10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2019

This year, my main challenge is identifying 700 species within the borders of Costa Rica by December 31st. It’s a fine goal to aim for because although it is possible, the goal won’t be reached unless you spend the right time looking for certain birds in the right places. Canivet’s Emerald – A bonus!

Costa Rica 187

Costa Rica Tigers Birds Tennessee 187

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2023

This is how it looks like: Or at sunset: A species I did not come for from Shanghai is the Black-crowned Night Heron. Its species name graydoni is in honor of Philip Newenham Graydon (1864-1940), a British planter in Sabah. Why that makes Mr. Graydon worthy of having a bird species named after him is a mystery to me.

Birds 229

Birds Eagles Elephants Rhinoceros 229

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Photos courtesy of Mosetlha Bush Camp A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. Barn Owl on a dry tree trunk and a… traffic jam!

South Africa 232

South Africa Africa Game Elephants 232

Critter News

AUGUST 24, 2011

Someone posted a question about why humans have human rights and whether they should considering that others do not. Please note the vast generalizations here, but, in the areas of religion, at least orthodox religion and there are varying levels of how fundamental you want to go, there is only one species with a soul and that is the human.

Humane 100

Humane Rights Stray Dog Stray 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2016

So, I birded India, land of Indian Peafowl , Saag Paneer (my favorite Indian dish) and Tigers. Well, they were all memorable, but these two involve subjects people have asked about without fail—the Taj Mahal and Tigers. Target: Tigers. The species is crepuscular and nocturnal, but can sometimes be seen during the day.

India 189

India Tigers Birds Owls 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Then, I was not sure whether this was the right thing to do. Some other members of the shrike family were a bit less testosterone-driven at Nanhui – like this Bull-headed Shrike … … this rather attractive-looking Tiger Shrike … … or one of the many Brown Shrikes passing through Nanhui on migration.

Birds 242

Birds LACS France Japan 242

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2022

There was a Gartered Trogon right above me, and one cooperative Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth on a cecropia tree, raising its head to smile at us. In a rock-garden in the middle of the river, one Fasciated Tiger-Heron was fishing, with both Amazon and Green Kingfishers nearby. Next goal: 1100 species, to cover about 10% of the total.

Costa Rica 248

Costa Rica Nicaragua 2019 Farming 248

10,000 Birds

JUNE 10, 2021

To be fair, some Cuckoo species probably quite enjoy this sound, though (from the perspective of the warbler) for entirely the wrong reasons, namely, as a chance to leave incubation, feeding of the chick, taking it to kindergarten, finding a good school for it, paying for its university education, etc., to another species.

China 150

China Japan Tigers Breeding 150

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

Soon this strategy paid off, as we came across a Gray Hawk right along the edge of the river. After the hawk the species piled up fast, with a flyover Black-headed Trogon , Pale-vented Pigeons , Olive-throated Parakeets , and wide variety of other species showing themselves. “ Bare-throated Tiger-Heron !”

Belize 113

Belize Tigers Birds Butcher 113

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

For once, eBird gives a good description of the Asian Glossy Starling, calling it a “Fierce-looking, large songbird” As are humans, this species is fairly urbanized – it “sometimes enters urban areas to roost, e.g. in Singapore” (HBW). In Singapore, Common Redshanks mostly drink Tiger Beer. “Odd, me?”

Singapore 235

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 235

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2018

In addition to the Violet Saberwing , just as we were leaveing the lodge, this Scintillant Hummingbird landed right next to the door way. The stay De Silva Biological Station, while well worth it, was a little bit more than we wanted to budget for, so the next best thing was staying right next door.

Costa Rica 115

Costa Rica Tigers San Jose Woodpeckers 115

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2023

The Fairy Pitta is listed as Vulnerable, with the HBW that the species is “rare; global population probably no more than a few thousand individuals” While the sexes are alike, my guess is that the Fairy Pitta in the photo is a male given its early arrival date in Shanghai. I hope he is right.

Birds 130

Birds China Research Tenant 130

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 31, 2023

Like the Eastern Crowned Warbler (which eBird mysteriously calls a “boldly marked songbird” despite its similarity to about 50 other warbler species) … … and the Arctic Warbler (or maybe some other warbler looking very similar). The third shrike seen in Shanghai this month was the Tiger Shrike.

Birds 130

Birds China Taiwan Raised 130

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2022

The ongoing destruction of Nanhui, where the species can frequently be seen on migration, certainly will not help. Judging from the facial expression of this White-shouldered Starling , I would rather not have an annoyed bird of this species as a roommate. The species has reversed sex roles, with the males doing the incubating.

China 190

China Birds Ukraine Killing 190

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2016

I already have a history of searches for this species. Asia: Somewhere below that mysterious eagle, at the far shore of the lake, lies one Bengal Tiger … and further to the right – two more! These are my first wild tigers ever! 10000birds.com/tadoba-andhari-tiger-reserve-the-tiger-afternoon.htm.

Wildlife 185

Wildlife Tigers Asia Europe 185

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2019

There are numerous bird species that we only observe when we are many miles from home and some bird species we have rarely observed. The grass and other vegetation had been slashed recently, which was a relief after yet another Tiger Snake encounter this past week whilst walking alone. Two new birds for 2019 just like that!

Portland 146

Portland Tigers 2020 2019 146

10,000 Birds

JUNE 21, 2018

Honduras, a beautifully biodiverse Central American gem, offers everything birders look for in a travel destination, starting with ready access to lots of highly coveted bird species. Would you trade in-room wifi for three species of motmot and two different toucans right outside the hotel restaurant?

Honduras 175

Honduras Birds Parrots Rights 175

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2022

Some of the more conservative Light-vented Bulbuls in my compound were trying to make the wearing of a tie mandatory for the species. Taking the famous statement that Mao was 70% right, 30% wrong (Deng Xiaoping), his decision regarding sparrows certainly falls under the second category. So, I took these photos for them.

Birds 147

Birds Sparrows China Abandon 147

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2022

eBird states that “small white patch on throat is not obvious and difficult to see” And they use a photo that I submitted as main illustration, so they must be right. For this reason, the species is evaluated as Vulnerable.” It just looks stupid. The Eurasian Hobby was another notable raptor of the month.

Birds 208

Birds China Eggs Owls 208

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2013

Most of the people debating this issue are for conservation, they are against wild areas being destroyed and wild species being threatened with extinction. In the past I have attributed some of this conflict to differences between the conservation mindset and that of animal rights/animal welfare.

Tigers 178

Tigers Hunting Game Protection 178

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2011

That is unfortunate because the Tiger Warbler * is one wood-warbler worth watching. The sighting was easily the best I have ever had of the species, and it was in and out of view for about twenty minutes, foraging in small circuits but always coming back to the stand of thick brush where I had first spotted it.

Tigers 159

Tigers United States Jamaica Pennsylvania 159

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2017

Birds with white on them are much more likely to take the form of goodies like the Snowy Cotinga , or two species of tityras. The Caribbean slope of Costa Rica also differs from the islands in having a lot more bird species. White-crowned Pigeon might be on the list, but that rare prize for Costa Rica is far from regular.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Bats 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2019

There are, all in all, 380 photos (I counted) of 181 species that Kai observed over three years. Kai notes in the brief Foreword that 329 species have been reported on eBird for Nanhui, 496 in Shanghai, 1314 in China. Species are organized by type of species, Non-Passerines followed by Passerines.

China 144

China Birds 2018 Ducks 144

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2017

If you are doing any sort of year list, you know what I’m talking about and also know that now is the time to take a moment, count up the species, and go over strategies to reach those birding goals for 2017. Of course, while we see those friendly, expected common species, sharp eyes and ears also pick up uncommon birds.

Costa Rica 101

Costa Rica 2017 Birds Tigers 101

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

If you choose to consider 1944 the year, most people were a little busy right then. And oh crap, you guys, we really have to do something about the California Condor situation right now, but what? A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again. Most species go extinct. Will it work? … Extinction is forever.

California Condor 205

California Condor United States Guam Whales 205

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2022

After writing this last sentence, I looked up the species in the HBW and found the sentence “Song poorly documented” in the appropriate section, while with regard to calls, the description is that “call is a two-note raspy nasal ‘ryeeh-reh’”. In New Zealand, the Spotted Dove is an introduced species.

Singapore 147

Singapore Birds Mountain Goats Giraffes 147

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 25, 2022

Tiger Snake and birds under observation. More than three hundred bird species have been recorded in Broome and there is plenty of variety. Over time we have noticed changes in the bird species that visit and different times of year offer different species. Here are some links to some of those bird species.

Australia 147

Australia Singapore Birds Battery 147

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2017

1,712 species, 12% of which are endemics. News flash–I just received the trip report from Carlos, and the tally is 419 species recorded, of which 16 were heard only; plus Ian and I saw an additional species before the tour started, courtesy of Paulo Boute. Oh my gosh! I shouldn’t have been surprised. Any suggestions?

Brazil 160

Brazil Birds Los Angeles Tigers 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 21, 2015

I had just missed two bird species, both of which were probably Year Birds for me, and I felt my cold dragging down my energy levels. After purchasing an Audubon field guide to butterflies over the summer, I have slowly begun to learn a few species here and there. Another birding fail. By this time I was frustrated. Prairie Warbler.

North Carolina 169

North Carolina Game Birds Tigers 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2016

Late April / early May is the best birding season in the south of Europe and wherever you go, you will have 50% to 100% more species than in any other season. Recently, I did a bit of embankment birding, nailing 65 species (several of them firsts for the season, European Bee-eaters among them – always exciting).

Birds 116

Birds India Africa Serbia 116

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2017

In Costa Rica, we did our part and were elated to finish with more than 640 species. Keel-billed Toucan , one of three toucan species seen during our day of birding. Overhead, we got our first species in the form of a calling Black-bellied Whistling-Duck. The weather kept cooperating but it was another story for the birds.

Costa Rica 100

Costa Rica 2017 Owls West Virginia 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Furthermore, the total population in Hemis National Park is estimated at 50-60 individuals, making the park an important genetic reservoir for this species which is classified on the IUCN’s Red Data List as Endangered. This is the genus of the typical large cats including Lion, Leopard, Jaguar and Tiger.

Snow Leopard 279

Snow Leopard Leopards Hunting Sheep 279

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2021

because, if the film rights to this book have not been snapped up yet, Hollywood is making a huge mistake) (c) Will I ever see a Blakiston’s Fish Owl? The fish owl is an endangered species, and before Slaght’s work, very little was known about it, especially in Russia. (It b) Who will play author Jonathan C.

Owls 142

Owls Russia Fish Research 142

Animal Person

MARCH 27, 2009

The only way most of us will ever see an elephant (or a tiger or a hippo) is on the National Geographic Channel, at a circus or in a zoo. The elitist “animal-rights” zealots hate to admit this. And without their well-run breeding programs, many exotic species really could soon disappear from Earth for good.

Circus Animals 100

Circus Animals New York City Elephants Zoos 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2013

A dusty-red road leads me through Marico bushveld deeper into the 750 square kilometers large wilderness of the Madikwe Game Reserve – the 4th largest reserve in South Africa, home to 350 bird and 66 mammal species, some 4 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. The two dogs walk right next to our rover and disappear in the dark.

Africa 200

Africa South Africa Elephants Rhinos 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2018

He quickly starts pointing our different species that are all around us, with exceptional and obvious knowledge. We ran across this Common Back Hawk right alongside the mangrove swamp. After hours of tromping thru the muck of a mangrove swamp, we found this Gartered Trogon on the wire right above the car.

Costa Rica 113

Costa Rica Falcons Mexico Groups 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

He was so excited when I described what I had and came right up to meet me. Oehlenschlager apologized that he couldn’t say the exact species of bat. Who cares, the fact that he could narrow it down to 2 species was quite amazing to me. He can ID just about anything from a small part or bone.

Bats 214

Bats Dissection Owls Minnesota 214