10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2024

Osborn, a passionate field biologist who participates to the core of her being three re-introduction projects aimed at saving three very different, endangered species: Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (‘Alala)*, and California Condor. She never finds her long days observing her falcons, crows, and condors boring.

California Condor 185

California Condor Falcons California Coyotes 185

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2024

Yellow-legged Gulls Larus michahellis breed on the Rock of Gibraltar and the late spring arrival of Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus coincides with the time that the gulls have chicks on their nests. Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus also lie in wait and defend their own young, just as the gulls do.

Pandas 198

Pandas Morocco Falcons Spain 198

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

Rarest among the ones we saw was the endangered Saker Falcon. According to the HBW, in mountainous regions, picas and young marmots are among its main prey, giving me a chance to show you photos of these animals as well (without straying from the birding topic). Himalayan Marmot. Himalayan Pica.

China 256

China Falcons Stray Owls 256

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

There are not, as far as I know, any plans to re-name the Montagu’s Harrier, a bird that’s now a real rarity in the UK that only occasionally breeds here. Eleonora’s Falcon was named by Italian naturalist Alberto della Marmora after Eleonora of Arborea (1350-1404), a celebrated Sardinian princess.

Falcons 230

Falcons Wounded 2003 Killing 230

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2021

We only saw the first two, and in our effort to scour each broken limb for a perched raptor, we stumbled upon a Bat Falcon of all creatures. Bat Falcon in the now blazing sun. The area is known for being a breeding area of the enigmatic Rufous Crab-Hawk and it was the first place I saw the species, many years ago.

Sea Turtles 263

Sea Turtles Bats Turtles Trinidad 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

A recent paper published in the French journal Alauda (sadly, it appears not to be available in English online yet, but here’s the gist ) brings us news that Eleonora’s Falcons breeding on the archipelago of Essaouira have been caching prey during breeding season. Which, no biggie. Acorn woodpeckers cache.

Falcons 154

Falcons Montana Breeding Woodpeckers 154

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2020

The burgeoning number of waders in the fall reminds locals that many herons and egrets disperse northward during the late spring and early summer to breed and feed, returning in the late summer and fall to seek refuge from the oncoming cold and lack of food.

Florida 259

Florida Miami Falcons Birds 259

10,000 Birds

MAY 23, 2019

And some Falcon , most likely mixed breed, because it belonged to falconry, not the skies. Falcons – Gyrfalcon. In the 70+ episodes, I noticed only the homing Ravens (caged/domesticated) and Pigeons (domestic – in pie). Yes, there were Chicken , too (I remember the chicken soup, not the birds). Ducks (domesticated).

Chickens 175

Chickens Falcons Geese Parrots 175

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2024

A section in the Appendix, “Rare Shorebird Vagrants,” lists 16 additional species that do not show up annually in North America but who have more than ten records; the list notes where the species breed and where their vagrant paths have taken them within North American borders.

North America 262

North America America 2006 Delaware 262

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

Above them, on limestone cliffs, Alpine Swift and Crag Martin breed. Raptors to look for in this reserve are Golden Eagle and Short-toed Snake Eagle , European Honey-buzzard and Peregrine Falcon. Forest covers 70% of the area (hornbeam, beech and oak). About 120 species have been recorded so far.

Serbia 262

Serbia Woodpeckers Owls Eagles 262

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2020

The flocks are getting smaller day by day as they migrate to the northern hemisphere to breed. The shorebirds will then spread out across the tundra to breed and they will no longer be close to each other. The shorebirds have been feeding up and changing into their breeding plumage. The resident shorebirds will start to breed.

Australia 162

Australia Breeding Falcons Eagles 162

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2021

And breeding season allows me to notice certain details that I might miss during the rest of the year. I had never seen the orange legs that this breeding adult is showing, as opposed to the yellow-green legs of the immature one below it. Green Herons can probably be seen by most of our readers on their home turf.

Woodpeckers 229

Woodpeckers Hunters Falcons Breeding 229

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2015

I am inside the city of Belgrade, checking the theoretically possible Peregrine Falcon site. Yet, not a trace of a falcon. ” Falcons do hunt pigeons, we all know that, but what is a Kamikaze pigeon? That is why Belgrade is not proud of its falcons and why I am not telling you more about them. One Feral Pigeon.

Switzerland 198

Switzerland Serbia Feral Falcons 198

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2018

On the opposite side is a smallish falcon, obviously too short-tailed for a Common Kestrel, a Eurasian Hobby first comes to mind… but a male Red-footed Falcon on migration it turns out to be. They do not build nests, but occupy old nests of Rooks and breed colonially among them. I must digress further.

Serbia 127

Serbia Eagles Falcons Breeders 127

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2022

A few Eurasian Tree Sparrows land by my car as I am scanning for Purple and Squacco Herons , Pygmy Cormorants and Black-necked Grebes in their brilliant breeding plumage. Unlike the wide open Centa, birding in Sakule (cover photo) is mostly done from the embankment. An immature White-tailed Eagle. Soon I see a huge bird again. The same eagle?

Mules 217

Mules Breeders Farming Fish 217

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2022

The calling Collared Forest-Falcon was also cool, so was Bronze-tailed Plumeleteer (the species at the top of this post), and so were the 120 other plus species we had from 4:30 to 8 just on that one road. A final check turned up a distant calling Laughing Falcon but not much else. Male White-flanked Antwren.

Costa Rica 272

Costa Rica San Jose Falcons Owls 272

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2016

Several hours after we saw it and reported it to the listserv other birders saw the bird attacked by not one but two Peregrine Falcons. From a symbol (to me) of resilience to a falcon’s plaything in a few hours. It will never make it to the Paramo in the high Andes for winter nor return to the tundra to breed.

Culling 157

Culling Falcons New Jersey Jamaica 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2023

Then there were a few Hawfinches and two young Black Storks , Little Bittern , Great White Egret , Glossy Ibis , Common Kingfisher , Syrian Woodpecker , Peregrine Falcon , Red-backed Shrike , Lesser Grey Shrike , Collared Flycatcher and a family of Western Yellow Wagtails.

Greece 235

Greece Pelicans Stray Dog Tortoises 235

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2023

These birds (usually juveniles) are clearly linked to the growing breeding population in the region. Pallid Swifts were already back at their breeding sites, while the marshes provided a host of waders, including year-ticks such as Whimbrel, Curlew Sandpiper and Kentish Plover. These are Dunlins. A migrant Whinchat in Kefalonia.

Estonia 232

Estonia Portugal Greece Barn Owls 232

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2019

A falconer and his bird from the Mosaico de Cavaleiro in Mértola, possibly the oldest depiction of falconry in Iberia. Colorful birds adorn many of the pages of the so-called Cervera Bible and several captivating miniatures portray hunting scenes with falcons.

2016 130

2016 Portugal Belgium Falcons 130

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

Now I break (and think that I should put a „I break for birds“ bumper sticker), bins… a falcon! An Eleonora’s Falcon , light morph, makes several circles above the Olive grove and it is gone. Eleonora’s Falcons are migrants themselves. Such a fascinating species.

Greece 231

Greece Falcons Madagascar Africa 231

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2018

Depending on your particular interest, opt for March/April (spring migration), May/June (breeding season), August to October (autumn migration), or November/December when waterbird migration reaches its peak. Red-footed Falcons , Whiskered and Black Terns by mid-April, White-winged Terns are passing about a week later.

Serbia 160

Serbia Macedonia Geese Owls 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

This is the hook that draws us into reading about and caring about migrant birds, that and the charisma of birds like Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Kirtland’s Warbler, Snowy Owl, and Amur Falcon. Many of these stories will be known to avid readers of environmental news items and social media. It is often hard to be positive.

Cyprus 257

Cyprus Slaughter Slaughtered Research 257

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

On their breeding grounds in Spain, Lesser Kestrels are very much city birds, for 95% of the population nests in towns. The kestrel colony is valued by the city of Seville: in recent years renovation work on the roof of the cathedral was suspended during the falcons’ breeding season.

Falcons 204

Falcons Spain Europe Portugal 204

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2019

Red-footed Falcon by BartBotje/Wikimedia Commons. The next specialty is the Red-footed Falcon in the Deliblato Sands Nature Reserve in the east of Serbia: “Two European Rollers await us on the wires, while one Eurasian Hoopoe flies by. They do not build nests, but occupy old nests of Rooks and breed colonially among them.

2018 118

2018 Serbia Greece Falcons 118

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Regardless of whether you think field guide sequences should or should not reflect current evolutionary sequence, it’s comforting and easy to find falcons next to hawks, vireos next to warblers. They also occasionally show breeding colonies or isolated populations, possible occurrences, and directions of range expansion.

Costa Rica 222

Costa Rica Belize El Salvador Birds 222

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2019

“So, for a relatively small contribution to habitat preservation, or captive breeding programs, or some minor climate change mitigation…” here a small covey of oil executives rustled and began to puff up, “really quite small, by your standards, you too could have a longspur. . “That’s Jeff for you.”

Branding 163

Branding Falcons California Condor Broker 163

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

For example, the White-headed Duck is nowadays a rarity in Europe (okay, excluding Spain, I know… that Spain …), but until some 50 years ago, it used to breed in Serbia. The hide overlooking the breeding colony of Red-footed Falcons. gmail.com or check the maps at birdwatching.rs , so far, only in Serbian).

Serbia 250

Serbia Spain Birds Hungary 250

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2020

During May migration, European Roller and few dozen strong flocks of Red-footed Falcons were observed on the wires. When to go: breeding and migration seasons (April to June and late August to mid-September). There is a small and highly localised population of Greater Short-toed Lark in this grassland. To be continued.

Europe 236

Europe Serbia Turtles Woodpeckers 236

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2018

Black Stork and three pairs of White-tailed Eagles breed here. Other birds of the Rusanda are Great Bittern , Purple Heron , Eurasian Spoonbill , Meadow and rare Red-throated Pipit , Icterine Warbler , Eurasian Penduline Tit , Lesser Gray Shrike , breeding Red-footed Falcon , Little and Long-eared Owls , etc. eBird bar chart. #4

Serbia 163

Serbia Bulgaria Farming Turtles 163

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2020

For us, it’s all about birds moving north during the warm season to breed, and south to escape the winter cold. Since I can never stick completely to a single subject, I’ll end by showing you one of the day’s two Peregrine Falcons , and an adorable Slate-throated Redstart , just for good measure.

Mexico 185

Mexico Alaska Falcons Raised 185

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2012

Falcons split from hawks to join parrots and songbirds Unanimously, the committee voted to remove falcons (Falconiformes) and parrots (Psittaciformes) from their current positions in the list and place them before the songbirds (Passeriformes), more closely to reflect the relationships between these three great orders.

Falcons 173

Falcons Parrots California Hawaii 173

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 8, 2017

Let us no more speak of this week’s extraordinary failure by a cast of Falcons to finish off their prey. Instead, we’ve got other bird news to cheer us up (or at least take our minds off avian’s inexplicable inability to capture U.S. sports championships ).

Massachusetts 100

Massachusetts Eggs Falcons Bears 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2011

Those bigger birds of prey command respect, but it’s not like falcons are unknown. Even outside of Atlanta , Peregrine Falcons spend their breeding seasons smiling for the ( web ) camera from atop edifices all across the country.

2011 160

2011 Bald Eagle Atlanta Falcons 160

10,000 Birds

JUNE 12, 2014

Pygmy Cormorant – winter (it breeds in Serbia, but overwinters in Belgrade). Goosander and Red-breasted Merganser – Belgrade in winter; otherwise, the first one breeds in Serbia. White-tailed Eagle – year round (breeds inside the city). Spanish Sparrow – still ill-numbered but, since recently, breeding near the city.

Serbia 181

Serbia Eagles Sparrows Falcons 181

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

The subtle white edging to the gape of this bird indicates it is near breeding time. I had never seen a Peregrine Falcon soaring with Black Vultures before – interestingly enough I would later see the very same occurrence two days later on another part of the island. Peregrine Falcon. Little Blue Heron. Black Vulture.

Trinidad 212

Trinidad Birds Parrots Falcons 212

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2021

Many of these (like Plumbeous Kites and Swallow Tanagers ) are here to breed, and they do so alongside a host of resident species. An Aplomado Falcon came in like a bullet late one evening and made off with an unlucky Lesser Yellowlegs in a wetland only 20 minutes from where I live.

Birds 245

Birds Falcons Raised Species 245