10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

However, my current favourite member of the family Cucilidae is the Great Spotted Cuckoo (GSC), a common bird in Cyprus in spring. Birds that nest in southern Africa winter to the north in the tropics, while birds that breed in southern Europe and Turkey migrate south to, you guessed it, tropical Africa.

Cyprus 230

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 230

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 17, 2017

There should be thousands of birds at this time of the year, Dimitris Michalakis from the Karla Lake management authority told me. In the northern section, the water was deep, interspersed by reed-islets, but the only birds were a few Little Egrets and Black-headed Gulls. Lesser Kestrel. These two were only the first of several I saw.

Greece 198

Greece Killing Pelicans Eagles 198

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

The sun rises over the village of Chrysochorafa, by Kerkini Lake in the north of Greece, not far from the triple border with Bulgaria and FYRO Macedonia. Before this trip, I asked Steve Mills, the author of ‘ Birdwatching in Northern Greece ’, which sites would he recommend at this time of the year. Early September morning.

Greece 188

Greece Pelicans Serbia Eagles 188

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2020

Like many of you, I had plans for this year’s spring migration: to bird the very best tour of the Balkans, heading for northeastern Greece. First, 800 km of driving from Belgrade through Bulgaria to very NE corner of Greece and the Dadia Forest National Park with its 36 species of diurnal raptors, out of Europe’s 38.

Greece 247

Greece Bulgaria Birds Serbia 247

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

The other day I was exploring a new area for the first time, birding the national park that I’ve watched only in BBC documentaries, the place famous for the largest Dalmatian Pelican colony in the world – more than 1300 pairs! Checking the birds on the stork’s nest, I found both House and Spanish Sparrows. Have you heard of it?

Greece 252

Greece Pelicans Geese Breeding 252

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2014

Our bird guide, Georgos Spiridakis, is driving slowly along this dirt track, checking the mud all the time. It is an early April morning and we are in the hills surrounding Lake Kerkini in the north of Greece. And then he stops and leaves the car – to show us a Grey Wolf track!

Greece 163

Greece Pelicans Breeding Buffalo 163

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2020

If you are old enough, you will remember birding without a phone? Later I carried it because of a stash of bird songs I compiled in it. And now I carry it for the same reason, only now they are a part of the bird ID app. Anyway, I don’t even have an app for the European birds at the moment, but for the Birds of Southern Africa.

Serbia 282

Serbia Birds Ducks Cyprus 282

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2015

This time I was lucky enough to join a fam trip organised by Natural Greece, an ecotourism company from Athens, and spend a few days at my favourite Kerkini Lake, which you already birded through my bins ( April and September ). Picture 2: Lesser Spotted Eagle – Clanga pomarina. Yes, those were four eagles in 20 minutes.

Greece 252

Greece Woodpeckers Eagles Birds 252

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Have you read my blogs on birding Greece ? Presuming that you live somewhere in Europe and plan a car trip to Greece, let me suggest a couple of routes that will increase your tour list. But, however successful it proved to be at the moment, waiting for accidental appearance is not the best birding tactic.

Greece 178

Greece Albania Macedonia Europe 178

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

Don’t you hate it when you cannot communicate while birding overseas? Having mobility issues, I still remember birding from a van along a rather productive dirt road in Costa Rica ( Broad-billed Motmot , Lineated Woodpecker , Cocoa Woodcreeper , etc.), While tracking brown bears in Greece some time ago, B. Yes, I thought so too.

Bears 148

Bears San Jose Greece Costa Rica 148

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 121

Moldova Birds Serbia Greece 121

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2016

This September I found myself on a bear tracking tour organised by Natural Greece in the prime bear habitat of the Pindos range – the southernmost bear country in Europe, heading for the 2,520 m / 8,270 ft high Gramos Mountain along the border with Albania. inhabitants per km², mainly livestock farmers. and Apennine peninsulas (30 + 50 ind.).

Bears 271

Bears Greece Europe Slovenia 271

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

And here I am now, avoiding the two barking dogs trying to bite my tires while I am driving through pre-dawn darkness towards the delta of the river Styx, or Acheron, as it is known today at the Ionian Sea coast of Greece. This is possibly the only European wetland I’ve birded where Common Moorhens outnumber Eurasian Coots.

Greece 199

Greece Serbia Hunters Cows 199

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2018

It is the end of January and my year list reached 110 birds. More productive areas of the Balkans have January eBird lists from 105 to 115 species (but I combined several areas in two countries, Greece and Serbia), so I have every reason to be satisfied. My January 2018 list (4 birds in bold are globally threatened): 1.

Owls 107

Owls Greece Serbia Woodpeckers 107

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2017

A few years back, I birded northern Greece with a couple from Namibia. Nicolaas, who can see them back home any day commented that they are the most numerous wading birds in the world (the “most numerous” equaling “the least interesting”). Here comes the angry bird. All photos (6) by Vladimir Milovanovic.

Birds 129

Birds Namibia Greece Feral 129

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

Late last month, while searching for bears , woodpeckers and spirits of Greece, I deliberately avoided checking any news, especially from my home country. Steven had no binoculars, but impressively sharp eyes and great knowledge of birds. Every now and then, I need to cut the world off and clear my mind.

Elephants 194

Elephants Botswana Zimbabwe Africa 194

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2016

I dipped a bird recently – possibly a lifer. While crossing Gramos Mountain in northern Greece, a Dendrocopos woodpecker flew over the road and landed in a pine tree. So, I wrote to my friend Giorgos Spiridakis, a bird guide living by Kerkini Lake , further east, if he could help me with this elusive woodpecker. What to say?

Greece 257

Greece Woodpeckers Boars Eagles 257

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

One simply has to love Greece. The bird is gone into the pines, about to land in some tree crown. Birding is either black or white – there are no gray tones. Then, I go birding. There is another raptor over the ridge, light body and wings, dark head and chest – the Short-toed snake Eagle. Something is, or is not.

Greece 235

Greece Falcons Madagascar Africa 235

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

I remember, several times while motionlessly surveying birds, I found myself being investigated by Striped Field Mice , who would dare to come to sniff me. For a split-second I was considering the white morph of the Booted Eagle… while noticing that they do not have long stork necks and that they were… Egyptian Vultures ! There it is!”

Wildlife 185

Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 185

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2013

It was not the first note I have published, but was the only one about a bird I have never laid my eyes upon! However, these birds used to live in my country and I still wanted to see them closer to home. During my lifetime, this species was rare in my native Serbia, too. All Egyptian Vulture populations in the world are decreasing.

Sudan 236

Sudan Macedonia Botswana Serbia 236

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2023

However, I have to put it in perspective by explaining that during the year I hardly ventured out of East Anglia, and almost every bird was seen in Suffolk or Norfolk – I live on the county boundary. I’m not a twitcher, either, so I rarely, if ever, go in search of a bird, or birds, that someone else has reported.

Estonia 236

Estonia Portugal Greece Barn Owls 236

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2024

With the first three months of the year now gone, it’s time for a review of my birding efforts so far this year. The next couple of months will of course see a boost to my British list, as summer migrants flood into England, while forthcoming trips to Cyprus, Greece and northern Spain will also turbocharge the European list.

Spain 130

Spain Eagles North America Ducks 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

Lesser Kestrels are one of those birds that have a special fascination for British birdwatchers. They are very rare birds in Britain, but have been recorded from Scilly in the south to Fair Isle in the north. Lesser Kestrel really is an appropriate name, for they are a lesser bird than the familiar Common Kestrel.

Falcons 210

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 210

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2016

Out of just under 200 bird species I observed this year in SE Europe, there are 6 threatened species. Some of them were always uncommon in the region, others are highly localised, some are hard to notice among thousands of similar birds, but others were abundant recently and one of them still is, despite the decrease in numbers.

Serbia 203

Serbia Greece Montenegro Bulgaria 203

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

14 countries were birded this month by 13 beats; a record participative effort! Black Hawk-Eagle – Spizaetus tyrannus. Ankeny NWR–Eagle Marsh. Ornate Hawk-Eagle – Spizaetus ornatus. Lake Panic Bird Hide. Lake Panic Bird Hide. Lake Panic Bird Hide. Lake Panic Bird Hide.

2019 120

2019 China Battery Jamaica 120

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

The trend at this time of year is a downturn in shared lists and birds reported, nevertheless, 12 (is this a record?) Our two newest contributors have shared from Mexico and China, bringing the countries birded this month (also including; Costa Rica, Greece, Serbia, USA, UK, India, UAE and New Zealand) to 10. 02 Jun 2019.

2019 122

2019 Jamaica Eggs Woodpeckers 122

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

For those who happen to be faithful followers of posts about birding in Costa Rica, no, you haven’t accidentally browsed to the wrong place. Today, I am writing about another very birdy place and an event that I was very fortunate to have experienced, the Champions of the Flyway Bird Race in Eilat, Israel. Nope, not one bit.

Costa Rica 181

Costa Rica Eagles Birds 181

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2019

Despite looking way older than his years, we cannot attribute Regannet’s haggard appearance to hard birding, scoring only 19 during eBird’s Big Day was not the greatest effort expended on May 4th. Golden Eagle – Aquila chrysaetos. Short-toed Snake-Eagle – Circaetus gallicus. So that was May. 31 Mar 2019.

2019 113

2019 Australia Ghana Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

9 beats, birded 9 countries this month; Belize , Guatamala , Costa Rica, UK, Iran, USA, Greece, Australia and Mexico. Those are the numbers, here come the birds; Alphabetic Taxonomic. Crested Serpent-Eagle – Spilornis cheela. Short-toed Snake-Eagle – Circaetus gallicus. Tai-Po-Kau. 09 Apr 2017.

2017 100

2017 Australia Sanctuary Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2022

In addition, it has over 450 bird species and more than 30 in-country endemics, of which it is possible to see every single species! Where to look for the birds? Birding agencies seem to stick to their announced plans and no news of cancelled tours had reached the bird tourism market.

Sri Lanka 147

Sri Lanka Ghana Uganda Eagles 147