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Where have they gone?

10,000 Birds

Counting the Birds I was in my teens when I undertook my first bird-survey: it was field work for the British Trust for Ornithology’s The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. The breeding and wintering birds of Britain and Ireland. Published in 1976, The Atlas was, I believe, the very first work of its kind.

Ireland 217
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The Dunnock. Free love and duplicity

10,000 Birds

Of olde, it was known as the Hedge Sparrow to separate it from the House and Tree Sparrows. Confusion with the sparrows is understandable, given the plumage and their tendency to feed from the ground. Familiarity makes them easy to separate from the sparrows, even at a distance. Now it is classified with the Accentors.

Sparrows 165
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What to Do at High Island When the Winds are South

10,000 Birds

Seaside Sparrows were singing on both sides and occasionally popped up to give us a view before diving deep back into the Spartina grass, hopefully getting ready to nest. Seaside Sparrow. At the end of the road, we found two Nelson’s Sparrows who quickly flew out to a tiny bit of land in the channel. Eastern Meadowlark.

Houston 209
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Birding Ruoergai, Sichuan, China

10,000 Birds

The HBW even mentions the importance of Ruoergai for this species: “Key sites for migrants include the Ruoergai Plateau (China), which is also an important breeding area” Common Mergansers also seem to use these wetlands as breeding area. Unfortunately, I did not manage such a photo this time.

China 172
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Birding Shanghai in January 2023

10,000 Birds

Some of the lazier Common Moorhens apparently try to pass the arduous work of raising their chicks on to other species -a paper describes how Little Bitterns are utilized as surrogate parents. However, the authors call this a “new breeding tactic”, which seems to mix up the discovery of the tactic with the use of the tactic.

Birds 147
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Birding Shanghai in June 2022

10,000 Birds

As with Chinese male humans, having your own building is still vital to raising young. There was a breeding pair at Binjiang Forest Park this June. What could be plainer than the Eurasian Tree Sparrow ? So, the birds start collecting mud and small sticks. Nest building: a good activity for a rainy day. You should try it too.

Birds 184
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What is the State Bird of New York?

10,000 Birds

Though they can have more than one successful brood each year, in the early 20th century their populations were decimated by invasive European Starlings and House Sparrows. Both species are notoriously aggressive, and out-competed bluebirds for the nesting cavities they needed to raise their young.

New York 160