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Fur and Fangs rather than Feathers and Beaks

10,000 Birds

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 179
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Andalucia’s City-Slicker Falcons

10,000 Birds

If you see a flock of kestrels in southern Europe, then the chances are that they will be Lessers, for the Common Kestrel never flocks, though occasionally in summer you will see a family hunting together. And unlike the Common Kestrel, Lessers are highly gregarious.

Falcons 190
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The return of the Old Man

10,000 Birds

According to Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World , a handsome volume written by James Hancock, James Kushan and Philip Kohl and published by Academic Press in 1992, Geronticus eremita “once nested in the mountains of central Europe, across northern Africa and into the Middle East. But this range is now much reduced.

Morocco 219
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A kestrel in the rain

10,000 Birds

A Marsh Harrier hunting over Elmley Nature Reserve before the storm The wind was building up as I started my slow drive along the track, pausing every few yards to scan for birds. Observation is strictly from inside a vehicle, safari style, until you reach the main car park and start exploring the rest of this spacious site on foot.

Shelters 213
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“The Wise Hours” — a review

10,000 Birds

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
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Canada and Greenland Defend Seal Hunting

Critter News

Canadian fisheries ministry representative Garry Stenson said the hunt “is humane, well regulated and sustainable” and that new rules for the hunt were under review to strengthen inspections, monitoring and enforcement of animal welfare rules. Tags: canada greenland europe seal hunters seals. I'm not sure it will pass though.

Seals 100
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The Eurasian Woodcock

10,000 Birds

” Incidentally, the large number of woodcocks hunted also established the basis for a study analyzing the importance of millipedes in the autumn-winter diet of the species. I am not sure I understand the logic of this, but I guess evolution does. A bird serves one person.”

Italy 173