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Urban Birding in San Diego

10,000 Birds

There are beautiful beaches, a plethora of amazing food and drinks, a multitude of family fun locations, a world-renowned zoo, and one of the biggest birding festivals in the US. My family visited San Diego every year as part of a Disneyland-SoCal Road trip to escape the rainy Christmases at home near Portland, Oregon.

San Diego 191
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Birding Hongbenghe, Yunnan (Part 1)

10,000 Birds

This is the home of the Rusty-naped Pitta , admittedly one of the less glamorous of the family, particularly the subspecies found in Yunnan, but still a nice sight and still a pitta. He published a number of books on birds of India and Burma, making me wonder how hard all these overseas civil servants really worked in their day jobs.

Burma 189
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Birding Ruili, Yunnan

10,000 Birds

I admit this is not quite on the level of fellow writers’ posts describing birding as an extreme sport. The bird has now started using its scientific name, Hemipus picatus , as it is substantially shorter. Perhaps the middle section of blog posts should be relatively boring in order to get rid of the more casual readers.

Myanmar 169
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The Amusing Case of the Gulf Breeze Zoo Canada Geese

10,000 Birds

Next door to my hometown, the Gulf Breeze Zoo occupies 50 acres near the Santa Rosa Sound. Multiple varieties of ungulates jogged from place to place, while giant rhea birds stalked around looking for food. On large islands shaded with multiple trees, a family of orangutans and another of gorillas lounged in the green grass.

Geese 113
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Birding Nonggang, Guangxi, China

10,000 Birds

Perhaps the star bird here is the Nonggang Babbler , which was first observed by professional ornithologists only in 2005. While the Black-throated Laughingthrush is native to Southeast Asia, it is also kept at the Toronto Zoo and has its own web page there. The birds are not closely related. The skull cap, I guess.

China 197
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RECENT BIRDING AT COORAN, SUNSHINE COAST

10,000 Birds

Popple] One of the great things about birding is its continuing ability to surprise. After many years pointing binoculars at birds they can still shock you with unseen – sometimes unrecorded – behaviour, baffle you with an unexpected vocalisation or just turn up in oddly unexpected places. Places, too, can surprise. I was wrong.

Koalas 213
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Common Moorhens at Hannover Zoo

10,000 Birds

Well, it is rather common and can even be scarce regionally, but overall it is not a difficult bird to find in Germany so long as a cunning birder frequents reedy wetlands. Intriguingly, Common Moorhens are also rather common in Germany’s large ornamental city parks and zoos. Beware of Crocodiles. City slicker needs no reeds.

Zoos 100