10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

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. Here where I live – in one of the bird-richest corners of Europe, but I miss the species diversity of my yester years. Thailand (925 / 948). Map by BirdLife International. The Oriental realm.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2013

This gull is closely related to, and necessary to separate from, the Black-headed Gull , a bird familiar to any birder from Europe (or even just anyone from Europe!). The Brown-headed Gull is a bird of Asia, breeding from Turkmenistan to Mongolia, and winters along the coasts of Asia. Notice the white iris.

Turkmenistan 155

Turkmenistan Mongolia Asia Europe 155

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Carlos chose a pigeon that pretty much everyone should want to see: My best bird of the year came right at the beginning of January as I was wrapping up my travels in Thailand. Larry’s BBOTY – Great Gray Owl. This year I spent 2 days at the Giant’s Castle Lammergeier hide in the Natal Drakensberg of central South Africa.

2014 194

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 194

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2019

America) or westbound (from Europe). In such a case, you might opt to book an eastbound flight, or a series of flights, from Lisbon to Sao Tome and Principe, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, then Sri Lanka, Thailand, Borneo, PNG, Tahiti, Ecuador, Guyana and finally to Costa Rica…. Yet, for most people, birders are all eccentric.

Costa Rica 197

Costa Rica Sri Lanka Rwanda Papua New Guinea 197

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2019

Perhaps you don’t know it yet, but with more than 1000 bird species, palm-fringed sandy beaches, developed tourism infrastructure, moderate prices and political stability, Thailand is a country you definitively want to visit. Binoculars and a field guide, perhaps a scope and anti-leech hiking socks too. Everything else is secondary.

Thailand 196

Thailand Zambia Birds Asia 196

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

I don’t remember where I first learned about Elizabeth Gould–possibly when I was birding Doi Angkhang, Thailand and saw a stunning little bird named Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird–but I have been fascinated by her story and her art for the past five years. Unlike Audubon, she didn’t pose the skins.

Australia 197

Australia Birds Europe Collecting 197