10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

Rarest among the ones we saw was the endangered Saker Falcon. According to the HBW, in mountainous regions, picas and young marmots are among its main prey, giving me a chance to show you photos of these animals as well (without straying from the birding topic). Himalayan Marmot. Himalayan Pica.

China 258

China Falcons Birds Owls 258

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

There are not, as far as I know, any plans to re-name the Montagu’s Harrier, a bird that’s now a real rarity in the UK that only occasionally breeds here. Eleonora’s Falcon was named by Italian naturalist Alberto della Marmora after Eleonora of Arborea (1350-1404), a celebrated Sardinian princess.

Falcons 232

Falcons Collecting 2003 Wounded 232

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

A recent paper published in the French journal Alauda (sadly, it appears not to be available in English online yet, but here’s the gist ) brings us news that Eleonora’s Falcons breeding on the archipelago of Essaouira have been caching prey during breeding season. Which, no biggie. Acorn woodpeckers cache.

Falcons 154

Falcons Montana Breeding Woodpeckers 154

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

On their breeding grounds in Spain, Lesser Kestrels are very much city birds, for 95% of the population nests in towns. The kestrel colony is valued by the city of Seville: in recent years renovation work on the roof of the cathedral was suspended during the falcons’ breeding season.

Falcons 207

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 207

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2021

We only saw the first two, and in our effort to scour each broken limb for a perched raptor, we stumbled upon a Bat Falcon of all creatures. Bat Falcon in the now blazing sun. The area is known for being a breeding area of the enigmatic Rufous Crab-Hawk and it was the first place I saw the species, many years ago.

Sea Turtles 265

Sea Turtles Bats Turtles Trinidad 265

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2019

And some Falcon , most likely mixed breed, because it belonged to falconry, not the skies. Falcons – Gyrfalcon. In the 70+ episodes, I noticed only the homing Ravens (caged/domesticated) and Pigeons (domestic – in pie). Yes, there were Chicken , too (I remember the chicken soup, not the birds). Ducks (domesticated).

Chickens 177

Chickens Falcons Birds Geese 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2020

The flocks are getting smaller day by day as they migrate to the northern hemisphere to breed. The shorebirds will then spread out across the tundra to breed and they will no longer be close to each other. The shorebirds have been feeding up and changing into their breeding plumage. The resident shorebirds will start to breed.

Australia 163

Australia Breeding Falcons Eagles 163

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2015

I am inside the city of Belgrade, checking the theoretically possible Peregrine Falcon site. Yet, not a trace of a falcon. ” Falcons do hunt pigeons, we all know that, but what is a Kamikaze pigeon? That is why Belgrade is not proud of its falcons and why I am not telling you more about them. One Feral Pigeon.

Switzerland 200

Switzerland Serbia Feral Falcons 200

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

Several hours after we saw it and reported it to the listserv other birders saw the bird attacked by not one but two Peregrine Falcons. From a symbol (to me) of resilience to a falcon’s plaything in a few hours. It will never make it to the Paramo in the high Andes for winter nor return to the tundra to breed.

Culling 157

Culling Falcons New Jersey Killing 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2020

It didn’t occur to me till I started reading The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird that there was also a possible threat to the eagle herself: poachers, who steal raptor eggs and chicks. McWilliam realizes he’s dealing someone special, a career falcon egg-thief.

Falcons 221

Falcons United Kingdom Zimbabwe Eggs 221

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2022

A few Eurasian Tree Sparrows land by my car as I am scanning for Purple and Squacco Herons , Pygmy Cormorants and Black-necked Grebes in their brilliant breeding plumage. Unlike the wide open Centa, birding in Sakule (cover photo) is mostly done from the embankment. An immature White-tailed Eagle. Soon I see a huge bird again. The same eagle?

Breeders 220

Breeders Mules Farming Fish 220

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2023

Then there were a few Hawfinches and two young Black Storks , Little Bittern , Great White Egret , Glossy Ibis , Common Kingfisher , Syrian Woodpecker , Peregrine Falcon , Red-backed Shrike , Lesser Grey Shrike , Collared Flycatcher and a family of Western Yellow Wagtails.

Greece 237

Greece Pelicans Birds Stray Dog 237

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2019

A falconer and his bird from the Mosaico de Cavaleiro in Mértola, possibly the oldest depiction of falconry in Iberia. Colorful birds adorn many of the pages of the so-called Cervera Bible and several captivating miniatures portray hunting scenes with falcons.

2016 132

2016 Portugal Falcons Japan 132

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2022

The calling Collared Forest-Falcon was also cool, so was Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer (the species at the top of this post), and so were the 120 other plus species we had from 4:30 to 8 just on that one road. A final check turned up a distant calling Laughing Falcon but not much else. Male White-flanked Antwren.

Costa Rica 274

Costa Rica San Jose Falcons Owls 274

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2018

Depending on your particular interest, opt for March/April (spring migration), May/June (breeding season), August to October (autumn migration), or November/December when waterbird migration reaches its peak. Red-footed Falcons , Whiskered and Black Terns by mid-April, White-winged Terns are passing about a week later.

Serbia 162

Serbia Geese Owls Macedonia 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2019

Red-footed Falcon by BartBotje/Wikimedia Commons. The next specialty is the Red-footed Falcon in the Deliblato Sands Nature Reserve in the east of Serbia: “Two European Rollers await us on the wires, while one Eurasian Hoopoe flies by. They do not build nests, but occupy old nests of Rooks and breed colonially among them.

2018 118

2018 Serbia Falcons Greece 118

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 22, 2014

Each autumn, nearly the entire breeding population of the Swainson’s Hawk migrates from the temperate zone of North America to wintering areas in South America. From Canada, this migration is more than 10,000 km each way, a distance second among raptors only to that of the Arctic Peregrine Falcon 1. But that is another story.

Nevada 160

Nevada North America Utah Oregon 160

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Regardless of whether you think field guide sequences should or should not reflect current evolutionary sequence, it’s comforting and easy to find falcons next to hawks, vireos next to warblers. They also occasionally show breeding colonies or isolated populations, possible occurrences, and directions of range expansion.

Costa Rica 224

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 224

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

For example, the White-headed Duck is nowadays a rarity in Europe (okay, excluding Spain, I know… that Spain …), but until some 50 years ago, it used to breed in Serbia. The hide overlooking the breeding colony of Red-footed Falcons. gmail.com or check the maps at birdwatching.rs , so far, only in Serbian).

Serbia 252

Serbia Birds Spain Hungary 252

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2023

Every species account (well, most every account) includes information on habitat and talk briefly about range and distribution (there are no range maps in this guide); it is usually noted if the species breeds in Ontario, and often noted if it is migratory or residential year-round. © 2023 by Chris Earley and Scott & Nix, Inc.,

North America 222

North America Birds Owls Canada 222

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2020

During May migration, European Roller and few dozen strong flocks of Red-footed Falcons were observed on the wires. When to go: breeding and migration seasons (April to June and late August to mid-September). There is a small and highly localised population of Greater Short-toed Lark in this grassland. To be continued.

Europe 239

Europe Serbia Woodpeckers Birds 239

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

This last week I was out with a falconer that had an absolutely stunning pale form Gyrfalcon ( Falco rusticolus ) and the beauty of this wonderful bird really touched me. With the initial successes of the work with and on the Peregrine Falcon other raptors in need garnered more attention. But I still am nowhere near to being clear.

Falcons 227

Falcons Parrots Breeding Experience 227

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

Those bigger birds of prey command respect, but it’s not like falcons are unknown. Even outside of Atlanta , Peregrine Falcons spend their breeding seasons smiling for the ( web ) camera from atop edifices all across the country.

2011 161

2011 Bald Eagle Atlanta Falcons 161

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

Let us no more speak of this week’s extraordinary failure by a cast of Falcons to finish off their prey. Instead, we’ve got other bird news to cheer us up (or at least take our minds off avian’s inexplicable inability to capture U.S. sports championships ).

Massachusetts 100

Massachusetts Eggs Falcons Rights 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2014

Pygmy Cormorant – winter (it breeds in Serbia, but overwinters in Belgrade). Goosander and Red-breasted Merganser – Belgrade in winter; otherwise, the first one breeds in Serbia. White-tailed Eagle – year round (breeds inside the city). Spanish Sparrow – still ill-numbered but, since recently, breeding near the city.

Serbia 183

Serbia Eagles Birds Sparrows 183

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

The subtle white edging to the gape of this bird indicates it is near breeding time. I had never seen a Peregrine Falcon soaring with Black Vultures before – interestingly enough I would later see the very same occurrence two days later on another part of the island. Peregrine Falcon. Little Blue Heron. Black Vulture.

Trinidad 215

Trinidad Birds Parrots Falcons 215

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2011

We also have a richness of falcons. Within 4 kilometres of where I live there are two active aeries, a Gyrfalcon’s and a Peregrine Falcon’s. However, in the context of this week, my point is that there is a lot of prime real estate up here for falcon aeries. The landscape is dramatic to say the least.

Falcons 171

Falcons Hunting Breeding Birds 171

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2014

One of the two sub-species of Red Knot occurring in North America, the Rufa subspecies breeds in the Canadian Artic Region and migrates along the east or Atlantic coast of the United States. The other sub-species, Calidris canutus roselaari , migrates along the Pacific Coast and breeds in Alaska and the Wrangel Island in Russia.

Endangered Species 160

Endangered Species Protection Delaware Species 160

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

This is where Gila Woodpecker and Yellow-breasted Chat meet Squirrel Cuckoo , Bat Falcon , and Black-throated Magpie-Jay. As the sun began to set, a flock of Mexican Parrotlets alighted in a tree with brilliant red bark, and we all noticed a Bat Falcon watching silently from a high perch above all the action down below.

Mexico 199

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 199

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Add more than 350 pairs of White Pelicans to that picture, numerous herons and up to 700 pairs of Pygmy Cormorants breeding in the same reedbeds (cover photo)… It must be bursting with activity in spring, but I was there in mid-September. Have you heard of it? Can you pinpoint it on a map?

Greece 252

Greece Pelicans Geese Breeding 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2018

But what really stole the show for the day was the horde of American Oystercatchers that are back in numbers and quibbling and quarreling over which pair will get which section of beach to breed. Then everything scattered so I immediately started scanning for a Peregrine Falcon. Instead the Snowy Owl flew over and headed out to sea!

Owls 100

Owls Falcons Breeding Fish 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Sociable Lapwings breed in several areas along the Kazakhstani – Russian border and overwinter in Iraq, Sudan and northwest India. Locals being vegetarians, why are there no birds?

India 249

India Sudan Ukraine Camels 249

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

This explains why, if you are looking at the list of plates in the Eastern guide, the “South Florida” subspecies of Red-shouldered Hawk and the “Florida” subspecies of Red-tailed Hawk are near the end of the guide and not with the other plates in the Species Accounts, and why Aplomado Falcon is the very last species in the Western guide.

North America 197

North America Birds Mississippi Bald Eagle 197

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2012

This land is currently very green from the recent rains and in very wet years it floods and becomes a great breeding area for terns. Brown Songlark The next bird we came across taking advantage of the fence was a Brown Falcon and it had been sitting on a termite mound as we approached and moved to the fence.

Falcons 161

Falcons Birds 2012 Eagles 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 28, 2020

The Birding Club of Costa Rica even held a pandemic yard bird competition to see who could see the most from their respective homes (the winners had more than 80 species including Laughing Falcon ). Breeding season that is, and it’s just around the corner. As I write this, the weather is ironically gorgeous.

Costa Rica 237

Costa Rica Birds Spain New York 237

10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2016

Golden Eagles have a global breeding population of around 300,000 birds, 3% of which spend at least part of the year in Mexico. Crested Caracaras, though they often associate with vultures, are actually part of the falcon family. Their wingspans can reach nearly 90 inches , and they have been known to prey on cranes and livestock.

Albania 101

Albania Mexico Eagles Kazakhstan 101

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

The hole-nesting population of peregrine falcons disappeared with the felling of the giant trees upon which they depended. Another cavity nesting species that breeds in Lassen Volcanic National Park is the Brown Creeper ( Certhia americana ).

North America 223

North America America Barn Owls Falcons 223