10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

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. In the summer, they are the highest altitude breeding songbird in North America. Elegant Trogon by Homer Gardin.

America 264

America Arizona North America Texas 264

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

MARCH 1, 2024

Black-tailed godwits winter in large numbers on the estuaries of both Norfolk and Suffolk, and we know that nearly all these birds breed in Iceland. In breeding plumage islandica godwits develop a deeper red plumage than their limosa cousins. They are of the race islandica , a sub species of the nominate race, limosa.

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. Which leaves only East Africa. South Africa (755 / 842).

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Technically, it was a possibility, but if that was the case, he would never defend a PhD thesis on birds breeding along the high voltage powerlines in a treeless agricultural landscape. What made the story better (and a worse experience for him) was the fact that the cops had seen the Dogs of War.

Belize 241

Belize Birds Africa Dogs 241

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity. Interestingly, the HBW gives different contact calls depending on the country in which the flycatcher lives: “Contact call a simple ‘zeet, zwayt’ (South Africa), ‘ti-twit tee-twit’ (Gabon), ‘zi’zk’zk’ (Tanzania).”

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

It breeds in a broad and not quite coherent band from Iceland in the west through central Europe and southern Scandinavia all the way to eastern Russia, wintering in Africa, parts of India, and Southeast Asia to Australia. Aspect one is feeding when humans are not around.

Germany 179

Germany Russia Iceland India 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2012

Sadly, I have never seen a Red-throated Wryneck , which is only to be expected for a bird found only in sub-Saharan Africa, considering that I have not yet set foot on that continent. Eurasian Wrynecks are found breeding across the temperate zones of Europe and Asia.

Hungary 175

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 175

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. Breeding groups typically occupy territories of around 8 hectares and consist of a breeding pair and one or two helpers. So I’m going to feature one of my very favorite locations, just 45 minutes drive from the city centre.

South Africa 250

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 250

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 159

New Zealand Albatross South Africa Brazil 159

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

This would have allowed you to summarize your experience in sentences such as “A total of 98 boluses regurgitated by 52 chicks aged 1 day to 11 days after hatching form the sample and are shown to contain 323 food items.” It concludes that human activity influences the breeding activity of the lapwing. End of side note.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

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. It’s guaranteed to be the trip of a lifetime!

Sierra Leone 272

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 272

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. A little less than a mile away, there is a spot where a nice population of Burrowing Owls, have been relocated in hopes of starting a new breeding population. This is a look at the man-made burrow openings.

Owls 161

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 161

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2012

Great Reed Warblers breed across huge chunks of Europe and Asia and winter across large swaths of southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Many thanks to Swarovski Optik for inviting me along and letting me experience both some awesome new optics and the natural wonders of the wonderful country of Hungary. ……….

Hungary 161

Hungary Asia Europe Africa 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

I got to see a beautiful female and owlet on a trip to a secret nest location near Howard Prairie Lake (human-made nest structures have enhanced local breeding for these huge owls whose nest success is boosted to 83% on artificial platforms vs. 66% at natural sites). The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY.

2014 197

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 197

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. This is an endemic breeding bird in North America and much is now being done by various federal and non-profit groups to ensure and foster its conservation.

Florida 200

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Islands, for various reasons, experience more extinctions than continents (with Africa being the only continent not suffering a bird extinction!). Then rumors leaked out that at this same site the mythical Red Owl could easily be seen, Madagascar Serpent Eagle was breeding and other rare birds and lemurs abounded.

Madagascar 246

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 246

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. It was astonishing, like a game drive in the savannah of Africa.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

The park is home to not one, not two, but large three colonies of breeding seabirds: the Brown Noddy , Magnificent Frigatebird , and Sooty Tern. No, that was not a typo, the Sooty Terns fly non-stop for an average of five years before they return to the Dry Tortugas to breed. Lots and lots of birds. Each took merely a minute or two.

Birds 184

Birds Florida Groups Breeding 184

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

They can be challenging to identify, especially if you haven’t seen one before, though with experience they are not really so difficult. They are generally regarded as summer visitors, arriving back from their wintering grounds in Africa in March, and departing again in September. Perhaps some females remain, too, but I didn’t see any.

Falcons 210

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 210

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 228

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 228

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

In this epic post, Patrick depicts just how dynamic the pelagic birding is off Cape Point in South Africa. Here one is close to the scenically impressive Cape of Good Hope National Park as well as the Boulder’s Coastal Park, home to hundreds of breeding African Penguins.

Albatross 189

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 189

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

My response was to start looking for some portable guide to take with me into the field, and that need was fulfilled by the Birds of Southern Africa illustrated checklist by Ber van Perlo, published by HarperCollins. It is not a concept for a total beginner, more of a reminder to someone with some experience. Rodriguez Mata.

Birds 255

Birds Botswana Africa Ecuador 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Brown Pelicans , and the northernmost Brown Booby breeding colony on this side of the Pacific. Ringer Gannets and Boobies (Sulidae) Black-and-white gannets breed on the cold, rocky coasts of the northern and southern oceans. They can soar for hours, or plunge and twist after another bird with spectacular power and flair.

2011 155

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea Birds 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The chance that this was a real Turkey are not great, and the chance that Columbus actually brought breeding stock from Honduras to Spain is not great, so maybe, maybe not. The Spanish Colonial Experience and Domestic Animals. Diffusion to other european countries subsequently was very rapid. Kiva 78(1):37–60. Reitz, Elizabeth.

Turkey 210

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 210

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

All the inhabited continents except Africa have experienced bird extinctions; however the 2012 update of the IUCN Red List shows a startling, but not altogether unexpected, trend in that more and more of our bird species are facing extinction.

Endangered Species 200

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 200

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

The book is produced by WILDGuides, Ltd, the excellent book company responsible for over a dozen photographic guides on Britain’s natural life ranging from dragonflies to plant galls as well as books on Africa, Australia and other areas we all want to visit, and was published this summer by Princeton University Press.

Ireland 150

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 150

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. I’m wondering as I write if you are shaking your head, uneasy that all these FACTS will interfere with your love of observing owls, an experience that easily borders on the mystical for some of us. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 224

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 224

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

This makes it a particularly exciting time in New Zealand as the Rugby World Cup begins in two days, and the competition is being held right here in New Zealand (I would imagine they might be more excited if they hadn’t just lost two matches to Australia and South Africa, their big rivals in the Tri-Nations).

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Birds 157

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.” Plantema gives highly detailed information about the weather, terrain, ownership of and access to the islands and coasts where penguins breed. Press, 2011).

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

The Kerkini Lake National Park is my favourite birding area in the whole of the Balkans and while I’ve been here in April and again (migration), September (migration), October (coffee break), December and January (wintering), this was my first time in the breeding season, in May. But nowadays, they, too, breed here, about 20 pairs this year.

Greece 200

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 200

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

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. Some of the most common breeding birds are White-tailed Eagles , Northern Fulmars , Black Guillemots , Common Eiders , Rock Ptarmigans , and Arctic Terns. Source: Shutterstock ).

North America 180

North America Eagles Breeding Fish 180

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

Hornbills are spectacular under any circumstances, but when a pair lands in a bush beside you at eye-level and begin mutual preening , it makes for a spectacular experience. It was easily one of the best birding experiences I’ve ever had, even impressing my nonbirder fiance. You can read more about his experience here.

2013 168

2013 Birds Costa Rica India 168

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2020

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. For species with more than one subspecies in the region, the separate resident/breeding ranges of the distinct subspecies are indicated on the map. What I don’t like?

Japan 235

Japan Asia Birds 2000 235

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

They also migrate to and from the High Arctic, crossing the Atlantic to Europe, but they keep going, down across the Mediterranean into Africa. This tiny passerine winters in Africa, places like Tanzania, Nigeria, Somalia. In my experience here, the Wheatear arrive at the end of May to early June and quickly establish territories.

Africa 204

Africa Somalia North America Nigeria 204

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2012

At breeding time, Great Crested Grebes just come alive. All winter long we have been seeing them in their rather drab non-breeding coat, peppering the lake surface as far as the eye can see, but now, in spring, they get wonderful complexes of browns, blacks and white in their plumage.

Austria 204

Austria Birds Breeding Africa 204