10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

This is the second part of a post showing some birds seen at Nonggang in December 2022, along with the usual (mostly irrelevant) comments. The poor bird’s Latin species name is macgrigoriae , apparently (HBW) named after Jane Grant McGrigor, the daughter of Maj. This included recording a total of 77,760 minutes of video.

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China Birds Pythons Eagles 237

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2022

“A reading of recent research shows that Australian birds are more likely than most to eat sweet foods, live in complex societies, lead long lives, attack other birds, and be intelligent and loud.” When going to Australia, one of the two birds I wanted to see most was the Tawny Frogmouth.

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Birds Australia Ducks Mountain Goats 237

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2024

This week, however, we had visitors, and I had a bird-free Monday. So I had to look to a fellow 10,000 Birds writer for inspiration, instead. Thanks, Jason, for mentioning Trash Birds — even if you used the phrase in an unusual way. Central Mexico has, of course, its own trash birds. This one is a female.

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Mexico Portland Humane Sparrows 229

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2023

In many ways, birding Wawushan is a nightmare for a solitary and crowd-hating birder like me. An unnamed bird guide called them “avoidless tourists”, which sums it up rather nicely. So, all this makes birding this place an occasionally less than pleasant experience.

Pandas 213

Pandas Birds Eggs China 213

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2020

That means it also has many tropical birds that a foreigner living in China can see without risking to leave the country (which would mean 2 weeks of quarantine on reentry at best and complete exclusion at worst, depending on the ever-changing regulations). Apparently, many bird species have employed the same concept as me for a long time.

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China Barn Owls Birds Laos 264

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. Quite possibly, this laughingthrush is now locally extinct in Switzerland or at least in Basel. ” ( source ).

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Burma India Birds Indonesia 209

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 206

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

While these birds are very much liked by Chinese birders, the species could unfortunately not be named the National Bird of China as the Latin species name of the bird is Grus Japonicus. it would not be the national bird of the USA either. Incompetent photographers can always blame the bird.

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Birds Eggs Bald Eagle Owls 211

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 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. He spends most of his time on birds, birding and photography. Herbert holds a B.

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Uganda Rwanda Birds Industry 217

10,000 Birds

MARCH 24, 2021

The reason that La Mesa is my new favorite local birding destination is not just that it is so close to home; it is the great mix of habitats that it offers. On the way, I pass through a wonderful mixed habitat with lots of native trees that keep fruit-eating birds happy, and flowers that attract all of our region’s hummingbird species.

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Birds Sparrows Protection Virginia 236

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

The adults presumably have already learned that humans are not usually good news even if not named Donald Trump. As suggested before, it might be time to get somebody with at least a vague interest in birds involved in working on the online edition of the HBW. on September 01, so these concerns ended very early in the month.

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Birds Tigers Humane Ecuador 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

To be precise, “Birding Shanghai from June 10 to June 30, 2022” – but that is even less of an exciting title than the one above. The reason for this post only covering the period from June 10 being that an earlier post, “Revenge Birding”, was about the first 9 days of June. You should try it too.

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Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 193

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 225

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 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2023

For birders, the Wolongshan area is like a poorer cousin of Balangshan – due to the lower elevation, the bird species here are more common and thus less interesting. And of course, birders (at least me) do not care too much for Giant Pandas, which are the main attraction of this area, despite their pathetic habits.

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Hamburgers Birds Science China 218

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2023

Their migration is quite fast compared to many other larger birds – in one study , several birds flew 4000 km within 5–7 days while one individual even flew 5600 km non-stop. That includes breeding birds, as indicated by the presence of some rather cute chicks ( video ). Also as video. Bye, bye, Lesser Coucal.

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Birds Eggs Breeders Breeding 130

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2022

The name is a puzzle though – even the HBW states that the bird has “small or no crest” These photos were taken on Sep 26, indicating that the birds passed Shanghai rather late (according to the HBW, “autumn migration from early to late Sept”). The Japanese Paradise Flycatcher is listed as Near Threatened.

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China Birds Ukraine Killing 186

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2023

I visited Tengchong in late 2020 and wrote about it – but I also went there earlier, in 2017, and this post shows some photos I took during that trip, along with the usual comments that seem to be much more about ridiculing my fellow humans (especially ornithologists and the like) than providing useful information on birds.

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China 2017 Birds Indonesia 189

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2020

This year has been bountiful in books about bird behavior (reference and otherwise) from the likes of David Allen Sibley , Helen Macdonald, Jennifer Ackerman , Wenfei Tong, and others. The latest is the encyclopedic and delightful Peterson Reference Guide to Bird Behavior , by John Kricher. What do we mean, anyway, by bird “behavior”?

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Bald Eagle Puffins 2001 Boston 263

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

Everyone loves baby birds; 10,000 Birds even had a Baby Bird Week once upon a time! Baby birds are cuteness personified, possibly even more so than other baby animals, including human babies, and pose interesting questions of survival and development. Aren’t they usually in their nest with their parents?”

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Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 265

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.

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Los Angeles Birds Woodpeckers Owls 195

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2023

And now for something completely different – birds. That keeps away about 80% of the pesky bird photographers away from the males (though probably also a fair share of the female birds – can’t have it both ways). Mind you, no long tails in this season. Here is a mugshot of a Long-tailed Shrike.

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Birds China Taiwan Raised 130

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 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. That’s what makes us such good company: No birds to be seen at the moment?

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Birds New Jersey Guatemala France 245

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2021

Fortunately, I share this preference with birds, which we found away from the lake, mostly in some semi-desert areas. “ Not the bird’s fault, I guess. Possibly my favorite bird on the whole Qinghai trip was this Mongolian Ground Jay – thanks a lot to Bella from Alpinebirding for finding it.

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China Birds Austria ALA 254

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2022

Personally I’ve seen over a hundred species over several birding trips there, the overall species list for the location is approximately 160 – a tally that will only increase. It was admittedly difficult to concentrate on any single bird with trogons calling non-stop. This large and charismatic bird was surely the bird of the trip.

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Trinidad Squirrels Birds Groups 247

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2022

Some more photos of Australian birds mixed with irrelevant facts and mediocre half-jokes, as a way to pass away the time while being under lockdown in Shanghai (note: it is over now but this post was written during the lockdown). It must be a bit frustrating for a flower to be less colorful than the bird visiting it though.

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Australia Birds Feral Cats Kangaroos 204

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Construction is still ongoing at Nanhui, there are constant rumors that key birding sites will be made inaccessible … you have to take every Nanhui visit as it is your last (yes, another clichee). Still, there were a few birds there this September. Still, there were a few birds there this September. A juvenile male.

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Birds LACS France Japan 238

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2024

Given how far Hokkaido is from Europe, it seems a bit surprising how many bird species wintering on this Japanese island have a name starting with “Eurasian” Or how many of these species I have also seen in my parents’ garden in Germany. Like the Eurasian Nuthatch. People tend to eat more food when in company.

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Research Germany Iran Humane 130

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. Humans, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. I have to say that the pattern suits the buntings much better than humans, though, and hopefully, it is also more pleasant for them to wear. They also look fairly cute.

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Birds Humane Japan Ducks 243

10,000 Birds

APRIL 4, 2022

Strangely, one of the easiest birds to see on Chongming recently is the non-native Black Swan. ” This should make the bird somewhat unpopular with the socially rather conservative Chinese government – maybe the birds in China do not show this behavior in order to adapt to local customs? Homophobia?

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Birds China Pythons Breeding 216

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2021

In April, many birds come to Shanghai, stay for a day or two and decide to move on. Maybe the birds know something. On Tianmashan, a little bird pool (with attached restaurant) has had few visitors this month. Switching to blue birds, Nanhui has Siberian Blue Robin … … and Bluethroat. Long live The Cure.

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Birds Farming Alaska Breeding 183

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 17, 2022

According to a local African superstition that I just made up, it is not harmful to eat toxically colored birds if you eat them in the dark. Colonial history reflected in bird names. Unfortunately, the Fork-tailed Drongo is not the honest and god-fearing bird one could wish for.

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South Africa Africa Birds Cape Verde 193

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Sepilok is one of the best places I ever spent time birding at – I did so for a week and could have easily spent more time there. So, in order to economize a bit, the Sepilok birds are described in three separate posts. Maybe the HBW should be administered by a university with a stronger interest in birds than Cornell.

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Woodpeckers Birds Eggs India 218

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. And that seems to be the only vaguely satisfying thing left to do at the moment.

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Australia Birds Koalas Parrots 194

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Well, they mainly feed on birds, which may explain their low popularity. For the White-throated Rock Thrush , Wikipedia gives the slightly puzzling statement “The bird’s population is unknown, but is not increasing or declining.” Even if they look as charming as this Northern Boobook. Unfortunately, it is true though.

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Birds China Eggs Owls 204

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

With the lockdown lasting until the end of May (ironically thus pretty much including the whole spring migration – the divine sense of humor is a rather malign one, I am afraid), June still had the freedom of birding anywhere in Shanghai, not just inside a smallish compound. Accessorizing for birds.

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Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2021

While Mike and Corey – fitting for being real celebrities in birding cycles – get invited to far-flung places such as Uganda, minor local birders sometimes at least get invited to places nearby. The birding life. But now back to birds … Little Ringed Plovers also seem to like to breed directly on the road.

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Birds Uganda Breeding Rats 225