10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2015

As our Gypsy comes to a halt, one Oriental Honey Buzzard is investigating the new arrivals. The lake consists of a large body of open water, a belt of tall yellow grass (where a big orange cat can blend and disappear if it chooses so) and, all around it, thick forests of predominantly teak, interspersed with thickets of bamboo.

Tigers 244

Tigers India Killing 2012 244

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Years of follow-up research conducted by one of Earthwatch’s principal investigators on the Tambopata Macaw project, Dr. Don Brightsmith, shows, however, that within the study area of the clay lick the birds tend to choose the soil with the highest sodium content over soils that are best for neutralizing toxins. Wicked, right?

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 South America 255

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

Not, as Linneaus thought, an ostrich, nor even, as later scientists concluded, a distant cousin of pigeons deserving of family rank, it was an honest-to-goodness pigeon, deeply embedded within the family Columbidae. Solomon Islanders say that the species was driven to extinction by cats and dogs introduced by Europeans.

Solomon Islands 275

Solomon Islands Guinea Mauritius Humane 275

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2014

This is not to say, however, that birders on holiday are, should they choose to travel with family, friends or other assorted loved ones, resigned to seeing nothing, or even nothing except the common stuff. I was thus able to pick an off-the-shelf ecotourism route and, having selected a company, customise it to my family’s needs.

Birds 183

Birds Bats Elephants Family 183