10,000 Birds

MARCH 28, 2020

Flashback two weeks and my daily check of recent eBird sightings reveals the presence of several tours taking place, lots of cool birds being seen and enjoyed by dozens of birders, no doubt many of the species are lifers, dozens of bird species seen during trips of a lifetime. As I write this, the weather is ironically gorgeous.

Costa Rica 217

Costa Rica Birds Spain New York 217

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2015

Third, observing and photographing breeding birds and their young have become acts of ethical confusion as birders, photographers, and organizational representatives debate the impact of our human presence on the nesting process. Peregrine Falcon nests. Some people love books like that. Familiar is not necessarily common.

Eggs 263

Eggs Family 2006 New York 263

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Bufflehead ( Bucephala albeola ) Female at Cavity Entrance photos by Larry Jordan “Some 85 species of North American birds excavate nesting holes, use cavities resulting from decay (natural cavities), or use holes created by other species in dead or deteriorating trees. Talk about cute! www.youtube.com/watch?

North America 209

North America America Barn Owls Falcons 209

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2019

So, for example, Essay #15, “Individual Variation,” uses Herring Gulls to introduce the concept that one species, even one species at a specific age, can vary widely in appearance. The Checklist is more than a taxonomic listing of species and chapter number and title; it also contains useful notes on each bird family.

Birds 114

Birds North America Breeding America 114

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

Over 3,200 photographs have been used, most showing species in their habitats. There is also text, distribution maps, a dark red bar “warning” about similar looking rare species, and conservation symbols. So, how do you find the species account for Kestrel if falcons are not placed between woodpeckers and parakeet?

Ireland 141

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 141

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

A range of hills protects the cove from the eastern wind, yet, the bushes are swaying in the rythm of it. Nick finds a bird-shaped protrusion at the top of the rock – Black-eared Wheatear , not exactly a species I expect to observe from a boat deck. The Sun already sets and I haven’t seen a new species in a while.

Greece 228

Greece Malta Croatia Birds 228

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

That’s pretty amazing–Bolivia has more bird species than India! The source of this ranking, BirdLife International, lists Bolivia as currently having 1,439 bird species, including 18 breeding endemics. The guide covers 1,433 species, the number of birds documented at the end of 2014, the cutoff point for the book.

Bolivia 169

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 169

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Even among the protected areas of Serbia, the Iron Gates National Park (in Serbian: Djerdap) stands out as better preserved. Keep in mind that the special nature reserves (dark green on the park map) enjoy the highest level of protection and are off limits to visitors (possible only with research permits issued by the park authorities).

Serbia 184

Serbia Turtles Birds Eagles 184

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 27, 2016

They manage a number of reserves around the UK to protect waterfowl, the most famous being Slimbridge (another iconic place I haven’t made it to yet). I was told that a few minutes ago a Peregrine Falcon had been seen on one of the islands, but I couldn’t find it. Common Moorhen.

Geese 100

Geese New Zealand Germany Ducks 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. New World Vultures.

California Condor 177

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 177

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

I got to see a beautiful female and owlet on a trip to a secret nest location near Howard Prairie Lake (human-made nest structures have enhanced local breeding for these huge owls whose nest success is boosted to 83% on artificial platforms vs. 66% at natural sites). The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY.

2014 184

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 184

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

Sadly the great gannet colonies during the July to October period to protect the birds, but if you head up to Boundary Stream you’ll find a good mix of lowland and mountain forest where active management is keeping forest birds going. If you do decide to give your liver a rest then rest assured there are birds to be seen here.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Birds 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Instead of going on about zip lines and other modern, adventure tourism attractions, the birding crowd talks about taking photos of Resplendent Quetzals , seeing dozens of hummingbird species, and the seemingly odd absence of raptors in Costa Rica but nope, we don’t really talk about extinction. Resplendence.

Costa Rica 213

Costa Rica Species Panama Birds 213

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

I was especially interested in “To Hide From God,” the chapter on songbird slaughter and protection in Cyprus. This is the hook that draws us into reading about and caring about migrant birds, that and the charisma of birds like Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Kirtland’s Warbler, Snowy Owl, and Amur Falcon.

Cyprus 246

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 246

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. But nowadays, they, too, breed here, about 20 pairs this year.

Greece 190

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

It was a Benguela Nino year, and pelagic seabirds were in super-abundance in the south eastern Atlantic, with the total of species by variety and number exceeding all expectations for the birders on the inaugural trip as we pitched and wallowed about in the rolling swells on our way out to the trawling grounds.

Albatross 178

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 178

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

I chalked up 132 species in a pretty relaxed eight days, during which birds shared the agenda with culture. With 154 eBirded species almost single-handedly spotted by the UK expat Geoff Laight, the Paljuvi is the latest addition to the top-5 list. With 154 eBirded species, the Beljarica shares the 4th place on the list.

Serbia 152

Serbia Birds Bulgaria Farming 152

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2017

Shallows provide an ideal spawning ground for almost 50 fish species and submerged islands breeding ground for more than 100 bird species. Beside several well-showing Red-backed Shrikes , the highlight was one uncommon Lesser Grey Shrike (highly localized ** , with only 700 to 1000 breeding pairs in Serbia). Or a falcon?

Romania 117

Romania Serbia Turtles Blackbirds 117

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. Greenland’s Birds.

North America 175

North America Eagles Breeding Fish 175

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2016

July is that boring period after the breeding and prior to migration season. The next tract of rolling sand dunes grassland is to be found at the eastern edge of the Sands, in the recently protected Karas-Nera nature reserve (cover photo). We saw 50+ species together, several lifers for him, the Tawny Pipit among them.

Sheep 120

Sheep Turtles Squirrels Europe 120

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016

She doesn’t know the species till it emerges, almost dreamlike, from the heavy glare of the sun. Fox encounters 69 species, some singly, some in huge feeding or migrating flocks. She’s described conservation successes in detail–the Bald Eagle, the Short-tailed Albatross, now protected in Japan.

Fox 100

Fox Albatross Geese Bald Eagle 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 9, 2012

The IOC world birdlist recognizes 90 species that bear the name “weaver” or “malimbe” Not all of these are true weavers as we will discuss below. There are currently 64 recognized species in this genus, a remarkable number indeed, and this includes the 5 Asian and 2 Malagasy species.

Tanzania 215

Tanzania Buffalo Kenya Namibia 215

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2021

Colombia is one of those countries that Dragan’s dreams are made of: it has 1,965 bird species – more than any other country in the world. Among them are 94 endemics and 101 near-endemics, four introduced species and only 42 vagrants. No matter how big your avian-related library is, this would be a terrific addition to it.

Birds 240

Birds Colombia Collecting Bald Eagle 240

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2011

Most threatened endemics are now restricted to protected areas, but I’ve passed a couple of Weka on a country road in Neslon and I saw my first Long-tailed Cuckoo flying across the main road out of Wellington. Easily separated from the New Zealand Falcon by its size and wing shape, and the fact you rarely see falcons while driving.

New Zealand 173

New Zealand Birds Thailand Falcons 173