10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

The only bird-related activity I can think of is looking at bird photos I took in Singapore in 2015, and adding some irrelevant comments to them. Presumably, birds living in Singapore do not understand German. Writing this post, I have been in lockdown in my Shanghai compound for 60 days. “Odd, me?”

Singapore 249

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 249

10,000 Birds

JUNE 13, 2022

Some more photos of Australian birds mixed with irrelevant facts and mediocre half-jokes, as a way to pass away the time while being under lockdown in Shanghai (note: it is over now but this post was written during the lockdown). It must be a bit frustrating for a flower to be less colorful than the bird visiting it though.

Australia 225

Australia Birds Feral Cats Kangaroos 225

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2023

Sukau birding essentially means staying in a more-or-less comfortable lodge on the banks of the Kinatabagan river, and taking boat tours on more-or-less rickety boats on the river. This is how it looks like: Or at sunset: A species I did not come for from Shanghai is the Black-crowned Night Heron. Different perspectives.

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Birds Eagles Elephants Rhinoceros 240

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2015

Here are some things I’ve learned from the Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean by Scott Weidensaul: The Burrowing Owl is the only North American owl species where the male is larger than the female, albeit, only slightly larger. And the term is ‘non-reversed size dimorphism.’).

North America 244

North America Owls America Dominican Republic 244

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Construction is still ongoing at Nanhui, there are constant rumors that key birding sites will be made inaccessible … you have to take every Nanhui visit as it is your last (yes, another clichee). Still, there were a few birds there this September. Still, there were a few birds there this September. A juvenile male.

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Birds LACS France Japan 255

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2021

Fortunately, I share this preference with birds, which we found away from the lake, mostly in some semi-desert areas. Species formerly referred to as P. One recent study found that this species was sister to P. “ Not the bird’s fault, I guess. “ Not the bird’s fault, I guess.

China 263

China Birds Austria ALA 263

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

To say that an update of John MacKinnon’s “A Field Guide to the Birds of China” (2000) has been highly anticipated by birders interested in Chinese birds is almost an understatement. Mind you, I am not a particularly good birder – I am the kind of birder who really needs a good bird guide.

China 232

China Brazil 2000 Birds 232

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2022

Instead, they usually just describe species seen at a specific location, with the vague notion that these descriptions might be interesting to other birders. Perhaps the star bird here is the Nonggang Babbler , which was first observed by professional ornithologists only in 2005. The birds are not closely related.

China 237

China Birds Asia Vietnam 237

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 21, 2021

When it comes to tropical birding, field guides regularly deal with well over a 1000 birds and tend to be on the hefty side. Travel guides are mostly lighter, but this “where to watch birds guide” is truly lightweight and traveller friendly. Each site gets from 2 to 5 pages (but mostly 3-4).

Kenya 264

Kenya Africa South Africa Penguins 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Early August is a bit of a dead time for birding in Shanghai unless you like your birds as little white spots at the far end of a telescope. So, I asked around and was told that Qinghai is the place to go to for birds in China in August. Going to Qinghai usually starts with a flight to Xining, the capital. But it is not.

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Birds North Korea China Woodpeckers 260

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 264

Birds Compassion Eagles Science 264

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. The next page contains an alphabetical Quick Reference. association with other species and similar).

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. Oh yeah, I almost forgot.

Colombia 241

Colombia Birds Raised Ecuador 241

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

He had posted it to “What’s This Bird?” ” a popular group in Facebook where novice birders can post photos of the birds they see and hope others will identify the birds for them. A new bird for Queens! Also, I wasn’t seeing the bird at all. And I couldn’t find the bird.

Birds 265

Birds Collecting 2015 Species 265

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 12, 2019

Birding Fraser`s Hil. Fraser`s Hill in peninsular Malaysia is another one of these almost legendary birding locations in Southeast Asia. And the birding is somewhat easier here as long as you do not make the mistake of reading some of the older bird guides. So, in terms of birds, what is it that you might find?

Birds 232

Birds Malaysia Morals Asia 232

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2021

Audubon guides to birds have been around since 1946. The first guide bearing the National Audubon Society imprint was Audubon Bird Guide; Eastern Land Birds , written by Richard Hooper Pough, and illustrated by Don Eckelberry. Plate 28 from Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds, by Richard H. Knopf, 1994/97.

North America 279

North America America Birds California Condor 279

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

This, 2022, has been a curious year for books about birds and birding. Dragan]: Europe’s Birds: An Identification Guide , by Hume, Still, Swash, and Harrop is a photographic guide. The artwork of “Europe’s Birds” is dazzling, the text condensed and comprehensive, and the layout and design are without peer.

Sri Lanka 253

Sri Lanka Malaysia Birds Suriname 253

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2024

Bird Day is a lovely, little jewel of a book. The idea is to portray one bird for each hour of the day in words and art, presenting the diversity, beauty, and wonder of avian life. Angell’s black-and-white illustrations bring sparks of energy and visual clarity to the fascinating bird behaviors described by Huber.

Chicago 209

Chicago Barn Owls Penguins New Zealand 209

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. Purple-throated Mountain-gem.

Costa Rica 258

Costa Rica Birds Panama Woodpeckers 258

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 257

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 257

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

JULY 7, 2022

According to a bird guide published in 1911, “Competent authorities have proposed to divide the world, biologically, into two parts – Australia and the rest of the world, and they have considered Australia the more interesting part.” The species was bred at the zoo of Memphis, Tennesee ( source ). ” ( source ).

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Birds Australia Parrots Memphis 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2015

Birders head to Costa Rica to see stunners like Resplendent Quetzal , Three-wattled Bellbird , Orange-collared Manakin , fancy hummingbirds , tanagers, and literally hundreds of other birds. These and several other species might end up being armchair ticks if and when we take a closer look at their evolutionary history.

Costa Rica 236

Costa Rica Species South America America 236

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2018

That circular, uninviting body of water marks the main crater of Poas Volcano, a mountain that hosts the most accessible and nearest area of quality bird habitat to the Juan Santamaria airport. Recently, while guiding on the slopes of Poas, without too much effort, we had more than a hundred species. Two hundred?

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica Species San Jose Birds 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2019

One of the many things I love about Mexico is the quality of its “trash birds” You may have heard that phrase among birders; it refers to whatever species is so common at a given site that you become tired of seeing them. The king of deceptive birds in my area is the Blue Mockingbird. They are everywhere.

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Birds Mexico Species Sparrows 153

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2020

That could certainly change at any time but for the moment, the distancing is paying off and although there are some driving curfews and restrictions, members of the birding community could still head out to watch birds. Based on eBird and Facebook reports, it looks like most local birders are sticking to yard birding.

Costa Rica 263

Costa Rica Birds Mississippi Woodpeckers 263

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Not too many highlights, not too many species … hard to say whether this is just the usual nostalgia for a better but probably nonexistent past or a real phenomenon. The latter is possible, as the undisturbed areas of Nanhui keep shrinking, leaving less and less space for birds. Somehow, for this bird it is ok.

Birds 258

Birds Humane Japan Ducks 258

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 249

Dissection Birds Research Europe 249

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2021

The adventure of the second European Breeding Bird Atlas, or EBBA2, was the topic of one of my first posts here at 10,000 Birds: In a warm Catalonian March, Barcelona is filled with sunlight and full of Rose-ringed and Monk Parakeets. In a very short time, we get two responses, two birds calling from opposite directions.

Europe 264

Europe Breeding Denmark Birds 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Because, let’s face it, when you get off that plane and look at those severe volcanic landscapes and then find yourself face to face with one of the islands’ four mockingbird species, you’re not going to think, “Oh, look, lava and a mockingbird.” There are changes in where to find the birds.

2006 272

2006 Tortoises Sea Lions Sea Turtles 272

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2023

But does ChatGPT have even a rudimentary understanding of a niche topic like birding? I asked it a few questions about birding locations and the (unedited) results are below, along with some brief analysis. Please note that the availability of specific bird species may vary depending on the season.

United States 162

United States Michigan Texas Virginia 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 5, 2020

The April arrival of the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition was a supremely happy moment in a very difficult, sad month. A companion regional guide, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America was published in 1941; its fifth edition will be coming out in early September.

North America 239

North America America Hawaii Birds 239

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.

Birds 147

Birds Myanmar China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2023

May is a busy month for birds migrating through Shanghai – and of course, last May was completely missed due to the lockdown. So, I spent a lot of time birding this month, and to keep this post at a manageable length, it mostly only covers the first half of May. The video is notable for the bird basically refusing to move at all.

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Birds Raised Cattle Mammals 130

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2021

The locals call it “cold” When you get used to living in warm Costa Rica, it can be tempting to follow suit and refer to 50 temperature fall weather as “cold” But the mark left by the memories of the north’s freezing grip are too fierce to be forgotten. These smart looking birds are tropical sparrows.

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Costa Rica Birds Farming Litter 250

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2022

According to Wikipedia, the national bird of Australia is the Emu – which I have not seen yet. Duncan – in a 10,000 Birds post – apparently also thinks it would make a good national bird. Duncan – in a 10,000 Birds post – apparently also thinks it would make a good national bird.

Australia 147

Australia Birds Parrots Ostriches 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2018

Some birds are too cool for just one name. Others have names that give us pause because they don’t seem to describe, to convey, what that bird is really all about. And then there are the names that are just too damn long, especially for the size of the bird. Tis I the FFC.

Costa Rica 183

Costa Rica Chickens Birds Soreing 183