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Broome’s Pied Oystercatchers are breeding again

10,000 Birds

Since I found the first Pied Oystercatcher nest on Cable Beach in July 2000 I have learnt that the eggs rarely hatch due to predation and if they do hatch then a fully fledged chick is a rare and wonderful outcome. This year has been like other years with the first eggs being laid late June and the first chicks hatching recently.

Breeding 147
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The Poems of the Brown-headed Cowbird

10,000 Birds

Brown-headed Cowbirds evoke strong feelings in many birders, some of whom can’t abide a bird that lays its eggs in other birds’ nests, often to the detriment of the nest owners’ offspring. But I miss the open land with skies never ending And the challenge of laying eggs in a nest with defending.

Eggs 163
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Birding Shanghai in May 2023 – Part 1

10,000 Birds

The bird on the photo is one of the estimated 3500-15,000 individuals still alive according to the HBW – a frightening thought given the (too) large number of humans, of which there are about 1 million times more (and of course, each of which weighs 5000 times more than the flycatcher).

Birds 130
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The Kirtland’s Warbler: The Story of a Bird’s Fight Against Extinction and the People Who Saved It: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

I very much enjoyed the first section, which relates the history of the bird and its relationship with us, humans, from its discovery in 1851 up to the fateful Lake Mack fire and its aftermath in the 1980’s. A nest wasn’t found until 1903, which set off a craze for Kirtland’s Warbler skins, nests, and eggs.

Michigan 250
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Birding Longcanggou, Sichuan again (but maybe for the last time)

10,000 Birds

If being hunted by evil humans was not enough, Ashy-throated Parrotbills are also hosts of the parasitic Common Cuckoo. Apparently , they use the presence of their own eggs as a cue for recognizing parasitic eggs – so without the presence of their own eggs as a template they fail to recognize a parasitic egg.

Eggs 185
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Birding Nonggang, Guangxi, China – part 2

10,000 Birds

In China, wherever there is one real tourist attraction (like the Great Wall), the local strategy seems to be to add some fake attractions – replicas of palaces or tombs, amusement parks, shopping centers – in order to maximize the income from tourists. But the starting point has to be a real attraction, not a fake one.

China 254
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Come@Me: If Birds are Dinosaurs I’m a Monkey’s Uncle

10,000 Birds

Humans have always classified organisms in a variety of ways, depending on need. In other words, you can’t say something like, “humans, gorillas, chimps, and bonobos are all in the same family and equally related to each other.” Some sort of ancient fish-with-feet is the ancestors of humans. Think about it. But here’s the thing.

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