10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2014

These days I am busy with something called the “avitourism product“ of Belgrade, Serbia. Defining Belgrade bird specialties is the hard part – there is no defined criterion, beside attractiveness which often comes from how uncommon some species is. Pygmy Cormorant – winter (it breeds in Serbia, but overwinters in Belgrade).

Serbia 182

Serbia Eagles Birds Sparrows 182

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2021

9 beats submitted 140 checklists from 7 countries (USA, UK, Costa Rica, Serbia, Australia, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago) during October to account for 585 species. 2 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 3 Fulvous Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna bicolor. 11 Wood Duck – Aix sponsa.

Woodpeckers 244

Woodpeckers Sparrows Blackbirds Ducks 244

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2021

December’s beats found 609 birds after submitting 116 checklists from 8 countries (USA, UK, Costa Rica, China, Mexico, Serbia and Australia). The year list ends on a provisional 1803 species from 1608 checklists submitted by 12 beats from 16 countries. Most species-prolific was Patrick in Costa Rica, followed by Paul from Mexico.

2020 232

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Parrots 232

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2020

7 beats contributed their sightings from 7 countries (Hong Kong, UK, China, USA, Serbia, Australia and, of course, Costa Rica). 149 checklists were submitted, accounting for 465 species. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa). Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha). American Black Duck (Anas rubripes).

2020 153

2020 Sparrows Niger Woodpeckers 153

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Checking my annual list, I am where I usually am at this time of year: several species short of 200. Still, this way or another, the year is ending with some glorious species, e.g. a rare Greater Spotted Eagle. Usually only several birds overwinter in Serbia – the biggest count ever was less than 10. Their claim to fame?

Moldova 120

Moldova Birds Serbia Greece 120

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2021

9 beats from 8 countries (Australia, USA, UK, Serbia, Costa Rica, China, Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico), shared 138 checklists for 703 species. The year list to date is 1015 species and 7 have been added to the life list ( 4059 ) from Costa Rica, China and Trinidad and Tobago. 10 Wood Duck – Aix sponsa.

Woodpeckers 189

Woodpeckers Sparrows Ducks Parrots 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2020

11 beats collaborated to enter 163 checklists from 8 countries (UK, USA, Costa Rica, Australia, Serbia, China, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago). They noted 719 species between them. 2 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 3 Fulvous Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna bicolor.

2020 292

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Blackbirds 292

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2021

The beats are famed for their inclusion on the nice side of the ledger and this month 9 of them shared 163 lists from 7 countries (Australia, Costa Rica, USA, UK, Serbia, China and Trinidad and Tobago) and accounted for 735 bird species. Mike doubled up with “smushed”, a new addition to the adjective list.

Sparrows 193

Sparrows Woodpeckers Ducks Parrots 193

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2020

At time of writing (usually a couple of days early to avoid the deadline panic), UK is fielding 63 species. 8 beats contributed 70 checklists from 7 countries (UK, USA, Costa Rica, China, Serbia, Australia and Singapore). 1 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 8 Wood Duck – Aix sponsa.

2020 161

2020 Costa Rica Blackbirds Sparrows 161

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2021

Our brave beats have been putting themselves at risk for your vicarious listing pleasure and 10 of them submitted 151 checklists for 692 species, 2 of which made it onto the life list. Checklists came in from 7 countries (USA, UK, Serbia, China, Mexico, Costa Rica and Australia) and brought the year list for 2021 so far to 1143.

Sparrows 159

Sparrows Woodpeckers Blackbirds Ducks 159

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2021

9 beats submitted 172 checklists from 7 countries (UK, USA, Costa Rica, Australia, Serbia, China and Trinidad and Tobago) for 640 species.

Woodpeckers 155

Woodpeckers Sparrows Blackbirds Ducks 155

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2020

7 countries (Costa Rica, China, USA, UK, Mexico, New Zealand and Serbia) were birded by 11 beats during October. They submitted 124 checklists for 671 species of bird. In particular 272 species were noted from 14 checklists submitted on October 17th, eBird’s October Big Day. 11 Fox Sparrow – Passerella iliaca.

2020 130

2020 Sparrows Woodpeckers Parrots 130

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2017

Shallows provide an ideal spawning ground for almost 50 fish species and submerged islands breeding ground for more than 100 bird species. Beside several well-showing Red-backed Shrikes , the highlight was one uncommon Lesser Grey Shrike (highly localized ** , with only 700 to 1000 breeding pairs in Serbia).

Romania 124

Romania Serbia Turtles Blackbirds 124

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

Here go those moments of curiosity, in no particular order: Europe: And so, I was driving from Greece to Serbia… in central FYRO Macedonia, two birds were circling not far from the motorway… black and white… perhaps White Storks on migration? I already have a history of searches for this species. Four – at one stroke!

Wildlife 183

Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 183

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Even among the protected areas of Serbia, the Iron Gates National Park (in Serbian: Djerdap) stands out as better preserved. Serbia, the Bradt Travel Guide by Laurence Mitchell, 4th edition, 2013 (offers extensive coverage of birding sites by yours truly). So, yes – it is possible, but by no means easy. Milovanovic and M.

Serbia 194

Serbia Turtles Birds Eagles 194

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2016

Late April / early May is the best birding season in the south of Europe and wherever you go, you will have 50% to 100% more species than in any other season. Recently, I did a bit of embankment birding, nailing 65 species (several of them firsts for the season, European Bee-eaters among them – always exciting).

Birds 115

Birds India Africa Serbia 115

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2020

9 beats visited 9 countries (China, Costa Rica, USA, UK, India, Australia, Jamaica , Serbia and Japan) and submitted 151 checklists when they got back. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. West Indian Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna arborea.

2020 156

2020 Sanctuary Australia Sparrows 156

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2019

A gathering of the beats at the “Hot Duck” barbeque. The engaged and generous beats ( 10 of them) have shared 188 checklists during January and have accounted for 859 species from 8 countries (USA, Australia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, UK, New Zealand and Serbia. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni.

2019 113

2019 Australia Jamaica Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

This shows the top birders, by species or checklists submitted. 12 beats birded 10 countries (Costa Rica, USA, Brazil, China, India, Serbia, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico), submitting 187 lists and spotting 902 birds. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. Muscovy Duck – Cairina moschata.

2020 161

2020 Wildlife Reserve Tigers Wildlife 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Whatever it was, Corey was found at his keyboard 2 hours later, covered in blood and snot and sporting a cut lip, having announced that he and Mike would rescue the failing list by taking personal responsibility for adding 300 species. Blue-billed Duck – Oxyura australis. Musk Duck – Biziura lobata. calle jocote.

2019 141

2019 Farming Sparrows Charlotte 141

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 4, 2020

December’s numbers looked like this; 10 beats visited 11 countries (Bahrain, New Zealand, USA, UK, Costa Rica, China, Mexico, Australia Nigeria, Uganda and Serbia) during December. They contributed 150 lists accounting for 1032 species and more than 36,000 individual birds. White-faced Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna viduata.

2019 175

2019 Chile Texas Sanctuary 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2019

beats have still managed to share 82 checklists and accounted for 737 species. Our two newest contributors have shared from Mexico and China, bringing the countries birded this month (also including; Costa Rica, Greece, Serbia, USA, UK, India, UAE and New Zealand) to 10. Orange-billed Sparrow – Arremon aurantiirostris.

2019 121

2019 Jamaica Eggs Woodpeckers 121

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2019

In publishing the most current thinking, eBird have become the month’s biggest contributor to the life list, expanding it by 7 brand new species and pushing it to 3774. 7 species were added to the life list in the time-honoured fashion of actually identifying the birds in the field. Wood Duck – Aix sponsa.

2019 118

2019 Arizona Ghana Tucson 118

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2019

9 countries were visited during March by your tireless beats ( 11 of them); India, UK, USA, Serbia, Costa Rica, Japan, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. 978 species were tallied this month from 163 checklists. Only 123 species appear on both sides of the life list. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni.

2019 113

2019 Ghana Australia Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2019

April was a busy time for the beats with 10 of them contributing 164 lists to accumulate 744 species from 7 countries; Costa Rica, USA, Australia, Serbia, UK, Brazil and Barbados. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. Pacific Black Duck – Anas superciliosa. Pacific Black Duck – Anas superciliosa.

2019 113

2019 Australia Ghana Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

172 lists were shared and 1004 species were seen, both records for October, so well done beats! Visited this month were; Germany , France , Austria, South Africa, Hong Kong, USA, UK, Serbia, Costa Rica, Australia, China, Indonesia , Switzerland and Singapore). Fox Sparrow – Passerella iliaca. has reached 54. Nisqually NWR.

2019 118

2019 China Battery Jamaica 118

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2016

Contributions this month have come from; Costa Rica, USA, Australia, Mexico, Serbia, South Africa, UK, Botswana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Iran. All birds are equal on this list; parking lot birds or pelagic species, breeders or fly-overs, all will be accorded the same status and each shall be worth 1 credit on the list.

2016 154

2016 Sanctuary Australia Ghana 154

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2019

In reverse order, the medals were awarded for “most species seen in a country”, to Australia with 420, USA got the silver, scoring 556 while the runaway winner was Costa Rica with 646 species. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. White-faced Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna viduata. 05 Jan 2018.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2018

During March, 11 beats shared 122 checklists to accumulate 680 species from 8 countries; USA, Costa Rica, Serbia, India, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Japan. Eastern Spot-billed Duck – Anas zonorhyncha. ???–?????? Stripe-headed Sparrow – Peucaea ruficauda. Olive Sparrow – Arremonops rufivirgatus.

2018 100

2018 Australia Los Angeles Albatross 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2017

Submissions for February have been received from Austria, Australia, UK, Japan, Costa Rica, Serbia, Mexico, USA, The Bahamas and Lichtenstein. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. Wandering Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna arcuata. 05 Jan 2017.

2017 100

2017 Australia Sanctuary Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2018

During October, 7 countries (Costa Rica, Australia, USA, India, Hong Kong, UK, Serbia) were birded by 11 beats who shared 135 checklists and noted 697 species. Cassin’s Sparrow – Peucaea cassinii. Sagebrush Sparrow – Artemisiospiza nevadensis. LeConte’s Sparrow – Ammospiza leconteii.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2018

April’s number are below; 11 countries were visited by 9 beats; Australia, USA, UK, India, Serbia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Brazil, New Zealand and Argentina. Their 185 checklists contained 951 species during April! Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. Freckled Duck – Stictonetta naevosa.

2018 100

2018 Australia Los Angeles Albatross 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2018

9 beats shared 100 checklists from 8 countries (Costa Rica, USA, UK, Brazil, Serbia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Australia. They noted 598 species as a team, bringing the year total to 2118 and pushing the life list to 3555. Sagebrush Sparrow – Artemisiospiza nevadensis. 07 Sep 2018. 03 Sep 2018. 03 Sep 2018.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 113

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2018

8 beats shared 126 checklists accounting for 704 species. They birded 6 countries; USA, UK, Costa Rica, Serbia, Australia, and Mexico. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. White-faced Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna viduata. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. 05 Jan 2018.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2017

Thus; As at April 30 th 2017, the collaborative year total stands at 1432 , with 895 species noted this month from 164 shared checklists. 9 beats contributed their sightings (this knocks last April’s efforts of 116 lists for 672 species into a cocked hat and claws back some ground on the 30th April 2016 running total of 1707).

2017 100

2017 Australia Sanctuary Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2016

Submissions from July were shared from Serbia, UK, Brazil, Mexico, USA and Saudi Arabia, bring the total as at July 31st to 1858. All birds are equal on this list; parking lot birds or pelagic species, breeders or fly-overs, all will be accorded the same status and each shall be worth 1 credit on the list. Western Australia.

2016 100

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 2, 2017

They submitted 144 checklists, noting 628 species adding 72 to the year’s running total bringing it to 1890. Plumed Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna eytoni. White-faced Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna viduata. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck – Dendrocygna autumnalis. Muscovy Duck – Cairina moschata.

2017 100

2017 Australia Sanctuary Woodpeckers 100