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Birding Shanghai in February 2023

10,000 Birds

I am not sure about the security situation in Iraq these days but at least some people do ornithological research there – resulting in papers such as one titled “Breeding observations of the Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines , 1789) in Iraq” Impressive. Fortunately, they are quite common in Shanghai.

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Champions of the Flyway – the Dakar Rally of Birding

10,000 Birds

A case of mistaken identity, this rare and secretive species, was only officially described to science in the last year. The Cape May Bird Observatory American Dippers took top honors out of the international teams with 168 species, a mere one bird ahead of the Arctic Redpolls from Finland with 167 birds.

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Birding Shanghai in November 2022

10,000 Birds

Given the complexity of the research, the result feels like a bit of a letdown – “northern populations start migration earlier than southern populations, especially in autumn” The species name of the Chestnut-eared Bunting is fucata , from the Latin “fucare”, to paint red.

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