10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

Memorable encounters with Mammals: Part I Most birdwatchers enjoy seeing mammals, but the trouble with mammals is that they tend to be much more challenging to see than birds. I remember the guide on my first Kenyan birding safari remarking that “birding groups always see far more mammals than those who come just to see animals.

Fur 178

Fur Bulgaria Otters Estonia 178

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2020

The Ural Owl inhabits old and undisturbed boreal forests, in an unbroken belt from Sweden and Finland across Russia to Japan, and is rarely seen to the south, only here and there, in the Carpathians (Slovakia/Ukraine/Romania/eastern Serbia) and Dinaric Alps (Croatia/Bosnia/western Serbia). Absolutely thrilled!

Serbia 244

Serbia Owls Slovakia Bosnia 244

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2012

Talking to Jan Södersved the editor of the Birdlife Finland magazine Linnut whilst we were both in Portugal in early October suggested that all of the owl species in Finland had had a very productive breeding season. The numbers we have wintering in Britain are certainly bearing that out.

Barn Owls 178

Barn Owls Finland Owls Portugal 178

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2024

Bohemian Waxwings are the rock stars of the bird world. No other bird on the British list has quite the same allure, or ability to tempt people to travel long distances to see them. For a start, they are extraordinarily beautiful birds, and there’s nothing else quite like them. It’s not difficult to see why.

Finland 204

Finland Estonia Bears Ireland 204