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. And I spent my time in Singapore birding, not shopping. “Odd, me?”

Singapore 210

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 210

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2022

Still, it has quite a good habitat and birds – so good, in fact, that the frugal blog post writer (me) decided to write two separate posts about this park. This is part one, covering birds named from A to H. Given the exciting and exotic birds Hainan has to offer, starting the post with a Barn Swallow is a bit of a letdown.

Birds 236

Birds Egypt China 2002 236

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2021

Without looking through polished sets of coated glass, birds can be itty-bitty specks and flying objects that hint at the colors hidden therein. Bring the binos up to the eyes, work the focus, and if the bird is nice enough to still be there, life can take on new meaning. Life is good when you can inspect the plumage of a hummingbird.

Costa Rica 261

Costa Rica Transported Parrots Birds 261

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2021

He found some solace when, at age eleven, he became entranced with birds – specifically, with a Green Woodpecker — and that sighting, he says, “took me to another, safer world.” . More Birds Than Bullets: My Life With Birds is his account of the centrality of birds in all of these endeavors, and in his life.

Fox 171

Fox Kuwait Bosnia Afghanistan 171

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

JULY 11, 2014

When going on an overseas birding trip, many serious birders want to leave the city as soon possible in search of endemic or rare species in remote wilderness. On the other hand, I find urban birding fascinating, especially in overseas locations. Why do I like urban birding? What are their birds?

Thailand 165

Thailand Zebras Birds Sparrows 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

In Costa Rica, our July birding news usually consists of interesting sightings during the mid-summer tours. These and other important birding related questions come to mind and during a normal July, I would be personally and actively helping answer them. Which tours saw the most roosting owls?

Costa Rica 203

Costa Rica Birds Thailand Family 203

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 25, 2022

The first title of the ‘official’ series (there were two ‘prequels’) was “ Birds of Thailand “, published in 2018. The most recent was the ninth one, “ Birds of Colombia ” in 2021. One thing I deeply respect is the addition of common bird names in a local language.

Thailand 147

Thailand Colombia 2018 Groups 147

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2014

I’m at a yearly disadvantage when it comes to deciding my Best Bird of the Year (BBOY) here on 10,000 Birds. Borneo did turn up some great birds, as expected, but it still turned out to be quite hard to pick a winner. Birding best bird of the year Borneo storks' In fact, I can often guarantee it.

2013 171

2013 Birds Rhinoceros Thailand 171

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

You should know by now that there are a good number of birds that spend an appreciable amount of time underwater. And then there are the crazy-awesome Dippers and one should not forget the great diving birds like Gannets and Albatrosses. See, with a little bit of imagination, even a scuba diver can find birds all over the place.

Sharks 185

Sharks Thailand Dolphins Fish 185

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 16, 2013

Back in January of last year I said in my list for the year that I’d be happy if I hit 300 birds in 2012. The equation is simple, surely, if seeing birds makes me happy, then surely lots of birds makes me lots of happy, right? For starters, the enjoyment of birds is not actually directly correlated with enjoyment.

2012 157

2012 New Zealand Thailand Albatross 157

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2012

And this is my long-winded excuse for not participating in the official 10,000 Birds Best Bird of the Year 2011 round-up. But now that I have a bit of time off this week, I am getting around to reassessing 2011, and there is one birding moment that stands out and for which I am very much grateful.

2011 176

2011 Mongoose Thailand Birds 176

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

After a successful morning’s birding and a very fine lunch, Peter and I made our way to our next site, Bang Poo. In fact the area where the pier hit the mangroves was crammed with birds, including Pied Fantails, a very vocal Oriental Magpie Robin, Green Herons and Little Egrets. This piece follows on from Part One.

Thailand 102

Thailand New Zealand Family Bats 102

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2014

It inhabits rather dry areas within a region notorious for being one of the rainiest parts of the world, and is thus patchily distributed from Burma through Laos, Cambodia, parts of Thailand and south China, all the way to Vietnam. A small brown bird. Boy, this pic (and bird) was surely worth the wait. So, move over Cassowary.

Burma 160

Burma Laos Birds Indonesia 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

It’s part of modern birding. Make a bird list for anywhere, anytime and on a hand held device! Note birds the old fashioned way (that would be writing on paper) and submit those observations back at the homestead or wherever you have a connection. Going birding in Hawaii? How about Thailand? No problem!

Costa Rica 289

Costa Rica Thailand Species Hawaii 289

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2013

The project recruited schoolkids from eight Asian nations, from Russia down to Thailand, to help color in frames of an animation that depicts the lonely and perilous migration of a Spoon-billed Sandpiper as it faces threats from habitat loss and hunting. Birding Birds Conservation Inspiration News spoon-billed sandpiper video'

Asia 145

Asia Thailand Russia Endangered Species 145

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Miami, Florida has a reputation among the birding community for being overrun with exotic bird species. However, the typical birding experience for someone down here also includes a large menagerie of other species such as Orange-winged Parrot , Mitred Parakeet , Egyptian Goose and Nutmeg Mannikin. It is well-deserved.

Miami 192

Miami Asia Florida Malaysia 192

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

2014 has been a good year for us at 10,000 Birds. We’ve traveled to lots of places, seen lots of great birds, and met lots of great birders. So, as we’ve done for the last several years we thought we would share our Best Birds of the Year with you. Below are our Best Birds of the Year. What was yours?

2014 183

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 183

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2011

Already a $200 million a year industry largely concentrated in Malaysia and Thailand, the farming of swifts is now being ramped up in Vietnam. While eating the nests of swifts is nothing new, the large-scale production of these nests is.

Vietnam 183

Vietnam Malaysia Thailand Vegan 183

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

And where all those birds are? This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. And it raises a question: if all the birds are having a party over there, am I in the wrong spot? I am talking 600 or 700+ bird species. Why am I here?

Sri Lanka 256

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 256

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

Birds are supposed to have feathers and birds without feathers look incomplete, like they left home with shaving cream on their ear and toothpaste spots on their shirt. The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. T urkey Vulture, photo by Dawn Puliafico.

California Condor 175

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 175

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2012

While this merganser does maintain a strong presence in China throughout the year, it may breed as far north as Russia and winter as far south as Thailand. The sole sawbill of the Southern Hemisphere is down to 200-250 birds extant mainly because the habitat it requires is equally threatened.

North America 222

North America Thailand Russia Ducks 222

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2014

The western Mediterranean birds are bluish-purple all over. The sister taxon to the Mediterranean birds occurs on Borneo and the western Indonesian islands. As indicated by the English moniker “black-backed,” these birds have blackish wings and backs. Black-backed Swamphen. African Swamphen. Gray-headed Swamphen.

Papua New Guinea 188

Papua New Guinea Philippines New Zealand Florida 188

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

And as much as I’d love to feature once again some colorful spring migrants this week at Birds and Booze, the fact is I haven’t had much luck locating any – well, on cans and bottles of booze, that is. Since most of us are quite busy birding this month, let’s just do something quick and easy this week. Good birding and happy drinking!

Chickens 201

Chickens Colorado Fowl France 201

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 5, 2020

Knowing that there are reserves with long lists of 600 or more species, I set my threshold at more than 600 birds… and found only a few such hotspots. Such places are clearly under-visited, under-birded or eBird isn’t that popular in those parts of the world. Other countries still have to reach the 300 birds threshold.

Asia 266

Asia Malaysia Papua New Guinea Thailand 266

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2012

These are hard questions, because being really passionate about the binoculars we are developing (our babies), I really want to be able to blab about how cool they are and about how excited I am about getting my grimy hands on the first prototypes; and to see what the first bird is I see through them.

Austria 170

Austria Thailand Montana Protection 170

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

The thought of which takes me way off topic to think about this crazy cool video of a crazy cool bird: [link] Anyway, back to Laem Pak Bia… and like most birders dashing through Bangkok, we made a quick detour in to the salt pans and wetland systems to see what was about. Happy birding, Dale Forbes a. Javan Pond Heron on a pole.

Thailand 168

Thailand Birds Parrots Breeding 168

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2019

The 125 Best Bird Watching Sites in Southeast Asia, edited by Yong Ding Li & Low Bing Wen. And now I am holding the “The 125 Best Bird Watching Sites in Southeast Asia” – an expanded and fully updated second edition of “The 100 Best Birdwatching Sites in Southeast Asia”. That is about it – I do not know much more about this region.

Asia 220

Asia Laos Myanmar Indonesia 220

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2019

My review copy (well, actually a contributor’s copy—more on that later) was waiting for me when I returned from the ABA birding tour of Thailand and Malaysia (more on that in a separate post) in early March. The book does not include House Sparrow, an Old World sparrow that belongs to a completely different bird family.

North America 142

North America Sparrows America United States 142

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2012

Yes, the warbler formerly known as Dendroica kirtlandii , now Setophaga kirtlandii , is one of those birds that make birders’ hearts pulse quicker and their legs churn faster. Look what happened when the bird made the first of three appearances at the Biggest Week in American Birding at Magee Marsh! photo by Lynn C.

Michigan 221

Michigan Bahamas Endangered Species Research 221

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2019

Some of those “statistical errors” came as surprises to me, e.g. Cuba, Bolivia, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Thailand (this is also a clear message to their tourism boards to invest more into promoting avitourism). Interestingly, the respondents felt no need to further elaborate why, presuming that everyone knows why they should bird Costa Rica.

Papua New Guinea 214

Papua New Guinea America Costa Rica Sri Lanka 214

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2019

Presuming that you want to bird Costa Rica, you would book a southbound flight (from N. In such a case, you might opt to book an eastbound flight, or a series of flights, from Lisbon to Sao Tome and Principe, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, then Sri Lanka, Thailand, Borneo, PNG, Tahiti, Ecuador, Guyana and finally to Costa Rica….

Costa Rica 186

Costa Rica Sri Lanka Rwanda Papua New Guinea 186

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

Interestingly, one study found that Nonggang Babbler nests frequently visited by bird photographers had a higher hatching success rate than those not photographed. This species seems to frequently join mixed-species flocks – in research in Thailand, the species was found in 20% of the mixed-species flocks.

China 147

China Vietnam Birds Monkeys 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2013

At the time this post goes live I’ll be wandering around Hong Hong in a bemused state of mind trying to identify not only the native birds but the multitude of other species released by the inhabitants into the area. The Brown-headed Gull is a bird of Asia, breeding from Turkmenistan to Mongolia, and winters along the coasts of Asia.

Turkmenistan 153

Turkmenistan Mongolia Asia Europe 153

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2019

Perhaps you don’t know it yet, but with more than 1000 bird species, palm-fringed sandy beaches, developed tourism infrastructure, moderate prices and political stability, Thailand is a country you definitively want to visit. Now, which field guide to pack? of Rufous-fronted Babbler.

Thailand 181

Thailand Zambia Birds Asia 181

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

The Eurasian Wryneck is the woodpecker that doesn’t look like a woodpecker, the bird with the portmanteau name that is also a medical condition (and which may remind some people of a Nora Ephron essay). They are slim and small-headed birds and their bills are fine, not strong and dynamic.

Woodpeckers 224

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 224

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2020

They contributed 150 lists accounting for 1032 species and more than 36,000 individual birds. Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. Bare-faced Go-away-bird – Corythaixoides personatus. Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. The life list was pumped a further 27 sp up to 3953.

2019 161

2019 Chile Texas Sanctuary 161