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Birding the Ndumo area, South Africa

10,000 Birds

It is not particularly big but has a reported 430 bird species including migrants, though during my short stay it seems I missed most of the key attractions among them. It goes like this: While fishing, the bird tucks its head down and uses its wings to create a shady area. Pel’s Fishing Owl, where were you?

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Rename All Birds Named After White People

10,000 Birds

We should stop naming birds, especially non-European birds, after European and Euroamerican naturalists and scientists, especially if we are committed to making the worlds of birds and birding accessible to more people than the demographics that produced the Audubons, Wilsons, Stellers, and MacGillivrays.

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Birding Shanghai in June 2023

10,000 Birds

Their migration is quite fast compared to many other larger birds – in one study , several birds flew 4000 km within 5–7 days while one individual even flew 5600 km non-stop. That includes breeding birds, as indicated by the presence of some rather cute chicks ( video ). Also as video.

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Birding Chongming Island in summer

10,000 Birds

Not professionally – these people come in SUVs and probably never recapture their gas money from the fish they catch (though come to think of it, neither do I with my bird photos). This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway). One strange thing about Chongming is the inevitable presence of people fishing. End of side note.

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15 Australian Birds (Episode 6)

10,000 Birds

Being sacred may not have been that great for the Ibis in Egypt though – apparently, mummies of the Ibis are by far the most common bird mummies found there. And it seems that most of these mummified birds came from the wild rather than being specifically domesticated, according to DNA studies. Possibly also for doing the dishes.

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Emerald Ash Borers vs. Woodpeckers (and Nuthatches)

10,000 Birds

And with no natural predators or resistant trees in their adopted territory, things have been looking pretty grim. These birds may be the North American ash tree’s last line of defense against the EAB invasion. Koenig, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, told 10,000 Birds. Enter the woodpecker.

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Birding By Impression: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

There is GISS and there is Birding by Impression and they are not the same. Birding by Impression is a conscious, deliberate method of identifying and recognizing birds based on the study and evaluation of “distinctive structural features and behavioral movements” and comparison with nearby and similar species. So say Kevin T.

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