10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2024

Here in the Brecks – an area of poor, sandy soils on the borders of Norfolk and Suffolk – we have a small but important breeding population. They favour the old heaths, but a number of pairs also breed on farmland. Brettenham Heath National Nature Reserve holds the highest density of nesting Curlews in the Brecks.

Fox 198

Fox Badgers Finland Eggs 198

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

Then it’s a matter of doing a little research on the internet to find who rang the bird you saw, and then emailing the details of your sighting. Black-tailed godwits winter in large numbers on the estuaries of both Norfolk and Suffolk, and we know that nearly all these birds breed in Iceland.

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Further research revealed the Bird Hybrids blog ( [link] ) has several revealing photographs of this (and many other) hybrids. One year he was very excited when his female Hawaiian Goose hatched four healthy goslings, the first time he had managed to breed this species. These two Racklehahns were quite different.

Geese 190

Geese Ducks Falcons Latvia 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2024

Secondly, much of the appeal is that this is a bird we don’t see in the UK very often, for Waxwings are an irruptive species, and in most years only a few ever reach our shores from their breeding grounds in the boreal forests of Scandinavia. I’ve managed to see them, too, on their breeding grounds in Finland in summer.

Finland 213

Finland Estonia Bears Ireland 213

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

I am not sure about the security situation in Iraq these days but at least some people do ornithological research there – resulting in papers such as one titled “Breeding observations of the Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines , 1789) in Iraq” Impressive. Like this bird family b.

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 26, 2022

Of course, the paper ends with the usual thinly disguised request for more research grants: “This sharing behavior could indicate a high level of social awareness and prosociality that should be further investigated. Surprisingly, they only stay on the breeding grounds for about 5 weeks.

Finland 147

Finland Birds 2016 McDonalds 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Given the complexity of the research, the result feels like a bit of a letdown – “northern populations start migration earlier than southern populations, especially in autumn” The species name of the Chestnut-eared Bunting is fucata , from the Latin “fucare”, to paint red. No wonder no species are named after me.

Birds 209

Birds Eggs Bangladesh China 209