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The European Christmas Bird Count

10,000 Birds

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 144
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“The Wise Hours” — a review

10,000 Birds

Either way, they are perhaps more central to our stories and lore than other birds, a familiar example, as Darlington reminds us, being Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In the human psyche, owls can be cuddly signs of good luck and benificence (as they are in Japan, and Harry Potter movies) and, at the same time, eerie and unsettling.

Barn Owls 113