10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

Not professionally – these people come in SUVs and probably never recapture their gas money from the fish they catch (though come to think of it, neither do I with my bird photos). This is ok as birds do not have teeth anyway). One strange thing about Chongming is the inevitable presence of people fishing. End of side note.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2020

The Ural Owl inhabits old and undisturbed boreal forests, in an unbroken belt from Sweden and Finland across Russia to Japan, and is rarely seen to the south, only here and there, in the Carpathians (Slovakia/Ukraine/Romania/eastern Serbia) and Dinaric Alps (Croatia/Bosnia/western Serbia). Absolutely thrilled!

Serbia 243

Serbia Owls Slovakia Bosnia 243

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

The Christmas Bird Count was the answer. The IWC census starts from mid-January following the logic that it is the period when the birds have reached their wintering grounds and are rather static, so the chance of double-counting the same flock is minimal. But it is so frustrating to pass the birds by without IDing them!

Geese 139

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 139

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

The best afternoon bird was, again, one Great Black-backed Gull on the water, this time an adult (hence, we have at least two of them overwintering here now). When you count some 40,000 gulls of four species and find the fifth or the sixth species among them, represented by only one individual – that one becomes the most interesting.

Serbia 166

Serbia Birds Ukraine Europe 166

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

The official definition of CR status says the species could be gone within ten years, or could lose 80 per cent of its population within three generations – whichever comes first. CR being the highest category in the Red List , if I want to see some of those birds, I better hurry! Locals being vegetarians, why are there no birds?

India 240

India Sudan Ukraine Camels 240

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

Amongst all the species that were split off the Herring Gull, the Caspian Gull is my favourite one, and its existence alone is our fair reward for the identification crisis we had to endure during the dark ages of the 1990s. Birding at its finest, and a fine bird indeed. Yes, there are Caspian Gulls on this picture.

Kazakhstan 111

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 111

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2024

A first-winter Red-breasted Goose at Cley, North Norfolk As a general rule, geese are birds of subtle, even dull, plumage. With its deep chestnut-red breast, exquisite head pattern and black and white body it’s an exceedingly handsome bird, and one that never fails to attract admirers when one turns up in Britain.

Bulgaria 130

Bulgaria Geese Romania Estonia 130