10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

Grass Owls are also present in the area, but remain off our bird list. With the first rains we get mass frog breeding events and the flooded land is covered in tadpoles. 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.

Barn Owls 162

Barn Owls Seals Cattle Birds 162

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2012

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. Where we entered the area, the savannah seemed more like Aripo Ranch. In fact, it was. In that regard, Aripo was amazing.

Trinidad 177

Trinidad Fast Food Cattle Blackbirds 177

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2013

According to the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas, the first confirmed breeding record was in Miami in July of 1938. Large swaths of the Everglades were being drained to make way for cattle ranching, citrus groves, and low density housing that included many overgrown, weedy lots. Petersburg area and Cape Canaveral.

Florida 189

Florida Virgin Islands Miami Breeders 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2016

This is a very different book from what I expected, less of a handbook and more of a comprehensive identification text on 24 groups of birds, presented in words and photographs. Additional information is presented in boxes and with photographs. Light blue boxes give brief facts on breeding age, strategy and lifespan.

Birds 190

Birds Groups 2015 North America 190

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

The population of parrotlets they studied was located on one of the many huge hatos (cattle ranches) in the Venezuelan llanos, a vast swath of flat flooded savannah in the central third of the country that drains into the Rio Orinoco. You don’t really know a bird until you’ve studied it on its breeding grounds. The Auk 108: 863-871.

Eggs 268

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 268

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2020

While entering our double kayak I asked Andrew Hester, a local bird expert, if bilharzia is present in the shallows of the Ngotwane Dam, further down the river. Cattle Egret 16. Andrew’s laconic answer was ‘No, I don’t think so. Bird Species (common English names after Ber van Perlo’s Birds of Southern Africa): Reed Cormorant 1.

Botswana 185

Botswana Africa 2001 Monkeys 185

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2012

On the ground we saw large numbers of Red-wattled Lapwings and White-tailed Lapwings , the latter of which breed at the site. Migrants were also present, including some Ruff, Common Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plovers , and Wood Sandpipers. The location was a good spot to see Arabian Oryx, a species I hoped to see but didn’t.

United Arab Emirates 115

United Arab Emirates UAE Oman Feral 115

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 28, 2012

On the ground we saw large numbers of Red-wattled Lapwings and White-tailed Lapwings , the latter of which breed at the site. Migrants were also present, including some Ruff, Common Sandpipers, Little Ringed Plovers , and Wood Sandpipers. The location was a good spot to see Arabian Oryx, a species I hoped to see but didn’t.

United Arab Emirates 114

United Arab Emirates UAE Oman Feral 114

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2014

Birds are presented by family, genus, and species, following the taxonomic order of the American Ornithological Union (as of August 2013), Each of the 89 families is described by an essay that details distinctive characteristics, addressing structure, behavior, plumage, distribution, taxonomy, and conservation.

North America 177

North America America Family Falcons 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 2, 2016

We immediately headed to an undisclosed location where Carlos had breeding Mangrove Cuckoos staked out. Sure, it was a lifer and an unexpected one because most of the hawks have moved further north to breed by late April but Carlos did nothing to ensure that it stuck around for better looks. Too bad they’re not countable Carlos!

Florida 117

Florida Miami Birds Owls 117

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 13, 2012

That Cattle Egret I found in Somerset County, August 2009? Birds of New Jersey , written by Joan Walsh, Vince Elia, Rich Kane, and Thomas Halliwell, published by New Jersey Audubon Society, was a landmark volume; 704-pages long, it presented results of the 1993-1997 New Jersey Breeding Bird Atlas.

New Jersey 190

New Jersey 2009 Bald Eagle New York City 190

10,000 Birds

JUNE 24, 2021

The fields near the Tiaozini mudflats look very much like a lunar landscape, but this does not seem to keep a number of species from breeding there, sometimes directly on dirt roads. But now back to birds … Little Ringed Plovers also seem to like to breed directly on the road. Blandness sells. Also available as a set of two.

Uganda 212

Uganda Birds Rats Breeding 212

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2022

It is of course a very popular place for waterbirds to drop by and sometimes there are large numbers of Purple Swamphens and Eurasian Coot present. Quite often there are Australian Pelicans , Brolga and Royal Spoonbills present and the egret species often include Great Egret , Intermediate Egret , Little Egret and Cattle Egret.

Geese 194

Geese Ducks Breeding Cattle 194

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2022

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks , Muscovy Ducks and Blue-winged Teals were around us, together with Green , Great and Little Blue Herons , Cattle and Great White Egrets , Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons , plus one locally rare Pinnated Bittern in the floating vegetation, as well as several dozen Neotropical Cormorants.

Costa Rica 232

Costa Rica Nicaragua 2019 Farming 232

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2012

It is unclear as to whether they have all had a good breeding season or if they are dispersing to different areas this year. The four Banded Lapwings were in amongst the cattle at the edge of the road and several Australian Pratincole were also present. They must have decided it was worth wandering further north this year!

2014 154

2014 Zebras 2005 2008 154

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Native species have also managed to make a living in the newly created urban jungle habitat, including Northern Mockingbird , Cattle Egret , Mourning Dove , and Fish Crow. If enough trees are present, Blue Jay and Red-bellied Woodpecker become distinct possibilities. I invite readers to share with us their common parking lot birds.

Miami 124

Miami Fast Food Florida Cattle 124