10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2023

Fortunately, there are a few more such breeding species than most Shanghainese are aware of. While the HBW states that it breeds at 300 – 2450 meters, in Shanghai – where such elevations are not available outside of the upper floors of a few highrises – it makes to with an altitude of about 0 meters as well.

Birds 130

Birds Eggs Breeders Breeding 130

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. These birds also invite one to sites that are unique within the United States – the climate, vegetation, and landscapes all add context and heighten the experience of seeing one’s first Elegant Trogon or Painted Bunting.

America 263

America Arizona North America United States 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Can you remember any birding movie before Schrodinger’s Cat? For me, the only “birding” movie that I knew of were the Dogs of War (1980). I knew about the movie since my early birding days although it was more than ten years later before I saw it. You noticed it: it doesn’t even live in Western Africa at all!

Belize 237

Belize Birds Africa Dogs 237

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

It is near a river, attracting some birds that like to eat wet food. As the national bird of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the African Fish Eagle is usually very busy whenever it stays in these countries, giving speeches, opening shopping centers, etc. So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

Most serious bird photographers dislike taking pictures of birds wearing rings (or what on the other side of the Atlantic you call bands). I can sympathise, as a shiny new ring, clamped to a bird’s leg, rarely enhances its portrait. The information I received didn’t indicate the age of the bird.

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Iceland Morocco Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

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.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

And where all those birds are? This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. And it raises a question: if all the birds are having a party over there, am I in the wrong spot? Which leaves only East Africa. Why am I here?

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

I don’t think I’ve ever done a post on my home patch of Cape Town, South Africa. This place is such an epic birding location that one cannot possibly do the city and its surrounds justice in one post. But at Rooiels, the birds occasionally descend all the way down to sea-level and party amongst the seaside boulders.

South Africa 244

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 244

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. Gray-necked or Red-headed Picathartes in Korup National Park, Cameroon.

Sierra Leone 269

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 269

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

2014 has been a good year for us at 10,000 Birds. We’ve traveled to lots of places, seen lots of great birds, and met lots of great birders. So, as we’ve done for the last several years we thought we would share our Best Birds of the Year with you. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours?

2014 190

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

In her free time she travels near and far to find birds to continue building her life list, though many of her favorites can still be found right in her own backyard. She has contributed many pieces to 10,000 Birds and writes about her birding adventures on her blog, newbirder.tumblr.com. Lots and lots of birds.

Birds 179

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 179

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

I fully realize that my last post was not a bird post in the strictest sense. That’s why I won’t talk too much this time – just the birds. Judging by my experiences with the species, the Black-tailed Godwit’s behaviour is restricted to two aspects. Birds Germany godwits shorebirds'

Germany 176

Germany Russia Iceland India 176

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.” Eurasian Wrynecks are found breeding across the temperate zones of Europe and Asia.

Hungary 173

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 173

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Getting to actually see four species, in the last two weeks, and to hear two more is almost unheard of in my experience. Another friend recently commented that while she loved all forms of birds, owls were, well, just something special! I counted a total of 9 owls, with 4 being mature adults and 5 juvenile birds.

Owls 153

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 153

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2012

They have a circumpolar distribution, breeding in vast numbers in the islands around Antarctica, as well as on Antarctica itself. Smaller numbers breed on sub-Antarctic islands as far north as the Chathams in New Zealand. But perhaps they are not a species you are ever likely to see on it’s own! …

New Zealand 158

New Zealand Albatross South Africa Brazil 158

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

This is particularly poignant if the bird has disappeared during the course of my birding days or “on my watch” as I like to think of it. Islands, for various reasons, experience more extinctions than continents (with Africa being the only continent not suffering a bird extinction!).

Madagascar 240

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 240

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / The plovers of Estero Lagoon, Florida The plovers of Estero Lagoon, Florida By James • March 8, 2011 • 1 comment Tweet Share For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by shorebirds.

Florida 192

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 192

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

British birders are very serious about birding and their birds. This is a very good thing; it means they publish a lot of books about birds (probably more at this point than U.S. This is a very good thing; it means they publish a lot of books about birds (probably more at this point than U.S.

Ireland 145

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 145

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2012

Rather than trying to learn them North American birders are well-advised to do all of your birding in areas where old world warblers might be encountered in the company of old world birders. Great Reed Warblers breed across huge chunks of Europe and Asia and winter across large swaths of southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Hungary 160

Hungary Asia Europe Africa 160

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Come September most of the summer seabird people had left, but there were a small number of seabirds still breeding and so I stayed behind for three years to continue their monitoring and do the migrant landbird surveys, as well as the Great White Shark surveys. And there aren’t just cool birds rocking up, migratory bats do too.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Brown Pelicans , and the northernmost Brown Booby breeding colony on this side of the Pacific. And, the birds are awesome. Ringer Anhingas and darters , cormorants and shags , frigatebirds , gannets and boobies , pelicans , and the tropicbirds all share a characteristic found in no other living bird: Their feet are totipalmate.

2011 153

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 153

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

If there is one thing that Kiwis care about, it’s birds. No, wait, not birds. One thing visitors love to see in New Zealand is Kiwi, the national (sort of) bird, and they also enjoy seeing some of the other birds the place has to offer. Kiwis care about rugby. A good place to see the enigmatic Kokako.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Birds 157

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

Collins Birds of the World is “ a must for the travelling birder ,” as the BBC Wildlife Magazine reviewer has put it. When I moved to Botswana, to learn my birds I got myself the thickest local field guide. It is not a concept for a total beginner, more of a reminder to someone with some experience. And I cannot agree more.

Birds 248

Birds Botswana Africa Ecuador 248

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

Birding has been an all-consuming interest for Patrick Cardwell since boyhood days spent in a wildlife-rich environment. In this epic post, Patrick depicts just how dynamic the pelagic birding is off Cape Point in South Africa.

Albatross 183

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 183

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

Lesser Kestrels are one of those birds that have a special fascination for British birdwatchers. They are very rare birds in Britain, but have been recorded from Scilly in the south to Fair Isle in the north. Lesser Kestrel really is an appropriate name, for they are a lesser bird than the familiar Common Kestrel.

Falcons 199

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 199

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read.

Owls 214

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 214

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2011

We started out as a team with enthusiasm and knowledge, but little experience in book-making. reduce traffic casualties amongst Badgers , get the White-tailed Eagle back as a breeding bird, increase the number of protected plant species etc.). Any plans for further afield (USA, Asia, Africa)?

Badgers 145

Badgers Ethics Africa Spain 145

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Nowhere else in Africa do the preconceived ideas of the continent really exist in such living detail; tall, red-robed Maasai herding their skinny cattle, endless grasslands studded with flat-topped Acacia trees and grazed by herds of zebras and wildebeest, and dramatic volcanic calderas brimming with big game and fierce predators!

Tanzania 219

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 219

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Some time after the Spanish encounter with the Turkey, birds were brought back to Europe where they were raised and became an important source of food and fancy feathers. The one case that could have been an actual Turkey was a bird spotted in Honduras, where they may or may not have been, by our friend Christopher Columbus.

Turkey 204

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 204

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, experts have determined that the current rate of bird extinction is somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 times the background rate. Globally, 1,313 bird species of a total of count of 10,064 are threatened, a frightening 13% of the total.

Endangered Species 192

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 192

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

There are few bird names that will elicit great big smiles and Penguin is one of them. Other contenders are Kookaburra, Shoebill, and Umbrellabird, but people smile when they hear these names because they know a song or because they can’t believe these are real names of real birds. <pause> Do I have your attention now?

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

Its crown was so thick, I could spot the movement, but only rarely the bird itself and never the whole bird, once it would be only its back, once its head, once just legs… slowly, I was putting this puzzle together. The first birds to spot from the boat were Common Terns furiously defending their newly built nests on floating logs.

Greece 196

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 196

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

As 2013 draws to a close we here at 10,000 Birds thought that it would be a great idea if we, like we did in 2010 , 2011 , and 2012 , shared our Best Birds of the Year. We also want to know what YOUR Best Bird of the Year was. Now on to the Best Birds of the Year for those who write on 10,000 Birds! Sound good?

2013 167

2013 Birds Costa Rica India 167

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

Thankfully, travel writer Mia Petersen has offered us the inside scoop on what makes birding Greenland special. There is a total of 235 different bird species in Greenland, most of them are migratory birds with approximately 60 species breeding within the land. Kitsissunnguit Is Greenland’s Bird Sanctuary.

North America 177

North America Eagles Breeding Fish 177

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2020

It’s the festive season and I am holding the new Lynx Edicions’s Birds of Japan, thinking what a perfect gift to any international birder this book represents. Its waterproof fold-able covers bring back childhood memories… I must have had some illustrated children book with similar covers – my fingertips remember the experience.

Japan 226

Japan Asia Birds 2000 226

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2019

Perhaps you don’t know it yet, but with more than 1000 bird species, palm-fringed sandy beaches, developed tourism infrastructure, moderate prices and political stability, Thailand is a country you definitively want to visit. Now, which field guide to pack? of Rufous-fronted Babbler.

Thailand 191

Thailand Zambia Birds Asia 191

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2012

As 2012 draws to a close we here at 10,000 Birds thought that it would be a great idea if we, like we did in 2010 and 2011 , shared our Best Birds of the Year. We also want to know what YOUR Best Bird of the Year was. Now on to the Best Birds of the Year for those who write on 10,000 Birds! Sound good?

2012 149

2012 Birds Guatemala Florida 149