10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2018

We have been busy walking the beach and keeping an eye on our local Pied Oystercatchers and the two pairs that laid their eggs earliest for the 2018 breeding season and successfully hatched out their chicks have now lost their chicks to predation. They have only laid one egg so far and another may be laid within a day.

Eggs 114

Eggs Feral Cats Feral 2018 114

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 23, 2015

There are sixteen pairs of Pied Oystercatchers and they have varying success at raising young birds. To the north they are very unlucky with predation before the eggs even hatch out, but to the south the eggs hatch out and then the predation occurs on the chicks.

Feral Cats 158

Feral Cats Eggs Feral Cats 158

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2014

We birders are very particular about the birds that we count. We can count introduced species that have met the criteria of the “Bird Police” for the area to which they are introduced. There are lots of birds we can’t count. There are lots of birds we can’t count. We can’t count caged birds.

Chickens 192

Chickens Florida Feral Species 192

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2014

Feral cats have been able to adapt very well in Australia and have grown larger over the years and can survive in areas that you would not expect. We have seen them on remote beaches hunting shorebirds and taking their eggs and they have been responsible for much of the egg loss in breeding Pied Oystercatchers along the Broome coast.

Australia 157

Australia Species Feral Cats Feral 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2018

Two weeks ago I introduced you to two pairs of our Pied Oystercatchers that were early egg layers this year and this week the eggs have hatched out after twenty eight days of incubation. Both pairs of Pied Oystercatchers are in a very public area of Cable Beach, but they are always successful with their egg incubation each year.

2018 100

2018 Eggs Feral Cats Camels 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2012

Last week I shared with you all some of the delightful chicks that we hope to see in upcoming weeks, but these birds are not always successful on their first attempt at breeding due to predation. Feral cats are a huge problem in Australia and they do take a lot of the eggs. Both parents share sitting duties equally.

Eggs 175

Eggs Turtles Feral Cats Investigation 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2016

Traditionally since 2000 we have encountered our first Pied Oystercatcher eggs in the first week of July, but this year one pair have decided to start laying eggs early! Sadly they have already lost one clutch of eggs to predation, so by July 1st this year they are on their second clutch. Pied Oystercatcher nest.

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Feral Cats 2000 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2011

The first eggs are laid during the first week of July each year and if these eggs fail to hatch or the chicks are lost they will lay further eggs within a few weeks. Sadly a lot of eggs are lost to feral cats and chicks are sometimes taken by birds of prey. Nest site with 3 eggs-one white!

2002 166

2002 Feral Cats Eggs 2007 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

I find it astonishing that people argue of whether feral cats are bad for birds in North America. The plethora of approaches to the feral Cat problem is not an outcome of a diversity of great ideas; it is the ugly chimera of inappropriate compromise among biased and often poorly informed stakeholders. Which would be even worse.

Feral Cats 252

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 252

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

There were three profound questions my birding group discussed while we birded Trinidad and Tobago, back in December 2012: (1) How many Bananaquits could fit on a banana? (2) 3) What was the best guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago? The bird guide question was a conundrum.

Trinidad 189

Trinidad Birds South America Research 189

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2018

Over the years that we have been observing Pied Oystercatchers along the coast near Broome we have noticed that it is the male bird that always appears to construct the nest site. One of our male Pied Oystercatchers has been marked with an engraved leg flag “A1” and was one of the first pairs to lay eggs this season.

Eggs 106

Eggs Feral Cats Feral Raised 106

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2018

The Zoo episode focuses on two Pink Pigeon couples: The Stud and Serendipity, a male and female that the zoo people hope will mate and produce a viable egg, and Thelma and Louise, a same-sex pair-bonded couple who the zoo people hope will incubate the egg and nurture the chick. More about the Dodo in a minute.) Because, Ms.

Mauritius 101

Mauritius Stud Zoos Eggs 101

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2013

The species must be listed as a separate, full species by both of the most widely used ornithological bird lists, Sibley/Monroe and Clements. And lastly, I felt it important to consider this final question when deciding on the remotest endemic birds: How likely is it that the species can wander outside of its normal range?

Birds 198

Birds South Africa South America Feral Cats 198

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2011

This really has been a good place to visit as far as cities go, as I am not a “city girl&# and shops don’t excite me… but the fact that all within the city limits are so many high peaks that can’t be built on and where birds still thrive is just great!

Chipmunks 154

Chipmunks Eggs Feral Squirrels 154

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2012

The number of individual birds and mammals alone that are affected by these factors are countless; and when you consider fish, reptiles and amphibians, it is hard to comprehend the magnitude of life that gets wiped out around the world (and certainly including the U.S.) There is nothing abstract or controversial about this.

Animal Rights Movement 203

Animal Rights Movement Animal Rights Rights Wildlife 203

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2011

The Red-capped Plover chick I photographed last week is developing fast and I have discovered another nest with two eggs further north. Thankfully they do live for many years and the population is not in decline at present, despite the feral cats getting their eggs. It is a swollen pink mass from behind. Mystery solved!

Feral Cats 165

Feral Cats Eggs Feral Cats 165

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

The lack of people does not mean we have any less extinct or threatened bird species than other countries. Even the first explorers to Australia documented there was a risk of extinction of birds and animals into the future and subsequently decided to collect as many specimens as possible! Handbook to The Birds of Australia, 1865.

Species 174

Species Australia Birds Parrots 174

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2011

They usually have their first eggs in place by the first week in July each year and they sit on them for 28 days. The first egg is laid followed by the second the next day and then they sit fairly continuously despite the warm day time temperature. On rare occasions we have had three eggs in a nest, but this is unusual in this area.

Breeding 169

Breeding Feral Cats Eggs Feral 169

10,000 Birds

APRIL 1, 2013

Setting aside the feasibility of extracting DNA from specimens and fossils, and finding a suitable similar species to donate an egg, there is much debate on whether we should bring back those species we’ve lost. Although they aren’t as prominent there are people working on plans to bring back extinct species of birds.

Feral Cats 191

Feral Cats Eggs Cats Feral 191