10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2019

When I reached the levee earlier that morning, I met an elderly hunter from whom I learned that there was an ongoing duck and pheasant hunt, but no one was shooting from, nor towards the embankment, hence I should be safe there. The only wildcat I found was illegally killed by hunters during closed season. All in the name of progress.

Serbia 242

Serbia Otters Boars Eagles 242

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2018

I am preparing for the new census of one of the rarest birds of Serbia, the globally threatened Great Bustard , taking place two days from now. Habitat destruction combined with hunting has pushed them away from their former breeding grounds. Bustards are being counted in February because their breeding season starts in March.

Serbia 103

Serbia Romania Hungary Hunting 103

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

The other day I counted my favourite section of the Danube River, the wide and shallow Labudovo okno Ramsar site in Serbia. These globally threatened raptors breed from Ukraine eastward through Siberia and only a few come to overwinter here. The biggest count ever was less than 10 birds in the whole of Serbia.

Geese 139

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 139

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2018

As you know, I started to bird from a canoe, exploring the Danube backwaters in Belgrade, Serbia. The last beaver in the area was killed ten miles to the east – near Pancevo around the year 1900, but, reintroduced some dozen years ago, there are some 150 of them in the country nowadays. Nevertheless, Nagy was right.

Beavers 116

Beavers Serbia Eagles Hungary 116

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

What the Owl Knows is organized into nine chapters: introduction, adaptation (including vision and flight), research and researchers, vocalization, courtship and breeding, roosting and migration, cognition, and two chapters on owls and humans–captive owls (not zoos, educational owls) and owls in our cultural history.

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200