10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Serious birders may have an obsessive interest in birds, but one thing they universally don’t like are birds which, they believe, aren’t properly wild. This individual was photographed in India There’s one problem with this approach, as it can lead to birds being ignored.

Netherlands 213

Netherlands Geese Birds Denmark 213

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

The Christmas Bird Count was the answer. The IWC census starts from mid-January following the logic that it is the period when the birds have reached their wintering grounds and are rather static, so the chance of double-counting the same flock is minimal. But it is so frustrating to pass the birds by without IDing them!

Geese 145

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 145

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2017

Germany has only one high seas island it calls its own, the mighty (from a birding perspective) island of Heligoland. Denmark frequently held posession of the islands from the middle ages to the 18th century. Spending the winter far out at sea in the Arctic when you are a bird barely larger than a feral pigeon?

Germany 100

Germany Denmark Namibia Breeding 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Some time after the Spanish encounter with the Turkey, birds were brought back to Europe where they were raised and became an important source of food and fancy feathers. The one case that could have been an actual Turkey was a bird spotted in Honduras, where they may or may not have been, by our friend Christopher Columbus.

Turkey 202

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 202