10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2020

It can still be an entirely opposite end of a continent, but – if you are residing in Europe – the flight can be as short as one (from Germany) to two hours (from UK). I am talking of the very heart of the Balkans and the final birding frontier of Europe: Serbia. The country has one eBird hotspot with 200+ and 62 more with 100+ birds.

Serbia

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2020

For the last two decades, Europe and the greater Mediterranean have been covered by one of the best field guides anywhere: “Collins Bird Guide” by Lars Svensson et al., published in the US by Princeton as “Birds of Europe”. Still, in this case CBG wins in the JIZZ category as well.

Cyprus

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2011

If you have been on the receiving end of any guided birding you know that a good guide can make or break the trip and João was up there with the best in terms of his knowledge of the local sites, breeding birds and visitors, coping easily with our constant questioning.

Portugal

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2015

Worried by the lack of appropriate action by the authorities (as described in the previous post ), this year I invited two more wildlife protection organisations to take part in the annual census of Pygmy Cormorants in Belgrade. “The Pygmy Cormorant is a strictly protected bird species in Serbia, as well as in the European Union.

Serbia

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2014

, and at the same time not grumpy enough to make them draw their guns (yep – it’s a true story, but do not trust the first impression: they were rough on the outside and soft on the inside, e.g. being fiercely protective of stray dogs and cats – that particular guy kept about five dogs and 15 cats, and they all lived together peacefully).

Serbia

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

This is a bit of a dilemma for local authorities – on the one hand, they would presumably like to protect the birds, on the other hand, they also want to draw as many tourists to the place as possible. Black-bellied Plover: Known as Grey Plover in Europe and Asia. Point for American birders, I am afraid.

China

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

The European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 makes interesting reading. Originally confined to the Arctic, breeding [of Barnacle Geese] is now confirmed throughout much of the Baltic coast S North Sea. This Barnacle goose is part of a resident breeding flock in North Norfolk.

Netherlands

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2012

Specifically, rural northwestern Spain, at various points along the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route to the supposed burial place of Saint James the apostle and, before that, to the westernmost point in continental Europe, the supposed End of the Earth, the Finis Terra. There are many big birds, many pretty birds.

Spain

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 1, 2016

Photo: This area holds 3 to 4 breeding pairs of White-tailed Eagles , which represents the biggest density per square mile anywhere in the country. Wigeons are only migrants and not a breeding species in Serbia and August is a bit too early for any longer distance duck movements. Photographed by Szekeres Levente. and one ad.).

Serbia

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2019

And here in Europe, they are the real deal, an indigenous species and not domesticated animals gone wild. These handsome finches breed in the far north of Europe and come here for the winter only. I think all were males, at last two huge ones certainly were. I barely started when some sulphur (a.k.a.

Serbia

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

I was especially interested in “To Hide From God,” the chapter on songbird slaughter and protection in Cyprus. 192) from the timing of seasons to the ferocity of weather to the shape of breeding, wintering, and stopover habitat to even the size of birds themselves. It is often hard to be positive.

Cyprus

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

The descriptions of the territory’s birds, seals, whales, introduced mammals, invertebrates, and plants are written within the framework of the conversationist, so it is more than a field guide, it is a record of endangered wildlife and the efforts being made to protect it.

Georgia

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. The population of Millerbirds on Laysan has doubled , and breeding seems to be going well. The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. Photo by David Guttenfelder, courtesy of National Geographic ).

Cambodia

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2016

July is that boring period after the breeding and prior to migration season. So many beaches of Central Europe ended up here, mostly in the Deliblato Sands (Delibatska pescara) reserve in the southeast of the Vojvodina province – the largest sandy terrain of Europe. But first, where did all that sand came from?

Sheep

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Even among the protected areas of Serbia, the Iron Gates National Park (in Serbian: Djerdap) stands out as better preserved. Keep in mind that the special nature reserves (dark green on the park map) enjoy the highest level of protection and are off limits to visitors (possible only with research permits issued by the park authorities).

Serbia

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

A range of hills protects the cove from the eastern wind, yet, the bushes are swaying in the rythm of it. This shearwater is a Mediterranean endemic, breeding from Sardinia and Corsica to the Adriatic and the Aegean. Trips Europe Greece seabirds' Even before we come close, we find our first threatened Yelkouan Shearwater.

Greece

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2024

Here in the British Isles we are lucky enough to have some of the largest and most important seabird colonies in Europe. Preparing for the perfect landing Brakes on, landing gear down The Gannets are present at Bempton from the end of February through to October, for their breeding season is an exceptionally long one.

Puffins

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

Black Stork and three pairs of White-tailed Eagles breed here. This protected area is of special importance for migrating waders, of which some 27 species were reported here, including Pied Avocet , Temminck’s Stint , Red-necked Phalarope , Sanderling and Dunlin. eBird bar chart. #2 2 Baranda fish farm. eBird bar chart. #1

Serbia

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2011

The variety of plumages that they show and the way different individuals molt at different times is interesting to me and I have stopped being surprised at seeing a small flock of ruddies with some nearly in full breeding, or alternate plumage, while others are still in their basic, or non-breeding plumage. The proposal from U.S.

Ducks

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2018

Habitat destruction combined with hunting has pushed them away from their former breeding grounds. What remains of their range is currently protected as the Pastures of Great Bustard Special Nature Reserve, but in the last several years there are only a dozen birds left, and only one adult male among them. What treats do they face?

Serbia

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2015

No, I took a paddle and discovered the Danube backwaters (cover photo: 1995), the very same area I am fighting to protect now, but the Government, it seems, has an interested investor… Seeing the most valuable habitats disappearing in front of our eyes, environmentalists are quite prone to depression, but that is another story.

Serbia

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2016

But this breeding and social arrangement has its risks. And for wild pheasants ( Common , in Europe; or Ring-necked , stateside), a bigger group may actually present an existential danger. Maybe monogamy, with just one partner to support and protect, isn’t so bad after all. Having a harem sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

Europe

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2022

Iron Gates, after the ancient Roman name for the gorge, Porta Ferrea) National Park lies in the north-eastern Serbia, where the Danube has incised the longest gorge of Europe, extending for over 100 kilometre (62 mi), stretching from the medieval Golubac Fortress to the Roman castrum Diana. Djerdap (a.k.a.

Serbia

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2017

At the southeast part of the lake is a breeding colony of Black-crowned Night , Purple and Squacco Herons. Status: Proposed for protection , but threatened by plans for a large scale development. Status: Veliko Ratno Island is a protected nature reserve, while Kozara is proposed for protection. +. eBird checklist.

Birds

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2018

It is the largest woodpecker in Europe (to describe its size, I’ll tell you that Goldeneyes breed in the holes this pecker makes). Three centuries later, in order to protect the northern border of the Ottoman empire, sultan Bayezid II in 1483 revised and strengthened the existing fortress.

Serbia

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

There is not just one comparative layout of gulls flying; there are plates of small and medium-sized gulls in non-breeding plumage, dark-winged larger gulls, 1st-winter larger gulls, 2nd-year larger gulls, 3rd-year larger gulls, and white-winged gulls. as Birds of Europe, 2nd edition (PUP, 2011).

Ireland

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

Wikipedia also has an interesting paragraph hinting at observation bias in ornithologists: “At the continental scale, saddle-billed storks preferred protected areas that have a higher extent of open water compared to areas without the storks. The benefit for the wasps is that they get to keep a beautiful pet.

Ostriches

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2017

Shallows provide an ideal spawning ground for almost 50 fish species and submerged islands breeding ground for more than 100 bird species. Beside several well-showing Red-backed Shrikes , the highlight was one uncommon Lesser Grey Shrike (highly localized ** , with only 700 to 1000 breeding pairs in Serbia). I like driving.

Romania

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2018

Following passage of the United States Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the California Condor ( Gymnogyps californianus ) was among the first 75 species listed for protection, the so-called “Class of 1967”. Part of its obscurity is due to the fiercely protective relationship Cologne has with its beer.

California Condor

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2011

reduce traffic casualties amongst Badgers , get the White-tailed Eagle back as a breeding bird, increase the number of protected plant species etc.). We started the series with the idea that too many people travel away from Europe thinking that there is no real nature left there. so far you have focussed on European nature.

Badgers

10,000 Birds

APRIL 5, 2016

Published by Princeton University Press in early 2016, Waterfowl of North America, Europe, and Asia (I’m going to use this shortened title for the rest of the review), covers 83 species of Anseriformes–ducks, geese, and swans–of, yes, Europe, Asia and North America.

North America

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Sometimes they have to protect their catches from piratic African Fish Eagles who swoop down as soon as they that see a Saddle-bill has successfully caught a fish. During breeding season, their white plumage turns a delicate pink color, a lovely sight indeed. They also prey on frogs and crabs.

Africa

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

If you see a flock of kestrels in southern Europe, then the chances are that they will be Lessers, for the Common Kestrel never flocks, though occasionally in summer you will see a family hunting together. On their breeding grounds in Spain, Lesser Kestrels are very much city birds, for 95% of the population nests in towns.

Falcons

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

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

Image by Adam Riley Of the 115 African species now listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered, nearly half occur on the islands surrounding Africa or are non-breeding migrants to Africa. This strange but beautifully plumaged bird was widely known throughout Europe as the Waldrapp (meaning “Forest Crow”).

Endangered Species

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. Map by BirdLife International.

Sri Lanka

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 22, 2016

Out of just under 200 bird species I observed this year in SE Europe, there are 6 threatened species. The decrease in numbers has been accompanied by fragmentation of the breeding range and is continuing to affect all populations. Disturbance on breeding grounds (e.g. The IUCN/BirdLife International Red List).

Serbia