10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Germany is underrated as a birding destination. We have, for instance, very beautiful birds, like European Bee-eater , Blue Tit , and Kingfisher. Then of course, we have amazing birds such as Wallcreeper , Hoopoe , and Black Woodpecker. And since the year 2000, we have an even greater bird, the… Greater Rhea !

Germany 254

Germany Birds 2000 South America 254

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

To be precise, “Birding Shanghai from June 10 to June 30, 2022” – but that is even less of an exciting title than the one above. The reason for this post only covering the period from June 10 being that an earlier post, “Revenge Birding”, was about the first 9 days of June. You should try it too.

Birds 197

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 197

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

That is very cold for the south of Germany. This thrush is extremely common in urban and suburban Germany and one of the most conspicuous bird species here, comparable to the American Robin in North America. A few dead birds were collected by authorities and sent to a laboratory for investigation.

Germany 161

Germany Blackbirds 2006 Denmark 161

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

When it comes to one’s most exciting bird sightings, of course, it all comes down to context. I wouldn’t change my central Mexican endemics for any other region’s birds. So my favorites for 2019 includes a good number of birds that are rather common elsewhere, but were firsts for me.

Austria 153

Austria Spain 2019 Birds 153

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In this post, we’ll share the most positive of the positives, at least for those who write for 10,000 Birds who decided to share. Of all the birds that make the list for a given year one of those birds must be the Best Bird of the Year. We are always content bird-watching around Broome anyway!

2020 245

2020 Birds Costa Rica Germany 245

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2016

I recently saw and photographed what appears to be a Baikal Wagtail ( Motacilla alba-or-not baicalensis ) in Germany. Or a bit of a PR disaster for my birding skillz if I am not correct. And here is the series of pictures I was able to take before the bird took off. So it may turn out to be a bit of a big deal.

Germany 100

Germany Sharks Morocco Europe 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

The little red bit on the crown on this photo indicates that it is a male bird. For this species, this is unfortunate as some of its behavior is well worth describing ( Wikipedia ): “These birds get their English name from their ability to turn their heads through almost 180 degrees. Kind of like a diesel version.

Woodpeckers 245

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 245

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2017

Birding in Germany was okay during the first half of the year but essentially came to an end in June due to several issues, most significantly a move to a different appartment within Heidelberg. You can see my birding activities abroad and within Germany on the maps at the top of this post.

2016 101

2016 Germany Italy Netherlands 101

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

February 2023 was a slow month for birding in Shanghai, at least for me – so slow that I almost put the Spotted Dove , possibly my least favorite bird here, on the cover. Not a cover species The Black Kite is not actually black, but of course, misleading bird names are not exactly rare. Maybe those should be protected too?

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

Dissection 234

Dissection Birds Research Europe 234

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

Here in Germany, we don’t wish we had. Yes, Germany has parrots, or parakeets to be more precise. Unlike North America, Germany has never had naturally occurring psittacines that went extinct, and the one we have is a true and complete invasive alien introduction. Because we never have had. Very stupid thing to do.

Germany 251

Germany Netherlands Zoos Geese 251

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2015

I still know my audience - this is primarily a blog read by birders in North America, who see the term “squirrel” as little more than a synonym for house sparrow, starling, pest and cholera. Germany, like most of Europe and very much unlike North America, is home to only one species of squirrel.

Squirrels 162

Squirrels North America Germany Europe 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2016

One of the most impressive birds in North America is the Golden Eagle. In fact, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology , “The Golden Eagle is the most common official national animal in the world – it’s the emblem of Albania, Germany, Austria, Mexico, and Kazakhstan.” ” The bird is massive.

Albania 101

Albania Mexico Eagles Kazakhstan 101

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Visiting the continent after the end of most of the autumn migration meant that the number of bird species I could see in northern France, Switzerland, southern Germany, and Austria was much reduced. So I made sure to visit as many bodies of water as possible during my brief birding opportunities.

Austria 129

Austria Switzerland Europe Geese 129

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

It had to be an escaped bird or at least one that didn’t make it to the southernmost borough in New York City under its own power but by riding a boat.* After all, Hooded Crows are a bird of eastern and northern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East and are not known as long distance migrants. Get to Staten Island, posthaste!

New York 226

New York Kazakhstan North America New York City 226

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

I’ve never been one to be overly concerned about whether a bird “counts” People, and organisations, have complex and elaborate rules about whether a bird you saw or heard actually is a bird you saw or heard, which seems a very unnecessary way to add complexity to an already complex hobby. Red Lechwe.

Botswana 162

Botswana Birds Lesotho Elephants 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2015

After a long hiatus that included a new cat, a new apartment, and enough time with the in-laws to last me quite awhile, here’s a rundown of April’s bird news: Funny, sad, and thought-provoking … an African-American ornithologist’s video tips for birding while black. Props on the sweet Barred Owl call, too. “I No, you didn’t.

Malta 189

Malta Barn Owls Cyprus Fowl 189

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2016

Birders tend to miss things outside the birding universe, what with being out and about in the woods and using our smartphones to check rare bird alerts and eBird lists rather than the news. You’ve done it, America, you have willingly invited an Acrocephalus warbler into your territory! There, I said it. Millerbird!

Hawaii 163

Hawaii Albatross Europe America 163

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2013

Mousebirds (order Coliiformes) are one of the perennial puzzles in bird systematics. They do not look or act much like any other birds (my photo above shows a Speckled Mousebird , Colius striatus , in Nairobi, Kenya). But to what other birds are mousebirds related? Birds Africa genetics taxonomy and systematics'

Kenya 176

Kenya Parrots Africa North America 176

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2018

Gose, a pale, sour wheat beer from eastern Germany, top-fermented and most unusual for being seasoned with salt and coriander, is one such peculiarity. It became extinct on two occasions, immediately after the Second World War, and again in the final days of Communist power in East Germany. So it goes?

Germany 100

Germany Utah Adoptable Stray 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2015

Known as the Great Egret in the Americas, it was commonly referred to as the Great White Heron in the Old World. You see, the Great (White) Heron/Egret is a polytypic species with four subspecies: alba in Europe, egretta in the Americas, melanorhynchos in Africa, and modesta in Asia and Oceania. Which sounds fine.

Asia 185

Asia Europe Germany Breeding 185

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2015

Germany is currently experiencing its hottest June and July ever, and temperatures in the last few weeks have rarely been below 33°C (91°F), sometimes reaching nearly 40°C (103°F). So here I am, trying to come up with a bird post when my thoughts are orbiting around ice cream and ice cream only. It’s bad. If not, it is here.

North America 173

North America Europe America Asia 173

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2019

Birders know that the pairing of farms and birds represents more than mere bucolic romance – it’s a match borne out of a real avian dependence on these man-made landscapes. Note the two birds flying over the wheatfield on the lefthand side. By the early twentieth century, however, saison was sliding into obscurity.

Vermont 121

Vermont Belgium Farming Europe 121

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2020

Gaines, notwithstanding that the story (1) takes place in the Uruguay of 1999, with plenty of commentary on the Uruguayan political scene of that time, (2) is narrated by a bird illustrator who identifies the birds he sees only by their common Spanish names, and (3) flashes back to the use of torture by South American juntas in the 1970’s.

Uruguay 156

Uruguay 2001 Bald Eagle Science 156

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2012

Over much of North America, the Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis is more than just common. But one man’s trash bird is another man’s treasure, and the Lesser Scaup is a species that inspires awe and wonder in a birder’s mind on the eastern side of the Atlantic, where it turns up as a vagrant on rare occasions.

Switzerland 125

Switzerland Germany France Ducks 125

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2016

Indeed, and here I am showing my age, there once was a time when all the large gulls of Eurasia and North America with a pale grey mantle and a black wing-tip were labelled as “Herring Gulls”, and the gulling was easy. argentatus in Scandinavia. However, it only shows images of the western subspecies L.

Germany 103

Germany North America Europe Game 103

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Dozens of other introduced bird species, largely escapees from pet owners, now call Miami home. A Carolina Parakeet mounted in a museum in Germany Fritz Geller-Grimm. Strangely, only a paltry eighteen exotic bird species are countable for birders, according to the American Birding Association.

Miami 141

Miami Parrots Research Birds 141

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Within its European range, it was heavily hunted until the late 19th century, and the Mute Swan was subsequently a very rare bird to encounter in the wild. A happy family of Mute Swans at Waghäusel in south-western Germany, post-trading era. Baby Bird Week will run from 15-21 July, Sunday until Saturday.

Feral 171

Feral Europe Asia North America 171

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2014

[The Mute Swan , pictured above, is amongst the heaviest birds capable of flight and therefore a fine introduction to this post. The group comprised of two colourful and one drab bird, presumably two males and a female, and the males were easily identified as Garganeys , the coolest dabblers of the planet. The bird is a male Gadwall.

Ducks 160

Ducks Germany North America Species 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Beautiful Blue Backyard Bird Beautiful Blue Backyard Bird By Jochen • March 10, 2011 • 9 comments Tweet Share There is a lot of whining associated with colours and Europe’s birds.

2011 167

2011 Birds Deer Europe 167

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

I have never before had a true nemesis bird. Sure, occasionally a bird has given me problems, like Black-backed Woodpeckers back in 2007 when I was doing an alleged Big Year in New York State, but not seeing a bird for a single year does not make it a nemesis. I better not miss this bird again. But Black Woodpecker ?

Woodpeckers 100

Woodpeckers Austria Europe Hungary 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

Bird blogging in May always gives me the creeps. This ridiculous focus of the Birding Internet on North American wood-warblers is boring on a quiet day and highly annoying during peak migration. It visits bird feeders, making it a worthy spark bird to new birders as they may see it closely. And do they ever try so hard.

Sparrows 227

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 227

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2018

Whether you enjoy hiking, birding or cycling there is something for everyone. There were many birds high up in the trees in the Perth Hills and it made for challenging birding! Of course the challenge to all this is all the looking up into tall trees and trying to find the birds!

Kangaroos 100

Kangaroos Australia Parrots Litter 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2011

For birders especially in America, this landscape will soon provide doom, destruction, death, and decay. And you might live to bird another day. If you are mildly interested, proceed and read the caption. Despite being taken in Europe, this image exemplifies why forest birding in North America might soon be rated NC-17.

North America 145

North America Europe America Asia 145

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 210

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 210

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2011

Ponds and estuaries fill up with passage waders and the birding gets good after the summer lull as we rise slowly and surely towards the fever pitch of autumn. To date individuals have been recorded from nine different countries in Europe; our Med Gulls are coming from Germany, Holland, Poland and other countries as far east as Serbia.

Poland 157

Poland 2009 Europe France 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

And reports of birds nesting – not owls, of course, those weirdo snow fetishists, but other birds nesting – light up my life. Most exotics, at least in the bird world, stick close to their point of arrival and barely hang on – or don’t – over the generations. In 1998 W. And of Wyoming.

Montana 138

Montana 2011 New York Bahamas 138