10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

They didn’t, of course, have the luxury of the fantastic modern optics we take for granted today. Wagner wasn’t the only one to have died from gunshot wounds. I have a fascinating little reference book called Whose Bird? written by Bo Beolens and Michael Watkins, published by Christopher Helm in 2003.

Falcons 234

Falcons Collecting 2003 Wounded 234

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2022

It is not particularly big but has a reported 430 bird species including migrants, though during my short stay it seems I missed most of the key attractions among them. Great White Pelican is not just the name of a non-existent glam-rock band but also of a bird species. Pel’s Fishing Owl, where were you?

South Africa 147

South Africa Africa Birds Research 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2013

Now that passerine migration has largely wound down the attention of this New York birder has shifted to seabirds, shorebirds, and the occasional trip looking for breeding birds. There were actually quite a few more shorebird species roosting and feeding out in the marsh proper but they were distant and will not factor into this post.

Eggs 148

Eggs New York Wounded Jamaica 148

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2015

Wilson’s Warbler is, of course, named for Alexander Wilson. And it’s named Wilson. Wilson is a fine name. Born in Scotland a mere decade before the Revolutionary War, he emigrated to America in his 28th year on the heels of a sentence in gaol for writing anti-capitalist poetry.

North America 165

North America America Wounded Canada 165

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

Of course, the CBC has sexier abbreviation: with the IWC (or iWC?) Here in Serbia, in the south of the continent, this species is a proper rarity. Yet, in the early 19th century it seems to have been a regular species overwintering alongside other geese, but after 1840s, the next birds were recorded only in 1955.

Geese 155

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2018

And, of course, by blackbirds I mean true thrushes of the family Turdidae , of which the Common (Eurasian) Blackbird ( Turdus merula ) is the most famous in European culture and folklore. But the name of this beer had nothing to do with “Sixteen Tons” of coal, or “Okies” from Muskogee, but birds: merle is also the French word for “blackbird”.

Blackbirds 113

Blackbirds Belgium Colorado Wounded 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2011

BirdLife Cyprus noted that, “The three-day conference dealt with illegal bird killing across Europe, and emphasis was given to the problem of poisoning, which affects many bird species in many countries (including the Griffon Vulture in Cyprus). Kingfisher on a limestick (Credit: Hüseyin Yorganc?)

Cyprus 179

Cyprus illegal Game Birds 179