10,000 Birds

MAY 24, 2020

These birds also invite one to sites that are unique within the United States – the climate, vegetation, and landscapes all add context and heighten the experience of seeing one’s first Elegant Trogon or Painted Bunting. In the summer, they are the highest altitude breeding songbird in North America. Elegant Trogon by Homer Gardin.

America 264

America Arizona North America Texas 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

I don’t think I’ve ever done a post on my home patch of Cape Town, South Africa. Breeding groups typically occupy territories of around 8 hectares and consist of a breeding pair and one or two helpers. So I’m going to feature one of my very favorite locations, just 45 minutes drive from the city centre.

South Africa 257

South Africa Penguins Africa Birds 257

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Technically, it was a possibility, but if that was the case, he would never defend a PhD thesis on birds breeding along the high voltage powerlines in a treeless agricultural landscape. What made the story better (and a worse experience for him) was the fact that the cops had seen the Dogs of War.

Belize 244

Belize Africa Birds Serbia 244

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

My response was to start looking for some portable guide to take with me into the field, and that need was fulfilled by the Birds of Southern Africa illustrated checklist by Ber van Perlo, published by HarperCollins. It is not a concept for a total beginner, more of a reminder to someone with some experience. Rodriguez Mata.

Botswana 264

Botswana Africa Birds Ecuador 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2012

The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. It’s guaranteed to be the trip of a lifetime!

Sierra Leone 274

Sierra Leone Ghana Equatorial Guinea Cameroon 274

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2024

I always love the feeling when migrants have just returned, knowing they just travelled thousands of kilometers, some from Subsaharan Africa. I could imagine that timing the earlier emergence of insect prey at the breeding grounds is particularly problematic for insectivorous species.

Soreing 226

Soreing Owls Eagles Woodpeckers 226

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

Growing up within an hour of one of the world’s premier shorebird destinations -- West Coast National Park in South Africa -- helped for sure. This is an endemic breeding bird in North America and much is now being done by various federal and non-profit groups to ensure and foster its conservation.

Florida 228

Florida South Africa 2011 Africa 228

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Islands, for various reasons, experience more extinctions than continents (with Africa being the only continent not suffering a bird extinction!). Then rumors leaked out that at this same site the mythical Red Owl could easily be seen, Madagascar Serpent Eagle was breeding and other rare birds and lemurs abounded.

Madagascar 254

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 254

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.” Plantema gives highly detailed information about the weather, terrain, ownership of and access to the islands and coasts where penguins breed. Press, 2011).

Penguins 279

Penguins Georgia Albatross New Zealand 279

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2024

I’m not sure if this is exclusively my limited experience, let me know! It must’ve just returned from Subsaharan Africa a few days earlier I assume. While experiments have shown that some birds (like crows and parrots) can count, this rule unsurprisingly did not hold when subjected to testing.

Germany 235

Germany Birds Parrots Europe 235

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

It breeds in a broad and not quite coherent band from Iceland in the west through central Europe and southern Scandinavia all the way to eastern Russia, wintering in Africa, parts of India, and Southeast Asia to Australia. Aspect one is feeding when humans are not around.

Germany 195

Germany Russia Iceland India 195

10,000 Birds

JULY 31, 2012

Sadly, I have never seen a Red-throated Wryneck , which is only to be expected for a bird found only in sub-Saharan Africa, considering that I have not yet set foot on that continent. Eurasian Wrynecks are found breeding across the temperate zones of Europe and Asia.

Hungary 187

Hungary Asia Woodpeckers Africa 187

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2024

Status In Alaska: Breeding resident. Status in Alaska: In Alaska, Steller’s sea eagles are considered vagrants, meaning they are occasional visitors rather than resident breeding birds. Range: Golden eagles are the most widely distributed species of eagle, inhabiting Eurasia, North America, and parts of North Africa. kilograms).

Alaska 245

Alaska Eagles Bald Eagle Deer 245

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2012

They have a circumpolar distribution, breeding in vast numbers in the islands around Antarctica, as well as on Antarctica itself. Smaller numbers breed on sub-Antarctic islands as far north as the Chathams in New Zealand. But perhaps they are not a species you are ever likely to see on it’s own! …

New Zealand 162

New Zealand Albatross South Africa Brazil 162

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2012

Great Reed Warblers breed across huge chunks of Europe and Asia and winter across large swaths of southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Many thanks to Swarovski Optik for inviting me along and letting me experience both some awesome new optics and the natural wonders of the wonderful country of Hungary. ……….

Hungary 167

Hungary Asia Europe Africa 167

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2014

The park is home to not one, not two, but large three colonies of breeding seabirds: the Brown Noddy , Magnificent Frigatebird , and Sooty Tern. No, that was not a typo, the Sooty Terns fly non-stop for an average of five years before they return to the Dry Tortugas to breed. Lots and lots of birds. Each took merely a minute or two.

Florida 210

Florida Birds Groups Breeding 210

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

The Kerkini Lake National Park is my favourite birding area in the whole of the Balkans and while I’ve been here in April and again (migration), September (migration), October (coffee break), December and January (wintering), this was my first time in the breeding season, in May. But nowadays, they, too, breed here, about 20 pairs this year.

Greece 203

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 203

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

Come September most of the summer seabird people had left, but there were a small number of seabirds still breeding and so I stayed behind for three years to continue their monitoring and do the migrant landbird surveys, as well as the Great White Shark surveys. It was astonishing, like a game drive in the savannah of Africa.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

In this epic post, Patrick depicts just how dynamic the pelagic birding is off Cape Point in South Africa. Here one is close to the scenically impressive Cape of Good Hope National Park as well as the Boulder’s Coastal Park, home to hundreds of breeding African Penguins.

Albatross 215

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whaling 215

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

Getting to actually see four species, in the last two weeks, and to hear two more is almost unheard of in my experience. A little less than a mile away, there is a spot where a nice population of Burrowing Owls, have been relocated in hopes of starting a new breeding population. This is a look at the man-made burrow openings.

Owls 190

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2011

We started out as a team with enthusiasm and knowledge, but little experience in book-making. reduce traffic casualties amongst Badgers , get the White-tailed Eagle back as a breeding bird, increase the number of protected plant species etc.). Any plans for further afield (USA, Asia, Africa)?

Badgers 145

Badgers Ethics Africa Spain 145

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The chance that this was a real Turkey are not great, and the chance that Columbus actually brought breeding stock from Honduras to Spain is not great, so maybe, maybe not. The Spanish Colonial Experience and Domestic Animals. Diffusion to other european countries subsequently was very rapid. Kiva 78(1):37–60. Reitz, Elizabeth.

Turkey 238

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 238

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Brown Pelicans , and the northernmost Brown Booby breeding colony on this side of the Pacific. Ringer Gannets and Boobies (Sulidae) Black-and-white gannets breed on the cold, rocky coasts of the northern and southern oceans. They can soar for hours, or plunge and twist after another bird with spectacular power and flair.

2011 168

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea California 168

10,000 Birds

JULY 6, 2023

Fortunately, there are a few more such breeding species than most Shanghainese are aware of. While the HBW states that it breeds at 300 – 2450 meters, in Shanghai – where such elevations are not available outside of the upper floors of a few highrises – it makes to with an altitude of about 0 meters as well.

Birds 130

Birds Eggs Breeders McDonalds 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 27, 2013

Hornbills are spectacular under any circumstances, but when a pair lands in a bush beside you at eye-level and begin mutual preening , it makes for a spectacular experience. It was easily one of the best birding experiences I’ve ever had, even impressing my nonbirder fiance. You can read more about his experience here.

2013 169

2013 Costa Rica Birds India 169

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity. Interestingly, the HBW gives different contact calls depending on the country in which the flycatcher lives: “Contact call a simple ‘zeet, zwayt’ (South Africa), ‘ti-twit tee-twit’ (Gabon), ‘zi’zk’zk’ (Tanzania).”

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Benin South Africa Birds 147

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

This would have allowed you to summarize your experience in sentences such as “A total of 98 boluses regurgitated by 52 chicks aged 1 day to 11 days after hatching form the sample and are shown to contain 323 food items.” It concludes that human activity influences the breeding activity of the lapwing. End of side note.

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandoning 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

Black-tailed godwits winter in large numbers on the estuaries of both Norfolk and Suffolk, and we know that nearly all these birds breed in Iceland. In breeding plumage islandica godwits develop a deeper red plumage than their limosa cousins. They are of the race islandica , a sub species of the nominate race, limosa.

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

This makes it a particularly exciting time in New Zealand as the Rugby World Cup begins in two days, and the competition is being held right here in New Zealand (I would imagine they might be more excited if they hadn’t just lost two matches to Australia and South Africa, their big rivals in the Tri-Nations).

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Fur 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

The book is produced by WILDGuides, Ltd, the excellent book company responsible for over a dozen photographic guides on Britain’s natural life ranging from dragonflies to plant galls as well as books on Africa, Australia and other areas we all want to visit, and was published this summer by Princeton University Press.

Ireland 175

Ireland Birds Falcons Turtles 175

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

For several years I lived and birded in the south of Africa , and still have my battered second edition (1997) of the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, the most trusted local field guide. Before that, while you all know what South Africa is, what exactly is Southern Africa?

Africa 264

Africa South Africa Swaziland Lesotho 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2024

However, it’s not until the end of the first week of May that the majority of the breeding birds return to our village. Young, non-breeding Swifts investigating nest sites. There are a number of reasons put forward for this, of which the most likely seems to be loss of suitable breeding sites.

Liberia 245

Liberia Africa Breeding Mozambique 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

They can be challenging to identify, especially if you haven’t seen one before, though with experience they are not really so difficult. They are generally regarded as summer visitors, arriving back from their wintering grounds in Africa in March, and departing again in September. Perhaps some females remain, too, but I didn’t see any.

Falcons 241

Falcons Spain Europe Portugal 241

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

According to Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World , a handsome volume written by James Hancock, James Kushan and Philip Kohl and published by Academic Press in 1992, Geronticus eremita “once nested in the mountains of central Europe, across northern Africa and into the Middle East. But this range is now much reduced.

Morocco 246

Morocco Austria Algeria Germany 246

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

They also migrate to and from the High Arctic, crossing the Atlantic to Europe, but they keep going, down across the Mediterranean into Africa. This tiny passerine winters in Africa, places like Tanzania, Nigeria, Somalia. In my experience here, the Wheatear arrive at the end of May to early June and quickly establish territories.

Somalia 232

Somalia Africa Nigeria North America 232

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

I got to see a beautiful female and owlet on a trip to a secret nest location near Howard Prairie Lake (human-made nest structures have enhanced local breeding for these huge owls whose nest success is boosted to 83% on artificial platforms vs. 66% at natural sites). The experience, the place, and the bird combine to make this my BBOTY.

2014 226

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Penguins 226

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2020

Its waterproof fold-able covers bring back childhood memories… I must have had some illustrated children book with similar covers – my fingertips remember the experience. For species with more than one subspecies in the region, the separate resident/breeding ranges of the distinct subspecies are indicated on the map. What I don’t like?

Japan 246

Japan Asia Birds 2000 246