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.

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China Mongolia Birds Russia 168

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

To say that an update of John MacKinnon’s “A Field Guide to the Birds of China” (2000) has been highly anticipated by birders interested in Chinese birds is almost an understatement. Mind you, I am not a particularly good birder – I am the kind of birder who really needs a good bird guide.

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China Brazil 2000 Birds 192

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2021

And it is a great place for birding. China’s massive investment in infrastructure has indirectly benefited birders. This makes these sections ideal for birding, with a much-reduced risk of being killed by a passing truck. Still, not a bird that merits flying 2000 km from your hometown. A juvenile.

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China Birds Vietnam Fast Food 261

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2022

The location not being Algiers but rather Nonggang in Guangxi province, China, close to the border to Vietnam. A very rural place, few people, and a landscape more reminiscent of coastal Northern Vietnam than most parts of China. The birds are not closely related. This is just such a post.

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China Birds Asia Vietnam 197

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2020

The Avibase China birdlist counts 7 species of minivets for China – one of which is the Ashy Minivet. For Japan, there are only two species listed – again the Ashy Minivet, but also the Japanese Minivet (mostly called Ryukyu Minivet elsewhere), a Japanese endemic which is not on the China list.

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China Japan 2020 2019 204

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. Little Owls have a somewhat less interesting diet consisting of insects, small mammals, and birds.

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China Falcons Birds Owls 243

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

” When starting a birding tour, which words by your tour guide can have a similarly terrifying effect? What to do when faced with this question, if the urge to start the birding trip is stronger than the initial reflex to run away? The post Birding Gonggangling and Dujiangyan, Sichuan, China appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

China 203

China Birds Russia Owls 203

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

The Spring Festival – or Chinese New Year – is a big period for traveling in China. While not on the scale of bird migration, it is routinely and somewhat lazily described as the biggest annual migration of humans in the world. Once the bird takes up a different position, it gets more interesting.

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China Birds Pythons Rabbits 196

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2019

Spoon-billed Sandpiper at Tiaozini, Jiangsu, China. The Spoon-billed Sandpiper is probably the most iconic bird species in China – to the point that some bird guides I know are quite tired of looking for it. And yet, I have now birded China for almost 5 years without ever really trying to see one.

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China Endangered Species 2016 Species 181

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

A crest is a “comb or tuft of feathers, fur, or skin on the head of a bird or other animal” Birds use them for display purposes – they can be either recumbent (not noticeable when not erect) or recursive (noticeable in all states). Quite a few bird species have crests. Crests are made of feathers.

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South Africa China Africa Germany 192

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2021

Yes, I know you are not interested in boring semi-autobiographical descriptions of individual birding trips. These are unrelated birds that have a socially polygynandrous mating system. I am generally fairly hopeless with regard to Bird ID via sound, which is a reason for me to like the Chinese White-browed Rosefinch.

China 181

China Birds Sheep Monkeys 181

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

In some places, birds have to live with large amounts of trash in their environment. Fortunately, some have found creative ways to deal with this issue: Trash indicating food ( Yellow-billed Chough , Balangshan, China). Trash as nesting material ( Upland Buzzard , Ruoergai, China).

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China Birds Humane 211

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2021

Recently, many people have been telling me that they are very tired of photos of dry birds. So, here’s a collection of wet birds. A wet Grey-eyed Bulbul (Xishuangbanna, China). A wet Daurian Redstart (Shennongjia, China). Wet Orange-bellied Leafbird s (Tengchong, China). A wet Goldcrest (Tengchong, China).

South Africa 169

South Africa China Africa Birds 169

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Julius Caesar apparently once said “I love treason but hate a traitor” My feelings with regard to a birding-related topic are similar – I love owls but hate owling. A great advantage of these quails is that they will live exclusively on the ground, & will not interfere with other birds.

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Lemurs China Owls Birds 207

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2020

Here`s another entry in the category “Rejected topics for bird-related coffee table books”, following my recent “Blue Birds” post. With remarkable accuracy, each of the photos below shows exactly two birds. Black-tailed Godwit (Nanhui, China, May 2020). Black-throated Tit (Tianmushan, China, Jun 2019).

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South Africa 2018 2019 China 194

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2023

Yibin is a typical smallish Chinese city (which in China means slightly above 850,000 people in the metro area, which would make it the fifth-biggest city in Germany but does not get it into the top 100 in China). As sound photography has not been invented yet, I will therefore focus on the other birds encountered here.

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Italy Birds China France 181

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Of course, that means that the birds I saw on September 30 are now somewhere in blogpost limbo, not having appeared in the September post but also not legitimately belonging in the October one. After this longish and completely irrelevant introduction, finally here is a photo of the first bird of September 30th, a Black-winged Cuckoo Shrike.

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Birds Deer China Owls 211

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2019

There, breeding Amur Paradise Flycatchers have become an attraction for Chinese bird photographers, and the source of some tourism income for the locals. Further upstream, a White-crowned Forktail was demonstrating that you do not have to be a cartoon bird to look like one. Amur Paradise Flycatcher (female). A village about 1.5

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China Breeding Owls Groups 138

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

Sadly, the HBW states that the species is “almost extinct in some areas in China owing to hunting and trapping for the cagebird trade and taxidermy” The Maroon Oriole looks much more interesting, though my photos do not really do it full justice. ” Contribution to the vibrant bird community. A bad one, admittedly.

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Nepal Birds Owls Fish 155

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2024

Birding Shanghai has its own specific annoyances apart from birds not showing up. Finally, there are specific restrictions for foreigners – I guess we might steal some vital state secrets that have some kind of relationship with the local birds. Tianmashan had two interesting birds in March. One, a Ryukyu Minivet.

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Chicago Birds Asia China 141

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2019

The first sign of an adult bird approaching was all of the chicks opening their bills. Side thought: Seeing bird photos I am often amazed how the birds seem to select a background where they more or less blend in best. The post Air Show at Nanhui, Shanghai, China appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

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China Breeding Species Birds 114

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2023

Given how hot and sometimes humid it is in Shanghai in July, it is a wonder there are any birds here in this month, particularly taking into account that most bird nests are not air-conditioned. One of the reasons stated is “the benefits of the people” (not the birds). Still, a few spend the summer here.

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Indonesia Thailand Legislation Birds 149

10,000 Birds

APRIL 8, 2024

This post starts like every birding blog post should start – by showcasing some bulbul species. According to the highly successful book ” 7 Habits of Highly Successful Birding Blog Post Writers”, only about 50% of birding blog posts should start with bulbuls). Yes, I am joking.

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Birds Owls China Research 141

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 229

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2024

On the other hand, their white color and their considerable size made me see them as somewhat arrogant birds – the white Golf convertible of the bird world. ” Presumably, all readers of 10,000 Birds think that nature reserves are important – a paper tries to quantify that importance to some extent.

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China Iceland Whales Whaling 203

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Good habitat, apparently, for a Pacific Reef Heron , though the East China Sea is only a peripheral arm of the Pacific and there are no reefs to be found here. And indeed, I could hear the faint noise of the Sisters of Mercy coming out of the headphones of the bird. Maybe a cold-blooded bird? Northern Shoveler (Nanhui).

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China Birds Reptiles Sparrows 172

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2024

Given that according to the HBW, the species prefers dense primary and secondary montane forests, the note that the bird also forages among kitchen waste (in the same HBW entry) seems somewhat incongruous. George Rippon (1861-1927), a member of the British Army in India and Burma.

Burma 189

Burma India Birds Indonesia 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 28, 2021

Dulan County is a large county in east-central Qinghai, China. Being a mammal myself, I am understandably much less fond of this animal class than I am of birds. But I have to admit that seeing some of the wolves, foxes, asses, and sheep of Dulan county is nice, at least as long as they do not stand in front of some exciting birds.

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Sheep Mountain Goats Gazelles Birds 230

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2023

In 2022, the 10,000 Birds eBird Collaborative submitted 1,837 checklists from 9 countries ( Australia , China , Costa Rica , Mexico , Saint Lucia , Serbia , Trinidad and Tobago , United Kingdom , and the United States ) and observed 1,273 species. The Collaborative life list increased to 4,140.

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Saint Lucia Costa Rica United Kingdom Trinidad 188

10,000 Birds

MAY 30, 2022

Here are some bird photos that I like. Reed Parrotbill (Nanhui, Shanghai, China). Siberian Rubythroat (Nanhui, Shanghai, China). Spotted Redshank (Nanhui, Shanghai, China). Swinhoe’s White-eye (Nanhui, Shanghai, China). Whimbrel (Nanhui, Shanghai, China). White’s Thrush (Nanhui, Shanghai, China).

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South Africa China Mauritius India 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2021

Tianmushan is a mountain in Zhejiang province – not very high at about 1500 meters, but of course offering very different birds from flat Shanghai (where confusingly, the highest mountain with a height of 100 meters is named Tianmashan – the difference between the a and the u is one of 1400 meters in height.

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Birds China Sparrows Animal 228

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2022

Jianfengling National Forest Park is a park in the West of Hainan – the tourist websites claim that it is “the largest and best-preserved tropical original forest in China”, which – if true – is a rather sad statement given the wide inroads that commercial agriculture has made into the park. But then, who knows?

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Birds Egypt China 2002 236

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2022

T he Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Tengchong, China) is a tiny bit bigger and looks much soberer. The little red bit on the crown on this photo indicates that it is a male bird. A point in case: the Crimson-breasted Woodpecker (Tengchong, China). Supposedly, they smoke less than the Brown-capped ones, too.

Woodpeckers 221

Woodpeckers South Africa China Singapore 221

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

The main attraction for birders here are the hornbills – I have written about them before , so this post will be more on the other birds I saw there in 2017. Anyway, it is a very cute-looking bird if you are big enough not to be among its prey of (mostly) insects. I have written about the hornbills of this area before.

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Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

Given the strict covid prevention measures here in China, I have not left the country in almost 2 years now. Fortunately, China still has lots of interesting birding locations left for me. But of course, it is also nice to remember past birding trips. That does not make much sense, I know. Or they are afraid of flying.

South Africa 222

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 222

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2020

That does not make it sound like a very promising or important bird habitat. Shanghai is located on the coast of the East China Sea and lies right on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. The birds passing through Shanghai include many rare and endangered birds. And yet it is. So, there is some hope.

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Wildlife Reserve Asia China Birds 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2020

Summer in Shanghai is not the best season for birding – most birds seem to agree with me that it is too hot. And yet, there are still birds to see … The Black-crowned Night Heron is one of my favorite common birds in Shanghai. The Chinese bird photographers call this the butterfly pose. Pied Kingfisher.

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Birds China 170