10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2020

Scores of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks circled overhead, these vocal ducks are often hunted illegally here so it was refreshing to see so many. Farmers keep their livestock in this wetland also. Two species of icterids populated the area, the presence of either was a direct indicator of the degree of water present.

Livestock 203

Livestock Ducks ALA illegal 203

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2022

I’ve been leading a small but faithful group on Trinidad for several years to count birds within a livestock farm that is generally restricted to the public (you can read about some of those shenanigans here ); this was the first time I was to embark on a CBC on the smaller island of Tobago.

Falcons 229

Falcons Trinidad Ducks Groups 229

10,000 Birds

JULY 5, 2016

They get a bad rap due to their dependence on carrion to survive, but I look at it a different way: these species do not have to kill in order to thrive! Columbia has chosen one of the world’s most massive flying species as its national bird: the Andean Condor. Most humans cannot say that.

California Condor 100

California Condor Livestock Endangered Species Killing 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2020

A silhouetted Golden Eagle in flight appears on all current bottlings by Ardmore, and over the years, the same species has occasionally appeared on various products by Scottish distilleries like Glenfarclas and Mortlach. A Golden Eagle (1916), another painting by Archibald Thornburn.

Eagles 157

Eagles Lions Hunting Lamb 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

The combination of over hunting, and the native animals susceptibility to diseases carried by domestic livestock that were allowed to graze there, completely eliminated these Bighorns by 1915. Home to over 200 species, this amazing area is quite susceptible to the amount of rainfall each year.

Sheep 111

Sheep Oregon Mules Livestock 111

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. Competition with domestic livestock has restricted some Gelada bands to poorer foraging on steep slopes. Photo by Adam Riley.

Ethiopia 159

Ethiopia Primates Mammals Fur 159

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). Their fragile homes, meager belongings and scant livestock attested to this, and yet the people seemed content with their lot in life. Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 235

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 235