10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

I was planning a trip to South Africa, I had about five days to fill, I wanted to get a bunch of desert species (particularly the Springbok – not a bird) in a way that wasn’t too hard to reach from Johannesburg. Lions are boring and should be avoided on safari, but I quite liked this one, even if he had ticks. Or Cheetahs.

South Africa 159

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 159

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2014

While March earns a reputation for coming in like a lion, the season rarely seems as wild and cold as Winter Storm Titan threatens to be over the next few days in the American Northeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Birding best bird weekend'

2014 209

2014 Lions Birds Owls 209

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 215

Botswana Zebras Lions Elephants 215

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

They are not necessarily the biggest African animals, but represented those that were considered a real hunter’s worthy prey or “game” – the African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Leopard and king of the jungle, the Lion (which of course doesn’t inhabit jungle but savanna!).

Buffalo 213

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 213

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

This diversity makes for a very unique birding experience. In addition to the hundred or so species of birds I regularly find here, there are Desert Foxes, Bobcats, Mountain Lions, Desert Bighorn Sheep and Mule Deer. Box canyons, long arroyos, and rolling desert vistas, accented with several different kinds of cactus.

Mountain Lions 100

Mountain Lions Mules Sheep Lions 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2018

Birdwise, it turned out to be a good one and my year list was almost 400 species long, which made me happy… almost. The Lesser White-fronted Goose is one of the most threatened waterfowl species of the Western Palearctic, with illegal killing being the most important threat globally. How do you find lions in Africa?

Greece 187

Greece 2017 Pelicans Geese 187

4 The Love Of Animals

JULY 3, 2010

Four lions, rescued by Animal Defenders International (ADI) from a Bolivian circus when the country banned the use of animals in circuses have a new home, and a life of luxury at the ARK 2000 sanctuary in Calaveras County. These lions really are home for the holidays.””. What a way to start memorial weekend.

ADI 100

ADI Animal Defenders International Bolivia Lions 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

This country boasts over 1,000 bird species, vast wildernesses, a superb network of protected areas, the greatest concentration of large game and predators on the planet, excellent lodges and friendly people. The Baobab-studded woodlands and wetlands of the park harbor over 550 bird species and they sure come thick and fast!

Tanzania 228

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 228

4 The Love Of Animals

JULY 11, 2011

Steve dons a camouflage suit for a once-in-a-lifetime experience that gets him closer to a wild leopard than he ever hoped. At night, he catches up with a pride of lions to witness their hunting and killing skills in the dark, proving just how deadly and vicious lions are. And, who says small spiders are harmless?

Cats 100

Cats Leopards Namibia Lions 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

But, I did take many photos, and used the book, in spurts during the trip and more closely afterward, to identify three seabird species, two expected (Sooty and Black-vented Shearwaters) and one a surprise. It does not include near-shore, coastal species, like Brown Pelican, Elegant Tern, and Harbor Seal.

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Whales Whaling Porpoises 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2013

This was the local name meaning “ugly” used for these primates by the people of the Gonder area in northern Ethiopia when the German naturalist Rüppell “discovered” this species for science in the 1830’s. Their scientific name is Theropithecus gelada, the former word meaning “beast-ape” in Greek. A harem male grooms one of his females.

Ethiopia 161

Ethiopia Primates Mammals Fur 161

Animal Person

AUGUST 5, 2009

And animal rights isn't focused on what happens in the world outside of us that we aren't directly profiting from and that isn't happening because of us (that last one is nearly impossible, as you can trace many problems other animals experience back to something human animals have done to them or their habitat or their food).

Gazelles 100

Gazelles Slaughter Slaughtered Deer 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Merely a month later, I was camping in the Central Kalahari, at the unfenced site that is now closed for campers because the local lion pride became too curious. Birding a different continent allowed me to put all my experiences and knowledge into perspective and to discover how much more fun birding could be.

Serbia 189

Serbia Bosnia Research Lions 189

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 249

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 249

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). Take lions, wolves, hyenas to name a few. There are many examples in the animal world of pack behavior.

League Against Cruel Sports 270

League Against Cruel Sports Rabbits Falcons Hunting 270

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 30, 2015

If I want my children to be birders, or at least to appreciate birding, I need them to have good experiences doing it with me. The species has been on my personal radar for North Carolina for years. Charging off to a mudflat or sewage treatment plant, or staking out a location for hours, doesn’t measure up.

North Carolina 145

North Carolina Mountain Lions Otters Lions 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

Betty’s Bay was also a great place to see all of South Africa’s cormorant species, including the endangered Bank Cormorant. We observed far fewer Lesser Flamingos, a near-threatened species. It was the first of six bustard species I would see over the course of both trips. And then there were the Flamingos.

South Africa 254

South Africa Africa Leopards Penguins 254

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Visiting this area for the first time after seeing it for month was a crazy experience. And besides, it’s nice to see something that isn’t the same 12 (now 13) species of seabird (plus Molly Meep Meep, a Black Brant ) There may not be as many as in October, but they are there, and they can be cool. And there where whales.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

For Corey, this was a weekend without a single standout species but with many birds that were pretty darn neat. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Mar 19th, 2011 at 8:26 pm Corey, I am jealous of your Red-breasted Merganser experience at JBWR and the flight shots.

2011 133

2011 Deer Birds Owls 133

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

Growing up in central Oregon, allowed me to experience such a diverse amount of habitat, and the wildlife that resides there. Many refuges in this part of the state, like Malheur refuge, Summer Lake Refuge, and Tule lake Refuge all get the lion’s share of acclaim, and publicity, and deservedly so.

Sheep 119

Sheep Oregon Mules Livestock 119

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 246

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Seeing a wild Snow Leopard is every wildlife enthusiast’s dream, probably the ultimate and most elusive wildlife experience on the planet. Knowing this, we were certainly far from disappointed by our experience but we of course all dreamed of a closer view. View of our camp in the Rhumbak Valley.

Snow Leopard 279

Snow Leopard Leopards Hunting Sheep 279

10,000 Birds

APRIL 19, 2012

By “super carnivore” I mean top-of-the-food-chain kinds of critters, like lions or wolf packs, etc., This make sense in a certain way; a species of carnivores that over-concentrated in space would go extinct. A little bit of prudential restraint is good for the species as a whole, and thus it evolved.

Eagles 179

Eagles Bald Eagle Coyotes Mississippi 179

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

At sea there are also New Zealand Sea Lions and Southern Right Whales. Whangarei New Zealand’s most northerly city and smack bang in the middle of the Northland region, those seeking to experience wild New Zealand have a dizzying array of choices here. Also within reach are the greatest surviving expanses of kauri forests.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Birds 157

4 The Love Of Animals

MARCH 17, 2011

Grief, friendship, gratitude, wonder, and other things we animals experience. Sea lion mothers wail when watching their babies being eaten by killer whales. If she’d been left alone, she would have fallen prey to a lion or other predator. Waterfall Dances: Do animals have spiritual experiences? by Marc Bekoff.

Emotional 100

Emotional Animal Whales Whaling 100