10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2011

Beyond the charisma and song of the species it is unclear why the Swedish people chose the Koltrast as their national bird. It is common in Sweden but so are many other species. Sweden is one of at least three countries that has a thrush as the national bird (Malta and Costa Rica do as well), but Sweden is the only country to have so honored Turdus merula. *In

Sweden 72

Sweden 2011 Malta Costa Rica 72

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2015

Someone better tell that flamingo not to stay put and avoid Malta, where voters narrowly rejected a ban on hunting migratory birds. Help them rack up 4,000 species in 24 hours on eBird!). News Barn Owl Berlin black birders black-tailed godwit blackpoll warbler bryan’s shearwater common redpoll crowdfunding flamingos Frankfurt hammerkop Hawaii Hoary Redpoll Jonathan Franzen Malta Seattle the birds weather

2015 69

2015 Cyprus Fowl Indiana 69

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

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. Tha dropping numbers are suspected in Greece and Croatia, and confirmed in Italy, France and Malta. It lives from the Peloponnese and the Aegean Islands across the whole of Asia to the shores of the East China Sea and here I stand at the very edge of the range of this species. I am half-awake, but keep my eyes closed.

2014 80

2014 Malta Croatia Italy 80