10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2021

Attempting a photograph of the cattle beside the highway was pointless, because you only got photographs of locusts! Recently the highway has been covered in locusts and you can’t avoid them. It did not matter which way you looked there were thousands of locusts. The recent swarms of locusts.

Cattle 262

Cattle Breeding Family Rights 262

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

All the tracks onto the station property were underwater and all of the Brahman Cattle have moved to the highest ground that they can find. In fact it is not just the cattle, but all of the creatures have moved into bushes and trees. Birding Australia Black-winged Stilt Broome' Black-winged Stilt holding their ground!

Barn Owls 162

Barn Owls Seals Cattle Birds 162

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2012

You do need to be careful of cattle wandering across the highway, as the grass always looks greener on the other side! It had quite possibly not come across a human being in this remote part of Australia and these birds are generally only seen at night-if at all. The rain has been great for the land and everywhere is turning green.

Investigation 170

Investigation Cattle Australia Humane 170

10,000 Birds

JUNE 16, 2019

We started our Singapore bird list at Pasir Ris and leaving the train station we were delighted to see several Cattle Egrets on the grass and several photographers. It is the smallest owl that we have ever seen and it is tiny, especially when you compare it to the Powerful Owl in Australia. Sunda Scops Owl.

Singapore 115

Singapore Otters Owls Zebras 115

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 20, 2019

Right beside the road and the irrigation channel were a mixed flock of Cattle Egret , Intermediate Egrets and Little Black Cormorants all “caged” in. Last week I introduced you to a family of Radjah Shelducks taking advantage of the channel. Another significant flock of birds were to be found “caged” in!

Cattle 105

Cattle Research Family Rights 105

10,000 Birds

JULY 22, 2014

I’d like to introduce you to a diminutive heron, the Cattle Egret Bubuclus ibis. The Cattle Egret is native to Africa, where it is a familiar sight among herds of large mammals. They have expanded their range through Indonesia and into Australia and is found in post breeding dispersal as far north as South Korea and Japan.

Cattle 170

Cattle South Korea Suriname Seychelles 170

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2014

– Acclimatisation Societies of New Zealand – The Cattle Egret Expansion – Feral Cats Are An Invasive Species in North America (and elsewhere) – It’s a Myth – Isn’t It? … Here at 10,000 Birds 20 July – 26 July is Invasive Species Week.

Species 160

Species Feral Cats Feral Miami 160

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2021

There has also been another tropical low that came very close to Broome dumping heavy rains and then continued around the coast of Western Australia. This bird species is known to travel large distances around Australia. Wedge-tailed Eagle -bigger than the cattle!? Three Wedge-tailed Eagles.

Geese 259

Geese Eagles Australia Cattle 259

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2011

There is a lot of bird movement around Australia at the moment due to the weather, so time to go and investigate! It actually looked like the station owner was breeding birds rather than cattle! They make such perfect V formations as they fly north and the Eastern Curlew are the most vocal.

Investigation 140

Investigation Birds Cattle Ducks 140

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2022

This is the only highway around Australia in this part of the country and we don’t need it falling to bits! They were busy feeding around the cattle water trough that the cattle can’t get to unless they want wet hooves! We always travel through the shallowest section to prevent damage to the highway.

Barn Owls 192

Barn Owls Cattle Reptiles Ducks 192

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2022

I do not get too many comments on my blog posts, but it seems that whenever I write about jacanas – whether in Africa, Australia, or Asia – there is an unusually high number of reactions (well, maybe one or two rather than the usual zero) from female readers. This Cattle Egret has just read a paper stating that it would be 3.6

Birds 162

Birds South Korea Japan Abandonment 162

Animal Ethics

JUNE 10, 2009

To the Editor: Re “ Greening the Herds: A New Diet to Cap Gas ” (news article, June 5): Your article about reducing methane emissions from dairy cows is welcome because of the attention it draws toward the substantial contribution that both beef and dairy cattle make to global warming.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Cattle Cows 40

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2011

There had been cattle in the area and we kept coming across bizarre butterfly circles. All we can think is that they were attracted to an area where there had been cattle urine and they were getting the natural salts. It seems the most likely answer, but who knows!

Cattle 160

Cattle 2003 Birds Geese 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

It is on your left and you will no doubt either see the birdlife in the area or notice the cattle wandering on the edge of the highway. The cattle tend to wander beside the edge of the highway in areas where the fences have failed and they are also attracted to the water at the borrow pits.

Cattle 218

Cattle Zebras Birds Wildlife 218

10,000 Birds

MARCH 28, 2021

It has been a completely different story on the East coast of Australia. The cattle are clever enough to move across the property and get away from the deep water. This highway has remained open, but heading north the highway has been closed for days on end. Playing “chicken” on the edge of the highway.

Chickens 176

Chickens Ducks Cattle Australia 176

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 2, 2015

Before we left home to go camping and birding in the northern area of the Kimberley we had a plan that once we got as far north as the Northern Territory we would return to Halls Creek, Western Australia, via the Duncan Road. Cattle truck and dust! They also believed it would not be too deep after a dry Wet Season.

Cattle 159

Cattle Birds Australia Transported 159

Animal Ethics

NOVEMBER 9, 2009

It may be true that in some trials scientists have found ways to reduce methane emissions from cattle, but until these methods are in widespread use, they are simply not relevant to the consumer choices we face. Barry Brook is a professor of climate change at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

New York Times 40

New York Times New York Factory Farming Factory Farm 40

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2017

In Australia it is winter in July, but the weather is as perfect as you could hope for in the north of the country with daytime temperatures around 30c/86f and the night-time temperatures being around 20c/68f and rarely a cloud in the sky. Cattle can be anywhere! An area of highway that floods.

Australia 100

Australia Kangaroos Cattle Reptiles 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2020

Cattle have been in the area and so there will be small remaining pools from their hoof prints if rain does not come to the area soon just like last time. Spinifex Pigeons cautiously working their way down to the water. A bush full of Zebra Finch . The water level has been higher for the birds and marked the rocks.

2020 299

2020 Zebras Cattle Birds 299

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2021

We often think about how deceiving it would have been to the early explorers that came to the north of Australia during the wet season. They believed there was potential for sheep in those days, but now there are only cattle. The cattle are a cross breed of Brahman and shorthorn, so they can withstand the extreme weather.

Cattle 155

Cattle Sheep Australia 2010 155

10,000 Birds

MAY 25, 2013

Let’s take Singapore’s Changi International Airport as an example; it is a huge hub airport with large numbers of people passing through in transit to Australia, Indonesia and south-east Asia. Perhaps I have missed my calling. Anyone with more than a couple of hours to kill could easily make a quick birding foray out from the airport.

Singapore 160

Singapore Woodpeckers Parrots Zebras 160

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2015

Halls Creek is situated inland on the Great Northern Highway, which is the only bitumen road around the north of Australia. It has a small population of approximately 1100 people and is a major hub for the local indigenous people and for the cattle industry. This is exactly where you want to be!

Australia 100

Australia Ducks Cattle Industry 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

A local cattle station out of town received 652mm in the same 24 hour period, so we got off lightly! In one hour in the evening, amongst all the thunder and lightning, 88mm of rain fell and by the morning we had received 326mm of rain. So, over a 48 hour period we had received 564mm of rain as compared to 338mm for the whole of 2021.

Parrots 230

Parrots Cattle Breeding Ducks 230

10,000 Birds

JULY 11, 2021

As you can see it does not take much water to attract birds in Australia! The same applies when you come further north to the Kimberley in Western Australia. One cattle footprint full of water can mean survival for many bird species. Native flowers.

Australia 264

Australia Eagles Cattle Birds 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2019

In Broome we only have Silver Gulls , but in the south of Australia there are also some much larger gulls. Other birds found among the dairy cows in this situation are Common Starling , Australian Raven and Cattle Egrets. Pacific Gulls- Larus pacificus are generally found on the coast. The colours black and white are well represented!

Cows 157

Cows Cattle Australia Birds 157

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2016

There actually could not have been much less water really, because it was little more than a hoof print full after the last of the cattle gave up on it for a supply of water! This particular quarry north of Fitzroy Crossing was almost dry when we last visited, but not dry enough that there were no birds at all. Quarry landscape.

Zebras 144

Zebras Cattle Birds Species 144

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2016

Life’s been pretty hectic since we returned from a trip into the Pilbara area of Western Australia and I have hardly touched on all of our adventures due to other exciting bird news back home. Hundreds of Budgerigars were swooping down to the water and almost blocked our view of the cattle! Budgerigars roosting around the dam.

Cattle 101

Cattle Australia Birds Rights 101

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2020

Over recent weeks I have been able to share some of my observations along the Great Southern Rail Trail in Victoria, Australia. They are very similar to the Masked Lapwings in the north of Australia, but of course they have ‘black shoulders”! Two Cattle Egrets with four cows! Black-shouldered Lapwings.

Buffalo 163

Buffalo Fish Koalas Cattle 163

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2013

Other members of the family include the huge Australasian Bittern (a species I have yet to see), the coastal Eastern Reef Egret (hardly difficult since it’s habitat requirements are basically “an island in the Pacific”), and of course the Cattle Egret. They are generally solitary and pretty easy to see in the countryside.

New Zealand 149

New Zealand Indonesia Cattle Guinea 149

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2015

This is cattle country and it is actually fenced, which many parts of the Kimberley are not and you pass through Ruby Plains and then Carranya station to reach the crater. There’s nothing better than coming across a “grader ahead” sign on a gravel road, especially when he has been hard at work for a few days!

Camels 166

Camels Birds Cattle Zebras 166

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2021

Both native animals and cattle from the stations wander aimlessly onto the highway at any time of day, but it is worse between dusk and dawn. With current travel restrictions around Australia and internationally we are grateful we live in an area that is so rich with birds and other wildlife.

Breeding 243

Breeding Cattle 2014 Australia 243

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 30, 2015

On our trip to the north of Western Australia we took the opportunity to visit the Pentecost River, which is south of Wyndham and is near the start of the infamous Gibb River Road. The Gibb River Road is a mostly gravel road that runs approximately 670 kilometres from south of Wyndham to Derby in the west.

Birds 151

Birds Australia Cattle Pelicans 151

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

Image by Adam Riley A Cattle Egret hunts grasshoppers and other insects in a field of wildflowers in West Coast National Park. It is common in the Fynbos and succulent Karoo regions. Image by Adam Riley Another common members of this region’s avifauna is the cute Cape Bunting.

South Africa 238

South Africa Africa New Zealand Asia 238

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 19, 2014

You first encounter the Magpie Geese with Cattle Egret along Fiddlers Lane in the mango orchards and they are taking advantage of the shade and the fallen mangos. There are Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets and Intermediate Egre ts around the lagoon and the Intermediate Egrets came rather close to me as they fed. No complaints from us!

Geese 166

Geese Cattle Pelicans Ducks 166

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2014

As we came through the open fields towards the coast there were numerous Cattle Egrets among the cattle and Straw-necked Ibis. Trips Australia cormorants Fairy Wren heron Magpie oystercatchers Raven' Of course you have no opportunity to stop on these windy roads and they appeared oblivious to the traffic that passed them by.

Cattle 160

Cattle Boston Investigation Australia 160

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2013

As we travelled around the hinterland we discovered that the Cattle Egret in that area of Queensland were with the cattle! Cattle Egret and cattle. Australian Bustard and cattle. Shorebird roost at Toorbul. Now that is just how it should be! Sometimes they were with horses, but that’s OK!

Cattle 151

Cattle Birds Litter 2012 151

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2021

9 beats from 8 countries (Australia, USA, UK, Serbia, Costa Rica, China, Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico), shared 138 checklists for 703 species. 201 Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis. 201 Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis. 1 Little Tinamou – Crypturellus soui. 3 Snow Goose – Anser caerulescens.

Woodpeckers 188

Woodpeckers Sparrows Parrots Ducks 188