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Blakiston’s Fish Owl on Hokkaido

10,000 Birds

When Jonathan Slaght did his research on Blakiston’s Fish Owl in Russia’s Far East – which he describes in his excellent book “Owls of the Eastern Ice” – he had to cope not only with extreme cold but also with rather bad music: “Katkov filled our commutes with loud music. Sitting in a heated(!)

Fish 208
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What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

How much do you know about owls? I’ve been fortunate to encounter many owls in my birding life, sometimes because I’m looking for them, sometimes happily by happenstance. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read. I don’t think so.

Owls 220
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Birding Dulan County, Qinghai

10,000 Birds

But I have to admit that seeing some of the wolves, foxes, asses, and sheep of Dulan county is nice, at least as long as they do not stand in front of some exciting birds. According to the HBW, based on strong morphological, ecological, and genetic differences, this is likely to be a distinct species altogether. A juvenile nearby.

Sheep 248
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Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests: A Field Guide Review

10,000 Birds

Decades later, Richard Pough’s Audubon Bird Guide, Eastern Land Birds (I happily own the 1948 edition) included nest and egg descriptions for each species as well. And photographs of feathers in the species accounts, which surprised me. Text retrieved from the Hathitrust Digital Library. The first is accomplished well.

Eggs 239
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Thank a lemming

10,000 Birds

Many of you in the south are enjoying great sightings of Snowy Owls ( Bubo scandiacus ) this winter. Everywhere on Facebook I see friends and acquaintance posting photos of Snowy Owls , and or status updates on how they’ve succeeded or failed in their search for reported birds. Why is that? Did I mention they’re fast?

Owls 242
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Falconry – Bloodsport or Alternative Form of Birding?

10,000 Birds

Dirt hawking is a form of falconry that involves hunting rabbits and other small game with Harris Hawks (other hawk species also qualify). One of the primary reasons that these hawks make such excellent falconry birds is because they are one of only two raptor species (the other is the Galapagos Hawk ) that hunt cooperatively.

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10 Countries, 10 Top Birds in 2016

10,000 Birds

I saw Painted Wolves again, my favourite species ever. The Orange-fronted Parakeet is a critically endangered species that I came agonisingly close to seeing but didn’t. Singapore is a densely populated city-state which still manages to protect a number of species. Southern White-faced Owl or African Scops Owl ?