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Cypriot Delights: Part I

10,000 Birds

First recorded breeding on the island in 2013, this dove is now both widespread and common. Cyprus Wheatears are the easiest to find of the three endemic birds that occur on Cyprus Black Francolins once bred in Portugal, Spain and Italy, all countries from which this handsome little game bird has long been lost.

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Quinta do Casal Branco: Lobo e Falcão Reserva (2016)

10,000 Birds

While the hunting of game with trained birds of prey can be a controversial topic among birders , falconry was a valuable early source of information on birds, and its history, culture, and imagery continue to fascinate bird lovers, as we shall see. Portugal has a long history of both falconry and winemaking. es de altaner ía. (

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Short

10,000 Birds

The current header image of my own blog is another Barn Owl, this one a ringed individual I found daylight hunting, and unconcerned by the presence of my car as it hunted from posts presumably feeding young in early summer last year. Above our fireplace is a large painting of a Barn Owl.

Barn Owls 192
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Could have done better? Confessions of a year-lister.

10,000 Birds

I only scored 43 in March, but that was because I was away birding in Portugal and Estonia. These birds (usually juveniles) are clearly linked to the growing breeding population in the region. Pallid Swift , already back on the breeding grounds in early March Many waders winter on the salt marshes of the Algrave in southern Portugal.

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Andalucia’s City-Slicker Falcons

10,000 Birds

If you see a flock of kestrels in southern Europe, then the chances are that they will be Lessers, for the Common Kestrel never flocks, though occasionally in summer you will see a family hunting together. On their breeding grounds in Spain, Lesser Kestrels are very much city birds, for 95% of the population nests in towns.

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Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

This is evident in the introductory material, which includes sections on The Origin and Evolution of Borneo’s Birds, Conservation in Action, Vegetation and Bird Life in Borneo, Climate, Rainfall and Bird Breeding Seasons, and Bird Migration. The plates show differing plumages as required by the individual families and species.

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Birdwatcher or Bird Photographer?

10,000 Birds

I have a strong hunting instinct, and digiscoping gave me the satisfaction of bagging my quarry. As the Wryneck is a lost breeding bird in Britain it’s also a bird of special interest to us Brits and one I never tire of photographing. It was mirrorless and compact, and both small and light enough to be highly portable.

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