10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2018

We have been busy walking the beach and keeping an eye on our local Pied Oystercatchers and the two pairs that laid their eggs earliest for the 2018 breeding season and successfully hatched out their chicks have now lost their chicks to predation. They have only laid one egg so far and another may be laid within a day.

Eggs 117

Eggs Feral Cats Feral 2018 117

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2012

This is our thirteenth year of observing Pied Oystercatchers breed along the coast near Broome and it gets easier every year! They always nest from the end of June and they always nest in the same place or within a few metres if there is disturbance around the breeding territory. They are so predictable!

Eggs 176

Eggs Turtles Feral Cats Investigation 176

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

In the non-breeding season, male Baya Weavers sometimes enter the basket-making trade, often with considerable success. Meanwhile, the females seem to have a much more relaxing life, at least in this early stage of the breeding season. My cats refuse to even try Fiery Minivets. You can see why here.

Birds 211

Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 211

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

The Hawaiian Crows face much more destructive threats–extreme loss of habitat; malaria, the scourge of so many Hawaiian species; predators–rodents, cats and the ‘Io, the Hawaiian Hawk. This is the most intense, tragic section.

California Condor 176

California Condor Falcons California Birds 176

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2022

In my imagination, the job of a male Australian Brush Turkey is pretty similar – removing or adding bits and pieces to his pile of rotting vegetation in order to get the right temperature to incubate the eggs buried underneath to hatch. would be cats for me, but you get the general idea).

Australia 185

Australia Birds Koalas Parrots 185

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

I once had a cat who loved to lick plastic bags, and while I find the pleasure in this hard to comprehend, it still seems more understandable to me than the joy (?) According to the HBW, when breeding, male birds do most of the incubation and parenting while females often leave the nest up to one week before the eggs hatch.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2018

Two weeks ago I introduced you to two pairs of our Pied Oystercatchers that were early egg layers this year and this week the eggs have hatched out after twenty eight days of incubation. Both pairs of Pied Oystercatchers are in a very public area of Cable Beach, but they are always successful with their egg incubation each year.

2018 100

2018 Eggs Feral Cats Camels 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2011

We are into the second attempt at breeding for this season in Broome for Pied Oystercatchers. The first eggs are laid during the first week of July each year and if these eggs fail to hatch or the chicks are lost they will lay further eggs within a few weeks. Nest site with 3 eggs-one white!

2002 166

2002 Feral Cats Eggs 2007 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2014

Feral cats have been able to adapt very well in Australia and have grown larger over the years and can survive in areas that you would not expect. We have seen them on remote beaches hunting shorebirds and taking their eggs and they have been responsible for much of the egg loss in breeding Pied Oystercatchers along the Broome coast.

Australia 157

Australia Species Feral Cats Feral 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The story of the cahow, a “Lazurus species” that was thought to be extinct for over 300 years and then discovered to be breeding on a tiny remote island in Bermuda, is part of modern birding legend. In 1951, there were 18 breeding pairs of cahows discovered on three tiny islands. This is a good read, informative and engaging.

Birds 167

Birds Rats Breeding 2012 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

She also monitors Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of beach by bicycle and on foot. Speaking of pregnant snakes, do sea snakes lay their eggs ashore like sea turtles or do they keep them internally until the young are ready to hatch/ be born, like some sharks? It seems like there is great diversity in this continent.

Australia 150

Australia 2011 Sharks Deer 150

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Unfortunately for the hunters these were already all extinct, and with the introduction of cats, rats, stoats and the like the only upland game bird, the New Zealand Quail , was fast on the way out too. Using ministerial connections he obtained 100 mallard eggs from the US and began to breed and distribute them.

Species 166

Species New Zealand Ducks Game 166

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2018

One of our male Pied Oystercatchers has been marked with an engraved leg flag “A1” and was one of the first pairs to lay eggs this season. Sadly the two chicks did not survive very long at all and the pair of Pied Oystercatchers were soon getting ready to lay more eggs. “A1” Preparing another nest site.

Eggs 107

Eggs Feral Cats Feral Raised 107

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2011

All New World Quail are highly gregarious, typically found in coveys or flocks except during breeding season. In California, coveys break up and pairs begin forming in February or March, followed by nest building and egg laying in May or June. She will usually lay 12 to 17 eggs, averaging five per week 1 , before beginning incubation.

California 218

California Eggs Gophers Rattlesnake 218

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2013

The early threats of guano harvesting and egg collecting have been replaced by the more ominous threats of oil pollution and overfishing of their favorite food source – pilchards. On the mainland they face predation from domestic cats, dogs, genets, mongoose and Cape Gulls which steal their chicks and eggs.

Penguins 213

Penguins South Africa Africa Sharks 213

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2018

The Zoo episode focuses on two Pink Pigeon couples: The Stud and Serendipity, a male and female that the zoo people hope will mate and produce a viable egg, and Thelma and Louise, a same-sex pair-bonded couple who the zoo people hope will incubate the egg and nurture the chick. Because, Ms. They’re just not the greatest architects.

Mauritius 101

Mauritius Stud Zoos Eggs 101

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2022

When these birds breed, this can lead to highly cringeworthy announcements, for example from Adelaide Zoo : “We have egg-citing news!” ” Of course, as a certified cat person, I was delighted to see a Green Catbird near Brisbane. .” I sometimes try this at parties, and indeed it usually works quite well.

Birds 226

Birds Australia Ducks Mountain Goats 226

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2012

Each year tens of thousands of these gulls go to the islands and each pair will lay three eggs. Most of these clutches of eggs will hatch to produce three fluffy and adorable chicks. By way of an example take the Western Gulls that I studied on the Farallon Islands in California. Western Gull chick.

Animal Rights 262

Animal Rights Rights New Zealand Animal 262

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2011

Watching birds isn’t much of a challenge if you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting one. In your back yard, if you have a feeder and exclude insects, birds may represent 100% of the animal biomass until either you our your cat walks outside. It made me think that birdwatchers are loafing. Peter and St.

Mammals 174

Mammals Rodents Birds Reptiles 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

Let us for once judge a book by its cover, and take a thorough look at a Black-headed Gull in breeding plumage. How do I know of their Gothic moods when they have hidden them so well in an egg-white shell of conformity? Cats Are Still Public Enemy Number One, For Birds The New York Times and Tweety have it absolutely correct.

2011 161

2011 Birds Deer Europe 161

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2011

We monitor the Pied Oystercatchers breeding along a 23km stretch of beach each year and it can all be covered on foot or by bicycle-tide dependant! They usually have their first eggs in place by the first week in July each year and they sit on them for 28 days. Below is a Google Earth image of the 23kms stretch of beach that we cover.

Breeding 171

Breeding Feral Cats Eggs Feral 171

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2023

One interesting paper argues that contrary to what might seem logical, cuckoos do not aim to lay eggs specifically into the nests of those parrotbills whose egg color and pattern match their own. The rationale includes the speed of the laying (too fast to check for color matches) and the low number of egg-laying attempts (i.e.,

Pandas 202

Pandas Birds Eggs China 202

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2014

Rats arrived on ships and cats, foxes and rabbits were all introduced and they were all detrimental to the bird population. The population decline is generally blamed on habitat destruction and introduced predators, but inter-breeding may also be to blame.

Species 174

Species Australia Birds Parrots 174

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2011

As I watched, it slowly moved into a patch of dried vegetation and I noticed that it was settling over a single egg. Two or three eggs may be laid and either bird may incubate. Sondra Mar 22nd, 2011 at 6:29 pm AN excellent series and how COOL to see the egg–chicks will soon be in the picture! I am around to learn more.

2011 163

2011 Deer Africa Peru 163

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Hopefully, the winter time in Shanghai gives the Black-faced Buntings some time to relax from the challenges of the breeding season. Fortunately for the buntings, they seem to detect most cuckoo eggs smuggled in (75% in one study). Maybe there is some justice in this world after all. Better safe than sorry.

Birds 205

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 205

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2011

Breeding behaviour and plumage was very apparent, but John Wise , an ex-pat Brit now resident in Orlando, told me that the birds’ activities had been held up for a couple of weeks during a cold snap that saw frosts in Florida. Boat-tailed Grackles count eggs and chicks as part of their diet and they were well represented here today.

2011 116

2011 Alligators Florida Deer 116