10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Babita Tours has many years of experience organizing tailor-made wildlife tours for private groups in this wonderful country. On a recent visit I threw my bags in the hotel room and went straight there, and got over 60 species of birds in a few hours and fantastic views of Nilgai , the largest antelope in India.

India 180

India Wildlife Tigers Eagles 180

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2020

Which tours saw the most roosting owls? This odd nocturnal creature is around the same size as a Barred Owl. I savor the timeless experience of scanning these tropical waves for storm-petrels and lost jaegers. With around 400 species recorded for the area, yeah, it’s where we might all like to quarantine for a bit!

Costa Rica 202

Costa Rica Birds Thailand Family 202

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

How much do you know about owls? I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. This isn’t a rhetorical question, think about it. I don’t think so.

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Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 199

10,000 Birds

JUNE 14, 2011

During the filming of this production, I got to experience “dirt hawking&#. Dirt hawking is a form of falconry that involves hunting rabbits and other small game with Harris Hawks (other hawk species also qualify). There are many examples in the animal world of pack behavior. Take lions, wolves, hyenas to name a few.

League Against Cruel Sports 269

League Against Cruel Sports Rabbits Falcons Hunting 269

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

It would be uber cool to lay eyes on a rare lifer, on species that only seem to live on the pages of a field guide but isn’t that somewhat discriminatory? And why spend time only looking for one or two species when those hours could be used to put binos focused on a few dozen? Aren’t all birds worth watching?

Costa Rica 201

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 201

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

Larry starts us off right with an owl that makes birders drool: I was able to see and photograph many great birds in 2014 but my Best Bird of the Year would have to be the Great Gray Owl , the largest Strix in North America. Larry’s BBOTY – Great Gray Owl. What was yours? I also blogged about that dreamy day.

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2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2015

Excellent 10,000 Birds posts have been written about Pico Bonito and Honduras by Corey and Carlos , so I’m going to focus on some of my most memorable experiences. Our group got to see another species that is a master of camouflage on our trip for the Honduran Emerald. Which is why seeing them was such a great experience.

Honduras 241

Honduras Birds Costa Rica Groups 241

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2014

The idea of Lost Animals was conceived after the publication of Extinct Birds (2001), a 400-page, four-pound book on 75 extinct species. Lost Birds looks at photographic representations of 28 species, 21 of which are birds. Some document one of the last views of the species, others are of the last representative of the species.

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Animal Mammals Hawaii Dolphins 263

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

As I explained to my nephews when they were younger, “The Burrowing Owls don’t think we’re their friends. People on one side of the rope, owls on the other.” Substitute Snowy Owl here if you’d like the modern version). We worship birds, we hunt birds, we protect birds, and, yes, we eat birds.

Birds 204

Birds Egypt Family Eagles 204

10,000 Birds

MAY 20, 2014

En route they will be “birding in nearly every country in mainland North and South America,” and, as they say on their excellent blog , “Our journey is about collecting valuable data on bird species, their status and distribution, current conservation issues, and more along the way. But at last we were in El Triunfo!

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Guatemala Mexico San Diego South America 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Mostly the ducks were Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup , the two most prevalent species on the pond, but there were a few other birds mixed in as well. I have had similar experiences at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and you are so right on when you say “am I ever glad that I am a birder!&# It was a great experience.

Ducks 168

Ducks 2011 Jamaica New York 168

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2013

However, the great birding experience that is Sani starts lower down. Both species of southern African otters are also regularly encountered ( Cape Clawless and Spot-necked.). The final southern African stronghold of this species is the high Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho. Photo by Adam Riley. Image by Adam Riley.

Lesotho 163

Lesotho Africa Birds Rats 163

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

The book is organized into ten chapters, framed by a Prologue and Epilogue focused on Weidensaul’s banding experience in Denali National Park. His participant observations connect to his own research experiences, providing history and perspective. Author Scott Weidensaul and a Snow Owl.

Cyprus 243

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 243

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

My best bird of the year is based on the sighting rather than the species. Hornbills are spectacular under any circumstances, but when a pair lands in a bush beside you at eye-level and begin mutual preening , it makes for a spectacular experience. Only trouble is, which of the seven species I saw this year do I pick?

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2013 Birds Costa Rica India 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2012

What this land-locked country lacks in endemic birds it more than makes up for in accessibility of tough species, numbers of birds and the overall wildlife experience. It is also home to the largest concentration of African Elephants on the planet and over 450 bird species. We are currently filming in Botswana.

Botswana 199

Botswana Zebras Lions Elephants 199

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

with additional sections added if there is just too much interesting information for a two-page spread (“Large Sandpipers,” “Small Sandpipers,” “More Owls,” and so on). 167, Meadowlark line of sight–not p.67). copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. More narrative, more dense, maybe a little less fun.

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2020 Birds Groups North America 262

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Bang Pra is a reservoir and no-hunting area to the south east of Bangkok. The flowerpecker, an attractive species, was actually responsible for Peter becoming a birder in the first place! Our next species was decidedly uncommon, a Black-headed Ibis circled overhead for a minute before flying off.

Thailand 153

Thailand New Zealand Terrapins Asia 153

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. On my first visit to the island a few years ago I even found one hunting for sandhoppers and other assorted treats in the washed up seaweed on the beach.

New Zealand 147

New Zealand 2011 Deer Cats 147

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

Unlike other bird races where participants keep tight-lipped about bird species as mundane as a House Sparrow , this event gives a prize to the team that helps the most. But isn’t all of that data sharing counterproductive for a bird race where the team with the most species wins? This is a Masked Shrike.

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Costa Rica Eagles Birds 165

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2020

are up next, with a wonderful Australian species: It is very hard to choose a Best Bird of the Year any year. Unfortunately, this morph is the dominant one at Fuzhou NFP”) that somehow survived the review process, possibly because the reviewer has had similar experiences. Clare (and Grant!) How cool is that?

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2020 Birds Germany Costa Rica 220