10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2016

and dreaming of a place where the heat is moderate, beer snake-cold and birds innumerable… Let’s say, where the average annual maximum varies from 22 to 24 degrees Celsius / 72 to 75 Fahrenheit and where some 700+ bird species – 24 of them endemic – are waiting for an intrepid birder… Answer to the riddle?

Africa 126

Africa Uganda Gorillas Rwanda 126

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2019

I saw 863 species of birds, bringing my life list to 1,820. I birded Uganda, which was my first time on the continent of Africa. Such travel brings a lot of birds and the 863 species I saw this year is the most species I have ever seen. How can I narrow down the eight-hundred-sixty-three species to ten?

2019 137

2019 Barbados Uganda Costa Rica 137

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Myers, a professional birding guide in “real life,” summarizes the etymology and history of all common bird names (of bird families and groups, not all 10,000-plus species). The guide covers 265 of Maine’s 461 bird species: common nesting species, common migrants, and wintering birds.

Sri Lanka 219

Sri Lanka Malaysia Birds Suriname 219

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. In fact, it seems to be one of the species employed by past ornithologists to establish their own monument in the shape of a subspecies. A challenge for young birders, maybe.

South Africa 225

South Africa Africa Lesotho Nigeria 225

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I used to live in Botswana, where there are about 450 bird species in an area a few dozen miles from the capital; then somewhat naively moved back to Serbia with mere 250 species around the capital.

Sri Lanka 256

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 256

10,000 Birds

JULY 30, 2014

My third trip was six months spend working on a monkey project in the jungles of Uganda. Volunteering provides a very different experience to tourism though. In Uganda I would often cross paths with Chimpanzees as they went about their lives and I went about mine (which was living with a troop of monkeys). Amazing stuff.

Uganda 160

Uganda Sharks Africa New Zealand 160

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. Storks are typically viewed as wetland species and whilst some storks are restricted to aquatic habitats, others are not. This is another wetland species that nests in sometimes huge colonies atop trees bordering rivers and lakes.

Africa 235

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 235

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. Prime destinations for seeing African Elephant in the wild include Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda.

Buffalo 197

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 197

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Recent publicity about these remarkable tribes has resulted in tourists wanting to experience this wild land and its attractions for themselves. Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 237

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Game 237

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

But a a package, if I had to rate the best places I’ve ever been birding, the only place I can think that comes close is Mweya, in Uganda, or maybe Tikal, in Guatemala. But I believe birding should be more than just “getting birds” Danum Valley is an experience, and I can’t recommend it enough. A tick is a tick.

Lemurs 158

Lemurs Family Rhinoceros Fish 158

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2021

While Mike and Corey – fitting for being real celebrities in birding cycles – get invited to far-flung places such as Uganda, minor local birders sometimes at least get invited to places nearby. The fourth species apparently breeding on these fields is Grey-headed Lapwing.

Birds 207

Birds Uganda Breeding Rats 207

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2019

Some of those “statistical errors” came as surprises to me, e.g. Cuba, Bolivia, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Thailand (this is also a clear message to their tourism boards to invest more into promoting avitourism). If I were answering those same questions, my answers would probably be Ecuador, Uganda and Thailand. What would be your choices?

Papua New Guinea 214

Papua New Guinea America Costa Rica Sri Lanka 214

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

And, to give his dream year a little more oomph, he created a grand once-in-a-lifetime goal: to track down and see every pitta species in the world in one year. He does find out that some have recently been made when he arrives in Uganda, stupendous news). I’m reading a book about a man who is doing a Pitta Big Year,” I say. .”

Hunters 188

Hunters Sri Lanka Asia Solomon Islands 188

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

Like Kapiti the island is an offshore refuge for many species extinct on the mainland, with a lot of the work being done by the voluntary Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi. One species I really hoped to find on the trip was the Kokako. Saddleback ( Philesturnus carunculatus ) on the beach. A week spent on Kapiti only got us 3 of them!

New Zealand 148

New Zealand 2011 Deer Cats 148

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2011

Approximately 2,300 bird species inhabit Africa, however as impressive as that sounds, much smaller South America boasts nearly 1,000 species more. Madagascar’s mammals are equally remarkable; over 100 species of endearing lemurs and bizarre carnivores amongst them!

Papua New Guinea 214

Papua New Guinea Madagascar Africa Equatorial Guinea 214

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2020

Will the threatened species make it through if there are no birding tourists to make those birds and their habitats valuable to local people just the way they are (as opposed to tropical timber)? What will be left of birding tourism? I was trying to find that answer for a while and it turned into a very annoying experience.

Uganda 242

Uganda Bolivia Ecuador Indonesia 242

10,000 Birds

JUNE 30, 2022

In addition, it has over 450 bird species and more than 30 in-country endemics, of which it is possible to see every single species! Those large international agencies use reputable local ground agents, and in my experience this creates a safety cocoon around the travellers. Where to look for the birds?

Sri Lanka 147

Sri Lanka Ghana Uganda Eagles 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2013

So, this one’s for free, if you have ever wanted to see an African Finfoot, go to Lake Mburu in Uganda. This species was common as muck at Mweya, a safari lodge in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park. I don’t really know much about the species, I don’t even know if much is known about them.

Uganda 150

Uganda Congo Birds Africa 150