10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

Lion – much easier to see than an Aardvark In contrast to East Africa, encounters with mammals while out birding in Europe are relatively few. Over the years, though, I have enjoyed a number of memorable mammal sightings in Europe. I viewed them at dusk, through a telescope, from a ridge overlooking the area they were hunting.

Fur 178

Fur Bulgaria Otters Estonia 178

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2023

As she notes, Eastern Europe contains significant pockets of agriculturally undeveloped land, and thus has a far greater diversity of species “from invertebrates to large carnivores” than in Northern Europe. By Miriam Darlington. Tin House, Portland, Oregon, 297 pp., US $27.95, CAN $36.95.

Barn Owls 113

Barn Owls Owls Serbia Finland 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

Several poachers were waiting in ever thickening darkness (Serbian legislation forbids night hunting). Barnacle geese breed mainly on the Arctic islands of the North Atlantic, while the nearest wintering areas also lie along the northern coasts of Europe: the Netherlands and the Baltic Sea (Estonia, Finland, Denmark and Sweden).

Geese 141

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 141