10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

It was also great to finally travel overseas again, meet a lot of people I did not know (and some I did), to be in a new country… and not just the new country, but its best birding area, where almost all local hotspots are yellow (150+ species) and several are ochre (200+ sp.), impressive for Central Europe.

Austria 297

Austria Factory Asia Battery 297

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Miami, Florida has a reputation among the birding community for being overrun with exotic bird species. However, the typical birding experience for someone down here also includes a large menagerie of other species such as Orange-winged Parrot , Mitred Parakeet , Egyptian Goose and Nutmeg Mannikin. It is well-deserved.

Miami 197

Miami Asia Florida Malaysia 197

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022

The Black-tailed Godwits that we observe here in Australia breed in east Siberia and Mongolia. The migratory shorebirds are now returning to the Broome area and the numbers of birds on the beaches of Roebuck Bay are rapidly increasing. All of the migratory shorebirds make incredible journeys around the world to breed.

Mongolia 147

Mongolia Australia Breeding Asia 147

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 262

America Arizona North America Texas 262

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

The latter is possible, as the undisturbed areas of Nanhui keep shrinking, leaving less and less space for birds. Bramblings at Nanhui enjoy staring vacantly into space … … and accusing bird watchers of not paying enough attention to them. Somehow, for this bird it is ok. They are just too attractive.

Birds 232

Birds Humane Japan Ducks 232

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

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

So, this post just shows 25 birds I spotted at Nanhui (coastal Shanghai) in October 2019. One of the birds seemed somewhat incompetent in handling the seeds of the local trees. Grey-faced Buzzards are also on migration in October, passing Nanhui on the way to their wintering grounds in South East Asia.

2019 190

2019 Japan Birds Owls 190

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2016

It’s a bang-up breeding year for super-endangered birds! The species, which migrates from the Russian Arctic to Southeast Asia, is down to about 200 breeding pairs in the wild, due to habitat loss and poaching. For the past several years, getting the birds to breed has been an exercise in futility.

Eggs 190

Eggs Louisiana Breeding Asia 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2020

Winter is not the greatest time for birding in Shanghai, and this year, there was no escaping to Southeast Asia due to Covid-19. I can go out birding freely – though to be safe, I always bring a bottle of disinfectant along and take a sip every now and then. The obvious local star of the bird world is the Reed Parrotbill.

2020 187

2020 China Asia Owls 187

10,000 Birds

APRIL 22, 2021

“Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea” by James A. kg could be, do keep in mind that this guide covers 4,400 km / 2,750 mi of the Earth’s circumference, or 11% of the length of the Equator, and describes 13% of global bird diversity. Eaton, Bas van Balen, Nick W. Brickle and Frank E. Rheindt is a big book.

Indonesia 264

Indonesia Timor Brunei Guinea 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2022

Every place has its common birds, the species that do very well in a given habitat. As we like to say, these are species that are “hard to miss”, birds that, if you are watching, will be seen. As one might expect, signature birds take many forms. Bird in southern Asia and there are mynas and magpie-robins.

Costa Rica 147

Costa Rica San Jose Asia Geese 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 14, 2021

This is the second post in the Birding crème de la crème series (the first, focused on southern Asia, is here ). The bird-richest region of Africa is its equatorial East: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi (unlike the rest, the last one, Burundi, is politically unstable and not recommendable). Lake Nakuru.

Africa 198

Africa Kenya Uganda Tanzania 198

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

sq mi), which contradict the conservation significance of the bird it was founded for, some three decades ago – the Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard. My guide, Chirag Solanki, told me he had once been searching here for five days, before he managed to locate the birds. Indeed, I say. The main tactic is diversion.

Gazelles 255

Gazelles India 2012 Pakistan 255

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 215

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 215

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2015

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. Modesta should be considerably smaller than alba , which the gaudily-coloured birds are not. But what, then, is the origin of the odd colouration?

Asia 178

Asia Europe Germany Breeding 178

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2016

Many states choose their representative bird based on common, native birds spending part or all of the year within the states’ borders. South Dakota went a different way, designating the Ring-necked Pheasant as the state bird in 1943. Ring-necked Pheasants are native to Asia, brought over in the 1880’s.

South Dakota 100

South Dakota Hawaii United States North America 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2012

There I found a study which showed that the ingenious little birds had found a protein source that allowed them to coincide their breeding with times of man-made, rather than natural seasonal abundance. They are popular as caged birds and escapees have established a number of feral populations beyond their normal ranges.

Asia 189

Asia Feral Breeding Africa 189

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 239

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 239

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2014

Tambunan was the bookend to my trip to Borneo, it was the first destination I birded and the last. As must see birding destinations go, its hardly the most user friendly location that you can go birding. Road birding. After the eagles, birds started coming thick and fast. Mountain Serpent-eagle taken later in trip.

Birds 160

Birds Eagles Asia Species 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2022

Presumably, in the early days of ornithology, some scientists spent most of their time transcribing bird calls. The Black-faced Laughingthrush (Longcanggou, Sichuan) is a real beauty, though this photo does not fully do the bird justice. A beautiful bird though. This post shows some of them. It’s the eyes, I guess.

San Diego 205

San Diego Malaysia China Zoos 205

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

I’m at a yearly disadvantage when it comes to deciding my Best Bird of the Year (BBOY) here on 10,000 Birds. Borneo did turn up some great birds, as expected, but it still turned out to be quite hard to pick a winner. A lot of Asia’s storks are threatened by human activities. In fact, I can often guarantee it.

2013 174

2013 Birds Rhinoceros Thailand 174

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

The danger of reviewing a field guide to the birds of an exotic country you’ve never been to is that you become obsessed with visiting that country, no matter how far away and how expensive it may be. I’m already looking up birding tours of Borneo and pricing airfares. Borneo, the authors say, is under-birded.

Brunei 174

Brunei Birds Asia China 174

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2013

At the time this post goes live I’ll be wandering around Hong Hong in a bemused state of mind trying to identify not only the native birds but the multitude of other species released by the inhabitants into the area. The Brown-headed Gull is a bird of Asia, breeding from Turkmenistan to Mongolia, and winters along the coasts of Asia.

Turkmenistan 154

Turkmenistan Mongolia Asia Europe 154

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2013

Purple Herons Ardea purpurea are an old world element of the Ardeidae and range widely throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and parts of Europe and central Asia. Birds Germany herons and egrets Waghäusel' Within Europe, they are mostly found in the South (around the Mediterranean), and the East.

Germany 153

Germany Asia Europe Africa 153

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 187

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 187

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. This grim scenario is a fact of life for millions of migrating songbirds, raptors, and other birds each year. Volunteers with the Committee Against Bird Slaughter sneak into a grove where a farmer has just placed lime sticks to snag unwary birds.

Cambodia 143

Cambodia Slaughter Slaughtered Cyprus 143

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2011

On a recent visit to Cape May Point State Park in search of an elusive Purple Gallinule I did not find my quarry but I did find quite a few photogenic birds. Anas strepera is a common and widespread duck, breeding across northern Europe and Asia, as well as central North America. And Gadwall ducklings are CUTE! … a.

United States 162

United States North America Jamaica Asia 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2013

Common throughout India with a range that covers much of South-east Asia, it can often be seen around habitation where it catches small rodents, insects and invertebrates. Birds Birds in Religion owls'

Owls 180

Owls Rodents Transported India 180

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. They are also believed to be related to the Rail-Babbler of Tropical Asia.

Sierra Leone 267

Sierra Leone Ghana Cameroon Equatorial Guinea 267

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

MARCH 12, 2016

Terry Townsend’s website, www.birdingbeijing.com is the prime resource for anyone planning a trip to the city with intent to bird and Terry offers guiding services. They were targeting the Jankowski’s Bunting , but would obviously look at other birds along the way. I had a spare day which coincided with the weekend.

Asia 102

Asia Campaign 2010 Suffering 102

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

The Rose-ringed Parakeet naturally occurs in two isolated areas: a thin strip across Africa just south of the Sahara, and south Asia where it is mostly found in India with smaller ranges in adjacent countries. This is what happens when people choose their pet birds on visual factors alone without taking vocalizations into account.

Germany 244

Germany Netherlands Zoos Geese 244

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Its natural range in Europe was restricted the the surroundings of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and in Asia it ranged from Asia Minor to central China. 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.

Feral 169

Feral Europe Asia North America 169

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2011

Birds & birding were definitely the last thing on my mind. The Black Stork ( Ciconia nigra ) has a very wide distribution in the Old World, ranging from Spain (an isolated population) and northern France through central and eastern Europe all across northern and central Asia to the Pacific coast of Russia and China.

Germany 151

Germany Asia China Russia 151

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Sure, this is normal occurrence across much of Europe and southwest Asia but this particular tale comes from out on the east end of New York’s Long Island, in the town of Medford, where this happened to an unsuspecting non-birder, Celeste Rovner. That’s a lot more fun than a bird that sneaked out of the zoo, isn’t it?

New York 166

New York Hungary Zoos Asia 166

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

Birds are supposed to have feathers and birds without feathers look incomplete, like they left home with shaving cream on their ear and toothpaste spots on their shirt. The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. T urkey Vulture, photo by Dawn Puliafico.

California Condor 180

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 180

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