10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2021

Recently, many people have been telling me that they are very tired of photos of dry birds. So, here’s a collection of wet birds. A wet Tiger Shrike (Nanhui, China). Even though this bird is definitely wet, it still feels a bit like cheating to include it in this post. A wet Grey-eyed Bulbul (Xishuangbanna, China).

South Africa 187

South Africa China Africa Birds 187

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. In Singapore, Common Redshanks mostly drink Tiger Beer. I agree that the throat is white. “Odd, me?”

Singapore 240

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 240

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2024

These big soaring birds avoid long sea crossings but even the 14 km of Strait of Gibraltar can be demanding. We save pandas and tigers, as we should, but we don’t give as much thought to the creepy crawlies and other less-attractive creatures that also need our help.

Morocco 195

Morocco Pandas Falcons Spain 195

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2016

So, I birded India, land of Indian Peafowl , Saag Paneer (my favorite Indian dish) and Tigers. Well, they were all memorable, but these two involve subjects people have asked about without fail—the Taj Mahal and Tigers. Neither are birds, but both involved a lot of birding.).

India 189

India Tigers Birds Owls 189

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2020

Don`t worry – after having written about birding Shanghai in April a few weeks ago, I will not continue this theme for longer – not that much to write about in June and July. But May is a good time for birding here, and thus worth a post. A Tiger Shrike – as always – looks very stylish.

Birds 172

Birds Tigers Farming Eggs 172

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2022

It is not particularly big but has a reported 430 bird species including migrants, though during my short stay it seems I missed most of the key attractions among them. It goes like this: While fishing, the bird tucks its head down and uses its wings to create a shady area. Pel’s Fishing Owl, where were you?

South Africa 147

South Africa Africa Birds Research 147

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.

Birds 248

Birds LACS France Japan 248

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2020

But here is the truly tragic part: I was not birding during those years! My hosts had arranged for me to stay in a beautiful private home, high on a ridge overlooking the city, and the forested area surrounding the home attracted some very noisy (and, for me, exciting) birds. The White-throated Magpie-Jay: such a beautiful bird!

Birds 168

Birds 2006 Mexico Morocco 168

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2022

So, the next blog post on Shanghai birds may turn out to be a lot more interesting, though of course with regard to bird migration, May is more interesting than June … As I am unlikely to see a live gannet any time soon, I might as well point you to the song “Nigel the gannet” by The Burning Hell now.

Birds 147

Birds Sparrows China Abandon 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2019

It’s good to have birding goals. Challenges like a Big Year, county lists, or a Big Sit can push a birder to learn more, to improve the birding focus, and become more aware of what’s happening in the avian neighborhood. Such stops have already yield the tiger-heron and dipper.

Costa Rica 192

Costa Rica Tigers Birds Tennessee 192

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

But we pressed on, me with the hope of cool birds, Desi with the hope of crocodiles, and Daisy because she just likes being on boats. It is a common bird itself but I had never managed to see one so well even though I butchered the photographic opportunity. “ Bare-throated Tiger-Heron !” Bare-throated Tiger-Heron.

Belize 113

Belize Tigers Birds Butcher 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2019

One place that is not particularly known for sightings of the Cape May Warbler is Cape May, New Jersey, where Alexander Wilson first described the bird. Go ahead, ask a Cape May birder about birding in Cape May. Tiger warbler. Tiger Warbler. TIGER WARBLER !!! I dare you. It is memorable, applicable, and sensible.

New Jersey 172

New Jersey Tigers United States Industry 172

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.

Birds 130

Birds Raised Cattle Mammals 130

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

You may have read my recent piece on Birding the Okavango Delta in Botswana here on 10,000 Birds. If you have never thought of India as a birding destination, I’d urge you to give it a good look. Fly into Delhi and within an hour you can be birding the lovely Sultanpur wetland reserve. appeared first on 10,000 Birds.

India 205

India Wildlife Tigers Eagles 205

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2019

A tin yellow tiger is staring at us from the Melghat Tiger Reserve gates, as the narrow tarmac road winds through teak forest ( Tectona grandis ) along the hillside. This bird is known from only a dozen localities, with only a handful of individuals and a very fragmented habitat, hence the critically endangered status in the Red Book.

India 191

India Owls Tigers Cows 191

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2015

But rather than inundate you with cute family pictures and regale you with tales of Desi’s first trip to the Neotropics I have decided to start with a quick post with some pictorial highlights of the birds we saw like, for example, the Keel-billed Toucan above. Hopefully, you liked this brief look into the Honduras birds I saw.

Honduras 165

Honduras Birds Lions Tigers 165

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2019

One of the best features about Singapore is the fact that wherever you go there are birds. Admittedly we did not go into the downtown area once during our three week stay, but wherever there are trees there are birds and Singapore is a green city. The beak on these birds is quite remarkable and the blue sky helps to accentuate it.

Singapore 122

Singapore Otters Birds Zebras 122

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

With the lockdown lasting until the end of May (ironically thus pretty much including the whole spring migration – the divine sense of humor is a rather malign one, I am afraid), June still had the freedom of birding anywhere in Shanghai, not just inside a smallish compound. Accessorizing for birds.

Singapore 147

Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2021

The southwest peninsula of Trinidad is unfortunately rarely birded by visiting birders. Bonus points if you figured out that the out-of-focus bird here is a Solitary Sandpiper. We kept our eyes peeled for any birds of prey – Savanna Hawk , Grey-lined Hawk and Common Black Hawk were all expected. Such is birding.

Sea Turtles 270

Sea Turtles Bats Turtles Trinidad 270

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

Back in July, my fellow 10,000 Birds contributor Dragan wrote a delightful piece about birding Lake Kerkini in spring. I first visited Kerkini and this bird-rich region of northern Greece 15 years ago, and have been returning regularly ever since. My photograph below is of a captive bird).

Greece 229

Greece Pelicans Geese Buffalo 229

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2014

There are some pretty cool tropical forests in Tiquicia (a local name for Costa Rica) and that’s where you need to go to see most of the bird species. As with every place on the planet, there are birds adapted to those aquatic habitats and some of them are downright cool and crazy: Sunbittern : Bittern? Yes, a friendly rail!

Costa Rica 170

Costa Rica Tigers Chickens South America 170

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

I remember, several times while motionlessly surveying birds, I found myself being investigated by Striped Field Mice , who would dare to come to sniff me. Europe: The sun is scorching the area, and the birds are nowhere to be seen. No, birds are way too smart for that stupid trick. My first ever Balkan Egyptian Vultures!

Wildlife 187

Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 187

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2020

But I am interested in what birds eat at my local patch here at Nanhui in Shanghai. Vegetarian food seems less interesting, or maybe it is just more difficult to capture on a photo … Many birds seem to regard Nanhui as a seafood restaurant. Similar to the Chinese, birds do not seem to mind eating frogs and toads.

Fish 205

Fish Rodents China Vegetarian 205

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2020

And this doesn’t mean you are obsessed or a little bit too much into birds because keeping track of a year list actually comes with some side benefits. Yeah, many of us living the birding life do so anyways because we can’t help it. Go birding! Bare-throated Tiger-Heron – Tigrisoma mexicanum; Tambor, 3-Jan.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica 2020 Morals Farming 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

This can mean some interesting birding, if you can bear the Shanghai heat … Of course, the egrets and herons described in my last post are still around. Cattle Egret … though some of them seem to want to hide (which is really difficult for a white bird). Sanderling: A bird with strong work ethics. Tiger Shrike.

Tigers 196

Tigers Breeding Cattle Bears 196

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2017

Only, once I got there, I discovered that the coffee, while good, can’t compare to the birds. Our group saw over 400 birds on our 15-day tour of the Pantanal, Cerrado and the Amazon (Cristalino Lodge). I have a thing for birds with large eye-rings (also for birds with ‘spectacles,’ a similar look).

Brazil 165

Brazil Birds Los Angeles Tigers 165

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2014

I am not dissatisfied with guides who do not manage to find the target bird, if they do try with all their heart. I will equally recommend a guide who finds the target bird and the one who does everything within birding ethics to find it and fails. What makes a good bird guide?

Birds 225

Birds Botswana Free Range Leopards 225

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2022

On that glorious day, I observed ten critically endangered birds, representing 8% of their Costa Rican, or 2% of their global population!! In my previous post , I dealt with Rancho Naturalista Lodge itself and birding within their private reserve. But, let’s start at the beginning. My OCD would not stand that!

Costa Rica 252

Costa Rica Nicaragua 2019 Farming 252

10,000 Birds

APRIL 18, 2015

“Ridiculous” can also be at the other, more dreaded end of the bird sighting spectrum where the views are identifiable yet so darn poor that we shake our heads and mutter, “that’s just ridiculous” (aka much better view desired, total crap view, etc.). Look for this bird in the Monteverde Reserve parking area.

Costa Rica 183

Costa Rica Birds Tigers Woodpeckers 183

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2016

How much time do you devote to birding? How high is birding on your list of activities – is it the very first or merely one of? These are the types I recognise: Coffee Break Birding – 10-15 minutes, usually not planned ahead but squeezed out of your schedule. It is a good option if you know that there is that one special bird.

Birds 118

Birds India Africa Serbia 118

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2017

Birds with white on them are much more likely to take the form of goodies like the Snowy Cotinga , or two species of tityras. Masked Tityra – the most frequently encountered small bird in Costa Rica with white plumage. The Caribbean slope of Costa Rica also differs from the islands in having a lot more bird species.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Bats 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2015

I don’t know if you have ever tried to bird with a cold, but it’s not easy. Still, we are in the midst of spring migration here in North Carolina, and I wasn’t going to let a little cold stop me from seeing some birds. Another birding fail. My fiance and I arrived at the R. My fiance and I arrived at the R.

North Carolina 169

North Carolina Game Birds Tigers 169

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2021

In Shanghai, May is the month with a chance to see the regional popstars of the birding world – male Japanese and Amur Paradise Flycatchers. The female is less impressive but still a nice bird to see. Most of the other birds seen this month do not quite have the star quality of the paradise flycatcher. But that is fine.

China 150

China Japan Tigers Breeding 150

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

I bring this up not to boast (well, not much) but because I think that this approach to wildlife travel is somewhat neglected in birding circles. Read most accounts of how birders see birds outside their patch and one way or another, they’re tourists. Nothing forms bonds like rolling around in bird…uh… waste.

Uganda 163

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 163

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2014

Earlier this month I had stopped at Forest Park for a quick, late-morning, visit as we birders in Queens tend to do, especially in May, and was impressed by the diversity and number of birds singing. One bird in particular caught my eye – a brilliant Cape May Warbler singing and foraging from ground level up to about ten feet.

New York City 169

New York City Tigers New York Canada 169

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2018

Ah, Costa Rica, so long I have dreamed of visiting you and your amazing birds. After two nights, with one full day to bird in between, I had added 28 new birds to the Little Big Year list, and 21 new Lifers! The owners have planted a large number of Bird-of-paradise plants, and this Violet Saberwing has taken position of them.

Costa Rica 115

Costa Rica Tigers San Jose Woodpeckers 115

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2019

We have observed some beautiful birds in Victoria during our visit including the Spotted Pardalote and Rufous Fantail. There are numerous bird species that we only observe when we are many miles from home and some bird species we have rarely observed. It does not go dark until about 9pm, so you can go out late looking for birds.

Portland 148

Portland Tigers 2020 2019 148