10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2015

“The estuary and the delta of the River Kalamas form the most important wetland of northwest Greece”, so the “ Birding in Greece ” guidebook claims for the area where I am heading, a bit late since I overslept this morning. I am checking the grass for any flash of white and soon my suspicion is confirmed: Cattle Egrets (cover photo)!

Greece 227

Greece Dogs Pelicans Fish 227

10,000 Birds

MAY 15, 2014

It is an early April morning and we are in the hills surrounding Lake Kerkini in the north of Greece. A few metres further, something is jumping from one branch to another… a pair of Subalpine Warblers , a Mediterranean species that does not go much further north than this.

Greece 161

Greece Pelicans Breeding Buffalo 161

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2020

Like many of you, I had plans for this year’s spring migration: to bird the very best tour of the Balkans, heading for northeastern Greece. First, 800 km of driving from Belgrade through Bulgaria to very NE corner of Greece and the Dadia Forest National Park with its 36 species of diurnal raptors, out of Europe’s 38.

Greece 225

Greece Bulgaria Birds Serbia 225

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Have you read my blogs on birding Greece ? Presuming that you live somewhere in Europe and plan a car trip to Greece, let me suggest a couple of routes that will increase your tour list. For the Ionian Sea, take the motorway exit for the town of Prilep, continue through Bitola and head for the Medzitlija – Niki crossing to Greece.

Greece 176

Greece Albania Macedonia Europe 176

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2023

In field guides I’ve seen many beautiful gull paintings, where I couldn’t help asking myself: however alluring they may be, is the JIZZ just right? On my last trip to Greece, I carried and studied this book, hoping for the Audouin’s Gull (no such luck yet, actually I saw very few gulls). Or slightly off? pounds, and 6.7

Europe 220

Europe Africa Greece Groups 220

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2018

all the time pointing with my right hand while holding the steering wheel with my left, and the hardest thing, keeping my eyes on the road. More productive areas of the Balkans have January eBird lists from 105 to 115 species (but I combined several areas in two countries, Greece and Serbia), so I have every reason to be satisfied.

Owls 104

Owls Greece Serbia Woodpeckers 104

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2015

This time I was lucky enough to join a fam trip organised by Natural Greece, an ecotourism company from Athens, and spend a few days at my favourite Kerkini Lake, which you already birded through my bins ( April and September ). Should I add, this is my best sighting of this uncommon species – ever!

Greece 239

Greece Woodpeckers Eagles Birds 239

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

We are in the village of Finikas on the island of Syros in the Cyclades archipelago of Greece. Nick finds a bird-shaped protrusion at the top of the rock – Black-eared Wheatear , not exactly a species I expect to observe from a boat deck. The Sun already sets and I haven’t seen a new species in a while. diomedea ).

Greece 226

Greece Malta Croatia Birds 226

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

An afternoon is already growing old while I am driving downhill to the Livadi marsh at the island of Kefallonia, Greece. Behind the marsh is a quarry, in front of it the Gulf of Argostoli, a small pine wood to the right and some eucalyptus trees to the left. Trips falcons Greece'

Falcons 172

Falcons Greece Madagascar Game 172

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

DECEMBER 20, 2018

Checking my annual list, I am where I usually am at this time of year: several species short of 200. Still, this way or another, the year is ending with some glorious species, e.g. a rare Greater Spotted Eagle. Now, one species, that I should find. 2018 is about to end. The Slavonian Grebe is also a lifer for me.

Moldova 118

Moldova Birds Serbia Greece 118

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

I was driving along the legendary eastern levee of the Kerkini Lake in northern Greece ( Google Map ) and, listening to the first Golden Oriole flute, was slowly getting closer to a wooded Mt. Out of some 4000 buffaloes still being kept in Greece, about 3000 are at this lake. What is the status of this species in the Kerkini NP?

Greece 189

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 189

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

Here we go: Guest-authors: Deborah Jean Cohen, Eric DeFonso, James Wolstencroft, Joshua Stuart Rose, Marcel van Driel, Mike Black, Natural Greece, Paul Oliver, Rockjumper – Worldwide Birding Adventures, Sandra Paci, Susan Soloyanis, WorldBirders. Natural Greece: “Empathy is important too. Language skills too.”. ’ TICK.

Greece 198

Greece Birds Zambia Experience 198

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2013

And here I am on vacation in Greece, turning off the alarm at 5.30 In my native Serbia, these birds are so ill numbered that they were even deleted from the huntable species list with an explanation: “there is no surviving population of huntable size”. Trips Greece partridges' No partridges for me under these olives, either.

Greece 199

Greece Serbia Europe Goats 199

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2014

Since I live not very far from Greece, I have often combined my vacation there with birding. I have a handful of Greece travel guides (not that I am happy with any of them), but what I always missed was a specialised bird-finding guide. Greece is visited by millions of tourists every year (over 19.5

Greece 212

Greece Birds Macedonia 2014 212

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

I am planning to have this post be the first in a (very) small series on Europe’s “large white-headed gulls” It will of course only be a small series since there aren’t that many large white-headed gull species in Europe and particularly because I don’t want to cause too harsh a drop in the blog’s visitor numbers.

Europe 118

Europe Spain Italy Ireland 118

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

This is “the deep cradle of Western ornithology: the birthplace of bird study,” he tells us as he writes about gazing at the 8,000-year old depictions of “flamingos, herons, raptors, avocets and many other species” (p. There’s the Neolithic era; Ancient Egypt (bird mummies!);

Dissection 209

Dissection Birds Research Europe 209

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2017

A few years back, I birded northern Greece with a couple from Namibia. The species he was thrilled to see was the Mute Swan. The species he was thrilled to see was the Mute Swan. Well, for me – no, but for Nicolaas, Mute Swans were a lifer species. All photos (6) by Vladimir Milovanovic.

Birds 118

Birds Namibia Greece Feral 118

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

Here go those moments of curiosity, in no particular order: Europe: And so, I was driving from Greece to Serbia… in central FYRO Macedonia, two birds were circling not far from the motorway… black and white… perhaps White Storks on migration? I already have a history of searches for this species. These are my first wild tigers ever!

Wildlife 172

Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 172

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Lynford also boasts an arboretum, with 200 different species of trees. So though I visited Lynford, I didn’t see a Hawfinch on this occasion as I wasn’t there at the right time, though I did meet a number of hopeful Hawfinch hunters (HHHs), none of whom reported a sighting.

Barn Owls 202

Barn Owls Japan Rats Owls 202

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.

Costa Rica 166

Costa Rica Eagles Birds 166