10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2020

This week’s wine is a very easy-drinking white blend from the South African winery A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines. Cockatoos aren’t even from Africa, of course, but we’ve got better things to do than ponder the provenance of a caged parrot – like open this bottle. The Curator is an annual release from A.A. The post A.A.

2016 157

2016 Family ADI Africa 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

Growing up within an hour of one of the world’s premier shorebird destinations -- West Coast National Park in South Africa -- helped for sure. Filming the plovers of Estero Lagoon Plovers are a significant part of the shorebird family, comprising 66 species worldwide. Firstly, shorebirds present a significant ID challenge.

Florida 200

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 200

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2012

For example, I was going to add “no tail” to the list of features above, what all frogs share, when I remembered that there are indeed a small family of Tailed frogs, four species in New Zealand and two in North America (though, the tails are quite tiny). But, within the frog group there is a tremendous range of diversity.

Reptiles 190

Reptiles Madagascar Family New York City 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2013

A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. Trips Mammals South Africa'

Africa 200

Africa South Africa Elephants Rhinos 200

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Quintessential African scene from Tarangire National Park, Tanzania Africa boasts a fabulous and unique avifauna. Besides these truly African families, Africa abounds in a wealth of species in other more widespread groups; weavers, barbets, kingfishers, sunbirds, rollers, bee-eaters, and dare I mention them, cisticolas!

Papua New Guinea 231

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 231

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

I was in contact with a group of birders for whom I arranged and guided an annual tour to Africa. We already had South Africa, Zambia and Uganda under our belts, but my clients’ request for the next year came right out of the blue: Ghana! During each trip we would discuss a destination for the following year.

Ghana 199

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 199

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

The reality is that it’s if pretty difficult to see most penguin species, excepting the wonderfully accessible African Penguins at Boulders Beach outside Cape Town, South Africa and the Galapagos Penguins, ironically one of the rarest and most commonly seen species. That’s a lot of books about a bird family that cannot fly.

Penguins 209

Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 209