10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Some Floridians to this day claim that all Grey-headed Swamphen present in their state were born in Kenya (in birding circles, these are known as “birthers”), and that the species should thus be removed from the American list. In 2013, it was even included in the birdwatching list of the American Birding Association.

China 264

China Kenya Florida India 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 31, 2015

Essentially, their record was broken in 1986 by Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe when they recorded 342 species during one calendar day in Kenya. But what about Costa Rica, isn’t this post about a new Big Day record for my adopted, birdy country? Talk about mega birding (and mega skills of course)!

Costa Rica 219

Costa Rica Kenya South Africa Ecuador 219

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

Thankfully the days of visiting Africa purely for slaughtering its wildlife have mostly come to a merciful end, and safari operators have adopted the Big Five term to market tours that offer sightings of the fortunate remanants of Africa’s once teeming great herds.

Buffalo 246

Buffalo Rhinoceros Leopards Elephants 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

We sing about them, we paint them, we use them as mythic and poetic symbols for our spiritual and emotional feelings, we wear them in myriad and often colorful ways, we adopt them as household pets. It’s very hard to organize the many ways in which human beings relate to avian beings into comprehensible text.

Egypt 244

Egypt Birds Albania Eagles 244

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2012

Placing one hand over his pate, as he was wont to do, and pointing at the others as he spoke with the finger of his other hand, Isaac stated in his semi-elvian voice, colored with the British Colonial Accent he grew into as the son of a South African Brit exiled to Kenya, the following: “Eric, shut up. Your argument is invalid.

Humane 165

Humane Lions Buffalo Hunting 165