10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2014

One of the pleasures of birding through a landscape no man has gone before is that one has frequent encounters with individuals – birds, mammals, herps, whatever – that have never seen a human in their life. The Tolai Hare to me is not a hare, it is more of a miracle. But also, yet again to my utter surprise, a single Tolai Hare.

Humane 152

Humane Kazakhstan Camels Rabbits 152

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Non-bird watchers without binoculars and experience are notoriously bad sources of information. The new offspring of that year hang back and leave later, finding their way to their wintering grounds using something other than experience, and something other than being taught by their parents. More alarm calling. Apparently.

Humane 200

Humane Eagles Investigation Research 200

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2021

The fields near the Tiaozini mudflats look very much like a lunar landscape, but this does not seem to keep a number of species from breeding there, sometimes directly on dirt roads. But now back to birds … Little Ringed Plovers also seem to like to breed directly on the road. Blandness sells.

Birds 204

Birds Uganda Breeding Rats 204

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2022

But at times, in the breeding season especially, the same birds would belt some of the most complex and absolutely juicy notes that made me reconsider my feelings toward them. This gave us several chances to experience them at various stages of growth. They seem to be a bit angry for the most part. Wise creatures.

Trinidad 147

Trinidad Emotional Breeding Cats 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

It’s all about the improbable intersection of human beings and Emperor Penguins, and if I can’t make it to an Emperor Penguin colony (highly unlikely), reading this book has been the next best thing. It’s part memoir, part travelogue, part scientific narrative, part prologue to making an argument for Antarctic conservation.

Penguins 151

Penguins Seals Leopards Research 151

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

Her experiences are framed within the larger scientific histories how once common species become endangered, and of how people and organizations have strategized and explored controversial paths to bring their numbers up and nurture them till they fill our skies. This is the chapter where Osborn talks about “second chances.”

California Condor 168

California Condor Falcons California Birds 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2023

Humans are not always bad for birds, only about 95% of the time. They breed in the tunnel area, giving those birdwatchers anxiously waiting for the Chinese Monal to show up something to do in the meantime – like watching the shift change. Sounds a bit like some weird Nazi eugenics experiment to me, but I guess it is just science.

Birds 160

Birds Science Humane Species 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2022

Bird names say much about human perception, they can also give us insight into the people who invented names for official bird descriptions. Three live and breed here, two migrate through the country in large numbers (one of those also breeds here in small numbers), and another migrates through and winters in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica 253

Costa Rica Pennsylvania South America Panama 253

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

The book is organized into ten chapters, framed by a Prologue and Epilogue focused on Weidensaul’s banding experience in Denali National Park. His participant observations connect to his own research experiences, providing history and perspective. This is big, global-level stuff with amazing findings but worrisome data.

Cyprus 243

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 243

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2022

After securing our passage, I patiently waited for this once-in-a-lifetime experience to a place we have never been and lacked any knowledge of, we were in for a complete surprise. It has had very few humans walk its soil and who have had little impact to this otherwise pristine nature. Salvin’s Prion. and seabirders.

South Africa 261

South Africa Mice Albatross Africa 261

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

The adults presumably have already learned that humans are not usually good news even if not named Donald Trump. A Lesser Cuckoo stayed in one of the Nanhui microforests for a few days, not being afraid of humans at all. However, this September, a friend alarmed me to the presence of a Fairy Pitta a little bit past 6 a.m.

Birds 130

Birds Tigers Humane Ecuador 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

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. Their loud, descending whistles, gurgles and screeches are a common feature of parks and suburban neighborhoods in parts of Miami-Dade.

Miami 191

Miami Asia Florida Malaysia 191

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2023

I visited Tengchong in late 2020 and wrote about it – but I also went there earlier, in 2017, and this post shows some photos I took during that trip, along with the usual comments that seem to be much more about ridiculing my fellow humans (especially ornithologists and the like) than providing useful information on birds.

China 175

China 2017 Birds Indonesia 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2020

Beginning this year, New York State embarked on its third-ever breeding bird atlas , and it’s the first one I’ve been able to participate in as a birder. Over the last several weeks there, I’ve watched them gather bits of straw and other sundry materials and ferry these back to their nest holes in the old barn walls and eaves.

Farming 178

Farming New York Breeding Unwanted 178

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2023

Nestled between the Huangpu River and the East China Sea, Shanghai offers a captivating blend of urban charm and natural wonders, making it a must-visit destination for birders seeking a unique and diverse avian experience. The clash of nature and urban progress creates a bizarre and sometimes frustrating experience for birdwatchers.

China 158

China Endangered Species Sanctuary Protection 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2023

In my experience, people eat more food they are familiar with than food that is unfamiliar. In my (fortunately rather limited) experience, Chinese karaoke singers adapt their singing based on the chosen song, the audience, and the amount of alcohol in their blood. They also eat more when together with other people.

Birds 185

Birds Blackbirds Indonesia Bhutan 185

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2023

The Grey-backed Shrike apparently prefers locations close to human settlements – not because humans are particularly nice (we are not), but “because these habitats offer a better foraging substrate and places safe from large predators” ( source ). This male Plumbeous Water Redstart tried to ignore its chick.

Hamburgers 197

Hamburgers Birds Science China 197

10,000 Birds

APRIL 23, 2013

Its amazing to me that there are still places on earth where wildlife is blissfully unafraid of humans. It was made a National Park in the 1980s and is a major breeding and nesting area for over 30,000 seabirds. A male Magnificent Frigatebird in full breeding regalia. Red-billed Tropicbirds nest on these craggy cliffs.

Whales 257

Whales Whaling Sharks Marine Life 257

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

It breeds in a broad and not quite coherent band from Iceland in the west through central Europe and southern Scandinavia all the way to eastern Russia, wintering in Africa, parts of India, and Southeast Asia to Australia. Judging by my experiences with the species, the Black-tailed Godwit’s behaviour is restricted to two aspects.

Germany 173

Germany Russia Iceland India 173

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2023

So, all this makes birding this place an occasionally less than pleasant experience. A paper on breeding of the species was actually researched right here at Wawushan. The authors speculate that “human disturbance (i.e. A few general words about parrotbills to fulfill my educational duty towards you, the valued reader.

Pandas 193

Pandas Birds Eggs China 193

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

This includes current research (up to about 2016, but mostly earlier) on how climate change and human change are affecting the birds’ ecology and behavior. Two sobering chapters on “Conservation” and “Climate Change” end the text section of the book, followed by a 36-page Bibliography and a detailed Index.

Research 164

Research Birds Hoarding Sweden 164

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. You can see why here. My cats refuse to even try Fiery Minivets.

Birds 201

Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 201

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

Do you really need to have Kai’s birding experience further detailed not just by month but a level below? As with Chinese male humans, having your own building is still vital to raising young. One of the established ways to evaluate self-cognition in animals (including humans) is the mirror test. Yes, you do, trust me.

Birds 178

Birds Sparrows Protection Humane 178

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

And, Essay #195, “Our Human Values: The Ugly,” describes the standoff between catfish loving Double-crested Cormorants and catfish farmers in the Missouri Valley. I’m not sure if “the Ugly” refers to the cormorant itself or human reaction (catfish farmers are officially allowed to shoot the birds).

Birds 114

Birds North America Breeding America 114

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

This would have allowed you to summarize your experience in sentences such as “A total of 98 boluses regurgitated by 52 chicks aged 1 day to 11 days after hatching form the sample and are shown to contain 323 food items.” It concludes that human activity influences the breeding activity of the lapwing. How efficient.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandon 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2022

I should have known that birding High Island meant I would be 20 minutes away from a place where hundreds of thousands of shorebirds and waterbirds rest, feed, breed, and generally have a good time. I love American Avocets and I rarely see them in such marvelous breeding plumage, so I was in heaven. American Avocets.

Houston 200

Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 200

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

There is a total of 235 different bird species in Greenland, most of them are migratory birds with approximately 60 species breeding within the land. Some of the most common breeding birds are White-tailed Eagles , Northern Fulmars , Black Guillemots , Common Eiders , Rock Ptarmigans , and Arctic Terns. Source: Shutterstock ).

North America 175

North America Eagles Breeding Fish 175

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

The Kerkini Lake National Park is my favourite birding area in the whole of the Balkans and while I’ve been here in April and again (migration), September (migration), October (coffee break), December and January (wintering), this was my first time in the breeding season, in May. Below legal size for humans is still legal for pelicans.

Greece 188

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 188

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

It seems the ones I got decent photos of are all juveniles – it generally seems to be easier to get photos of juveniles as they have not quite learned to avoid humans. Thank god that this does not apply to humans. Sometimes being a member of the human race feels very embarrassing. Not this one though.

Birds 190

Birds China Eggs Owls 190

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Steve Howell has spent decades of experience in the field studying the birds of Belize, Costa Rica, and especially Mexico. They also occasionally show breeding colonies or isolated populations, possible occurrences, and directions of range expansion. Fantasy is the key word here. Doing this work takes time! I love the writing here.

Costa Rica 202

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 202

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2015

Many of the great debates over human behavior, those related to things such as race or gender, are muddled and messy because plasticity is ignored. Plasticity in humans is probably modulated primarily through experience and enculturation. Presumably the humans keep away the predators.

Birds 116

Birds Research Humane Pets 116

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

An Ashy Drongo apparently spends approximately 71% of its time scanning (what non-scientists would probably call looking around), 9% eating (less than a typical Chinese human but much more than me), calling 7%, flying 7%, and 6% preening. In conclusion, an experience that will put me off buying anything from that company ever.

Singapore 147

Singapore Mountain Goats Birds Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2011

Rufous Hummingbirds have a well-earned reputation for getting lost — they breed along the west coast but turn up in New York in fall and winter pretty regularly — and an equally well-earned reputation for hardiness, as they breed farther north than any other hummingbird species, into Alaska.

South America 156

South America New York Alaska America 156

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Splits were once a much more subjective determination, based on differences in appearance, vocalizations, habits, and breeding preferences. I have never seen a “Brown-throated ” House Wren near human settlements. If you happen to have seen both species, your life list can increase without you even leaving the house.

San Diego 170

San Diego San Francisco Mexico Baltimore 170

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2023

The young sometimes do not get taken seriously by the adults – something that this juvenile Oriental Dollarbird probably experiences on a daily basis. Surprisingly (at least from a biased human perspective), 97% of the deserters are female ( source ). Maybe the males were not that impressive.

Birds 130

Birds China Taiwan Raised 130

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Islands, for various reasons, experience more extinctions than continents (with Africa being the only continent not suffering a bird extinction!). Previously common at its only known site, Lake Aloatra, into the 1930’s, the introduction of numerous exotic fish species and human disturbance led to massive population declines.

Madagascar 230

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 230

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2015

We also try to re-nest uninjured baby birds so we don’t interfere with a bird’s breeding cycle. Experience shows that bird parents do feed babies in makeshift nests reattached to tree branches, bushes, gutters, and even tree cavity sections duct taped to another tree. Wild bird rehabilitators want bird parents to feed their own babies.

Wounded 253

Wounded Rescue Medical Cats 253