10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2019

But they are also highly-prized for their ruthless and powerful efficiency in killing – medieval illustrations depict them downing cranes and a twentieth-century painting by Louis Agassiz Fuertes shows a falconer’s Gyrfalcon inflicting a lethal strike on a Gray Heron ( Ardea cinerea ). Good birding and happy drinking!

2016 100

2016 Iceland Falcons Europe 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2018

As you know, I started to bird from a canoe, exploring the Danube backwaters in Belgrade, Serbia. When inundated, in spring, it is exciting to paddle through the trees, yet birds that often forage on the ground will be pushed away. Perhaps the best example of such habitats may be the Central Beljarica floodplain hotspot.

Beavers 131

Beavers Serbia Eagles Hungary 131

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2011

I enjoy fishing almost as much as I enjoy birding. This is not a surprise as both pastimes tap into my primeval desire to hunt. In many cases, myself included, the desire manifests itself in less apparent ways than going out and killing something for the trophy wall. The one exception would be the thrill that birding brings.

Ecuador 150

Ecuador South Africa United States Hunting 150

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2021

Ranging in color from off-white to dingy black, with pastel to gelatinous shades of yellow, orange, purple, and brown in-between, found in moist crevasses, decaying trees, rain-soaked pastures, mushrooms lack the beauty of butterflies and wildflowers cannot equal the action of bats, or flying fish, and certainly lack the spiritual zest of birds.

North America 276

North America America Species 2018 276

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2017

Here are some facts to keep in mind about Good Birders Still Don’t Wear White: Passionate Birders Share the Joys of Watching Birds: (1) This is not a dress code. (2) 3) It is a sequel to Good Birders Don’t Wear White: 50 Tips From North America’s Top Birders , the popular 2007 collection of essays. Braunfield.

2017 157

2017 Costa Rica 2007 Hunters 157

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. Marabous have also learnt another trick, and that is to follow vultures and scavenge off the remains of Lion and other large predator kills.

Africa 248

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 248

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2015

What wasn’t publicised at the time, but the scientist later both admitted and owned, is that the kingfisher was then killed and collected for scientific reasons. I’m not going to rehash the arguments for scientific collecting here. The large room the collection was held in was a profoundly weird place.

Collecting 237

Collecting Solomon Islands New Zealand Fiji 237

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. It’s also about human-owl interaction on an individual level and a wider sociocultural level, and ultimately how we can use all this for habitat and bird conservation.

Owls 231

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 231

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Pafuri lies in the northernmost part of the Kruger National Park and is described as “some of the most potentially productive birding territory in South Africa” on the SANParks website. Jameson’s Firefinch is a beautiful small bird named for what was probably a very bad person, James Sligo Jameson. ” (HBW).

Elephants 147

Elephants Birds Congo Africa 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

You know there is probably some evil backstory if Wikipedia talks of a “complex” legacy of Raffles – further detailing that “he was ultimately an imperialist benefiting at the expense of the indigenous peoples” So, I guess this is another bird name that should be changed eventually.

Los Angeles 208

Los Angeles Birds Woodpeckers Owls 208

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2019

Falconry Month at Birds and Booze: I’ve decided to dedicate this month of March 2019 to wines and beers related to the history of falconry – or hawking – for no other reason than that I’ve recently acquired several bottles adorned with mostly medieval European iconography relating to this “sport of kings”.

2016 114

2016 Hunting Collecting Killing 114

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, experts have determined that the current rate of bird extinction is somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 times the background rate. Globally, 1,313 bird species of a total of count of 10,064 are threatened, a frightening 13% of the total.

Endangered Species 206

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 206

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2023

The person who named this bird apparently cleverly chose the name Yellow-rumped Flycatcher to distinguish the bird from the Narcissus Flycatcher, which is also yellow-rumped. In Chinese, this bird is called White-browed Flycatcher, which introduces some (possibly undesirable) logic into the world of bird names.

Monkeys 147

Monkeys Birds South Korea Owls 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2023

Plume hunting raged supreme 150 years ago, when egret feathers were part of a worldwide trade in feathers and other bird parts, used for women’s hats and other articles of clothing (but mostly hats), delighting the upper classes and practically wiping out bird species. ©2023, Donna L. ©2023, Donna L.

Connecticut 147

Connecticut Washington Legislation Hunting 147