10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2014

The serpent-eagles of the genus Spilornis are an Asian group, not to be confused with two different genera found in Africa or, for that matter, the snake-eagles, a mostly African but also European and Asian genus (simple, right?). They live in forests and along forest edges where they specialise in hunting snakes and lizards.

Eagles 174

Eagles Japan India Africa 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2017

Even when hunting in sub-freezing temperatures on the edge of the Mongolian border or doing her chores around the family ger (yurt) in the isolated Altai Mountains, Aisholpan beams. She is The Eagle Huntress , the young Kazakh star of this captivating film, and her joy comes from a life integrally connected to nature.

Eagles 102

Eagles Mongolia Hunters Hunting 102

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

Whiskey Month at Birds and Booze: After going on hiatus last year, Birds and Booze’s Whiskey Month at 10,000 Birds is back and setting its sights on whiskeys all month long this February. The Ardmore emblem is a soaring Golden Eagle, emblazoned in brilliant copper on each of its bottles.

Eagles 198

Eagles Ireland Deer 2014 198

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 105

Eagles Squirrels Cattle Serbia 105

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

It feels good to start a post with some truly attractive birds – such as two species of broadbills. If you like cute birds, you will probably like the Black-and-yellow Broadbill. Homework assignment: Is the bird in this video a male or a female? Maybe the birds I saw were not real. You can see why here.

Birds 219

Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 219

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2020

Whiskey Month at Birds and Booze: This January, Birds and Booze at 10,000 Birds is setting its sights on whiskeys all month long. Luckily, we needn’t wander into such whimsical territory to find Scotland’s putative national bird. Pair of Golden Eagles (1899) by Scottish painter Archibald Thornburn (1860-1935).

Eagles 161

Eagles Lions Hunting Lamb 161

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2022

Gazetted as the “nature monument” in 2013, one of the few remaining – Bojcinska Forest by the village of Progar covers 670 ha / 1650 ac, with around 108 bird species and some 60 species of mammals. The most numerous birds are Common Chaffinches. A Lesser Spotted Eagle high in the thermal, getting ever smaller. And there it is!

Croatia 233

Croatia Serbia Shelters France 233

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Our Snow Leopard sat, quite Cheetah-like, before stalking off and once again rolling in the gravel, apparently an indication of the desire to mask its scent before a hunt. We could not believe our fortune, could we really be treated to a Snow Leopard hunt – this was beyond our wildest dreams?

Snow Leopard 279

Snow Leopard Leopards Hunting Sheep 279

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2019

In mid-December, I was birding along the Beljarica levee (Beh-LYAH-ritza), my local patch north of Belgrade, when something other than birds attracted my attention: three wild boars , appearing all black because they had just swam through the swamp to reach the bottom of the levee. I barely started when some sulphur (a.k.a.

Serbia 246

Serbia Otters Boars Eagles 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

Having been penned in our house for the last month (and more), the last time we have been out birding seems like a distant memory. I was ardently working to finish a years-long project on the birds of T&T so those last few weeks have not been bird-less by any means. A tree that is loved by birds is also loved by the birder.

Trinidad 262

Trinidad Hunting Venezuela Woodpeckers 262

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2020

Traveling to Delhi for work last spring, I was not very optimistic about birding there. This D usky Eagle Owl is blind on one eye but still seems to be doing ok. Well, it mostly hunts at night, when it is dark anyway. This Indian Eagle Owl was relentlessly mobbed by some crows.

Owls 164

Owls Eagles Fish Hunting 164

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

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

You may have read my recent piece on Birding the Okavango Delta in Botswana here on 10,000 Birds. If you have never thought of India as a birding destination, I’d urge you to give it a good look. Fly into Delhi and within an hour you can be birding the lovely Sultanpur wetland reserve.

India 193

India Wildlife Tigers Eagles 193

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 179

Geese Hunting Boars Birds 179

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

It was also great to finally travel overseas again, meet a lot of people I did not know (and some I did), to be in a new country… and not just the new country, but its best birding area, where almost all local hotspots are yellow (150+ species) and several are ochre (200+ sp.), impressive for Central Europe.

Austria 298

Austria Factory Asia Battery 298

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

OCTOBER 1, 2014

Malta, you might recall, has the dubious distinction of being a hotspot for illegal hunting of protected birds. BirdLife Malta posted about the suspected shooting of a Short-toed Eagle. News Birdlife Malta european union illegal hunting Malta short-toed eagle'

Malta 168

Malta illegal Laws Hunting 168

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2014

What good, though, is a polar vortex if it doesn’t come attended by polar birds? Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a Bald Eagle that he watched (and photographed) hunting and eating a Blue-winged Teal at Viera Wetlands. What was your best bird of the weekend? Birding best bird weekend'

Bald Eagle 175

Bald Eagle 2014 Eagles Birds 175

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

It was in the great borough of Queens in New York City that I first discovered both beer and birding, two great loves of my life that happily intersect with great regularity here at Birds and Booze. Poland, of course, is just one of many lands that claims an eagle for its national avian symbol. An eagle (a White-tailed?)

Poland 143

Poland Detroit New York City Eagles 143

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 249

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Breeding 249

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

These birds have already left my native Serbia, further north, and this is not just the only one I have seen in Greece, but my last bee-eater of the season. This is possibly the only European wetland I’ve birded where Common Moorhens outnumber Eurasian Coots. On a wire by the road, one European Bee-eater awaits me.

Greece 162

Greece Serbia Hunters Cows 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

The main attraction for birders here are the hornbills – I have written about them before , so this post will be more on the other birds I saw there in 2017. Anyway, it is a very cute-looking bird if you are big enough not to be among its prey of (mostly) insects. I have written about the hornbills of this area before.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

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 149

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 149

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.), His host’s house was smoke-blackened, everything but his shiny hunting rifles.

Bears 143

Bears San Jose Greece Costa Rica 143

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015

Yet, one other hunting attempt in the same area I do remember. My notes of that paddle include some other mouth-watering birds too, such as three Velvet Scoters and two Red-throated Divers.). The next memorable hunt came from winter 2006/07. Among the birds in the shallows, there was one strange sight. And, now, at eBird.

Serbia 251

Serbia 2004 Eagles Chickens 251

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2016

And then, two canids appeared in my scope field of view… My plan was that the downpour should finally be over in the morning, so I could go birding. They are sitting in the wet grass at the edge of the water, observing the bird movements around them. I am thrilled: this is more than just birding, this is a full-scale safari!

Serbia 133

Serbia Sheep Birds Eagles 133

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

It is near a river, attracting some birds that like to eat wet food. As the national bird of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the African Fish Eagle is usually very busy whenever it stays in these countries, giving speeches, opening shopping centers, etc. The birds I asked about this pretended not to be related to anyone though.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

Critter News

MARCH 19, 2012

A federal government decision to allow a Wyoming tribe to kill two bald eagles for a religious ceremony is a victory for American Indian sovereignty as well as for long-suppressed religious freedoms, the tribe says. The Northern Arapaho decline to say specifically what they will do with the eagles the federal permit allows them to kill.

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Eagles Bald Eagle Killing Wyoming 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

I’ve never been one to be overly concerned about whether a bird “counts” People, and organisations, have complex and elaborate rules about whether a bird you saw or heard actually is a bird you saw or heard, which seems a very unnecessary way to add complexity to an already complex hobby. Red Lechwe.

Botswana 162

Botswana Birds Lesotho Elephants 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

The Mourning Dove ( Zenaida macroura) is among the most abundant and widespread terrestrial birds endemic to North and Middle America. This gentle bird frequents bird feeders and readily nests almost anywhere. A seemingly rather peaceful bird, it gets its name from its easily identifiable mournful call. v=44fNo6B5gUI.

Hunters 178

Hunters Hunting North America Game 178

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2018

I hope everyone participated in at least one day of the four day Great Backyard Bird Count of 2018. As I walked out on my back porch on Friday morning, the first day of the count, it was a cool, clear day and the birds were very active at the feeders. Fun birding! Here is a male Lesser Goldfinch taking his turn.

2018 100

2018 Bald Eagle Woodpeckers Turkey 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2022

sq mi), which contradict the conservation significance of the bird it was founded for, some three decades ago – the Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard. My guide, Chirag Solanki, told me he had once been searching here for five days, before he managed to locate the birds. Indeed, I say. And why are they parked?

Gazelles 259

Gazelles India 2012 Endangered Species 259

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It took me a while to wrap my mind around the concept of Birds and People , Mark Cocker and David Tipling’s book that, in 592 pages, explores the intersection of just that—birds and us. Nor have I overlooked “sightings” of birds in movies mouthing other birds’ calls. I’m not sure why.

Birds 218

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 218

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2020

I wrote previously about the prolific birding that is to be had in the small town of Baringo, Kenya. One of my top ten bucket list birds made itself very visible even before the sun broke over the horizon. Drifting slower and looking closer, we observed a tiny Malachite Kingfisher hunting in the sheltered shallows.

Kenya 157

Kenya Fish Trinidad Eagles 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2022

Roebuck Bay is a well-known location for bird-watching around Broome. At the farthest point of Roebuck Bay to the south there is often a flock of Pied Oystercatchers that number several hundred birds. The area is used as a hunting ground for large raptors including the White-bellied Sea-Eagle and Brahminy Kite.

Breeding 147

Breeding Family Hunting Eagles 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2018

No matter where or when we bird, we have our targets. Our bogey or nemesis species, birds that we would opt to see over others. Back in the early days of birding with optics, I wonder if such wanted species would have been birds that were much more common in present times. This bird does indeed glow. Bald Eagle.

Costa Rica 101

Costa Rica Bald Eagle Eagles Birds 101

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 238

Serbia Birds Ducks Eagles 238