10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

There wasn’t much around, and aside from a lifer Yellow-bellied Bulbul the two most impressive species were heard not seen – a Blue-headed Pitta an a Banded Kingfisher. The highlight again happened before we left the camp, a family of Crested Firebacks. Oh, there were Buffy Fish-owls. A female Crested Fireback.

Lemurs 160

Lemurs Family Rhinoceros Fish 160

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Photos courtesy of Mosetlha Bush Camp A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. They raise their trunks, sniffing the air.

South Africa 248

South Africa Africa Game Elephants 248

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2022

In the 1960s, Efraín Chacón constructed a dirt trail [from San Gerardo de Dota] to the Pan-American Highway, and brought his family to build a house, to farm and fish for trout. more than two dozen species before the rain forced us inside. more than two dozen species before the rain forced us inside.

Costa Rica 259

Costa Rica Opossums Mammals United States 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2011

Duck Stamp) for wildlife observers (81 votes, 12 comments) Create a photography permit allowing regulated off-trail access to refuges (80 votes, 15 comments) Christmas Bird Count for Kids – A half day free family event with partners @ all USFG visitor centers (46 votes, 5 comments) Establish partnership(s) with national birding conservation orgs.

2011 140

2011 Wildlife Birds Deer 140

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

processed the entire genomes of 48 bird species and compared nearly 42 million base pairs of DNA (Hackett et al. ’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. Now we move on to the Neognathae , which also has two very deep branches that lead to all the other living species of birds. Open Jarvis et al.’s

Family 279

Family Birds Parrots 2014 279

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2013

The story of the cahow, a “Lazurus species” that was thought to be extinct for over 300 years and then discovered to be breeding on a tiny remote island in Bermuda, is part of modern birding legend. Ultimately, the story always comes back to the cahows, whose population grows slowly. She uses both sources well. These are magical experiences.

Birds 179

Birds Rats Breeding 2012 179

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

The field site I am assigned to is located in one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world and home to a particularly rich avifauna that numbers well over 500 species. Hundreds of riotously colored birds representing 14 species of macaws and parrots flock and frolic together in less than fifty meters of forest canopy.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 South America 255

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2013

A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. Barn Owl on a dry tree trunk and a… traffic jam! Sniffing us.

Africa 212

Africa South Africa Elephants Rhinos 212

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2011

Many of you in the south are enjoying great sightings of Snowy Owls ( Bubo scandiacus ) this winter. Everywhere on Facebook I see friends and acquaintance posting photos of Snowy Owls , and or status updates on how they’ve succeeded or failed in their search for reported birds. Why is that? Did I mention they’re fast?

Owls 255

Owls Fox Oklahoma Soreing 255

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

Unless you are nothing but the lowly diehard lister, for which you should feel much shame and embarrassment for, birders and biologists alike frequently want to understand birds on a deeper level than how to identify the age, sex and species of a certain individual. What does a Flammulated Owl do all night?

Emotional 229

Emotional Science Birds Mammals 229

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2015

They are typically easy places to reach, easy to get about in, safe, and serve as a natural primer for many of the species you’re going to be seeing on a trip. This Cape Francolin was raising a family less than a hundred metres from the main gate. The gardens are particularly famous for a nesting pair of Spotted Eagle-owls.

Africa 201

Africa Birds South Africa Mongoose 201

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Decades later, Richard Pough’s Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds (I happily own the 1948 edition) included nest and egg descriptions for each species as well. And photographs of feathers in the species accounts, which surprised me. Text retrieved from the Hathitrust Digital Library. The first is accomplished well.

Eggs 256

Eggs Birds United States Sparrows 256

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 20, 2024

Phoebe Snetsinger was an American birder who first passed the 8,000 species mark. It has all Big Five animals and a whole lot of other grumpy mammals. So, apart from large vicious mammals and venomous snakes, what else can possibly go wrong while birding? She died in a car accident during a birding trip. None were found.

Mozambique 241

Mozambique Birds Ghana Namibia 241

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

The latest edition of the Clements Checklist that I could find, last modified in August 2022, lists 965 species (a little more manageable!), including 355 endemics, 28 introduced species, 6 extinct species, and 77 globally threatened species. There are three to four species on each page, for the most part.

Australia 266

Australia Birds 2017 Groups 266

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

Nineteen days later we had racked up an amazing list of 436 species, including some of Africa’s least known birds such as Congo Serpent Eagle , Yellow-footed Honeyguide , Tessmann’s Flycatcher , Yellow-bearded Greenbul , Black-collared Lovebird and much besides. We also knew we had discovered Africa’s next hot birding destination.

Ghana 209

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 209

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

This outstanding member of the wattlebird family is unique among songbirds in having different shaped beaks for each of the sexes. We’ll also keep our eyes open for several members of the New Zealand wren family. This species, the smallest, is endemic to North Island and should be fairly common in the wet lowland forests.

New Zealand 224

New Zealand Ducks Australia Mountain Goats 224

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2015

During my previous five trips to Indonesia, I only heard but never caught a glimpse of three species. Now my tally stands at four species seen and a fifth heard-only. Duncan chose a mammal! Painted Buntings and nesting owls, Black-headed Gulls and mystery empids. Which one to choose for my bird of the year ?

2015 189

2015 Costa Rica Birds Sparrows 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2014

For the moment I’ll stick with the split babbler families although I may relump the laughingthrushes, ground and tree babblers per Molye et al (2012). Since I’m the New Zealand beat writer I’ll be using their names for their species, but for clarity I will give other commonly used names if a species has them.

2014 150

2014 New Zealand Singapore Rhinoceros 150

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2022

I know you all want to see Powerful Owls like the one below, so it is always worth a look! Tom saw a Powerful Owl on his visit and so did we, so go and look! Powerful Owl. Powerful Owl in the Royal Botanical Gardens Sydney. Echidna-egg laying mammal-500th post. Here are some links to some of those bird species.

Australia 147

Australia Singapore Birds Battery 147