10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2016

The Common Moorhen still is in Germany what its name implies: common. Well, it is rather common and can even be scarce regionally, but overall it is not a difficult bird to find in Germany so long as a cunning birder frequents reedy wetlands. Beware of Crocodiles.

Zoos 100

Zoos Germany California Condor Lions 100

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

MAY 10, 2015

To us on the traditional side of the Atlantic, they’ll always belong to the family Iznogoudae , the birds who want to become warblers instead of the warblers. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas. And do they ever try so hard.

Sparrows 215

Sparrows Italy Asia Austria 215

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2012

The Edwards’s Pheasant is a rather smart blue-black member of the pheasant family and it may be on the edge of extinction. Leading scientists, conservationists and aviculturalists from Europe and South-east Asia met at Walsrode in Germany recently to formulate a rescue plan.

Vietnam 154

Vietnam 2000 Germany Groups 154

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2019

Still, the romantic notion of beery terroir remains persuasive and in some corners of Europe, rustic beer styles persist, despite the homogenizing effects of – or perhaps in reaction against – modern industry. Historically, saison was a beer tied to time as much as it was to place.

Vermont 118

Vermont Belgium Farming Europe 118

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

The world is still turning, the blog didn’t crash, no anonymous threats against my family on social media … I guess my small series on gulls may continue with part 2 of 3, which will focus on the Herring Gull ‘s second side-kick: Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans. Why does “steppe” win over “Caspian”?

Kazakhstan 113

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 113

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 138

Salamander Germany Birds Blackbirds 138

4 The Love Of Animals

AUGUST 17, 2010

Germany has been one of Europe’s strong economies, but things are changing for everyone. Claudia Hollm saw a TV show about a family who had to relinquish their dog because of economic hardship. It began with the saddest story, as great ideas often do.

Pets 100

Pets Shelters Rabbits Germany 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2011

If you are mildly interested, proceed and read the caption. Despite being taken in Europe, this image exemplifies why forest birding in North America might soon be rated NC-17. There are currently 10 species of Treecreepers that form the family Certhiidae, nine in the genus Certhia and an additional oddball in another genus, Salpornis.

North America 145

North America Europe America Asia 145

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

But I do have rules about whether I can have said to have visited a country, ie does the country “count” which I have inherited from my family, particularly my Dad. I have caught a bus across Europe, but I can’t really claim to have “been” to Germany or Belgium.

Botswana 162

Botswana Birds Lesotho Elephants 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2022

The Black-crowned Night Heron is a member of the heron family. This bird used to be quite common in Germany, but now it is rare. It has a streaked breast and mostly looks for food on the ground, often in small flocks While it is common around here in winter, it is very rare in some parts of Europe, for example in Britain.

Birds 162

Birds Fish Germany China 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2018

Aside from its use in country winemaking, where strawberry wine is a beloved and venerable product of the rustic English tradition, this luscious, rubescent teardrop of the rose family is rarely granted the chance to preserve its delicate and rapidly fading ripeness in a life eternal granted by alcohol.

Vermont 100

Vermont Germany Europe Dogs 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2012

White Wagtail Motacilla alba During our family vacation we stayed at our friends’ house in Kreuzberg, the neighborhood just north of Templehof, which means a ten-minute walk would get me to some decent habitat in which to look for birds. It was one of the busiest airports in the 1930s, is home to a building 1.2

Birds 203

Birds 2010 Humane Family 203

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

Slaughter Lake does not sound like it would be a nice place to visit but we three Americans, my small family, were blissfully unaware of what Schlachtensee translates to before our expedition there.

Woodpeckers 161

Woodpeckers Birds ALA Slaughter 161

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. This is my only way in and out of the harbour,” Nikos good-naturedly complained. Dalmatian Pelican © Dusanka Stokovic-Simic.

Greece 193

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 193

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

It is also familiar at inland sites in winter, especially reservoirs and refuse tips, and breeds in the relatively-Northerly regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Dan is an active member of BirdLife Cyprus and goes birding whenever his career and family allow. SIGH Well, I guess I should apologize for hijacking your post.

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Species 157

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

Chamois is an agile goat-antelope with short hooked horns, found in mountainous areas of Europe from Spain to the Caucasus. Luckily I wasn’t affected too severely by the current pandemic: I lost neither life nor family members to Covid, only my job which was replaced the same day I lost it. A non-bird Best Bird of the Year?

2020 230

2020 Birds Germany Costa Rica 230

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2017

My trips abroad were limited to short family vacations to the Cote d’Azur during the first days of January and a week-long vacation to northern Tuscany / Italy in May. However, I spent the last few days of the year on the posh island of Sylt in Germany’s far north, my first visit to the North Sea propper since 1989.

2016 101

2016 Germany Italy Netherlands 101

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2024

But not in Europe either. When Reed Parrotbill s go on family outings, they usually just climb up reeds. This is what they do most days anyway, so many parrotbills now feel that these family outings are basically very pointless. Not an in-vitro photo. Some ornithological research is surprisingly simple.

Birds 188

Birds Research Science Europe 188

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

After my grim exposing you last month to Europe’s fifty shades of brown, I felt it incumbent upon me to right my wrong by introducing you to Europe’s most attractive bird, the Red-billed Leiothrix. Clearly, some scientists should never have been granted the privilege of assigning common names to bird species.

Italy 179

Italy Europe France Family 179

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

While mainly an Asian bird, the Red-flanked Bluetail has recently been seen in parts of Europe (particularly Finland and Scotland) more frequently, indicating a possible range extension ( source ). This research was actually done only about 10 km away from a place I once lived for a couple of years, in Radolfszell, Germany.

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130