Hawaii Feral Cats Mongoose Geese 156

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? And why spend time only looking for one or two species when those hours could be used to put binos focused on a few dozen? Aren’t all birds worth watching?

Costa Rica 202

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 202

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

” Most shrugged and said very few US falconers fly owls because they’re slow and some species you can only hunt at night, that wouldn’t be much fun to watch. If anything, falconry birds like the above red-tailed hawk are a hunting partner, especially wild caught birds. I learned that I knew nothing of falconry.

Wisconsin 241

Wisconsin Falcons Owls Hunting 241

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

Of course this is nonsense, and they are clearly close to swifts, but with a hind toe that lets them perch like a swallow, they sit outside the family as well, in their own, rarely thought about, family. There are four species in the family, ranging from India to the Solomon Islands. Whiskered Treeswift. Canopy walkways rock!

Solomon Islands 166

Solomon Islands Singapore India Family 166

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2016

The Aruban Burrowing Owl hunts primarily from the ground, hopping and running after lizards, insects, and small mammals. Burrowing Owls, whose range extends into Mexico, the United States, and South America, can live in varied habitats , including deserts and grasslands, golf courses and airports, agricultural fields and vacant lots.

Prairie Dogs 101

Prairie Dogs Tortoises Owls South America 101

10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2011

Dirt hawking is a form of falconry that involves hunting rabbits and other small game with Harris Hawks (other hawk species also qualify). One of the primary reasons that these hawks make such excellent falconry birds is because they are one of only two raptor species (the other is the Galapagos Hawk ) that hunt cooperatively.

League Against Cruel Sports 270

League Against Cruel Sports Rabbits Falcons Hunting 270

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2013

The number of people who hunt waterfowl in the US has declined since the mid 1990s. From the abstract of the study: Current waterfowl populations provide liberal hunting seasons, but waterfowl hunter numbers have declined since the mid–1990s. And, of course, bird watchers are in a sense free-loading on the duck stamps as well.

Ducks 211

Ducks Hunters Hunting Wildlife 211

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2014

Of course, in real life this cannot be so simple as good news. Snow Geese overgrazing their breeding grounds, displacing other Arctic-breeding species and setting themselves up for a fall. At the same time, philosophically, only a handful of ecologists would throw up their hands and say we must let nature take its course here.

Geese 179

Geese Montana Breeding Pelicans 179

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2019

Unlike several other gamebird species commonly raised and released for hunting in North America, the Northern Bobwhite ( Collinus virginianus ) is, of course, a native of the continent, though its natural range lies mostly in the southeastern quarter of the continent, and south into Mexico and the Caribbean.

North America 113

North America Vermont America Farming 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2022

The Common Pochard is listed as Vulnerable – not because it is particularly rare, but because of the rapid decline in its numbers (a decline of 50% within 10 years means a species is listed as Vulnerable – and a 50% loss in 10 years sounds quite dramatic and frightening indeed). Of course, Little Egrets like to eat fish.

Raccoons 213

Raccoons Birds Oregon China 213

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

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). The Latin species name vermiculatus (worm-like) refers to the markings on the upperparts.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2015

It can’t have escaped your notice lately that the blog has been overrun with articles about North America’s pseudo-warblers (or wood warblers, as some people, apparently unaware the name is taken by a proper European species, call them), and, even worse, no small amount of poetry. And they are always a pleasure to see.

Africa 174

Africa Feral Ethiopia Tanzania 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2021

There is a mushroom hunting expedition in Anna Karenina, Tolstoy’s use of a popular Russian pastime. This second edition covers 685 species found in the continental U.S. and Canada, including some species as far north as Alaska, an increase over the 500 species covered in the first edition. Species Accounts.

North America 255

North America America Species 2018 255

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2017

Of course I wanted to go scalloping, which involves snorkeling through the seagrass before plucking the shellfish from the ground and cleaning them right then and there – but I always want to bird. Late fall promises marshes filled with waterfowl and other migratory species – what could be better? Scallop success!

Wildlife 100

Wildlife Florida Pelicans Fish 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2017

I had never seen this species of kite before, but Guhin explained that they often hunted in the natural acres of the reserve. The ES NERR is a world-renowned biodiversity hotspot, drawing birders from around the country and around the globe, all happy to see as many of the over 200 species recorded here as possible.

Research 101

Research Birds Virginia Protection 101

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 30, 2017

I’ve been to this part of central Alabama before, but always during hunting season, my schedule built around the ridiculously early mornings (i.e. In the mid-morning heat of August, I had already missed the best birding window in a relatively poor time of year for spotting too many species, but I didn’t care.

Alabama 113

Alabama Birds Deer Turkey 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2016

It’s natural to encounter resistance which, of course, we have. We also knew at the start that a significant percentage of our effort would be devoted to simply convincing people that a new funding tool is not just an imperative, but also something that would have the support of thousands and millions of non-hunting Refuge visitors.

Wildlife 184

Wildlife San Francisco Legislation Ducks 184

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2016

Here and there, spits of pale sand became playgrounds for families and dogs, or hunting areas for Great Blue Herons. Besides, I didn’t need a still image to identify my familiar Florida species. My husband remained more interested in the species below the surface. A view of East Bay.

Bald Eagle 154

Bald Eagle Florida Alligators Fish 154

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2020

A silhouetted Golden Eagle in flight appears on all current bottlings by Ardmore, and over the years, the same species has occasionally appeared on various products by Scottish distilleries like Glenfarclas and Mortlach. A Golden Eagle (1916), another painting by Archibald Thornburn.

Eagles 159

Eagles Lions Hunting Lamb 159

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Originally a hunting term, the Big Five were the most dangerous and prized targets of the great white hunters on safari. Elephant The big – two species of elephant are now recognized as occuring in Africa, the smaller and more secretive Forest Elephant and the larger, more familiar African or Bush Elephant.

Buffalo 201

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 201