10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 14, 2019
I started to bird from a kayak. Paddling around the Veliko Ratno Island Reserve in almost downtown Belgrade was such a liberating experience of getting close to nature while not having to travel far or invest much. My kayak club had boats for novices and after some rounded, white water banana hull that was recommended to me for its stability, I opted for a straighter, touring v-shaped hull that tracks well inside a river current.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 28, 2019
Forget the old news, Rwanda of today is one of Africa’s safest, cleanest and most stable countries. Slightly larger than Wales and about the size of the US state of Maryland, this country’s lure is its 703 bird species and three dozen Albertine Rift endemics among them. The “Wild Rwanda – Where to watch birds, primates, and other wildlife” gives you the info how and where to look for both birds and mammals (not just primates, the title is somewhat misleading).
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10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 5, 2019
The full title of this exceptional book by Marie Read is Mastering Bird Photography: The Art, Craft, and Technique of Photographing Birds and Their Behavior. It is a finely worded encapsulation of both the book’s content and the reason why I feel like I’ve finally found the right bird photography guide, one that teaches basic technical skills, describes diverse, professional ways to approach the ‘capture’ of an avian image, but which also urges birders and photographers to go beyond the classic
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 23, 2019
What’s this? An egg? Where did winter go? A discarded pigeon’s egg reminded me that spring is just around the corner and that nest boxes should be readied in anticipation. Ideally this is a job that should already have been done, so today was dedicated to cleaning out the boxes that dot Le Castille du Gannet. Lady Helen has a “Tut” that carries for miles through the still morning air and I could sense her disapproval from the top of my ladder.
Speaker: Steve Romanco
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10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 2, 2019
Recently, I moved to a new place in Costa Rica. As is usual for a birder moving to a new place, I couldn’t wait to see what the new yard would bring. Although it was nothing like going from New York to California or even Buffalo, New York to North Carolina, a change of location, however slight, can bring new birds especially in Costa Rica. Around here, the small changes tend to be amplified by differences in elevation, microhabitats, and urbanization.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 16, 2019
Barbets are odd, chunky birds with large beaks. There’s so much more that can be said about this group of birds but that’s the first description that comes to mind. They also tend to be colorful, one plays a role in Rudyard Kipling’s “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”, and they only occur in places with lots of other cool, tropical birds.
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10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 17, 2019
On the evening of the 7th of February we received a call from George Swann to let us know that Bruce Greatwich had seen a post on a Community Noticeboard Facebook page about a Fairy Pitta. As keen birdwatchers, who just happened to have found the Night Parrots in Western Australia, they were keen to look for the Fairy Pitta at first light the next day.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 18, 2019
Mid-February can be boring if you’re overly focused on the coming migration. On the other hand, some birders really appreciate the opportunity to pick up specialties from the current season. Which kind of birder are you? My daughter and I waited past dusk to see a Great Horned Owl land in the bare tree pictured above. It perched on the cell tower instead.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 10, 2019
Last Sunday, February 3rd, we drove to Derby for the day from Broome. Derby is our closest town and is 220kms/137 miles away and you can get there in about two hours. There is very little traffic about at this time of year, but there are a lot of cattle wandering across the road and you need to be alert. Although we have not had much rain this year so far the land is now green.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 9, 2019
I have been keeping an eye out for the Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarelli, since I first noticed the roosting flock a few years ago At the time I confess to smirking. You see the designers of the steel and glass symphony that is London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5, included a few trees to welcome visitors to our “green and pleasant land”, but at the same time, wanted to avoid the kind of window smudges that come from providing habitat for birds.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 3, 2019
Remember way back to last year when a team named for a bird won the Super Bowl? With no avian-themed organizations representing, the Patriots won yet again. Maybe next year… This weekend, I braved the soul-searing chill of the polar vortex to track down Canvasbacks palling around with other ducks in the open water of the Irondequoit Bay channel.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 1, 2019
Are you ready for Superb Owl Sunday ? This weekend’s festivities are certain to unite a very fractured nation, offering Americans a chance to stop complaining about the weather in order to complain even more fiercely about the New England Patriots. Should be a blast! The polar vortex encompassing Upstate New York delivered all manner of problems for people, but our local birds seem to be weathering the blistering cold well.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 24, 2019
It does not seem that long since the shorebirds all returned from their northerly migration and already we are starting to see the change in their breeding plumage. The shorebirds are starting to concentrate on putting on body weight ready for their next journey north. The shorebirds will start to leave Broome next month to breed high up in the Arctic and will mostly fly non-stop to the Yellow Sea in China.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 22, 2019
Believe it or not, the current season is slowly easing into the next one. You may be mired in a very frigid or overwhelmingly sweltering hell, but soon you’ll find the succor of a more mild season, one that carries birds on waves of zugunruhe. But stop fantasizing about those birds while you still have so many to enjoy around you now. Your last shot in a long time at winter or summer birds will be here before you know it.
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10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 22, 2019
We’ve been retreating into the world of wine of late here at Birds and Booze, but in case you were wondering, little has changed in the brewing industry during our brief digression this winter. For better or worse, the IPA – and its many, novel variations du jour – is still king. In some ways, I’m relieved to only occasionally find worthy bird-inspired art amongst the endless formations of IPAs on beer store shelves, arrayed in the now-ubiquitous 16-ounce, matte-finish cans that’s become the obl
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 15, 2019
Birding, as I’ve experienced over the last 18 or so years, basically comes down to positioning, patience, and perception. Arrive when and where a bird should be, stick around until it makes itself known, and observe its presence. What could be easier? If you doubt the accuracy of this analysis, test it this weekend and report your findings! I’m venturing out to the farm fields of Hamlin, where all sorts of wild winter birds might be perceived.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 15, 2019
In upstate New York (where I call I home and do most of my birding), Great Blue Herons serve as both augurs of spring and emblems of wintertime perseverance, depending on the year. In my last seven years living here, I’ve seen one on New Year’s Day counts twice. I assume these have been especially hardy birds eking out a living wherever they can find open water for another week or so, before the deep freeze of midwinter sets in and sends them further south.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 11, 2019
When a Pacific Loon was found last weekend in Nassau County, by the marina in Oyster Bay, I was indifferent. After all, I saw one in New York State a little over six years ago , and I have seen them several times when in western states. But then photos starting showing up on social media and local photographers’ sites and I got jealous. Fortunately, I had yesterday clear to bird as I wanted so I decided to start my day at Oyster Bay, half-an-hour from my house, and see if I could get simil
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 10, 2019
Ever feel like you’re not birding enough? I know how ludicrous that question sounds to some of you, but others understand how often other commitments interfere with even our most favorite activities. While I can’t Marie Kondo your busy schedule, I’d like to help reconnect you to those birding moments that spark joy. Just make sure that you have a Best Bird of the Weekend to report every Monday.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 8, 2019
Only a few days ago this week, we passed the midpoint of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s more than halfway over now, but there’s undoubtedly plenty more cold weather to come. Time for another bottle of red wine to get us through to spring. Our wine this week is a Cabernet Sauvignon from Tussock Jumper Wines. There’s a King Penguin ( Aptenodytes patagonicus ) on the label, a very first appearance for the Spheniscidae family here at Birds and Booze.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 7, 2019
Are you the sort of birder who takes comfort in the thought that you might find new species within driving distance of your home? Or are you the kind of completist who is driven to distraction by the knowledge of unseen species in your general vicinity? I definitely fall into the former category, willing to cache new birds away like an Acorn Woodpecker stores oak nuts.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 3, 2019
Over the years we have encountered many Great Bowerbird bowers. They vary in construction and there is also a wide variation in the items that they collect. Traditionally the Great Bowerbirds collect mostly white and green items, but this varies by location. At Keep River National Park the Great Bowerbird bower was almost entirely white bones and it was nowhere near human habitation.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 2, 2019
The first sharer of 2019 was Clare who narrowly beat Duncan by 5 hours. In a very competitive first day, even Corey, 18 time zones to the west, beat Duncan. Was it a big night in Wellington? The beats are sharing enthusiastically and I can hardly keep up with them. I love January! The Life List has got off to a flyer this year, swelling as it has to 3573 (+6) and passing the 4000 complete checklist mark.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 1, 2019
Like many in the Northeast and Midwest of the United States, I’ve been holed up at home lately, thanks to a big winter storm last week – and now – the polar vortex. Last week, we had over a foot of snow in Albany, New York, with some of the surrounding areas blanketed by up to two feet. The day after the storm brought even colder and gustier weather, with the windchill dipping down into the negative double digits.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 24, 2019
The shortest month of the calendar year tends to be one of the less birdy as well. Still, twenty-eight days hardly suffice when the world offers so much to see. As promised, I teased a single Iceland Gull out of an endless horde of more common gulls. To keep the good times rolling, I spent the rest of the weekend watching paint dry and water boil. Corey saw quite a few quality birds on his trip to the southeastern United States in the last week but he best bird he saw that fits the criteria of h
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 16, 2019
It is vexing to see (even more, to hear) three crows, common as dirt, chasing a red-tailed hawk out of the tree in which he had been placidly sitting, doing no one any harm — at least not yet. One consolation is to hear the red-tail’s scream (translation: “OK, but I’ll be back”), as he leaves the crows and their incessant, absonant caws behind.
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