10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2011

A type of birding experience that I greatly enjoy is one of those moments where I’ve come across a simply huge number of birds. It can be during migration, in an enormous nesting colony, or with a very gregarious species. It was June 14 in 2008, when we stopped by the dam for a nice walk after lunch with family in the mountains.

Cyprus 162

Cyprus 2008 Europe Experience 162

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2021

In fact, this is probably a species that has substantially expanded its original range through the pet shop route and the resulting escapees. Originally restricted to Africa, it is now also well-established in parts of Europe and South Africa. The HBW describes the species as “striking”, which is well deserved.

South Africa 222

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 222

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

I haven’t yet been birding in Europe but whenever I occasionally skim a field guide about the birds on the other side of the Atlantic, I’m always encouraged to find that I’m already familiar with many species found over there, even though most of my birding experience has been limited to eastern North America.

2017 116

2017 Portugal Rabbits Europe 116

10,000 Birds

JUNE 25, 2017

I was given my first real field guide to the birds of Europe by my parents, a guide beyond the species found at backyard feeders and city ponds. My childhood in the 1970s and 1980s was of course shaped by family, friends, playmobil ( very popular in Germany back then), and school but also to a certain extend by the Cold War.

Europe 100

Europe Birds Kazakhstan Russia 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2014

Parrots captivate me more than any other bird family. For one, they are remarkably diverse with a little over 380 species spread over every continent except Europe (only introduced) and Antarctica. However, they do not occur evenly across their familial distribution. I am a self-proclaimed psittacophile. Most do not.

Parrots 167

Parrots Brazil Mauritius Dominica 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

Africa 233

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 233

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Elephant The big – two species of elephant are now recognized as occuring in Africa, the smaller and more secretive Forest Elephant and the larger, more familiar African or Bush Elephant. The little – the two species of black Buffalo Weavers obtain their appellation from their dark coloration that resembles their fearsome namesake.

Buffalo 195

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 195

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

Over 3,200 photographs have been used, most showing species in their habitats. There is also text, distribution maps, a dark red bar “warning” about similar looking rare species, and conservation symbols. So, how do you find the species account for Kestrel if falcons are not placed between woodpeckers and parakeet?

Ireland 140

Ireland Birds Groups Falcons 140

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2012

Europe… with such low herp diversity the locals split any sub-population of a species that occurs on either the Iberian Peninsula or Italy as a new species just to make them feel better out themselves, naturally is the continent that rose to the top of my trip list. Either that or having family friends in Germany.

Salamander 137

Salamander Germany Birds Blackbirds 137

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2020

It’s the bird family that most people don’t know is a bird family. For many years it was thought the two bird families were related taxonomically. It includes a table listing the species, subspecies, author and date of original description, which I found quite handy in sorting out the birds. Introduction.

Guinea 260

Guinea Birds Papua New Guinea Family 260

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

This species is not only usually the earliest, but the most common. What’s remarkable about this species is what we don’t see here: the extremely long migration that this species makes, with some individuals traveling from Sub-Saharan Africa to Greenland and back every year.

Cyprus 145

Cyprus 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2019

It’s a rush any new birder experiences: that of every species being a lifer. Once you’ve been around the birding block a few years, your appreciation for the lifer experience deepens greatly. But the opportunities to see new species become more difficult with each one seen. Yeah, I’m a Mallard.

Spain 188

Spain Europe Sparrows Mexico 188

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

But when I felt familiar with perhaps half of the species around my town, I started to feel that my field guide is now too bulky and too hefty to carry, and that was the era before smartphones and phone apps. It is not a concept for a total beginner, more of a reminder to someone with some experience. Subspecies are not included.

Birds 236

Birds Botswana Africa Ecuador 236

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. But what do we know beyond these commonly seen and heard behaviors?

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

It’s a unique bird, even its scientific name is wonderful, so it’s not surprising that Gerard Gorman, Woodpecker Expert Supreme, has written a book all about the species. But they are woodpeckers: the genus Jynx of the subfamily Jynginae of the Picidae family. They are beautiful, but in a different way.

Woodpeckers 224

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 224

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2019

Born in a different era, when bird photography was difficult, I gave many advice how to write the basic info, but the strangest thing to novices today turned out to be the advice on sketching the unknown species. Still, besides documenting rare species, forms, or odd individuals (e.g. Why should I sketch it, I am lousy at that.

Birds 132

Birds Costa Rica Greece Battery 132

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

When I came here for the first time, the Kerkini Lake was the only place in Europe where Dalmatian Pelicans were increasing their numbers. Hence, the experiment was created: a plot was fenced off to keep the animals away and now willow saplings did survive being submerged for half a year. Dalmatian Pelican © Dusanka Stokovic-Simic.

Greece 189

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 189

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2018

Europe, and Honduras itself. It gives species accounts for 761 birds (I counted, but I could have missed a couple) out of the 763-770 species documented in the country (eBird lists 763 and Gallardo says there were 770 at the time of publication). Species Accounts.

Honduras 103

Honduras Birds 2015 Family 103

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2024

These images are a wonderful cross-section of Gould’s best work, pulling from books on Toucans, birds of Australia, Trogons, Europe, and Darwin’s Voyage of H.M.S. All of Elizabeth’s birds were drawn from skins, though the Birds of Europe images benefitted from her observations of real live birds.

Australia 178

Australia Birds Europe Collecting 178

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

Unlike other bird races where participants keep tight-lipped about bird species as mundane as a House Sparrow , this event gives a prize to the team that helps the most. But isn’t all of that data sharing counterproductive for a bird race where the team with the most species wins? This is a Masked Shrike.

Costa Rica 166

Costa Rica Eagles Birds 166

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

are up next, with a wonderful Australian species: It is very hard to choose a Best Bird of the Year any year. Unfortunately, this morph is the dominant one at Fuzhou NFP”) that somehow survived the review process, possibly because the reviewer has had similar experiences. Clare (and Grant!) How cool is that? Preposterous!

2020 221

2020 Birds Germany Costa Rica 221

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2024

Personally, I wish the species the best of luck in this endeavor. (Of However, the fact that there are 30 subspecies seems to indicate that the species has a slightly overblown estimation of its own importance. This species has a relatively large number of calls – 12, to be specific, compared to the average of 7.6

Birds 180

Birds Research Science Europe 180

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2013

I couldn’t wait to give names to all my new species. I tried using the Internet, but found it frustrating for all the usual reasons; websites either didn’t include all species or were difficult to use for identification. Each species account is 2-pages long, one page of text and one page of photographs.

Ireland 168

Ireland France Breeding Eggs 168

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

There is much to enjoy and appreciate here and I only wish I could have tested out some of these species accounts in pelagic waters before writing about them (sadly, the 10,000 Birds pelagic to Antarctica was canceled this year). SCOPE & SPECIES ORGANIZATION. It covers 434 species across 9 orders and 18 families of birds.

Albatross 278

Albatross Penguins Groups Family 278

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

Picidae, Woodpecker, is one of those charismatic bird families that everybody gets excited about. Woodpeckers of the World: A Photographic Guide is the first major guide to family Picidae in 20 years. Gorman, a Brit who now resides in Central Europe, is a naturalist and tour leader who specializes in Eastern Europe and woodpeckers.

Woodpeckers 234

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 234