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Quinta do Casal Branco: Lobo e Falcão Reserva (2016)

10,000 Birds

While the hunting of game with trained birds of prey can be a controversial topic among birders , falconry was a valuable early source of information on birds, and its history, culture, and imagery continue to fascinate bird lovers, as we shall see. In English, the plays of William Shakespeare abound with the language of the falconer.

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“The Wise Hours” — a review

10,000 Birds

When it is seen that A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place / Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d, that is taken as a sign that the natural order has been disturbed (there, by Macbeth’s act of regicide). An Englishwoman, she thought, originally, that she would stay within the British Isles, to see the five or six native species.

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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. Watching flocks of these attractive little falcons feeding is aways a delightful sight.

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The Falcon Thief: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

It didn’t occur to me till I started reading The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird that there was also a possible threat to the eagle herself: poachers, who steal raptor eggs and chicks. McWilliam realizes he’s dealing someone special, a career falcon egg-thief.

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Grassy Green Space in the Central Valley- Trash Habitat or Prime Real Estate for Oddball Birds?

10,000 Birds

Keep birding and you might see a White-tailed Kite hovering as it hunts rodents and one of the few Bat Falcons in the Valley might dash into view. Recently, I was surprised to have a family of Stripe-headed Sparrows , birds typically associated with dry habitats of the North Pacific slope.

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Grifalco: Aglianico del Vulture “Gricos” (2016)

10,000 Birds

The Gyrfalcon ( Falco rusticolus ), the largest falcon in the world, is as sought after by falconers as it is by birders – and for many of the same reasons: namely, the rarity with which these imposing raptors of the Arctic visit us residing in more temperate climes.

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Wakkerstroom, South Africa: It’s a Lark

10,000 Birds

One thing you must do is hire a local guide, as while you can hunt for yourself you’ll see a hell of a lot more with one. On the drive I had picked up the flamboyant Red-collared and Long-tailed Widowbirds , extraordinary members of the weaver family who’s ridiculous tails make them easy to spot even from a moving car.