10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2019

By the time this post is published, I will be on a short trip to Spain, though not principally for birding purposes. Bird names in Spanish have never been successfully standardized, so most serious birders here use either Latin or English to discuss their sightings. Some names reflect the bird’s appearance.

Chile 147

Chile Birds Mexico Spain 147

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 235

Dissection Birds Research Europe 235

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2016

And what a bird I have for you today. The Azure-winged Magpie is a pretty member of the crow family found in Eastern Asia, from Siberia and Japan down to Hong Kong. Unlike other magpies I’ve seen, this one lives in family groups, and like other corvids, are conversational and fun to watch. Are they taunting me?

Spain 105

Spain Portugal Asia Japan 105

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2023

Either way, they are perhaps more central to our stories and lore than other birds, a familiar example, as Darlington reminds us, being Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In the human psyche, owls can be cuddly signs of good luck and benificence (as they are in Japan, and Harry Potter movies) and, at the same time, eerie and unsettling.

Barn Owls 113

Barn Owls Owls Serbia Finland 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2015

However, the European or Western Swamphen (and boy, do I wish they find a nicer name once the split is accepted) is entirely confined to a small area of the WP, as it currently ranges very patchily from NW Africa and Spain to the Italian island of Sardinia. ” Birds Europe Purple Swamphen rails Spain' You just live in it.”

Spain 157

Spain Hunters Africa Hunting 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2019

While the hunting of game with trained birds of prey can be a controversial topic among birders , falconry was a valuable early source of information on birds, and its history, culture, and imagery continue to fascinate bird lovers, as we shall see.

2016 133

2016 Portugal Falcons Japan 133

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2012

So, yes, it was Spain. Specifically, rural northwestern Spain, at various points along the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route to the supposed burial place of Saint James the apostle and, before that, to the westernmost point in continental Europe, the supposed End of the Earth, the Finis Terra.

Spain 177

Spain Europe Industry Rodents 177

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2013

What if there was an international multi-day Birding competition? Enter the inaugural Peru Birding Rally Challenge , the first international birding event of it’s kind in the world. Think the Birding World Cup or the International Birding Open. Think the Birding World Cup or the International Birding Open.

Peru 237

Peru 2012 Birds Falcons 237

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

Instead of wintering in Africa and breeding in Europe, growing numbers of the birds now appear to be staying put in Spain and Portugal. Dependence on landfills means the birds spend less energy foraging, especially outside of breeding season. Makes sense—why drive for take-out when you’ve got a permanent dine-in option?).

Portugal 105

Portugal Spain Research Europe 105

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

Bird blogging in May always gives me the creeps. This ridiculous focus of the Birding Internet on North American wood-warblers is boring on a quiet day and highly annoying during peak migration. It visits bird feeders, making it a worthy spark bird to new birders as they may see it closely. And do they ever try so hard.

Sparrows 228

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 228

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2013

The most flamboyant of all hummers, the Marvelous Spatuletail will be one of the many endemic bird highlights along the route of the Second International Birding Rally Challenge in Peru. I can’t convey how thrilled I am about the upcoming International Birding Rally Challenge in Peru. Photo: Courtesy of Dubi Shapiro.

Peru 185

Peru 2013 Louisiana Birds 185

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

I haven’t yet been birding in Europe but whenever I occasionally skim a field guide about the birds on the other side of the Atlantic, I’m always encouraged to find that I’m already familiar with many species found over there, even though most of my birding experience has been limited to eastern North America.

2017 118

2017 Portugal Rabbits Europe 118

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2012

Continuing with my theme of common birds who were, in a sense, my companions throughout this trip, I would now like to turn my attention to the Motacilla — literally, “moving tails” — aka wagtails. They may be less famous than some other birds I encountered, but this had hurt their self-confidence not a bit.

Spain 168

Spain Cows Groups Humane 168

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 211

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 211

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

But I have been sick with different kinds and forms of cold since the beginning of December with no interruption, and so has my entire family. This thrush is extremely common in urban and suburban Germany and one of the most conspicuous bird species here, comparable to the American Robin in North America. I honestly did. Sickening!

Germany 161

Germany Blackbirds 2006 Denmark 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2023

I recently received a kind letter from a 10,000 Birds friend, who was worried that my recent irregularity in contributing to this website might indicate that something was wrong. First, we had our five-week trip to Spain, Turkey and Jordan in September and October. I assured him then, and assure you now, that I am fine.

Jordan 209

Jordan Mexico Birds Ohio 209

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2014

I enjoy collecting children’s books about birds and nature that I come across in the expected (book stores) and unexpected (academic library conference reports) places. The Taínos named the birds Iguacas, after their call. Spanish settlers arrived in 1493 and called the birds Coterras. The birds thrive.

Puerto Rico 241

Puerto Rico Parrots New York City 2013 241

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2022

In fact, I was already embarrassed two months ago, when the pandemic and at-home duties had forced me to write about the same michoacano birds for a couple of years running. (It’s It’s a good thing that I can access some 300+ michoacano birds! New places, new birds! ” Of course, I birded every moment I could.

Turkey 162

Turkey Spain Mexico Agenda 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Spring is for Wheatears Spring is for Wheatears By Dan • March 18, 2011 • 3 comments Tweet Share What is true in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US holds true for Cyprus as well: Spring is prime-time for Passerines.

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2019

Once you’ve been around the birding block a few years, your appreciation for the lifer experience deepens greatly. Even in my species-rich territory of central Mexico, I only average about one lifer each month now, after five years of birding the area. I had a work trip to southern Spain earlier this month.

Spain 204

Spain Europe Sparrows Mexico 204

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2022

Our relatively-recent trip to Spain and the Middle East was, as expected, a great opportunity to see new birds. In the end, it gave me 44 lifers: 10 from Turkey and 8 from Jordan, which I had not visited before, and 26 from Spain, which I had visited previously, but in which we spent much more time.

Spain 147

Spain Jordan Turkey Species 147

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2012

Some 35 years later I’m a birder and I observe birds every single day, often my birding happens almost unconsciously, at home, from the car, on the school run. It may be a bustling tourist town with a great deal to see and do culturally but it is simply a beautiful place to do some birding, with some incredible birds to enjoy.

Birds 171

Birds Spain Industry Humane 171

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Chimpanzees and elephants grieve the loss of family and friends, and gorillas hold wakes for the dead. After publishing my stories I got emails from people all over the world who had seen similar behavior in various birds and mammals. In June 2006, Jane and I visited a chimpanzee sanctuary near Girona, Spain.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2011

You and your colleagues are experts on the history of France, Poland, Spain, all those European countries. Recently, the news came out that beloved Archaeopteryx is not really a bird ancestor. This has happened before, Archaeopteryx and the bird family tree have had an often tenuous relationship. Flight is an example.

Mammals 257

Mammals Europe Groups Family 257

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

In this post, we’ll share the most positive of the positives, at least for those who write for 10,000 Birds who decided to share. Of all the birds that make the list for a given year one of those birds must be the Best Bird of the Year. We are always content bird-watching around Broome anyway!

2020 245

2020 Birds Costa Rica Germany 245

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2019

So, it just might be that pisco – the beloved South American grape brandy contentiously claimed by both Peru and Chile – is the only spirit named after birds. The etymology of the city name itself is debatable, but according to the Chilean linguist Rodolfo Lenz, it comes from the Quechua pishku , meaning “bird”.

Peru 126

Peru San Francisco Parrots Chile 126

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2022

This year, it seems I wrote one post on birding in Shanghai each month – and I am still not even sure anyone is interested in these. Probably the most interesting bird this month was a Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher showing up in the Shanghai Botanical Garden. I know – sexism is very common in the birding world.

Finland 147

Finland Birds 2016 McDonalds 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

After my grim exposing you last month to Europe’s fifty shades of brown, I felt it incumbent upon me to right my wrong by introducing you to Europe’s most attractive bird, the Red-billed Leiothrix. Clearly, some scientists should never have been granted the privilege of assigning common names to bird species.

Italy 184

Italy Europe France Family 184

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2011

I mentioned last week, while talking about rails and the Pacific, that Tonga is not a particularly birdy birding destination. A combination of extinctions and proximity to Fiji means that a trip to that island group would net you pretty much all the same birds plus a whole raft of others.

Tonga 167

Tonga Fiji New Zealand Parrots 167