10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

You know there is probably some evil backstory if Wikipedia talks of a “complex” legacy of Raffles – further detailing that “he was ultimately an imperialist benefiting at the expense of the indigenous peoples” So, I guess this is another bird name that should be changed eventually.

Los Angeles 195

Los Angeles Birds Woodpeckers Owls 195

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

Back in July, my fellow 10,000 Birds contributor Dragan wrote a delightful piece about birding Lake Kerkini in spring. I first visited Kerkini and this bird-rich region of northern Greece 15 years ago, and have been returning regularly ever since. My photograph below is of a captive bird).

Greece 219

Greece Pelicans Geese Buffalo 219

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2021

Guyana is an Amerindian word meaning “land of many waters” but it could just as easily mean “land of many birds”. Before I delve into some of these avian treasures let me give you a few non-birding reasons to visit this gem of South America. Not a great look for a middle-aged birding dude. Wilderness. Guyana is WILD.

Guyana 278

Guyana Otters South America Colombia 278

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

” But of course, with this slight adaptation, it also works for blog posts and their writers, and allows me to plug another nice song by this underrated artist, before switching to birds. Maybe a source more focused on birds than the HBW might have provided more accurate information. Ok, I made that up.

Birds 184

Birds China Woodpeckers Breeding 184

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

On a high after waking up in Guyana’s wild interior for the first time – with a spectacular morning of birding already under our belts – we resumed our southerly journey with full bellies. The birds must have been anxious for the rain, but this Greater Yellow-headed Vulture didn’t seem to be too impressed.

Guyana 227

Guyana Woodpeckers Industry Shelters 227

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2018

I remember my first Bald Eagle so vividly. I dragged the guy I had just started seeing (reader, I married him) on a frosty February morning to an eagle walk at Croton Point Park (Croton-on-Hudson, NY). It was a pretty frigid winter that year, and there were ice floes, which is why so many eagles were appearing so far south.

Bald Eagle 113

Bald Eagle Eagles United States Philadelphia 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2024

However – and I am not saying this out of misplaced national pride – there is one bird in the Netherlands that proves Jefferson wrong and Buffon right: the White-tailed Eagle (or Sea Eagle ). It’s the only Dutch eagle. Our eagle makes Baldy look imparfait, even a bit manqué. Buffon 5 – Jefferson 0.

Beavers 144

Beavers Netherlands Eagles Geese 144

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2024

Starting the New Year by trying to see as many species as possible is something of a birding tradition. My diary notes that the New Year dawned grey and windy, but I rose early, walked six miles before breakfast and noted a modest 26 species of birds. One of my more memorable New Year’s days was in the Falkland Islands, back in 1989.

Birds 222

Birds Albatross Barn Owls Sparrows 222

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2019

Fortunately, there also birds here, and as I only started birding in China, I am not even that familiar with them. In fact, some common birds here are quite attractive and/or cute. A bit more exciting: a White-tailed Eagle at a Nature Reserve Area (Meissener Teiche/Bannetzer Moor). White-tailed Eagle. White Stork.

Germany 145

Germany Woodpeckers Birds China 145

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2022

We might have limited space but we make up for it with a massive amount of biodiversity including well over 900 bird species on the official Costa Rica bird list. With good reason, lots of birders visit Costa Rica and we also have a good sized local birding community. However, the latest addition wasn’t any of these.

Costa Rica 223

Costa Rica Latvia Albatross Netherlands 223

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

In the more normal years, I would spend January visiting the very best wildfowling spots along the Danube and seeing the best birds there are, so in February I would be well saturated with birds and feeling: Still winter? I observed White-tailed Eagles likely a few thousand times, and this didn’t strike me as the dark young bird.

Otters 261

Otters Croatia Eagles Protection 261

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic. 140 birds). Overwintering raptors include Greater Spotted , Golden , and Imperial Eagles.

Greece 264

Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2022

Habitats: Check Birds… well, more presumed what the possibilities are, than actually checked… Sleeping: Check Getting around: Check I will come back to these topics in a while. Nevertheless, I left gifts behind, two dozen copies of a common bird guide (which I wrote and published) for local wardens. It sounded birdy and I was game.

Serbia 250

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Romania 250

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 278

Serbia Birds Ducks Cyprus 278

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

Fortunately, China still has lots of interesting birding locations left for me. But of course, it is also nice to remember past birding trips. One in November 2018 included a one-day birding trip in the Drakensberg area, a mountain range in the border area between South Africa and Lesotho. That does not make much sense, I know.

South Africa 241

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 241

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2019

In birding circles, certain stretches of road or trail attain mythical status, eliciting knowing smiles and satisfied grins when mentioned. Aficionados of American birding know all too well the wonders of Panama’s Pipeline Road. Africa boasts its own legendary birding road: Uganda’s Budongo Forest Reserve AKA the Royal Mile.

Uganda 218

Uganda Africa Monkeys Birds 218

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2020

Avoid windy days – the birds will be looking for cover. Birds of prey include European Honey-buzzard , Long-legged Buzzard , Short-toed Eagle , Booted Eagle , Montagu’s Harrier , etc. Birds of prey include European Honey-buzzard , Long-legged Buzzard , Short-toed Eagle , Booted Eagle , Montagu’s Harrier , etc.

Mali 264

Mali Serbia Eagles Birds 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2019

An expanse of habitat as vast as Murchison Falls NP in Uganda, as excessively generous in beauty and biodiversity, permits endless ways to experience both its birds and animals. The Masindi Hotel holds the distinction of being the oldest and most historic hotel in Uganda and has some terrific birds on premises. Mind boggling, I answer!

Uganda 196

Uganda Senegal Africa Game 196

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. Middle and Great Spotted Woodpeckers as well as the Eurasian Green Woodpecker were heard.

Croatia 236

Croatia Serbia Shelters France 236

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2023

I visited Tengchong in late 2020 and wrote about it – but I also went there earlier, in 2017, and this post shows some photos I took during that trip, along with the usual comments that seem to be much more about ridiculing my fellow humans (especially ornithologists and the like) than providing useful information on birds.

China 189

China 2017 Birds Indonesia 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2020

I can hear a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling. 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. The first bird ever recorded in the park was the Wallcreeper by aforementioned J.

Serbia 264

Serbia Bears Birds Mammals 264

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

FEBRUARY 15, 2020

On the birding side of life, winter birds were still around, there will still chances at finding some rare owl or getting binoculars on an undulating bunch of crossbills but mostly, I was tired of the cold and just counting the days until Spring. In Costa Rica, February is a different birding story. Ornate Hawk-Eagle.

Costa Rica 244

Costa Rica Birds Panama Woodpeckers 244

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2020

A Field Guide to the Birds of Mongolia by Dorj Ganbold and Chris Smith (2019) offers more than 500 species in one neat edition. I say “more than” because I am not certain what number of species is covered: on page 8, 512 bird species are mentioned, while on the back cover that number rises to 521.

Mongolia 276

Mongolia Falcons Birds 2019 276

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2021

He found some solace when, at age eleven, he became entranced with birds – specifically, with a Green Woodpecker — and that sighting, he says, “took me to another, safer world.” . More Birds Than Bullets: My Life With Birds is his account of the centrality of birds in all of these endeavors, and in his life.

Fox 183

Fox Kuwait Bosnia Afghanistan 183

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

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. You could add Middle Spotted and Grey-headed Woodpeckers to the list. Hence, I asked my friend B.C.,

Serbia 250

Serbia Birds Woodpeckers Breeding 250

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Birding in the Caribbean is about islands, beautiful beaches, extra special endemics, rum, and smiles. It could also be much more, maybe less, it all depends on how you want to rock an international birding trip. Go to Costa Rica and you will be looking at other birds but you can still get in some Caribbean slope birding.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Puerto Rico Birds Owls 264

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. I had two possibilities, an uncommon Middle Spotted or scarce White-backed Woodpecker – which would have been a lifer for me. I am not complaining. What to say?

Greece 256

Greece Woodpeckers Boars Eagles 256

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2020

It has been a while since I wrote on where to watch birds (unbelievable, I know), and will now focus on the nature reserve of Deliblato Sands and the adjoining Labudovo okno Ramsar Wetland, about an hour east from Belgrade, Serbia. Dominant easterly winds have shaped the prominent dune relief rising from 70 m / 200 ft a.s.l. To be continued.

Europe 237

Europe Serbia Woodpeckers Birds 237

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. From there some 200 km to the Kerkini Lake National Park with its 310+ bird checklist, stopping en route at the Mt. And off birding I went. The next day, the wind was swaying the treetops.

Greece 242

Greece Bulgaria Birds Serbia 242

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

I was tired, as if it were my shoulders that held the sky suspended… So much so that I made no birding plans for this vacation. It was an odd feeling to be back at the “former lake” which I birded in 2019, before the pandemic. Formed in a tectonic depression at the beginning of the Quaternary period, 2.58

Greece 237

Greece Eagles Turtles 2019 237

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2023

This park protects the largest remaining tract of dry deciduous forest in the west of India, offering visitors 37 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals and, not to be forgotten – almost 300 bird species. We’re here for the birds!” Yes, we did – so what? On the low acacia by the road, a Shikra keeps a watchful eye on us.

India 147

India Lions Boars Mammals 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2021

Once I observed a man walking his two small dogs here, passing by a perched White-tailed Eagle but looking down at grass and not noticing the largest raptor in Europe at all. The eagle seemed well-used to people and paid no attention either. The post The Reva Situation appeared first on 10,000 Birds. Photo by Branislav Dencic.

Otters 263

Otters Protest Protesting Protesters 263

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 250

Greece Woodpeckers Eagles Birds 250

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. I submitted five checklists from four different locations yielding 44 species.

2018 100

2018 Bald Eagle Woodpeckers Turkey 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2019

It is illegal to feed wild animals, take animals, birds and insects and it is also illegal to release animals in Singapore. One bird species that we had hoped for during our visit to Singapore was the White-rumped Shama. Rather than try and photograph a bird in dense forest we chose to enjoy observing it. Oriental Pied Hornbill.

Singapore 133

Singapore Birds illegal Eagles 133