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Whooper Swans at Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido

10,000 Birds

They are ridiculously unafraid of people there – so the cynic in me suspects that swan meat is not regarded as tasty by the Japanese (another explanation, that the Japanese just like animals too much, can presumably be discarded given the country’s very principled approach in insisting on the right to kill whales).

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Signs of Spring Migration in Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

That unwanted yet predictable final bit of killing cold weather was and is why most of the colorful insectivores, the true birds of summer, remained far to the south until May. Wilson’s Plovers are in Breeding Plumage. More Birds are Singing. Spring in Costa Rica is more of a transfer from dry to wet than from cold to hot.

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Breed Specific Legislation

4 The Love Of Animals

BSL (Breed-Specific Legislation) is the canine equivalent of racial profiling, banning certain dog breeds that have been labeled “dangerous.” ITo, the company behind the popular philanthropic, eco friendly bracelets which raise money for important world causes, has introduced a new “I’m Tired of BSL” bracelet.

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Kerkini in Winter

10,000 Birds

Greater flamingoes winter in large numbers Kerkini’s wintering Flamingoes probably breed in Turkey Forty years ago Flamingoes were rare visitors to Greece: several thousand now winter on Kerkini Lake Kerkini is an artificial lake, its depth varying considerably throughout the year. Such an abundance of wildfowl attracts Peregrines.

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Altruism, Albatrosses, and Vicious Young Men

10,000 Birds

Ka’ena Point is also a breeding ground for the Federally protected Laysan albatross, where 45 nests were being carefully monitored by the non-profit Pacific Rim Conservation. The oldest Laysan albatross was last seen raising a chick on Midway Atoll in 2016, at age 66. They are docile and devoted parents who will not leave their nests.

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Birding Shanghai in May 2023 – Part 1

10,000 Birds

During the breeding season, some Cattle Egrets look like teenage girls who have just discovered the existence of make-up, and consequently massively overdo it. While having somebody else raise your chicks like an attractive strategy to me, it is not without dangers. It is probably all downhill from here. What’s next?

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Birding a monastery: Zhaga, Western Sichuan

10,000 Birds

In the non-breeding season, Common Merganser all look pretty much like females. Not a bad look though – more attractive than the male breeding plumage, I think. Carrion Crows like to think of themselves as very modern birds. To enhance this image, they very much like to pose on power lines.

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