10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2014

Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a Bald Eagle that he watched (and photographed) hunting and eating a Blue-winged Teal at Viera Wetlands. Sure, Corey saw rarer birds, more colorful birds, and birds that he wanted to see more than a Bald Eagle but the experience of watching such a show was amazing. How about you?

Bald Eagle 169

Bald Eagle 2014 Eagles Birds 169

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

Instead, my earliest drinking experiences in Queens centered around imported beer, a fitting circumstance in this borough of immigrants, now that I think about it. And more importantly for us, unlike Zywiec, 313 Polish Lager features a bird: the orzel bialy , the white eagle that adorns the national coat of arms of Poland.

Poland 137

Poland Detroit New York City Eagles 137

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2012

Typically these birds hunt at night and are very shy. We also stumbled upon the largest of Africa’s owls, the colossal Giant Eagle Owl (more recently named Verreaux’s Eagle Owl ) and often heard its pig-like grunting both during the day and at night. In full sunlight, at eye-level and eating a freshly caught fish.

Owls 240

Owls Fish Botswana Barn Owls 240

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

A birder needs access to large areas of mature forest that also offer up chances at seeing glittering flocks of tanagers, checking out the tail bobbing behavior of cool antbirds, and glassing a hawk-eagle or two. This is what a Black Hawk-Eagle shape looks like. Ornate Hawk-Eagle. Buff-fronted Quail-Dove. Yellow-naped Parrot.

Costa Rica 201

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 201

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

The drongo perches above the flock, snatching insects that they disturb, and keeping an eye out for predators that might go unnoticed by its hunting flock-mates. The species is classified as Near Threatened for all the usual depressing reasons – pollution, drainage, hunting, and the collection of eggs and nestlings ( source ).

Birds 202

Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 202

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2018

It is a fascinating world of swampy forests of willow and poplar, inhabited by Black Storks , White-tailed Eagles , Eastern Olivaceous and Icterine Warblers (above), among more than 200 other species. What I have always missed there and what I still miss is to experience presence of the European Beaver. Nevertheless, Nagy was right.

Beavers 116

Beavers Serbia Eagles Hungary 116

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2015

This means that they probably can’t withstand any sort of hunting pressure, and given the lack of Great Curassows in most accessible parts of their range, that is probably the case. Although this big bird isn’t on our menu, Ornate and Black-and-white Hawk-Eagles relish it. The Near Threatened Black Guan.

Costa Rica 164

Costa Rica Turkey Ecuador Hunting 164

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

We worship birds, we hunt birds, we protect birds, and, yes, we eat birds. It includes stunning photographs by Tipling of eagle hunters (as in Kazakhs who hunt with eagles), Stellar Sea Eagles in Hokkaido, Japan, and Black Kites at the dump near New Delhi, India. Eagles are national symbols of the U.S.,

Birds 205

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 205

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2013

I could hardly contain my excitement as I gazed at a Great Gray Owl and watched it hunt through someone else’s scope. It was the Snowy Owl, taking no chances while an immature Bald Eagle was passing by. On the third day, we finally connected with the species I wanted to see the most and just could not miss.

Minnesota 177

Minnesota Owls Bald Eagle Hoarding 177

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2013

Not because you generally see many birds while diving, although the experience of seeing shearwaters flying underwater while cage diving, as I once did, was one I think most birders would enjoy. The dive was a gentle one, as dive goes, with a lot of kelp to get under to hunt for interesting fish, lobsters, sponges and rays. Nudibranch.

New Zealand 160

New Zealand Goats Vanuatu Fiji 160

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

As the national bird of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the African Fish Eagle is usually very busy whenever it stays in these countries, giving speeches, opening shopping centers, etc. Letaba is a largish rest camp in the North central part of the park. It is near a river, attracting some birds that like to eat wet food.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 22, 2015

At the far end of the lake stands a tall, dry tree with an eagle that we are struggling to determine and it remains a dark silhouette far too far. Somewhere below that mysterious eagle, at the far shore of the lake, lies one Bengal Tiger … and further to the right – two more! He has earned his tip.

Tigers 238

Tigers India Killing 2012 238

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2014

I have, for the most part, been able to avoid caves since that experience. First off as we drove in was the Crested Serpent-eagle I’ve shown you before. It matters not a jot that I couldn’t say which was which or that fear is petty much my only real memory of the experience. A Bat Hawk hunting bats.

Bats 154

Bats Birds Vanuatu Namibia 154

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2013

However, the great birding experience that is Sani starts lower down. Other specials include Large-billed Lark, Gray-winged Francolin, Sentinel Rock-Thrush, Sickle-winged Chat, Yellow Canary (at the very eastern edge of its range) and, if you are very lucky, a roosting Cape Eagle-Owl. Photo by Adam Riley.

Lesotho 164

Lesotho Africa Birds Rats 164

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Recent publicity about these remarkable tribes has resulted in tourists wanting to experience this wild land and its attractions for themselves. They are traditionally pastoral people, but have from necessity accepted agriculture, fishing and crocodile hunting as means of survival.

Ethiopia 235

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 235

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2022

Eagle-eyed Pat spotted a Lesser Black-backed Gull in nonbreeding plumage and other birders that week noted a Thayer’s Gull (which we may have seen too–I mean, who expects Iceland Gull in April?). This was the High Island Experience, I was told. Well, he did pause for his photo-op, unlike his cousins. It was amazing.

Houston 201

Houston Texas Sanctuary Sparrows 201

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. I’m wondering as I write if you are shaking your head, uneasy that all these FACTS will interfere with your love of observing owls, an experience that easily borders on the mystical for some of us. They are also hunted. I don’t think so.

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Later, Harry Fuller, President of the Klamath Bird Observatory, led us to an open meadow where we saw a pair of Great Gray Owls hunting in a meadow. The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY. Larry’s BBOTY – Great Gray Owl. Carlos’s BBOTY – the Nicobar Pigeon.

2014 183

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 183

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

They can be challenging to identify, especially if you haven’t seen one before, though with experience they are not really so difficult. 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.

Falcons 186

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 186

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Sometimes they have to protect their catches from piratic African Fish Eagles who swoop down as soon as they that see a Saddle-bill has successfully caught a fish. It is quite a sight to experience hundreds of Abdim’s Stork dropping out of the skies from seemingly thin air, to gorge on burnt or fleeing insects and rodents.

Africa 233

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 233

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2012

What this land-locked country lacks in endemic birds it more than makes up for in accessibility of tough species, numbers of birds and the overall wildlife experience. Specials include birds like African Pygmy Geese, Racket-tailed Roller and Western Banded Snake-eagle. We are currently filming in Botswana.

Botswana 199

Botswana Zebras Lions Elephants 199

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

Some of the most common breeding birds are White-tailed Eagles , Northern Fulmars , Black Guillemots , Common Eiders , Rock Ptarmigans , and Arctic Terns. One the most common breeding birds of Greenland is the White-tailed Eagle , also called the sea eagle, which primarily lives off cod and char, and more rarely live waterfowl or carrion.

North America 175

North America Eagles Breeding Fish 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

If you want to learn more about avian visual field, the essay cites two related essays in the book on Eagles and Meadowlarks (though there is a typo–it should be p. 167, Meadowlark line of sight–not p.67). copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. Three page spreads have a different format.

2020 262

2020 Birds Groups North America 262

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

The birding at Eilat is so dynamic in so many ways, you can’t just use that easy “gen” to zip over and see a Bar-tailed Lark , that Greater Spotted Eagle that flew overhead, or even the Wryneck hanging out in Eilat’s very own Central Park. Lesser Spotted Eagle was also seen several times along with Steppe Eagle.

Costa Rica 166

Costa Rica Eagles Birds 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2013

This scraggly collection of islands and deep long bays forms the tip of South Island closest to to North Island, but till this point my only experience of the area had been the long passage down Queen Charlotte Sound to reach the ferry terminal of Picton. Lochmara Bay with Queen Charlotte Sound in the background.

New Zealand 164

New Zealand Charlotte Hunting Family 164