10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2020

It has been a while since I wrote on where to watch birds (unbelievable, I know), and will now focus on the nature reserve of Deliblato Sands and the adjoining Labudovo okno Ramsar Wetland, about an hour east from Belgrade, Serbia. When to go: breeding and migration seasons (April to June and late August to mid-September).

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Europe Serbia Woodpeckers Birds 241

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

There’s something wonderfully primeval about the Northern Bald Ibis: it has the look of a bird that really ought to be extinct. The fact that it’s not is quite surprising, as this curious bird has come very close to the brink. Sadly, they no longer breed in Algeria, while in Turkey no free-flying birds remain.

Morocco 235

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 235

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2022

When you spot a brand new bird identification guide, especially for your home region – in this case, Europe – reaching for it comes naturally. A few months ago I birded Amazonia and carried another weighty tome with me, a 1.2 Yes, Europe’s Birds is a photographic guide.

Europe 259

Europe Birds Colombia Branding 259

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2024

I’ve been a regular visitor to the island of Cyprus for over 25 years, making around a dozen trips during this period, every one in search of birds. I made my most recent visit earlier this month, arriving with my three birding companions, Martin, Mike and Chris, on a warm spring evening. It was strange to hear it here in Cyprus.

Cyprus 229

Cyprus Breeders Falcons Hunters 229

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

Lesser Kestrels are one of those birds that have a special fascination for British birdwatchers. They are very rare birds in Britain, but have been recorded from Scilly in the south to Fair Isle in the north. Lesser Kestrel really is an appropriate name, for they are a lesser bird than the familiar Common Kestrel.

Falcons 210

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 210

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2024

Ruffs were by far the most numerous, with as many as 500 birds in view at once. Few birds sport such magnificent breeding plumage as the male ruff, but not a single bird showed more than a hint of this plumage. These ruffs still had a 1,000 or more miles to fly to reach their northern breeding grounds.

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Cyprus Tethering Breeding 2016 226

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2016

I want to alert you to a recent study (from April) that looks at the plight of bird populations under conditions of climate change in Europe and North America. The study looked at common birds, and used data divided by either state (in the US) or country (in Europe). Stephens et al. Stephens, Philip, et al.

North America 122

North America Europe America United States 122

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2023

Lake Kerkini National Park in the north of Greece is the very best birding area in the Balkan Peninsula and definitely among the top ten hotspots of Europe. Some 320 species have been recorded here, and in springtime it is possible to observe more than 150 bird species in a week. The lake lies at a mere 35 m / 115 ft a.s.l.

Greece 239

Greece Pelicans Birds Stray Dog 239

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2020

If you are old enough, you will remember birding without a phone? Later I carried it because of a stash of bird songs I compiled in it. And now I carry it for the same reason, only now they are a part of the bird ID app. Anyway, I don’t even have an app for the European birds at the moment, but for the Birds of Southern Africa.

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Serbia Birds Ducks Cyprus 282

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2023

Very occasionally though, one might stray down the eastern seaboard of the USA, but for the most part, those that breed in arctic Canada migrate towards Europe and swell numbers there during the winter. The seaweed, in its turn attracts insects and thus birds. The faint scalloping on the back suggests that it is a young bird.

Iceland 227

Iceland Stray Breeders Canada 227

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic. 140 birds). Kerkini is one of the most important wintering areas throughout Europe.

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Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

For the last two decades, Europe and the greater Mediterranean have been covered by one of the best field guides anywhere: “Collins Bird Guide” by Lars Svensson et al., published in the US by Princeton as “Birds of Europe”. Unlike “Collins Bird Guide” (CBG) with 416 pages and 1.7 And my first impression is: Wow!

Cyprus 259

Cyprus Saudi Arabia Europe Birds 259

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2020

The coronavirus has locked us all in, literally, doing something that was totally unthinkable only a few months ago: it has prevented us from birding abroad! It can still be an entirely opposite end of a continent, but – if you are residing in Europe – the flight can be as short as one (from Germany) to two hours (from UK).

Serbia 317

Serbia Sanctuary Birds Bosnia 317

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

I started out my birding life sitting on Benches 2 and 7 at the Jamaica Bay NWR West Pond, my Peterson’s in my lap, studying Green-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, and the occasional Pintail. This is the first bird guide I’ve reviewed that has utilized and credited a Flickr group, the Bird Hybirds Flickr Forum.

North America 161

North America Asia Europe America 161

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

Chinese Penduline T**s are not particularly woke birds. White’s Thrush is described as “burly” on eBird – not entirely unjustified, I guess, but this description fails to capture the way the intricate patterns of the bird make for great camouflage and also for its own kind of beauty. Maybe the grandparents help.

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Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 211

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

This is a bit of a dilemma for local authorities – on the one hand, they would presumably like to protect the birds, on the other hand, they also want to draw as many tourists to the place as possible. Still, it is a good place for birds, and given the gregarious nature of most of the Chinese tourists (similar to shorebirds?),

China 287

China Birds Fish Asia 287

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2023

However, I have to put it in perspective by explaining that during the year I hardly ventured out of East Anglia, and almost every bird was seen in Suffolk or Norfolk – I live on the county boundary. I’m not a twitcher, either, so I rarely, if ever, go in search of a bird, or birds, that someone else has reported.

Estonia 236

Estonia Portugal Greece Barn Owls 236

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

For several years I lived and birded in the south of Africa , and still have my battered second edition (1997) of the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, the most trusted local field guide. This region is so far from the northern breeding grounds that there are no migratory corridors to show.

Africa 264

Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2020

It seems to me that Lynx Edicions must know Vedran, too, and it was with him in mind that their authors, David W Winkler, Shawn M Billerman and Irby J Lovette, chose the “Bird Families of the World: A Guide to the Spectacular Diversity of Birds” as the full title of their new edition. Because this book is nothing short of spectacular.

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Family Birds South America Breeding 297

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

For the many birds that depend on the saltings for their food, high tide is a time for roosting and waiting. If you are a birdwatcher or bird photographer, there’s no finer place to be than an estuary when the tide is falling. A few do breed in Europe, on the extreme north-east of European Russia.

Geese 198

Geese Russia Breeding Unwanted 198

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

Back in July, my fellow 10,000 Birds contributor Dragan wrote a delightful piece about birding Lake Kerkini in spring. I first visited Kerkini and this bird-rich region of northern Greece 15 years ago, and have been returning regularly ever since. My photograph below is of a captive bird).

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Greece Pelicans Geese Buffalo 224

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

Most serious bird photographers dislike taking pictures of birds wearing rings (or what on the other side of the Atlantic you call bands). I can sympathise, as a shiny new ring, clamped to a bird’s leg, rarely enhances its portrait. The information I received didn’t indicate the age of the bird.

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Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2019

The toughest thing for me, as a local birder, was to choose the most attractive birds because those that attract my attention are generally all too common in the northwest of Europe, from where most visiting birders are coming. Cranes breed in very small numbers in UK but are always impressive en masse.

Serbia 250

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Breeding 250

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

Collins Birds of the World is “ a must for the travelling birder ,” as the BBC Wildlife Magazine reviewer has put it. When I moved to Botswana, to learn my birds I got myself the thickest local field guide. The book covers all the world’s birds. And I cannot agree more. The book ends with English and scientific name indexes.

Birds 255

Birds Botswana Africa Ecuador 255

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2024

A first-winter Red-breasted Goose at Cley, North Norfolk As a general rule, geese are birds of subtle, even dull, plumage. With its deep chestnut-red breast, exquisite head pattern and black and white body it’s an exceedingly handsome bird, and one that never fails to attract admirers when one turns up in Britain.

Bulgaria 130

Bulgaria Geese Romania Estonia 130

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

The Eurasian Wryneck is the woodpecker that doesn’t look like a woodpecker, the bird with the portmanteau name that is also a medical condition (and which may remind some people of a Nora Ephron essay). They are slim and small-headed birds and their bills are fine, not strong and dynamic. They are ant specialists.

Woodpeckers 247

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 247

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2023

In June 2023, I again went to Balangshan, a mountain about 3 hour’s drive from Sichuan’s capital Chengdu – and again with Alpinebirding , fortunately no longer for them to partly deal with confusing covid restrictions but only to help me find birds that I am too incompetent a birder to find on my own. Evidence-based!

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Birds China Science Research 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2020

The next morning, through Yellowhammers and Eurasian Skylarks singing all around me, I went birding. Yes, yes, I know, not countable – it’s not a bird. Chamois is an agile goat-antelope with short hooked horns, found in mountainous areas of Europe from Spain to the Caucasus. Never mind, it’s not a bird.

Serbia 264

Serbia Bears Birds Mammals 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2022

For some reason that I do not quite understand myself – given that I really rather dislike children and am not too positive about the rest of humanity either – I recently put up a little display of bird photos inside my Shanghai compound, which I share (as the only foreigner) with about 1700 Chinese. Some Birds of Shanghai.

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Birds Fish Germany China 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2020

Like many of you, I had plans for this year’s spring migration: to bird the very best tour of the Balkans, heading for northeastern Greece. First, 800 km of driving from Belgrade through Bulgaria to very NE corner of Greece and the Dadia Forest National Park with its 36 species of diurnal raptors, out of Europe’s 38.

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Greece Bulgaria Birds Serbia 247

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

(Boring bureaucratic note to dissuade casual readers: This post covers birds seen in Shanghai in January 2023, except for those seen at Tianmashan – these are shown in a separate post. End of note) Probably the most interesting bird in Shanghai this month was a Barred Cuckoo-Dove choosing a small downtown park to feed on berries.

Birds 147

Birds Geese Fish Industry 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2022

Habitats: Check Birds… well, more presumed what the possibilities are, than actually checked… Sleeping: Check Getting around: Check I will come back to these topics in a while. Nevertheless, I left gifts behind, two dozen copies of a common bird guide (which I wrote and published) for local wardens. It sounded birdy and I was game.

Serbia 254

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Romania 254

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2023

A new book about the angelic-looking, identification-stumping birds of the oceans, rivers, and marshes has finally been published! That would be Terns of Europe and North America by Klaus Malling Olsen and Hans Larsson, published in 1995, another fantastic book, but out-of-print and in need of an update. Tern lovers rejoice!

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North America America Species Groups 218

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. This bird is represented in an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph. Can’t say that it is a particularly obvious name from seeing the bird.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Birds Eggs 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

David Tomlinson The recent announcement by the American Ornithological Society that it intends to replace names of all birds named after people has caused quite a stir here in the UK. I have a fascinating little reference book called Whose Bird? Collecting birds was clearly a dangerous pastime. We don’t need any more.

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Falcons Collecting 2003 Wounded 234

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

What do you think makes for a good bird hide? I have asked myself that same question many times over the last six months, until last week, when I was involved in an opening ceremony of five new bird hides at the Palic Lake, by the town of Subotica in the very north of Serbia, along the border with Hungary (all photos are from that area).

Serbia 254

Serbia Birds Spain Hungary 254

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

February 2023 was a slow month for birding in Shanghai, at least for me – so slow that I almost put the Spotted Dove , possibly my least favorite bird here, on the cover. Not a cover species The Black Kite is not actually black, but of course, misleading bird names are not exactly rare. Maybe those should be protected too?

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Birds Iraq China Ireland 130