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Fur and Fangs rather than Feathers and Beaks

10,000 Birds

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. in the morning.

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The Final Days of the Danube backwaters in Belgrade: Chinese Belt and Road Initiative is coming to Serbia

10,000 Birds

And here in Europe, they are the real deal, an indigenous species and not domesticated animals gone wild. Whenever I come here, I am focused on birds, but I have had some good mammal sighting as well: a roe deer swimming across a pond (only its head and antlers visible), a pair of otters playing in the water, a curious (young?)

Serbia 244
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Those Sea Serpents

10,000 Birds

Because they aren’t fishes, but – Eurasian Otters! My first live otters ever (the only previous one was a road-kill)! In that first year, about 95 bird species were recorded here, not to mention the Otter, listed as the Near Threatened species in the IUCN Red List. The Reva is not protected.

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Kerkini in Winter

10,000 Birds

Last year, in November, I notched up a dozen species of butterflies, an impressive total anywhere in Europe so late in the year. One year we found an impressively big calidus Peregrine, feeding on a Wigeon that it had killed. Such an abundance of wildfowl attracts Peregrines. Despite appearances, they are remarkably docile.

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The Birding Rally Challenge Peru 2012

10,000 Birds

International teams compete for 6 days and 5 nights with the express purpose of recording the most bird species, by sight or by call, while the clock ticks down. A huge surprise was the addition of an entirely new species for Peru, a Black Swift , found by the Forest Falcons team. An Andean Flicker on the ground in the Peruvian Andes.

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Is The Hooded Grebe About To Go Extinct?

10,000 Birds

Twenty two species are distributed among six genera, depending on what happens to be extinct, and for the most part one grebe is like another. This makes Grebes vulnerable to climate change and the predation of invasive species. It is easy to see how Minks set lose in a welcoming habitat could eat an entire species.

2010 201
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Prespa Lakes National Park, Greece: the largest Dalmatian Pelican colony in the world

10,000 Birds

In all that swirling of swallows, I am not certain was there a third species, so I keep watching. Supposedly, in Spring this area is teeming with migrating passerines, but in September, I recorded a mere dozen species, including very numerous Red-backed Shrikes (9 in this area alone). eBird hotspots of Prespa lakes. Practicalities.

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