10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2015

Two Feral Pigeons. Three Feral Pigeons. One more Feral Pigeon. One Feral Pigeon. Some lovely and touristy cities of Western Europe are justly proud of their cathedral Peregrines (Barcelona, Norwich, Bristol), even London (which has its charms, but is far from lovely) – why not Belgrade (isn’t proud, I mean)?

Switzerland 189

Switzerland Serbia Feral Falcons 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Its natural range in Europe was restricted the the surroundings of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and in Asia it ranged from Asia Minor to central China. Within its European range, it was heavily hunted until the late 19th century, and the Mute Swan was subsequently a very rare bird to encounter in the wild.

Feral 168

Feral Europe Asia North America 168

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

A shot or two coming from the opposite bank, but they do not sound like geese shooting – more like boar hunting. A goose hunt sounds like a WWII battle. The only mammals of the day were feral Nutrias (Coypus), aquatic rodents originally from southern South America released from the bankrupt fur-farms and well established here.

Geese 170

Geese Hunting Boars Birds 170

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2014

Snowy Owls are used in falconry, more so in Europe but they are legal for a few states here in the US. ” Most shrugged and said very few US falconers fly owls because they’re slow and some species you can only hunt at night, that wouldn’t be much fun to watch. I learned that I knew nothing of falconry.

Wisconsin 237

Wisconsin Falcons Owls Hunting 237

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

One odd flock of Feral Pigeons above an arable field under deep snow – nothing for them to eat there, but I didn’t give them the attention they deserve and only a few hours later realised that they actually were Stock Doves. Several poachers were waiting in ever thickening darkness (Serbian legislation forbids night hunting).

Geese 141

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 141

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Some time after the Spanish encounter with the Turkey, birds were brought back to Europe where they were raised and became an important source of food and fancy feathers. The believability of this is underscored by the fact that the Pilgrims and their guides listed among their possession numerous “fowling pieces” … for hunting wild birds.

Turkey 199

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 199

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

That was a wild cat, a wild Wildcat, the cat that lives in the wild because that is where it is from and where it belongs, at the southern end of its pan-African range that extended at one time well into Europe and Asia. I find it astonishing that people argue of whether feral cats are bad for birds in North America.

Feral Cats 253

Feral Cats North America Feral Cats 253