10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

Popple] One of the great things about birding is its continuing ability to surprise. After many years pointing binoculars at birds they can still shock you with unseen – sometimes unrecorded – behaviour, baffle you with an unexpected vocalisation or just turn up in oddly unexpected places. Places, too, can surprise. I was wrong.

Koalas 245

Koalas Birds Zoos Hunters 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2017

Actually, I am not waiting for them, but for the Eastern Imperial Eagle to come here to hunt Susliks – an eagle from one of the last two remaining nests in Serbia. Alas, there is no eagle to be seen either. Not an eagle in sight. Blackcap , European Stonechat … no eagles.

Eagles 107

Eagles Squirrels Cattle Serbia 107

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2022

In the previous period I wrote mostly book reviews (but of some really great books ), yet I cannot remember when the last time was that I wrote of birding itself? Perhaps in my December posts on birding Colombian Amazonia ? Driving with open windows (to hear the birds) becomes unbearable and I am heading out of this fish farm.

Breeders 231

Breeders Mules Farming Fish 231

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2021

The adult males sport that look; a bird created with crayons and an imaginative mind. The female isn’t quite so unreal but is still a cool little bird in her own right. She also makes a mark with her small size, one of the smallest birds in Costa Rica. A Garden Planted for Birds.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2023

Pied Avocet by Boris Okanovic Next we find ourselves at the famous fish farm in the village of Sakule. Ecka Fish Farm by Mileta Cekovic Soon we reached the Ecka Fish Farm, a part of the wider Carska Bara Important Bird Area (yet, not a part of the protected Carska Bara Reserve). Protest indeed!

Protest 199

Protest Protesting Protesters Germany 199

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Slowly, the shapes of birds were beginning to materialise. We just needed to find somewhere that was less cluttered to allow us some chance of seeing birds! We observed as this bird methodically peeled off sizeable chunks of bark in search of breakfast. We opted to return to the vehicle, move on, and bird another trail.

Trinidad 162

Trinidad Eagles Bears Litter 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2020

Usually, maize is on the menu, only occasionally carrion or dead trout from a nearby fish farm. The next morning, through Yellowhammers and Eurasian Skylarks singing all around me, I went birding. Yes, yes, I know, not countable – it’s not a bird. Never mind, it’s not a bird. Yet, not the bear, I’ll have to return for it.

Serbia 264

Serbia Bears Birds Mammals 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2015

A rare bird is one we don’t see very often. However, that doesn’t mean that the bird species in question is necessarily endangered. None of these are rare in their normal haunts but seeing them in Costa Rica would be a major birding event. Oh, how that would be a nice year bird.

Costa Rica 162

Costa Rica Birds Panama Sparrows 162

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 160

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Still, this way or another, the year is ending with some glorious species, e.g. a rare Greater Spotted Eagle. Usually only several birds overwinter in Serbia – the biggest count ever was less than 10. There weren’t that many birds at all, they hated the sounds as much as I did. The Slavonian Grebe is also a lifer for me.

Moldova 122

Moldova Birds Serbia Greece 122

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2019

The toughest thing for me, as a local birder, was to choose the most attractive birds because those that attract my attention are generally all too common in the northwest of Europe, from where most visiting birders are coming. In no particular order, here they are: Where to watch the top-20 birds of Belgrade.

Serbia 250

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Breeding 250

10,000 Birds

MAY 29, 2014

Sharing our thoughts at Facebook and looking for a place to go now, without a prior plan and early start, the four of us ended up at the nearby Veliko Blato fish farm, swallowed by the city’s recent spread. Soon, an immature White-tailed (Sea) Eagle was above us, with a smallish carp in its talons (click on the photo to enlarge it).

Stray Cat 194

Stray Cat Eagles Serbia Europe 194

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2016

But we have splendid birds in Western NY all year long. This weekend, we all enjoyed the sight of a Bald Eagle perched in a farm field along the highway, an uncommon spot for an uncommonly charismatic avian. Corey had a pleasing plethora of good birds from which to choose his Best Bird of the Weekend from this week.

Bald Eagle 135

Bald Eagle 2016 United States Birds 135

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

“Target birds” The term can foster excitement but is easily contentious. Aren’t all birds worth watching? There’s nothing wrong with appreciating and watching every bird but there’s also nothing wrong about going to great efforts to see lifers only found in dreams. Why 25 and not ten?

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 203

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2014

Yes there are birding sites and there are birds – but hardly much info about them (beside Fat Birder ). When discussing this topic for local media, I often say that because of their White-tailed Eagles , the Scottish island of Mull makes 2 million pounds per year from birders alone. Ferruginous Duck – year round.

Serbia 190

Serbia Eagles Birds Sparrows 190

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

In front of us, the river is two miles wide… and it is paved with birds: smaller groups of Greater White-fronted and Greylag Geese , numerous Mute Swans and Mallards , plus Eurasian Teals , Gadwalls , Common Pochards , a few Ferruginous and Tufted Ducks , Common Goldeneyes and several Smews. A goose hunt sounds like a WWII battle.

Geese 186

Geese Hunting Boars Birds 186

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2018

The country has one eBird hotspot with 200+ and 48 with more than 100 bird species. Among travel guides, due to its extensive coverage of natural history and birding sites, recommendation goes to Laurence Mitchell’s Serbia: The Bradt Travel Guide (5th edition, 2017). Glossy Ibises are localized, as well as Griffon Vultures.

Serbia 170

Serbia Geese Owls Macedonia 170

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Beside birds, in this park you stand a chance of spotting the Eurasian Lynx , Brown Bear and Gray Wolf ! It is possible to reach it on the Friday afternoon, sleep there and go birding at the crack of dawn on Saturday. Well, do you really? The Forgotten Road does not exist on the GPS screen either. Am I complaining about it?

Serbia 203

Serbia Turtles Birds Eagles 203

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2014

While there are some two dozen birding spots in Belgrade, Serbia, that stand out, in this guideblog I will focus on the river Danube and its floodplain, inside the Important Bird Area “Confluence of the Sava and the Danube Rivers”. The next winter bird spot lies some 4.5 In March and November, Common Cranes are a possibility.

Serbia 247

Serbia Birds Ducks Eagles 247

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

I, of course, was focused mainly on Eagles, Falcons, and Seahawks this weekend. Now that’s a good year bird! What was your best bird of the weekend? Tell us in the comments section about the rarest, loveliest, or most fascinating bird you observed. How about you?

2012 165

2012 Falcons Birds Farming 165

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2017

Last weekend, I went on a birding binge. I spent two full days where the birding was near constant, and, just to keep the binoculars from being neglected, topped it off with another half day of birding on our drive back from Cano Negro, Costa Rica. Like most of my birding weekends, this one began somewhere in the Central Valley.

Costa Rica 133

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 133

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 10, 2016

You see, we don’t just go outside and randomly watch birds during a set day in December. But then we remember that special birding moment when we saw a wood-warbler freezing it out with the rest of us (and thus sacrificing itself for the count) when it should be chasing bugs in Belize. It’s a bio-energetic, organic farm.

Costa Rica 235

Costa Rica 2016 Eagles Belize 235

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2016

What is the best bird you’ve seen in New York State and why has it stayed in your memory? This is the question I posed to 10,000 Birds readers in celebration of Corey’s first book, the ABA Field Guide to Birds of New York (by Corey Finger, author, and Brian E. Not only did it fly in but it attacked a Bald Eagle!

New York 100

New York Bald Eagle Birds New York City 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2020

While entering our double kayak I asked Andrew Hester, a local bird expert, if bilharzia is present in the shallows of the Ngotwane Dam, further down the river. To complete the scene the African Fish Eagle ( Haliaeetus vocifer ) was circling above us, yelping a triumphant high-pitched ‘Kyowkow- kow!’. ‘By African Fish Eagle 1.

Botswana 207

Botswana Africa 2001 Fish 207

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2013

“Do you see the eagle?” Ogren Park Allegiance Field is the home of the Missoula Osprey*, a farm team for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Early April is a fairly typical time for the earlier-migrating Osprey to arrive (both birds at Dunrovin are already onsite,) but eggs probably won’t appear until late April or early May.

Bald Eagle 216

Bald Eagle Idaho Eagles Primates 216

10,000 Birds

MAY 17, 2011

Wind farms are an emotive and divisive issue, especially amongst birders. A badly sited wind farm can lead to devastating consequences as we know only too well for many large birds, particularly raptors. Dunmaglass is an area close to locations known to be frequented by Golden Eagles.

Protest 162

Protest Protesting Protesters Farming 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2015

This year was my third year helping to lead trips at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. The Whooping Crane I hoped to see is one of the few remaining birds from the effort to introduce a non-migratory flock of cranes to central Florida, an effort that did not pay off. It is no wonder that the project was discontinued.

Cattle 212

Cattle Florida Bald Eagle Endangered Species 212

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2015

But the fact is nature has little to do with most problems facing native birds. Casualties surrounding migration were limited to natural events such as weather – not wind generators, poisoned food and water from industry, farm run-off, or loss of traditional stopover areas due to habitat destruction. The difference seems obvious.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 189

Wildlife Rehabilitation Bald Eagle Rescue Wildlife 189

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2020

Gaines, notwithstanding that the story (1) takes place in the Uruguay of 1999, with plenty of commentary on the Uruguayan political scene of that time, (2) is narrated by a bird illustrator who identifies the birds he sees only by their common Spanish names, and (3) flashes back to the use of torture by South American juntas in the 1970’s.

Uruguay 157

Uruguay 2001 Bald Eagle Science 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2018

At Duncansby Head, just a few miles south of Dunnet Head, I got to see birds nesting, and gathering along the steep cliffs, in numbers that I can not even imagine. Now, dont get me wrong, there have been some nice birds, and locations in between, but these two experiences are just so hard to put out of my mind.

Puffins 100

Puffins Wildlife Reserve 2003 Farming 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2012

There are probably more identification guides about raptors than there are for any other bird group. This is a second edition that has been rewritten, updated, and re-invented, and it will doubtlessly become the hawk identification bible of our birding era. Yes, I saw the bird and it was incredible.)

North America 240

North America Bald Eagle Birds Eagles 240

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

If the home birding patch is in Canada or the United States of America, it’s not really that far. I don’t live in the forest either (unfortunately) but near a green patchwork of farm fields, second growth, and a riparian zone flush with trees. Last weekend, I got in a morning over there with my birding buddy Susan.

Costa Rica 137

Costa Rica Falcons Birds North Carolina 137

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Another friend recently commented that while she loved all forms of birds, owls were, well, just something special! I drove past, not wanting to spook them, and then tried to figure out where to park, to get the best use of the early light, back ground, and bird location. This is a look at the man-made burrow openings.

Owls 167

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 167

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

Fortunately for everyone but the farmers, it was mostly farm fields that were flooded, but roads, buildings, and homes certainly felt the effects of high water as well. We were there for the birds! And our first stop specifically for birds was the viewing platform on Oil City Road that overlooks Liberty Marsh. … a.

New York 158

New York Bald Eagle New Jersey Cattle 158

10,000 Birds

MAY 26, 2016

Here it goes: Second: Get to know your birds. I used to bird almost exclusively by kayak and since I published a few papers on birds of that area, I made the stats on how much I paddled (published in the “Methodology” chapter). That new map looked like this: Third: Propose the IBA.

Protection 131

Protection Eagles Jamaica Farming 131

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2014

Sophie had serious doubts about whether she was really a bird. August arrived and I was releasing birds knowing they’d need time to adapt prior to making that long flight across the Gulf of Mexico, headed to South America. Sophie the Scissortail was the most difficult but the most satisfying bird of the season.”.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 238

Wildlife Rehabilitation Ohio Tulsa West Virginia 238

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2013

And so, the local subspecies of Bewick’s wren, a bird described in 1908 a “very common on all parts of the island,” was gone by the 1940’s, its habitat converted into goat flesh. And so, these goats ate the flora of the island: unique species of Indian paintbrush and woodland star, bushmallow and wirelettuce and morning glory.

Goats 164

Goats Bald Eagle Fox Feral 164