10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2016

Add to hunting, poisoning, and habitat loss and disturbance yet another man-made danger: war. A breeding program in Turkey has been successful, but civil war in neighboring Syria seems to have posed a significant hazard. For the past few years, many of the Ibises that migrated southward, across Syria, haven’t returned.

Syria 100

Syria Turkey Hunting Humane 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2018

Not only did I have Sandhill Cranes flying overhead, there were the usual American Kestrels perched on the wires and dozens of Turkey Vultures … and our local Lewis’s Woodpeckers. Wild Turkeys were out in full display. Sunday was no exception. All in all, I tallied 44 species. Fun birding!

2018 100

2018 Bald Eagle Woodpeckers Turkey 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2011

Two new studies “add scientific evidence that hunters’ lead ammunition often finds its way into carrion-eating birds, such as eagles and turkey vultures.&# So when will conservation-minded hunters stop using lead ammunition? Why, then, is lead still used to hunt?

Hunters 145

Hunters Hunting Turkey Laws 145

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

Maybe it’s important to note that Turkey Vultures , in particular, were well-loved by , and even inspirational to , the people that lived here before Europeans arrived. Unlike the Turkey Vulture, who smells out decaying flesh, every one of these vultures forages by sight. – ==– Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura.

California Condor 180

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 180

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

boat trip, and despite the heat of the day quickly ticked off Tricolored Herons , White Ibises, Little Blue Herons, and even Yellow-crowed Night Herons hunting in the reeds or resting at the base of towering cypress trees. Both Black and Turkey Vultures swooped overhead, occasionally upstaged by a shrieking Osprey.

Alligators 118

Alligators Turkey Family Hunting 118

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2012

Redtail as Turkey Vulture ? Redtails hunt at night… sometimes. One eyed birds often get put down or aren’t released but they can survive and can be fierce hunters, like this big female Redtail. They like to sun too. Fledglings have enough free time to try and smell the flowers.

Rats 224

Rats Hunters Turkey Hunting 224

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2015

Birders from the Western Palearctic are very favourably positioned for such a split because three of the six suggested species occur within the WP at various sites around the Mediterranean: The African Swamphen occurs along the lower Nile and its delta into the Mediterranean, while the Grey-headed Swamphen makes southern Turkey its home.

Spain 157

Spain Hunters Africa Hunting 157

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 30, 2017

I’ve been to this part of central Alabama before, but always during hunting season, my schedule built around the ridiculously early mornings (i.e. dawn), afternoon naps, and quiet evenings with my husband as he goes after deer and turkey. Still, I felt the familiar excitement of birding a new place.

Alabama 113

Alabama Birds Deer Turkey 113

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2019

There are more than 50 regional endemics to choose from, and many birds are easier to see in Costa Rica than many other places because of access to habitat and/or lack of hunting pressure. No turkeys up in here, just a big wild and crazy Cracid! In some spots, this amazing bird even visits feeders. Buff-fronted Quail-Dove.

Costa Rica 202

Costa Rica Panama Birds Eagles 202

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2013

Although if you want to see a bunch of Turkey Vultures it’s a pretty good strategy. And who doesn’t want to see a bunch of Turkey Vultures?) Lest you think that modern technology robbed all the challenge from my hunt, though, I would point out that there were a couple of confounding factors.

Sparrows 165

Sparrows St. Louis Kansas City Kansas 165

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2014

Secondly, New Zealand had already experienced on wave of extinction due to the introduction or rats and human hunting. Useful species were ones you could eat, or hunt, or preferably both, which is why New Zealand had several species of deer, the alpine goat-antelopes known as the Chamois and the Himalayan Tahr introduced.

New Zealand 161

New Zealand Possums Rabbits Ferrets 161

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2011

I had been seeing huge colonies of Turkey Vultures ( Cathartes aura ) everywhere lately and at the top of Leopard Drive, on the flat grassland that stretches for miles, there were many. I looked over to see this beautiful male hunting from a perch directly across the bridge from me. www.youtube.com/watch?

Bald Eagle 165

Bald Eagle Leopards Turkey Eagles 165

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2017

Another surprise is the two pieces on hunting, an interesting change from the essays on bird feeding in volume one. Drew Lanham’s “Soul Food: Wild Turkeys and Wandering Warblers” © 2017 by Robert A. Illustration for J. Braunfield. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

2017 139

2017 Costa Rica 2007 Hunters 139

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2012

This is particularly useful for a bird with small eyes that hunts under the soil surface at night. Turkey Vultures have an exceptional sense of smell Corey Finger Bills in birds are also very sensitive to touch. A Little-spotted Kiwi by David Shackleford And then there are the vultures.

Birds 214

Birds Mammals Mozambique New Zealand 214

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2012

Like several of my favorite NWRs, this one was established as a haven for migratory birds, most notably waterfowl, during the bad old days when uncontrolled hunting and habitat loss had put the future of even species we now think of as common in doubt. As a result, early migration season is an excellent time to visit.

Wildlife 167

Wildlife Montana Geese Bald Eagle 167

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2011

It was hunting around the edges of the West Pond of Jamaica Bay back at the beginning of March, a day that I saw both the individual in Queens and one in Brooklyn. Turkey Vulture – Wow! Short-eared Owl – Finally, a bird that I saw! Snow Bunting – Yes!

Jamaica 156

Jamaica Owls 2010 New York City 156

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2011

Sunday morning would therefore be devoted to hunting down Chen rossii so I could happily check it off of my Queens checklist …either that or it was all just an excuse to go birding on both mornings of a weekend! Now if I could only find my Queens Turkey Vulture … a.

Geese 154

Geese Jamaica Wildlife New York 154

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 3, 2009

Niman for pasturing the animals to provide all the beef, turkey, chicken and pork eaten in this country? There is little that is less polluting and less harmful to the planet than hunting wild game responsibly. And how much land would be required to contain ranches like the one owned by Ms. Lois Bloom Easton, Conn.,

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Meat San Antonio 40

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2016

This species’ population is suspected to have decreased rapidly, owing to levels of hunting on the staging and wintering grounds, and habitat deterioration (largely as a result of land cultivation). In the Western Palearctic at least 20-30% of the population are shot each year, often accidentally during hunting of other species.”

Serbia 201

Serbia Greece Montenegro Bulgaria 201

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

There were reasons to think that the White-winged Guan had been extirpated by over-hunting. Hunting pressure in a heavily populated region (even for Nineteenth Century standards) and easy access were likely to result in the extirpation of the Guan in the regions surrounding the site of collection.

Collecting 268

Collecting Peru Neglecting Hunting 268

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 18, 2011

The hunting stopped immediately and she opened Hawk Mountain to the public for generations to enjoy the splendor of the scenery and the magnificent flights of raptors that come through in spring and fall migration. Even though the numbers were low there was really good diversity.

Bald Eagle 256

Bald Eagle Pennsylvania Sanctuary Hunters 256

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2012

We hunt for you. Native grouse or other gallinaceous bird to be named later: Speaking of embarrassing, the only such birds I’ve spotted in the state are the introduced Ring-necked Pheasant , Wild Turkey , and Gray Partridge. Ah, nemesis birds. We crave you. We make up elaborate theories as to why we haven’t seen you.

Eagles 189

Eagles New York Turkey Hunting 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

By the 18th century it had disappeared from the whole of Europe and this pattern followed in the Middle East where finally it was only known from a single breeding population at Birecik in Turkey. Habitat destruction, hunting and disturbance are further factors affecting the population.

Endangered Species 188

Endangered Species Species South Africa Morocco 188

10,000 Birds

MAY 14, 2018

I was able to convince Murray Hunt to take us out for a morning cruise on the Daintree River, despite late notice, and that it was a Sunday morning that looked to be really crappy weather. Unfortunately, the Brush Turkeys keep digging up the flower beds and gardens looking for something to eat. Here is the male Australasian Figbird.

2000 100

2000 Rights Turkey Parrots 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2012

And, like the Pearl-spotted Owlet of Africa, this species often hunts in the middle of the day. Although on several occasions I witnessed the owls carefully track other raptors that flew over – White-tailed Hawks , Harris’s Hawks and even Turkey Vultures. A nice Ferruginous Pygmy Owl showing its rufous tail.

Owls 148

Owls Texas Arizona Pigs 148

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2012

There were also a bunch of common species such as Orange-footed Scrubfowl and Australian Brush-turkeys (both species of megapode), Red-browed Firetails and Willie Wagtails.

Possums 171

Possums Guinea Marsupials Rats 171

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

I Miss Turkey Vultures Butterbutts at Point Lookout Cedar Waxwing vs. Bohemian Waxwing About the Author Jory Jory is a native Long Islander living just outside of Albany. Share Your Thoughts « Best Bird of the Weekend (Second of March 2011) Sandhill Crane Hunt in Kentucky?! Thanks for visiting!

2011 140

2011 New York Deer Owls 140

Animal Ethics

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

Or one might distinguish according to the kinds of value which may justify the eating of meat: turkey dinners on holidays with the family might be thought legitimate, while a bachelor cooking for himself would be under an obligation to abstain from meat.

Vegetarian 40

Vegetarian Foie Gras Veal Meat 40

Animal Ethics

DECEMBER 23, 2006

You don't find many hunters who candidly and unapologetically say: "I hunt because I like to kill. Hunting wouldn't be the "noble," "manly" "sport" that it is, if these were the reasons for doing it. Hunting wouldn't be the "noble," "manly" "sport" that it is, if these were the reasons for doing it.

Factory Farm 40

Factory Farm Factory Farming Morals Meat 40

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2011

To my disappointment the biggest and most visible species I saw was the introduced Common (Ring-necked) Pheasant , and my first lifer was the equally introduced Gray Partridge.

Rattlesnake 164

Rattlesnake Bald Eagle Mules Mammals 164