10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2018

And so we are out of Africa, or South Africa at least. Having done the lower end of South Africa, I truly long to get to see the parts farther north. Sunbirds, are in my interpretation, the hummingbirds of South Africa. I just happen to be in the right place at the right time, in a small town called Kommetjie.

Africa 100

Africa South Africa Ostriches Penguins 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Storks are typically viewed as wetland species and whilst some storks are restricted to aquatic habitats, others are not. Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork.

Africa 243

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 243

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

From the border check station, you can turn to the right and go to the “Highest Bar in Africa” or continue into the unknown. A Black-headed Canary was calling from the bushes, a Black Stork was overhead, and a smattering of other species popped up to see what we were doing.

Lesotho 231

Lesotho Sheep South Africa Africa 231

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2018

After a very long day of 7 hours of driving, 11 hours flying and then 9 hours more driving, we have arrived at our temporary home here in South Africa. Daily park fees are such that we opted for the annual “Wild Card” that is good not only for Kruger, but nearly every park in South Africa. This pass cost us $3850.00

South Africa 115

South Africa Africa Rhinos Mongoose 115

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

Birdlife South Africa has previously done two of these types of trips before, previously called Flock to Sea – Namibia in 2013 and Flock to Nowhere in 2017, in partnership with MSC Cruises. I learned of the trip right as it had been delayed and made a vow that I would be on that ship.

South Africa 264

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

Or would be, had I encountered more of them – so far, I have seen only a very small share of the approximately 233 woodpecker species, and got decent photos of an even smaller number – not much more than 10% of all of them. It is the most widespread woodpecker in Africa, claims the HBW.

Woodpeckers 240

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 240

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2015

I’ve not made spectacular progress writing up my trip to Africa earlier this year, so perhaps I should get on that. So instead let’s talk about South Africa’s best kept birding secret (at least outside of the country) Wakkerstroom. It was also weirdly good for quail, of sorts.

South Africa 145

South Africa Africa Falcons Family 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2024

Although an attractive bird, this species was not of particular interest to me as I’ve seen it countless times when I lived in South Africa (and is not present there at this time of year anyway), but the area has much more on offer. A Grey Heron looked quite comical as it seemed lost right in the middle of one of the ponds.

Squirrels 206

Squirrels South Africa Germany Ducks 206

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2021

A typical description of the family is that of “a tropical African and Asian songbird that typically has a melodious voice and drab plumage”, another is “small, dull-colored passerine birds of Asia and Africa”, yet another states that they are “often rather plain” Individual species get even harsher reviews.

South Africa 233

South Africa Malaysia Africa China 233

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2023

Late April / early May is the best birding season in the south of Europe and wherever you go, you will have 50% to 100% more species than in any other season. This is the usual game viewing routine in reserves of Africa and India. In Africa, no one goes at mid-day because of the heat (making animals lazy and people drowsy).

India 183

India Birds Africa Serbia 183

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2022

Late April / early May is the best birding season in the south of Europe and wherever you go, you will have 50% to 100% more species than in any other season. This is the usual game viewing routine in reserves of Africa and India. In Africa, no one goes at mid-day because of the heat (making animals lazy and people drowsy).

India 239

India Birds Africa Game 239

Reddit Animals

MARCH 28, 2024

When comparing these two primate species , there are a lot of differences as well as preferences, but what might they be? You’ve come to the right place if you’ve ever wondered what makes a chimpanzee or a gorilla tick. You might not be aware of all the differences between gorillas and chimpanzees.

Gorillas 52

Gorillas Primates Africa Rights 52

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

Central Africa has one of those birds. That honor goes to the Gray-crowned Crane , a very sexy species in its own right. Uganda may offer a chance at x% of the world’s bird species—birds we fully intended on tracking down—but the Shoebill surpasses them all in importance. Nothing on Earth quite resembles the Shoebill.

Uganda 271

Uganda Africa Birds Penguins 271

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2021

All very exciting, but for the birder Africa has so much more to offer. Other than paint, the only other thing I do is organize and joint-lead wildlife tours, mostly in Africa and India. In 2019 I joint-led my seventeenth safari in twelve years with Capture Africa, we are a good team. My name is Ashley Boon.

Botswana 181

Botswana Africa Elephants Angola 181

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

First, rangers would show some animal dung and teach their guests how to identify it (big deal – it is going nowhere, nor hiding away) and then show, let’s say, a herd of antelopes to their left – only to use the time when no one is watching to print some lion spurs in the dust on the right hand side, so they would be nicely fresh for photographing.

Gazelles 259

Gazelles India 2012 Endangered Species 259

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2018

It divides countries into categories, where the next category has 200 more species. In some cases the data are outdated, e.g. Costa Rica has 900 and not 800 species, but I made no corrections, remaining faithful to the original map data. Shown as a list, it looks like this: Less than 200 bird species: Antarctica; oceanic islands.

Equatorial Guinea 202

Equatorial Guinea Costa Rica Guyana Central African Republic 202

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. And it shows.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

The Collins Bird Guide covers Europe, North Atlantic islands, much of North Africa and the Middle East. There was one odd reprint in 2018, when the Subalpine Warbler was split into the Eastern and Western species, but the changes in the guide weren’t sufficient to call it a 3rd edition, so it remained the updated reprint of the 2nd edition.

Europe 259

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 259

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2024

Tucked away at the extreme eastern end of the Mediterranean, Cyprus is regarded politically as part of Europe, but when it comes to birds it’s very much Middle Eastern in flavour, with a number of species that are hard or even impossible to find in Europe, plus a trio of endemics. It was strange to hear it here in Cyprus.

Cyprus 224

Cyprus Breeders Falcons Hunters 224

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Yes, we’ll be heading to Africa, more specifically the “Pearl of Africa,” Uganda. Uganda boasts a checklist of well over one thousand species of birds and host of mammals, reptiles, and interesting insects. ” That helped, right?). Wish us luck and make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram !

Uganda 161

Uganda Africa Gorillas Reptiles 161

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2020

What happens when you put a naturalist in a kayak, adrift in Africa? I have read canoeing articles from Africa and knew that the Nile Crocodile ( Crocodilus niloticus ) pays no attention to the boat and, in theory, as long as I’m inside I’m safe. There are no crocs around here,’ said a smiling bartender. Oh, my big mouth!

Botswana 195

Botswana Africa 2001 Fish 195

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2015

I get that you’re really angry, I mean, he was a popular lion and yes, his cute widdle cubs will probably die to, but I can’t help feeling you’ve kind of missed the point a bit, and well, ending all hunting in Africa will not solve much and maybe make things worse and… No, no, I’m not a hunter. I’m sorry.

Lions 214

Lions Hunting Sierra Leone Buffalo 214

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

You can’t say the same about migration: you can’t say that every book about birds is necessarily about migration, for the simple reason that only about 4,000 bird species migrate (with some 1,800 of those traveling long distances). (Well, purely physical attributes play a part, too: they’re pretty good looking.).

Alaska 215

Alaska Breeding Kenya Africa 215

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2015

This is perhaps almost entirely due to the Common Starling , a species that is, over much of its range, an introduced pest. Starlings and mynas are adaptable, attractive and clever species. Male Red-winged Starlings (left) have glossy-black heads, while the females (right) have grey heads. Starlings have a bad rap.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches South Africa Africa Reptiles 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2022

They are places where we invest most of our birding time and rightly so; mature tropical forests are where we find the highest number of species. Additional bird species prefer the sun-drenched vegetation of open fields and other edge habitats. Find a brushy field during the winter months and you might also find these colorful species.

Costa Rica 270

Costa Rica Farming Birds Sparrows 270

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Photos courtesy of Mosetlha Bush Camp A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg.

South Africa 226

South Africa Africa Game Elephants 226

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2019

In the end, I truly did set out to reduce the number of birds that I feature here from 1302, my years total species, down to 10-12. Our first Day In South Africa, I spotted the Burchell’s Courcal, as it flew across the road in front of us we entered Kruger National Park. I present to you, my favorite birds of 2018.

2018 167

2018 Costa Rica South Africa New Zealand 167

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

Now that we’re officially into autumn as of yesterday afternoon, there may be a few swallows lingering along the riverways and reservoirs here, and some may be found here and there into October, but by and large, the several species of swallows we see around here are birds of the summer.

2016 247

2016 Europe New York Africa 247

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

I’m sure you’ve all heard of Africa’s famous Big Five , but do you know there is also an equally fascinating Little Five ? Africa is famous for its large, charismatic mammals, and the Big Five epitomize the most sought-after of these fantastic beasts. This blog post will discuss both the Big and Little members of these quintuplets.

Buffalo 209

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 209

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2021

It is also fascinating to see how similar Old World trogons look to their New World relatives, right down to the same flamboyant color patterns. Honesty requires that I confess to having seen none of these species. Honesty requires that I confess to having seen none of these species. Wikipedia has been used.).

Mexico 189

Mexico Indonesia North America Arizona 189

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2019

The noble Blue Tit once ranged from Iran through Turkey and Europe to the Canary Islands (the Spanish Islands off North Africa – the other bird was named for the islands incidentally) and North Africa. Then someone decided that the Canary Island birds were a separate species. But the name… oh god the name.

Iran 132

Iran Barn Owls New Zealand Europe 132

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2014

The serpent-eagles of the genus Spilornis are an Asian group, not to be confused with two different genera found in Africa or, for that matter, the snake-eagles, a mostly African but also European and Asian genus (simple, right?). This species ranges from India to Japan and south down Borneo.

Eagles 175

Eagles Japan India Africa 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2018

It ran right out to greet me, and then ran all around me, checking out the cool smells on my tripod legs. I am sure there was a small amount of Africa, and Scotland still lingering on the rubber pads. For those of you following along on my “ Little Big Year” the numbers are as follows: Little Big Year species – 814.

New Zealand 115

New Zealand Seattle Qatar South Africa 115

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2018

When we were planning this trip, New Zealand, Australia, and most certainly South Africa got all my attention. We had contacted the staff at the observatory, and with Jonnies help, arranged to stay right there in their newly built hostel type facility. You can see this one standing next to the Black-headed Gull on its right.

South Africa 100

South Africa New Zealand Costa Rica Qatar 100

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. The Great Horned Owls that live in the palm trees right above our RV have returned and brought with them a pair of fledglings. That was no deterrent from landing right in the middle of the road.

Owls 157

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2018

Birdwise, it turned out to be a good one and my year list was almost 400 species long, which made me happy… almost. The Lesser White-fronted Goose is one of the most threatened waterfowl species of the Western Palearctic, with illegal killing being the most important threat globally. How do you find lions in Africa?

Greece 185

Greece 2017 Pelicans Geese 185

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Larry starts us off right with an owl that makes birders drool: I was able to see and photograph many great birds in 2014 but my Best Bird of the Year would have to be the Great Gray Owl , the largest Strix in North America. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours? Let us know in the comments…see you there!

2014 193

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 193