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The Brown and Peruvian Pelicans

10,000 Birds

The Brown Pelican and the Peruvian Pelican are closely related and once were considered the same species. They are indeed very similar in all plumage stages, but the Peruvian Pelican is nearly twice as big as its northern counterpart. Brown Pelicans in non-breeding plumage. Peruvian Pelican in non-breeding plumage.

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Prespa Lakes National Park, Greece: the largest Dalmatian Pelican colony in the world

10,000 Birds

The other day I was exploring a new area for the first time, birding the national park that I’ve watched only in BBC documentaries, the place famous for the largest Dalmatian Pelican colony in the world – more than 1300 pairs! In all that swirling of swallows, I am not certain was there a third species, so I keep watching.

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Kerkini in Winter

10,000 Birds

Last year, in November, I notched up a dozen species of butterflies, an impressive total anywhere in Europe so late in the year. The Dalmatian Pelicans have a special relationship with Kerkini’s fishermen Dalmatian Pelican reflections Kerkini’s Dalmatian Pelicans lure photographers from all over Europe.

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What is killing birds at Karla Lake (Greece)?

10,000 Birds

In early August this year, I saw 77 species here (69 on the lake, plus 8 more in the surrounding areas) but barely more than a thousand individuals. Several Glossy Ibises , two dozen Gull-billed Terns and Collared Pratincoles , a few Dalmatian Pelicans , Black Terns , Dunlins …. This year, we had about 65 dead pelicans.

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The Lake of Beasts: Kerkini, Greece

10,000 Birds

Birdwise, it turned out to be a good one and my year list was almost 400 species long, which made me happy… almost. The Lesser White-fronted Goose is one of the most threatened waterfowl species of the Western Palearctic, with illegal killing being the most important threat globally. The solution? The Kerkini Lake.

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My Ten Best Birds of 2019

10,000 Birds

I saw 863 species of birds, bringing my life list to 1,820. Such travel brings a lot of birds and the 863 species I saw this year is the most species I have ever seen. How can I narrow down the eight-hundred-sixty-three species to ten? How can I, by listing only ten, call eight-hundred-fifty-three species not worthy?

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Durban Botanical Gardens

10,000 Birds

As well as being an excellent location to try the local variants of curry (bunny chow is not a curry with rabbit but a curry served in a hollowed out bread loaf – better than it sounds) it’s a good place to pick up a few coastal species. The wooded areas held smaller but no-less attractive species.