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. (In

Morocco 221

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 221

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2021

The adventure of the second European Breeding Bird Atlas, or EBBA2, was the topic of one of my first posts here at 10,000 Birds: In a warm Catalonian March, Barcelona is filled with sunlight and full of Rose-ringed and Monk Parakeets. In a very short time, we get two responses, two birds calling from opposite directions.

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Europe Breeding Denmark Birds 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

Birders know that some of the finest birding locations in the country are on federal land , which include national parks , wildlife refuges , forests , monuments , and seashores , among others. These lands support countless birds, either year-round, as migratory stopovers, or as breeding grounds.

Virgin Islands 206

Virgin Islands Alaska United States Endangered Species 206

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2016

Specifically, the state’s Big Island, where a new fence was just completed in the hopes of protecting an endangered bird. Though the Hawaiian Petrel lives throughout the Hawaiian islands, its numbers are low, and fewer than 100 pairs breed in the Big Island’s Hawaiian Volcanoes Natural Park (also home to the Mauna Loa volcano).

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Protection Feral Cats Hawaii Feral 133

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

Fortunately for birdwatchers, many of these birds like to sit on the power and other lines, of which sometimes curiously three or four run in parallel. I am not sure what the birds were congregating for where I took these photos. As a result of this ongoing tradition, local people continue to value and protect these scavengers.”

China 248

China Falcons Birds Owls 248

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2022

Most of the usual birds seem present, a frog or two call from a small wetland, and a few other expected animals are there too. We would marvel over cheery flocks of green and bright yellow Carolina Parakeets and then we would see them decline until there were just two, maybe one lonely bird, and then we would witness their forever absence.

Costa Rica 255

Costa Rica Parrots Albatross Birds 255

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It feels good to start a post with some truly attractive birds – such as two species of broadbills. If you like cute birds, you will probably like the Black-and-yellow Broadbill. Homework assignment: Is the bird in this video a male or a female? Maybe the birds I saw were not real. You can see why here.

Sri Lanka 209

Sri Lanka Birds Taiwan Cats 209

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2023

Sukau birding essentially means staying in a more-or-less comfortable lodge on the banks of the Kinatabagan river, and taking boat tours on more-or-less rickety boats on the river. So, just photos of the birds themselves. Why that makes Mr. Graydon worthy of having a bird species named after him is a mystery to me.

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Birds Eagles Elephants Rhinoceros 213

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). My name is Nikos Gallios. and up to 9000 pairs forms in the north of the lake.

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Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 263

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2016

In Costa Rica, June is breeding bird count season. That said, I wish we had more counts because so much of the country needs to be surveyed for birds. Protected area or not, there has been change in the air, and we need to see how the birds are responding.

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Breeding Costa Rica Birds Panama 101

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2018

Thankfully due to the long life span of this bird species the population appears to be somewhat stable at the moment. It is not unusual for only one Pied Oystercatcher chick to survive throughout the whole breeding season despite in excess of sixty eggs being laid by sixteen pairs. Pied Oystercatcher nest. Nest site with a view.

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Breeding 2018 Eggs 2016 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2020

Part of the Labudovo okno Ramsar Wetland and protected within the Deliblato Sands Special Nature Reserve , this section of the Danube, downriver from Belgrade, Serbia, is unique for its wide shallows, before the river narrows downstream from the village of Ram. When to visit: best during winter and migration season, but also breeding season.

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Mali Serbia Eagles Birds 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2020

Don`t worry – after having written about birding Shanghai in April a few weeks ago, I will not continue this theme for longer – not that much to write about in June and July. But May is a good time for birding here, and thus worth a post. Little Ringed Plovers are fiercely protective of their cute chicks.

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Birds Tigers Eggs Farming 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

The poster bird of this area is the near-threatened Black-necked Crane. The HBW even mentions the importance of Ruoergai for this species: “Key sites for migrants include the Ruoergai Plateau (China), which is also an important breeding area” Common Mergansers also seem to use these wetlands as breeding area.

China 171

China Mongolia Birds Russia 171

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

Over the past few months there have been a lot of birds breeding around Broome with the excellent rain events that we have been having and the vegetation is at long last revived. Masked Lapwings have been busy breeding for some months now and some may well be on their second clutch of eggs. Masked Lapwing protecting a nest.

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Breeding Eggs Protection Cows 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2014

With birds, this happens when one takes prey or other food caught or collected by another. Klepstoparasitism seems to be more prevalent among birds associated with water; those unable to dive often take food from those able to catch their food underwater. Some birds are opportunistic thieves, and others make a living at it.

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Protection Peru Chile Collecting 189

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Most of the estuaries of Puget Sound in Washington State have been developed, but one of the few that remain is the Nisqually River Delta, which was protected as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1974. Nisqually NWR) is one of Washington’s finest and most popular birding locations. It is on my list as one of the Top 25 NWRs for Birding. (As

Washington 232

Washington Portland Birds Geese 232

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 270

China Birds Asia Fish 270

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

It has been more than 5 years since I last went to Australia, and I was even less of a qualified bird photographer then than I am now. So, the basic idea is to show 15 species of Australian birds in each post and give you the usual trivia about them. I guess it is a bird though. Admittedly, it is mostly grey.

Australia 184

Australia Birds Parrots Koalas 184

10,000 Birds

JULY 14, 2020

I recently drove from my home in Portland to Conboy Lake NWR in southern Washington for a birding day-trip. Adams, the refuge is one of the few breeding locations for Sandhill Cranes in Washington. When I arrived in the morning, there were many birds and no people. Sandhill Cranes are a key management focus at Conboy Lake NWR.

Washington 160

Washington Portland Birds Deer 160

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! I am talking of the very heart of the Balkans and the final birding frontier of Europe: Serbia. Birding overview. Belgrade – weekend birding break. Top-20 birds.

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Serbia Sanctuary Birds Bosnia 317

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

We have continued to monitor the nest sites and the pairs of Pied Oystercatchers over the past few months and the birds are really having a tough year this year. Pied Oystercatcher shading and protecting its chick.

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Breeding Eggs 2011 2008 134

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2022

So, the next blog post on Shanghai birds may turn out to be a lot more interesting, though of course with regard to bird migration, May is more interesting than June … As I am unlikely to see a live gannet any time soon, I might as well point you to the song “Nigel the gannet” by The Burning Hell now.

Birds 147

Birds Sparrows China Abandon 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2014

One of the two sub-species of Red Knot occurring in North America, the Rufa subspecies breeds in the Canadian Artic Region and migrates along the east or Atlantic coast of the United States. The other sub-species, Calidris canutus roselaari , migrates along the Pacific Coast and breeds in Alaska and the Wrangel Island in Russia.

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Endangered Species Protection Delaware Species 160

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Early August is a bit of a dead time for birding in Shanghai unless you like your birds as little white spots at the far end of a telescope. So, I asked around and was told that Qinghai is the place to go to for birds in China in August. Going to Qinghai usually starts with a flight to Xining, the capital. But it is not.

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Birds North Korea China Woodpeckers 235

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

The latter is possible, as the undisturbed areas of Nanhui keep shrinking, leaving less and less space for birds. Their strong presence here at Nanhui in combination with their highly threatened status should be a good argument to protect Nanhui better. Somehow, for this bird it is ok. They are just too attractive.

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Birds Humane Germany Japan 231

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2023

As I sit at my desk writing this post about the latest attempt at breeding for one of our pairs of Pied Oystercatchers I realise I have written 677 posts now for this website. This rocky area high up beyond the beach sand offers great camouflage and protection. I suppose they know me!

Eggs 130

Eggs Australia Protection Breeding 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2020

That does not make it sound like a very promising or important bird habitat. This means that every year, millions of birds fly by the city on their way between their breeding grounds in Northern Asia and their wintering spots in Southeast Asia and Australia. And yet it is. So, there is some hope.

Wildlife Reserve 165

Wildlife Reserve Asia China Birds 165

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

In the more normal years, I would spend January visiting the very best wildfowling spots along the Danube and seeing the best birds there are, so in February I would be well saturated with birds and feeling: Still winter? I observed White-tailed Eagles likely a few thousand times, and this didn’t strike me as the dark young bird.

Otters 256

Otters Croatia Eagles Protection 256

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 Breeding 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 29, 2021

The Pied Oystercatcher breeding season continues here in Broome along our coastline and once again the birds are not having much luck. The first pair of Pied Oystercatchers to breed this year have had a second clutch of two eggs and they had two chicks, but sadly they were lost within a few days of hatching.

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Eggs Australia Breeding Protection 215

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

This is Liz’s first contribution to 10,000 Birds. The rise in drone popularity over the past few years has been meteoric — and in our typical human arrogance, we’ve once again ignored the fact that for the past 150 million years, the sky has belonged to the birds.

Idaho 182

Idaho Birds Protection Bears 182

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 240

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Romania 240

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2022

It stops those thousands of migrating birds flying across the Gulf of Mexico and directs them right onto the trees, fields, sanctuaries, beaches along the Bolivar Peninsula, where they hopefully find food and fresh water. And us, the birders who travel here from March to May to worship the birds as they seek to survive.

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Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 207

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

This is the last post covering my time birding the Kruger Park in November 2018. A study on the diet of the African Harrier-Hawk starts rather pompously: “Feeding is an indispensable activity in the life of birds. The babblers have a sentinel system – individual birds take turns scanning for predators and warning the group.

South Africa 147

South Africa Niger Birds Mice 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

This year we have continued to monitor the breeding of several pairs of Pied Oystercatchers along the coast in Broome from Gantheaume Point to Willie Creek on the south side. One particular bird in our area is at least 24 years old and has maintained the same territory for many years. All of their footprints are very distinctive.

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Breeding Eggs Camels Family 158

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2019

Bird migration! Our big month of bird movements in Costa Rica, the 10th month of the year, is when most of the swallows, Scarlet Tanagers , thrushes, and other species on the South American express push through. The bulk of birds, though, move along the coast and through the northern lowlands. What do they eat?

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Costa Rica Nicaragua Birds Panama 260