10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Serious birders may have an obsessive interest in birds, but one thing they universally don’t like are birds which, they believe, aren’t properly wild. This individual was photographed in India There’s one problem with this approach, as it can lead to birds being ignored.

Netherlands 203

Netherlands Geese Birds Denmark 203

10,000 Birds

APRIL 28, 2016

Oh, the joys of urban birding… Add half a dozen Ferruginous Ducks (cover photo), two Whiskered and 40 Black Terns to the previous picture, plus an eagle, an immature White-tailed Eagle. At first, two large gulls are chasing it, then a pair of Common Ravens that have their nest nearby take over the bullying of a young bird.

Europe 147

Europe Otters Eagles Birds 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2023

Dave Gosney’s Finding Birds Series covers mostly the Western Palearctic and describes birding in various regions of Portugal, Spain, Morocco, France, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, etc., Based on a visit in spring 2014, this guide updates the previous Finding Birds in Greece.

Greece 187

Greece Bulgaria Macedonia Gambia 187

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2024

Well, 2023 has ended, so it’s time to look back at the past year’s birding. The pleasures of birding are many and varied, so this kind of post always involves a list. I will also return to several birds which have already appeared here. The post My Favorite 2023 Birds first appeared on 10,000 Birds.

Morocco 164

Morocco Birds Turkey Mexico 164

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

There’s something wonderfully primeval about the Northern Bald Ibis: it has the look of a bird that really ought to be extinct. The fact that it’s not is quite surprising, as this curious bird has come very close to the brink. Sadly, they no longer breed in Algeria, while in Turkey no free-flying birds remain. (In

Morocco 215

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 215

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2023

Lake Kerkini National Park in the north of Greece is the very best birding area in the Balkan Peninsula and definitely among the top ten hotspots of Europe. Some 320 species have been recorded here, and in springtime it is possible to observe more than 150 bird species in a week. The lake lies at a mere 35 m / 115 ft a.s.l.

Greece 221

Greece Pelicans Birds Stray Dog 221

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

I am a birder, and I love birds. I don’t mind that they share the world with other creatures, and I have even developed an appreciation for mammals, reptiles and amphibians – but only so long as watching them doesn’t collide with my finding birds. For Europe, only very few books exist that cover the topic at all.

Europe 165

Europe Mammals Animal Birds 165

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2020

The coronavirus has locked us all in, literally, doing something that was totally unthinkable only a few months ago: it has prevented us from birding abroad! It can still be an entirely opposite end of a continent, but – if you are residing in Europe – the flight can be as short as one (from Germany) to two hours (from UK).

Serbia 317

Serbia Sanctuary Birds Bosnia 317

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 259

Serbia Birds Ducks Cyprus 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2012

That is the minimum amount the complete set of The Birds of Europe , produced between 1832 and 1837, is expected to fetch at auction. Then you better have $75,000!

Europe 154

Europe Birds 154

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2024

I’ve been a regular visitor to the island of Cyprus for over 25 years, making around a dozen trips during this period, every one in search of birds. I made my most recent visit earlier this month, arriving with my three birding companions, Martin, Mike and Chris, on a warm spring evening.

Cyprus 206

Cyprus Breeders Falcons Hunters 206

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 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. He spends most of his time on birds, birding and photography. Herbert holds a B.

Uganda 198

Uganda Rwanda Birds Industry 198

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2024

Note the short legs, stout body and white rump and tail I see Muntjac on virtually every birding (or dog-walking) outing, as these small Asian deer are now very numerous around my home in the Suffolk Brecks. The only place (outside England) where I have seen wild Fallow Deer in Europe is in Spain’s Coto Doñana, where they are numerous.

Fur 197

Fur Deer Boars Estonia 197

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2023

How much time do you devote to birding? How high is birding on your list of activities – is it the very first or merely one of? These are the types I recognise: Coffee Break Birding – 10-15 minutes, usually not planned ahead but squeezed out of your schedule. It is a good option if you know that there is that one special bird.

India 167

India Birds Africa Serbia 167

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). Kerkini is one of the most important wintering areas throughout Europe.

Greece 262

Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 262

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

Memorable encounters with Mammals: Part I Most birdwatchers enjoy seeing mammals, but the trouble with mammals is that they tend to be much more challenging to see than birds. I remember the guide on my first Kenyan birding safari remarking that “birding groups always see far more mammals than those who come just to see animals.

Fur 176

Fur Bulgaria Otters Estonia 176

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2022

How high is birding on your list of activities – is it the very first or merely one of? These are the types I recognise: Coffee Break Birding – 10-15 minutes, usually not planned ahead but squeezed out of your schedule. It is a good option if you know that there is that one special bird. My kind of birding.

India 221

India Birds Africa Game 221

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

Chinese Penduline T**s are not particularly woke birds. White’s Thrush is described as “burly” on eBird – not entirely unjustified, I guess, but this description fails to capture the way the intricate patterns of the bird make for great camouflage and also for its own kind of beauty. Maybe the grandparents help.

Birds 186

Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 186

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

This is a bit of a dilemma for local authorities – on the one hand, they would presumably like to protect the birds, on the other hand, they also want to draw as many tourists to the place as possible. Still, it is a good place for birds, and given the gregarious nature of most of the Chinese tourists (similar to shorebirds?),

China 263

China Birds Fish Asia 263

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

For several years I lived and birded in the south of Africa , and still have my battered second edition (1997) of the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, the most trusted local field guide. Perhaps birds of prey are somewhat overcrowded, but still well organised. Especially the newly designed plates are meticulously realistic.

Africa 264

Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

Since then he has traveled the globe, his passion for birds growing with each new encounter. I had just ended my ten-day birding adventure in Ecuador (which is a story for another time) when I decided, since I had an amazing time, to prolong my trip a bit longer before heading back to Europe. An antpitta out in the open!

Colombia 209

Colombia Birds Raised Ecuador 209

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2023

Very occasionally though, one might stray down the eastern seaboard of the USA, but for the most part, those that breed in arctic Canada migrate towards Europe and swell numbers there during the winter. The seaweed, in its turn attracts insects and thus birds. The faint scalloping on the back suggests that it is a young bird.

Iceland 203

Iceland Stray Breeders Canada 203

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2021

It was an unexpected bird tour, without too much planning and aimed at a few target species, of which we saw most, but the main one eluded us… Early morning, leaving the last houses behind… and a Little Owl awaits us on a traffic sign. A fitting end to a sudden bird tour. Red-footed Falcon by Martin Mecnarowski/Wikimedia Commons.

Serbia 228

Serbia Birds Romania Eagles 228

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2021

It is a well-known birding spot, and a low-budget alternative to Baihualing. While Baihualing is much better for birds, foreigners are currently prohibited from going there, presumably as we all carry Covid-19, even if like me we have been in China the whole year. Anyway, another topic I wanted to mention in this post is birds.

China 260

China Birds Zebras Germany 260

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!” It belongs to the same species as those in Europe, but a smaller subspecies ( Sus scrofa davidi ).

India 147

India Lions Boars Mammals 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2024

If you’ve birded in Spain, possibly more than once, and are considering another Mediterranean country to quench your thirst, look to the east. Steve Dudley, a bird guide and author of the Lesvos birding guide, once told me: “Greece is THE premier birding location in Europe for me [and for yours truly as well].

Greece 240

Greece Spain India Europe 240

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology.

Dissection 209

Dissection Birds Research Europe 209

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 222

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 222

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2022

They are places where we invest most of our birding time and rightly so; mature tropical forests are where we find the highest number of species. Tropical forest is a must but those mossy green mansions aren’t the only places where birds occur. Such field and edge birding becomes especially fun in urbanized areas.

Costa Rica 257

Costa Rica Farming Sparrows Birds 257

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2019

While Colombia may have almost 2000 bird species, it is a huge country with, still, complicated long-distance travel logistics. On the other hand, small countries with relatively long bird lists offer higher species densities per square mile. The Species per Square Mile Approach. Why 99,999? And why 1000?

Gambia 232

Gambia Equatorial Guinea Species Rwanda 232

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2022

Thank you, goddess of birding luck and text group people).* My inner self felt stuck in an area between disbelief and total joy and the voices near me were echoing this state of mind: “Oh My God,” “I never thought I would see this bird,” “Look at that bill!” “How did that bird get here?”

Birds 255

Birds Compassion Eagles Science 255

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2022

The late November to early December was the beginning of a dry season and no one wore rubber boots, all birding was done in lightweight hiking shoes. In Inírida – on older maps Puerto Inírida, there is no need for cages, you can hear birds all the time! Birds The local birdlist has reached 462 species, and some 30 more are expected.

Colombia 231

Colombia Birds Cooking Fish 231

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2020

Cuba (twice), South America (twice), Europe and Morocco (once) and Bali (once). But here is the truly tragic part: I was not birding during those years! These turkey-sized birds, named for their raucous calls, can muster an impressive level of volume. The White-throated Magpie-Jay: such a beautiful bird!

Birds 158

Birds 2006 Mexico Morocco 158

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2020

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. Chamois is an agile goat-antelope with short hooked horns, found in mountainous areas of Europe from Spain to the Caucasus. Never mind, it’s not a bird.

Serbia 263

Serbia Bears Birds Mammals 263

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2022

For some reason that I do not quite understand myself – given that I really rather dislike children and am not too positive about the rest of humanity either – I recently put up a little display of bird photos inside my Shanghai compound, which I share (as the only foreigner) with about 1700 Chinese. Some Birds of Shanghai.

Birds 162

Birds Fish Germany China 162

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

At first, the nation only opened to countries in Europe and Canada. This means that yes, you can visit Costa Rica, you can come here for birding BUT you can’t just get on a plane and show up. This means that yes, you can visit Costa Rica, you can come here for birding BUT you can’t just get on a plane and show up.

Costa Rica 216

Costa Rica Birds United States Washington 216

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 199

Greece Pelicans Geese Buffalo 199