10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

Hence, I was quite surprised with a brave, almost exciting paper by Brown, Forbes and Symes: “Recent history of the Egyptian Vulture in Southern Africa” (Vulture News, 2000). During my lifetime, this species was rare in my native Serbia, too. Neighbouring (FYRO) Macedonia nowadays has about 20 pairs, while two decades ago they had 135!

Sudan 238

Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 238

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. It all seems like such a charmed life … until you have to fly down to Africa for the winter. That means passing over the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East, where you’re liable to get shot, trapped, or otherwise hunted.

Cambodia 145

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 145

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. Their populations are highly fragmented as a result of these rather specific requirements.

Sierra Leone 272

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 272

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

This is “the deep cradle of Western ornithology: the birthplace of bird study,” he tells us as he writes about gazing at the 8,000-year old depictions of “flamingos, herons, raptors, avocets and many other species” (p. Common Guillemot research at Skomer Island, Wales.

Dissection 236

Dissection Birds Research Europe 236

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Later, Harry Fuller, President of the Klamath Bird Observatory, led us to an open meadow where we saw a pair of Great Gray Owls hunting in a meadow. Finally, the Similan Islands are perhaps one of the most beautiful islands in the world and form a stunning backdrop to this species, one of the loveliest pigeons in the world.

2014 198

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 198

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. Here’s the kicker though.

California Condor 192

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 192

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa).

Ethiopia 249

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Game 249

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2015

Early starts are the rule when monitoring endagered species in Mkuze Game Reserve, in South Africa, but there’s a particular urgency to this morning’s start. And the two species were not inclined to get on, by which I mean that Lions will kill other large predators including Painted Wolves. Resilience.

Wolves 192

Wolves Lions Dogs Vet 192

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

More than 150 bird species are known to have become extinct over the past 500 years, and many more are estimated to have been driven to extinction before they became known to science. The Gray Crowned-Crane is a new addition to the list of the world’s Endangered species, creeping up a category from Vulnerable.

Endangered Species 202

Endangered Species Species Morocco South Africa 202

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2013

Geladas are the sole survivors of a once abundant branch of primates that historically foraged across the grasslands of Africa, the Mediterranean and India. In parts of the Simien Mountains of northern Ethiopia, from which I have just returned, Geladas have been protected from persecution for some time. Photo by Adam Riley.

Ethiopia 161

Ethiopia Primates Mammals Fur 161

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 Seals 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

The majority of wildcats live today in Africa, and virtually none of them have provided the DNA from which supposed histories of domestication have been constructed by researchers. And I think he was speaking only of our American Kitties not the Wildcat of Africa. But they don’t live in North America. Unless we put them there.

Feral Cats 256

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 256

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2013

My post last week where I defended game hunting as a conservation tool has, unaccountably, encountered a certain amount of push back. Who would have thought that a post defending hunting game in general would have not been universally acclaimed? I will address two of them in the new year, namely, “Is hunting moral at all?”

Tigers 179

Tigers Hunting Game Protection 179

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. The eider is the most common bird for hunting and eating, it lives near all of Greenland’s coasts and breeds on small islands such as Kitsissunnguit. Source: Shutterstock ).

North America 180

North America Eagles Breeding Fish 180

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! We also knew we had discovered Africa’s next hot birding destination.

Ghana 200

Ghana Hunters Gambia Guinea 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2013

This Lion should not be shot, as it is a protected reserve that forbids shooting. Hunters go to Africa to shoot lions, and this is without question a good thing; for birds, for ecosystems, and for lions in general! The answer should be obvious to anyone familiar with wildfowl hunting in the US and the film Jerry McGuire – money.

Lions 189

Lions Killing Hunting Hunters 189