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Will Raup is a birder from upstate New York who helped Corey learn a lot about birds when Corey was first starting out as a birder. When you think of invasives, you think of the birds that have been helped by human beings to get where they are, such as House Sparrow or European Starling. a Cattle Egret in Brooklyn.
Instead of going on about zip lines and other modern, adventure tourism attractions, the birding crowd talks about taking photos of Resplendent Quetzals , seeing dozens of hummingbird species, and the seemingly odd absence of raptors in Costa Rica but nope, we don’t really talk about extinction. Resplendence.
Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, experts have determined that the current rate of bird extinction is somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 times the background rate. The Gray Crowned-Crane is a new addition to the list of the world’s Endangered species, creeping up a category from Vulnerable.
One of the many things I did not know about Delhi is that it is the capital city with the second-largest number of birdspecies (after Nairobi). So when I went there for work last year, I added three days of birding to the trip. Not the most exciting bird in the world, I guess, but still worth showing in a democracy.
10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic. Mercedes Rivadeneira has been in the birding tourism and nature conservation business for over 30 years!
Faithful fans of 10,000 Bird will know that each Friday Mike invites us to comment where we plan to go birding that weekend. Would Las Mesas, the closest to Morelia of these sites, join their ranks as a prime birding spot? This species loves to sing while high up in pine trees. Not the most auspicious start to my day!
The Black-winged Cuckooshrike is breeding in several Shanghai locations – I suspect that some trees near the Nanhui hotel might be another one, given the vigorous singing of this bird. The Amur Paradise Flycatcher is another species breeding in Shanghai. Not so for the Little Grebe.
Interestingly, the birding lexicon uses other terms to describe unanticipated arrivals in more positive terms. Perhaps our outrage at invasive species can be a bit hypocritical at times. The rapid proliferation of the European Starling is, on the species level, equivalent to incalculable fortunes of billionaire moguls.
Not all birds are created equal. These are the kinds of birds even those barely cognizant of nature recognize, appreciate, and aspire to. These are the kinds of birds even those barely cognizant of nature recognize, appreciate, and aspire to. Central Africa has one of those birds.
We have observed huge flocks of Galahs there on previous visits and other times there are more birdspecies, but only one or two of each species. Last Sunday we stopped as usual and we were able to observe a good selection of birds from the bridge. Cattle Egret. Fairy Martins fill the sky. Ducks, Ibis and Egrets.
While I was at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in January I spent most of one afternoon taking my time driving around the Viera Wetlands and digiscoping anything that crossed my path. And, when a Leopard Frog moved to escape my car, the Cattle Egret was proven correct. The frog was big but the bird was determined.
Like many of you, I had plans for this year’s spring migration: to bird the very best tour of the Balkans, heading for northeastern Greece. First, 800 km of driving from Belgrade through Bulgaria to very NE corner of Greece and the Dadia Forest National Park with its 36 species of diurnal raptors, out of Europe’s 38.
This year was my third year helping to lead trips at the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. Like my two previous visits I spent one day that I didn’t have to lead any field trips doing a run through central Florida looking for some of the specialty species of the region. It is no wonder that the project was discontinued.
Construction is still ongoing at Nanhui, there are constant rumors that key birding sites will be made inaccessible … you have to take every Nanhui visit as it is your last (yes, another clichee). Still, there were a few birds there this September. Still, there were a few birds there this September. A juvenile male.
Have you ever enjoyed one of those brilliant birding expeditions, the outing where every target species takes its cue with machine precision? The lush pastures of the Aripo Livestock Station sustained herds of happy Buffalypso , a special breed of T&T beef cattle named for their Water Buffalo heritage and Calypso-happy country.
Still, the outing did not produce any new species for the year, or enough good photos for a post here. Instead, I have chosen to write about an idea I’ve had percolating for a while: to tell you what the most common species are down here. Cattle Egrets are very common outside of the most urbanized areas.
Whenever we make a trip to Derby we pull over seven kilometres before we get to town at Myalls Bore and the 120 metre long cattle trough. We have seen the cattle trough enough times to know there is not a lot of bird-life using it, because it is easier for the birds to use the water that overflows from the bore to make a wetland.
Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Yellow-billed Stork.
A manicured green lawn in front of the building and an iridescent blue bird on a smallish aloe tree. It was June 1999 and I was observing my first ever bird on African soil. The next bird was some crow-like UFO observed from the shuttle bus. I asked the bus driver about the bird and he asked me back: “The bi’d?” “Umm,
The official definition of CR status says the species could be gone within ten years, or could lose 80 per cent of its population within three generations – whichever comes first. CR being the highest category in the Red List , if I want to see some of those birds, I better hurry! Locals being vegetarians, why are there no birds?
Though the birding around Lake Kerkini may be outstanding, it’s inevitably the lake itself that is the centre of interest. The Greylags are interesting, as they are of the eastern race, rubrirostris , with distinctive pink legs and beaks, unlike the orange of our birds at home in Britain.
Lots of the migrant birds are starting to return to Mexico. Some in great numbers, some, just a single bird or two. None of these birds are rarities, and would never be considered a species to get all twitter-pated about. None the less, fresh new birds to photograph is always a great thing for me!
The very best wetland birding around Belgrade, Serbia, is not to be found in the locally famous and tourist-promoted Obedska or Carska Bara Ramsar areas, but at Beljarica Backwaters and the fish farm triangle of Centa, Baranda and Sakule villages, in the Tamis River floodplain. mi, to the Vrbovski turnoff.
But, from the existing data, the authors have drawn a different conclusion – there is no proof that the breeding population ever existed, that the south of Africa was beyond the species range and that that all observations were of vagrant individuals. During my lifetime, this species was rare in my native Serbia, too.
Lake Kerkini National Park in the north of Greece is the very best birding area in the Balkan Peninsula and definitely among the top ten hotspots of Europe. Some 320 species have been recorded here, and in springtime it is possible to observe more than 150 birdspecies in a week.
They belong to the same species like those found back in Europe, Sus scrofa – which inhabits a belt stretching from northern Africa and Europe all the way to Indonesia, but a different subspecies, S.s. The next two species are the Southern Grey Shrike and the Tawny Pipit , also characteristic for this habitat type. ceylonensis.
Anyway, the strange swampy area close to Dongfangs main drag and its associated real and fake Playboy stores has a number of interesting birds – fortunately, none of them displaying any embarrassing brand names. I guess the red bill is the bird’s equivalent of wearing Playboy branded clothes.
No, I am not going to tell you about some blood-sucking bird with hypnotic powers. I am only responding to my subjective impression of a single species’ appearance here; specifically, that of the Bronzed Cowbird. But the bird is cool, and I need the photos to prove my points. I hope you will forgive my rather lurid title.
10,000 Birds is running a series of articles by and about tour guides, tour companies, eco-lodges, and other birding travel organizations. We want to help the birding tourism industry come back strong from the COVID pandemic.
Have you ever birded a place so young that birds still have no names ? … – part 2 – Once I finish this writing, with a strange mix of emotions I will put the Lynx field guide Birds of Colombia to the bookshelf for the first time, more than half a year after I received it. He had his Zeiss glasses in his hand. ‘I
At least, thought I, Florida would produce some superior birds. So I packed my binoculars thinking that, even if the trip wouldn’t be as bird-rich as my last trip to the Sunshine State (for the mighty, mighty Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival ), at least a few crackers would wing my way. Not Sea World.
Chinese Penduline T**s are not particularly woke birds. White’s Thrush is described as “burly” on eBird – not entirely unjustified, I guess, but this description fails to capture the way the intricate patterns of the bird make for great camouflage and also for its own kind of beauty. Maybe the grandparents help.
If you thought that migrant traps and spring in south Texas were birdalicious (and they can indeeed be spectacular), how does an ecosystem with 400 and even 500 plus species tickle your birding fancy? This brings us to the first obvious upside of rainforest birding in Costa Rica; a chance at a lot more species than other habitats.
The sharp strings are a menace to passing birds – especially kites and other raptors – who cannot see them and sometimes suffer grievous, if not fatal, wounds. The first injured bird Nadeem and Mohammad ever found was a Black Kite.
One birdspecies that we occasionally observe around Broome is the Yellow-billed Spoonbill, but we had not seen one for a few years until recently. The river level is low this time of year and the bird-life was very good. We soon observed several birdspecies and then a Yellow-billed Spoonbill flew overhead.
By Martin Garwood Martin has been interested in birds from an early age and has traveled extensively in pursuit of different species. He recently set up a charity, High Weald Swifts, to promote conservation in the UK of this now “red-listed” species. He has a particular passion for Swifts. It was a male Kestrel.
Birdwatchers tend to like the rare, the exotic – yet many common birds are exciting as well. With that in mind, I would like to introduce what might be the 20 most common birds of Shanghai. Today`s species are just the first 10 by alphabetical order. A thoroughly modern bird. That is a bit unfair to this species.
An expanse of habitat as vast as Murchison Falls NP in Uganda, as excessively generous in beauty and biodiversity, permits endless ways to experience both its birds and animals. The Masindi Hotel holds the distinction of being the oldest and most historic hotel in Uganda and has some terrific birds on premises. Mind boggling, I answer!
One of the things I do to earn a living is bird surveys, some for the federal government, some for private companies that want to assess an area for construction (like a wind turbine). There’s something very relaxing and calming sitting in one spot for four hours at a time and only focusing on birds, no email, no paperwork just birds.
Birds are supposed to have feathers and birds without feathers look incomplete, like they left home with shaving cream on their ear and toothpaste spots on their shirt. The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. Griffon Vulture , photo by Alan Tilmouth.
home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds , Terminology / Cow Birds Cow Birds By Rick • March 22, 2011 • 1 comment Tweet Share So what do Buffleheads and Bitterns and Hornbills have in common? They’re all named for livestock.
This park protects the largest remaining tract of dry deciduous forest in the west of India, offering visitors 37 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals and, not to be forgotten – almost 300 birdspecies. We’re here for the birds!”. Lions aside, carnivores are represented by Leopard, Hyena, Jackal, etc.,
ARUBA — Of all the places that I’ve had the privilege to bird, Aruba is probably has the poorest birding coverage. None of the things that really lend themselves to high bird diversity. It’s a good bird, but there are a small handful of other records. For starters, it’s small. And really windy.
July birding in the Northern Hemisphere may be slow, but you’ve got to love those adorable baby birds! i got my fill of cygnets and goslings this weekend, but the best sighting was an adult Cattle Egret that apparently didn’t realize how far Upstate New York was from wherever it should be. How about you?
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