10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills goes on to give greater detail of the former nesting sites in Europe: it could once be found “in southern Germany and Austria, in the valleys of the upper Rhine and Danube Rivers, and in the Alps of Switzerland, Italy and Germany, and perhaps in Hungary and Greece”.

Morocco 223

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 223

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

Plus a few truly difficult species. Sure, it is an introduced species in Germany. But the Kentish Plover was sheltering its young under its body, and the Little Ringed Plover was incubating an egg — right in the middle of downtown Madrid! So seeing this beautiful (though common) European species was a special treat.

Austria 146

Austria Spain 2019 Birds 146

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 188

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 188

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

You’d be lucky today to find even a pair in Hungary, while according to the European Breeding Atlas 2 , it “has almost completely disappeared from S, central and W Italy, Switzerland, Norway and W Austria”. I guessed that his mate was close by, incubating her eggs. There are just a few areas left where it still thrives.

Hungary 157

Hungary Eggs Fox India 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2018

Yet, it takes great logistical effort to organize the census all the way from Germany to Austria, Hungary and Serbia in the same day, to count on numerous volunteers and hope for the best February weather. In the last year, a broken bustard eggshell was found, but since no displaying was observed, those could have been unfertilized eggs.

Hungary 145

Hungary Serbia Austria Eggs 145