Critter News

JANUARY 25, 2012

1, 2012, egg-laying hens across many European countries will live with fewer discomforts: The European Commission has officially implemented its ban on battery cages, the notoriously cramped cages used by many egg farmers and criticized by animal rights proponents and veterinarians who call them cruel and harmful to the birds' welfare.

Battery Cages 100

Battery Cages Battery Animal Welfare Welfare 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

impressive for Central Europe. 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.),

Austria 297

Austria Factory Asia Battery 297

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2021

And yet another reminder for tomorrow: I should somewhere buy one of those button-type batteries for a Bluetooth remote shutter, to give it a shot at digiscoping birds at fruit feeders of Selva Verde with a smartphone photo adapter. A field guide I’ll have to study on a long flight from Europe to San Jose.

Costa Rica 256

Costa Rica San Jose Battery Serbia 256

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Presuming that you live somewhere in Europe and plan a car trip to Greece, let me suggest a couple of routes that will increase your tour list. Head for the sea only when you fully recharge your batteries. Have you read my blogs on birding Greece ? That motorway takes you to the Gevgelija (MAK) – Evzonoi (GR) border crossing.

Greece 177

Greece Albania Macedonia Europe 177

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2016

Not so long ago, Ortolans were as common as Corn Buntings still are in this part of Europe (not so in the north), but somewhere during the 1980s they plummeted to become rather uncommon birds of the rural countryside.

Romania 130

Romania Sparrows Battery Turtles 130

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2015

This species is still uncommon in the Balkans and despite the recent spread, Kalamas is the most reliable site for it in Greece (and this made my only second ever observation of them in Europe). I reach for my camera, only to realise that the batteries were flat. Further north, I reach the Kestrini River and turn left.

Greece 231

Greece Dogs Pelicans Fish 231

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2019

One of those magazine articles dealt with field guides for Europe (that was before the Collins 2 has swept them all away), but this way or another, I am always recommending paper books, despite the fact that I have a bird ID application in my phone (but also a paper book in my car).

Birds 136

Birds Costa Rica Greece Battery 136