10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2014

So we have a brown, slender-billed bird in font of us which we now know is a brown warbler, either of the genus Acrocephalus or Locustella. No, seriously, a brown warbler with stripes in central Europe really means you are either looking at a Grasshopper Warbler or a Sedge Warbler. So easy a group it is not even worth blogging about.

Europe 221

Europe Kazakhstan Sparrows Abandon 221

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2012

There are two species in the Old World woodpecker genus that sounds like birds that birders would never be able to see. They are literal jinx birds in that their genus name is “ Jynx.” Neither even makes their own nesting cavities; they use the abandoned holes of other woodpeckers.

Hungary 174

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 174

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2015

Further down the road, we reach a derelict building with a large veranda hidden among the trees – an abandoned hunting lodge (if I were in a situation to invest, I would choose to upgrade this into a luxury wildlife lodge). Birds included common species such as Black Drongos , Jungle Babblers and a Hoopoe.

Tigers 243

Tigers Dogs India Snow Leopard 243

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2016

In the most of Europe, Brown Bear is a mythical creature that lives only in mediaeval tapestries and folk tales. Like many others, this village was totally abandoned and only recently repopulated, with a current population of only 18 people. In the European Union there are only 10,000 mature bears (source: IUCN). Not at all.

Bears 270

Bears Greece Europe Slovenia 270

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

My last blog has created quite a discussion among the readers, mostly from US, but also southern and eastern Africa and Europe (apologies if I forgot some region). They were commenting where they felt most at home – on their favourite FB pages (predominantly American Birding Association). Natural Greece: “Empathy is important too.

Greece 212

Greece Birds Zambia Experience 212

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

Will Raup is a birder from upstate New York who helped Corey learn a lot about birds when Corey was first starting out as a birder. When you think of invasives, you think of the birds that have been helped by human beings to get where they are, such as House Sparrow or European Starling.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2016

I am not entirely sure whether most birders outside Germany know or realize that Germany still has a decent population of one of Europe’s most attractive and desired bird species: the Great Bustard Otis tarda. Never mind the slight over-exposure: look at this bird!

Germany 101

Germany Abandon Abandoning Abandonment 101

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2012

The White-backed Woodpecker is the hardest resident woodpecker to find in Europe. Dendrocopos leucotos is absent from western Europe but is found in northern, central, and eastern Europe and across Asia as far east as Japan and Korea. Eventually a distant drumming was heard and we played some tape back to the bird.

Woodpeckers 182

Woodpeckers Hungary Europe Japan 182

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2015

“The estuary and the delta of the River Kalamas form the most important wetland of northwest Greece”, so the “ Birding in Greece ” guidebook claims for the area where I am heading, a bit late since I overslept this morning. Yet, beside a few Little and one Great Egret , a raft of Eurasian Coots , no birds. It is getting a bit hot.

Greece 236

Greece Dogs Pelicans Fish 236