10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2015

Twenty years ago, flocks consisting of a thousand European Turtle Doves were a common sight in Serbia in spring. As we speak, in Serbia these birds are still hunted in August and September. Since this spring’s revision of the European Red List, the Turtle Dove is listed as a vulnerable species.

Serbia 270

Serbia Slaughter Slaughtered Turtles 270

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2019

And here in Europe, they are the real deal, an indigenous species and not domesticated animals gone wild. When I reached the levee earlier that morning, I met an elderly hunter from whom I learned that there was an ongoing duck and pheasant hunt, but no one was shooting from, nor towards the embankment, hence I should be safe there.

Serbia 242

Serbia Otters Boars Eagles 242

10,000 Birds

APRIL 14, 2023

An Englishwoman, she thought, originally, that she would stay within the British Isles, to see the five or six native species. How long that circumstance would obtain if Serbia were (for example) in the European Union, with its agricultural monocultures, is questionable, she says.

Barn Owls 113

Barn Owls Owls Serbia Finland 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

The other day I counted my favourite section of the Danube River, the wide and shallow Labudovo okno Ramsar site in Serbia. The biggest count ever was less than 10 birds in the whole of Serbia. Several poachers were waiting in ever thickening darkness (Serbian legislation forbids night hunting). we will kill it!”,

Geese 139

Geese Serbia Birds Estonia 139

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2018

As you know, I started to bird from a canoe, exploring the Danube backwaters in Belgrade, Serbia. It is a fascinating world of swampy forests of willow and poplar, inhabited by Black Storks , White-tailed Eagles , Eastern Olivaceous and Icterine Warblers (above), among more than 200 other species. Nevertheless, Nagy was right.

Beavers 116

Beavers Serbia Eagles Hungary 116

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2016

The gamekeeper drives by, I wave my greetings but do not mention the jackals I am observing at the moment: this animal is not protected in Serbia and is allowed for killing year-round (one may say “hunting” instead, but I am having problems trying to spot the difference).

Serbia 123

Serbia Sheep Birds Eagles 123

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

” Writing about owls means writing about roughly 250 species (I counted 245 on the 2022 Clements spreadsheet, but I might have missed a few, and we all know that each classification system is different). These are behaviors that are most likely to vary across species and topics that make for compelling stories.

Owls 200

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200