10,000 Birds

JANUARY 9, 2014

discovered that the usual flock of several thousand Pink-footed Geese was wintering in the Broads National Park. It breeds in Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard and overwinters (singly and at mountain top hot springs – if Hollywood is to be trusted) along the coasts of northern Europe. Two Common Snipes , one Brown Hare and… geese!

Geese 240

Geese Barn Owls Serbia Sheep 240

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

Add more than 350 pairs of White Pelicans to that picture, numerous herons and up to 700 pairs of Pygmy Cormorants breeding in the same reedbeds (cover photo)… It must be bursting with activity in spring, but I was there in mid-September. Greylag Geese. Have you heard of it? Can you pinpoint it on a map?

Greece 252

Greece Pelicans Geese Albania 252

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2023

This year, with the exceptional rain and flooding across much of the land there has been a great opportunity for many bird species to move to the area and breed. It is not just the Magpie Geese and Pied Herons that arrived and chose to breed, but also the Australasian Swamphens.

Breeding 130

Breeding Geese Species Birds 130

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Though these plovers are common on the North Norfolk coast, their nearest breeding grounds are far to the north. A few do breed in Europe, on the extreme north-east of European Russia. As the tide fell, it exposed sand banks that attracted small parties of garrulous Brent Geese. Pinkfooted Geese.

Geese 245

Geese Russia Unwanted Breeding 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 17, 2022

They migrate north through the Western United States, breeding in pockets all the way up through Canada. No matter how many times I see them, this particular species remains breathtaking. Soon they will disappear, stretching wide wings and taking to the skies in search of breeding grounds farther north.

Pelicans 264

Pelicans United States Arizona Canada 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2014

As I mentioned before, Freezeout means Snow Geese , and lots of them. But like any aspect of migration, the lots-of-Snow-Geese phenomenon is ephemeral and to some degree unpredictable, occuring earlier one year, later the next, and then gone as the geese head north to make more geese or south to wait out the winter.

Geese 221

Geese Montana Ducks Falcons 221

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2012

The Rose-ringed Parakeet’s European (=feral) range is surprisingly coherent for an introduced bird that is dependent on large metropolitan areas, and the species occurs in very decent numbers from UK’s London throughout the Netherland’s large cities all the way up along the Rhine to Germany’s Heidelberg.

Germany 255

Germany Netherlands Zoos Costa Rica 255

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Counting the Birds I was in my teens when I undertook my first bird-survey: it was field work for the British Trust for Ornithology’s The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. The breeding and wintering birds of Britain and Ireland. Published in 1976, The Atlas was, I believe, the very first work of its kind.

Ireland 246

Ireland Turtles Geese Farming 246

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

As soon as I looked at it more closely it was quite clear that it wasn’t a scaup of any species, despite its resemblance to a North American Lesser Scaup. I hadn’t considered the possible parentage more than the two probable species involved, but intriguingly a Pochard drake x Tufted duck looks quite different.

Geese 246

Geese Latvia Falcons Ducks 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

A Great Egret , a few Pygmy Cormorants and, by the middle of the Danube, about a hundred Greylag Geese. Two hundred yards further, the first Common Goldeneye and Smew started to appear and, while counting Smew and geese, a Great Bittern took flight from one stand of reeds to another, right in front of us.

Geese 199

Geese Serbia Estonia Ukraine 199

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

Nisqually NWR is a major staging area for migratory birds , a wintering area for many ducks and geese, and a breeding area for numerous songbirds. According to eBird , 278 bird species have been observed and approximately 14,000 checklists have been submitted.

Washington 269

Washington Portland Birds Geese 269

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2011

The highlight of the early winter period for many over here has been an unusually large influx of Greater White-fronted Geese along the full span of the East Coast before penetrating further west and inland over the past 2-3 weeks.

Geese 207

Geese Russia Europe 2009 207

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2011

The male of the species has the upper portion of the head, back of neck, back and wings all glossy black. The male is the only Black-necked Stilt in the second segment of this video, along with several Greater White-fronted Geese, and the third bird that comes into view in the final segment that is larger than the other two birds.

South Dakota 240

South Dakota Sacramento Jordan North America 240

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2011

Every autumn, tens of thousands of Snow Geese arrive in California’s Sacramento Valley following their long journey from the Canadian Arctic (click on photos for full sized images). Snow and Ross’s Geese winter there in the tens of thousands. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeCKWKGhgR8

South Dakota 171

South Dakota Sacramento Geese Arkansas 171

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2023

Last year, in November, I notched up a dozen species of butterflies, an impressive total anywhere in Europe so late in the year. Red-breasted Geese do turn up at Kerkini regularly, and one year I watched a Red-breast mixed in with the Lessers. Perhaps they do occasionally, but not when I’ve seen them.

Greece 246

Greece Pelicans Geese Buffalo 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2012

I got out of my car and walked up to the parade grounds where large numbers of Canada Geese often forage. And while I was expecting quite a few geese I was surprised by the sheer number present. The entire southeastern quarter of the parade grounds was a carpet of geese! I sighed, set my scope up, and started scanning.

Geese 165

Geese New York City United States Canada 165

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 16, 2018

Serbia has 317 eBirded species so far, or 89% of the 356 in the national checklist. The country has one eBird hotspot with 200+ and 48 with more than 100 bird species. The country has one eBird hotspot with 200+ and 48 with more than 100 bird species. Spring migration March to April , 270 eBirded species.

Serbia 189

Serbia Macedonia Geese Owls 189

10,000 Birds

JUNE 29, 2013

Being technically outside the summer tourism season, one can enjoy the somewhat less expensive travel and hotel costs, less crowded venues, great weather and nearly endless daylight—and of course many birds migrating and beginning the breeding/nesting season! Because I am relatively new to birding, this resource proved to be invaluable.

Iceland 242

Iceland Puffins Europe Birds 242

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2012

My spring has been pretty amazing so far with 146 species spotted since April 1 and Cerulean , Worm-eating , and Yellow-throated Warblers and a host of other species spotted before May even arrived, but the first couple of days in May have been even better. Queens, New York, May 2009 May is the month of migration in North America.

New York City 175

New York City New York Litter 2009 175

10,000 Birds

MARCH 12, 2017

Whilst enjoying the Magpie Geese breeding around Broome recently we also noticed a Magpie-lark nest close to the highway in one of the very few trees beside the road. The Magpie-larks diet consists of mainly insects and there are currently numerous grasshopper species about after the recent rains and also a huge variety of dragonflies.

Breeding 100

Breeding Australia Collecting Geese 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2012

The Red-winged Blackbirds that were busy staking claims to breeding territory by singing from bushes, trees, and marsh plants were not groggy at all. There were plenty of waterfowl around as well, including the trio of geese that spend every winter at Jamaica Bay, Snow Geese , Canada Geese , and Brant.

New York 196

New York Honduras Jamaica Geese 196

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

Over the past few months there have been a lot of birds breeding around Broome with the excellent rain events that we have been having and the vegetation is at long last revived. The grass is green, the wildflowers are spectacular and now we have numerous species of dragonfly to enjoy as the season starts to change.

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Protection Cows 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2019

Visiting the continent after the end of most of the autumn migration meant that the number of bird species I could see in northern France, Switzerland, southern Germany, and Austria was much reduced. And I did manage to get my first glimpses of some of the species listed in my European bird guides. Only a pair of Mandarin Ducks !

Austria 169

Austria Switzerland Europe Geese 169

10,000 Birds

JULY 19, 2011

I had assumed that the the prions would turn out to be the Fairy Prion , the common local species which I saw lots of up in Northland over Christmas , but it turned out that while tehre were a few of these the vast majority of the prions wrecked were the more southerly species, the Broad-billed Prion. Not so broad-billed.

New Zealand 230

New Zealand Vet Collecting Geese 230

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2018

More than 50 years ago, the Hawaiian Goose (Nene) was one of the first birds listed under the Endangered Species Act, part of the inaugural “ Class of 1967 ”. Under the Endangered Species Act, any listing, uplisting, downlisting, or removal from a list requires a formal “rulemaking” process.

Endangered Species 116

Endangered Species Species Hawaii 2018 116

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2017

After a very good Wet Season with substantially more rain than normal over the first few months of 2017 the land was flooded and a huge variety of birds arrived in the Broome area to take advantage of the ideal conditions for breeding. This was the exact scenario when we accidentally flushed a pair of Australian Painted Snipe recently.

Breeding 100

Breeding Eggs Raised 2017 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2013

The current situation with exotic bird species in Florida is in a state of flux, particularly southeast Florida where the bulk of exotic bird diversity in the United States resides — and much of it “uncountable.” Egyptian Goose, looking for handouts at Kendall-Baptist Hospital, by Carlos Sanchez.

Florida 235

Florida Miami Bolivia Alligators 235

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2013

Nearly every species of heron and egret in North America forage only feet away, some of them in their dazzling breeding displays. Red-winged Blackbirds , within arms-reach, glisten in the morning sun and puff out their red shoulder epaulettes like proud military generals. Because there is more to come.

Factory 250

Factory North America Alligators Trafficking 250

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 26, 2024

A first-winter Red-breasted Goose at Cley, North Norfolk As a general rule, geese are birds of subtle, even dull, plumage. All the so-called grey geese – Greylag, Bean, White-front, Lesser White-front, Swan – look very much alike, and it takes experience to identify them by their calls and their shape and size.

Bulgaria 130

Bulgaria Geese Romania Estonia 130

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2016

Farallon NWR , a group of islands near San Francisco, hosts the largest colonies of breeding seabirds south of Alaska. But when taken as a whole, the impact of the Refuge System is truly profound, supporting population-level numbers of numerous bird species. These protected areas are not merely convenient, they are essential.

Wildlife 190

Wildlife Grizzly Bear Puerto Rico Alaska 190

10,000 Birds

APRIL 9, 2019

Although little-known, WPAs provide critical breeding, resting, and nesting habitat for millions of ducks, geese, and swans, as well as shorebirds and grassland species. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) estimates that 2-3 million geese and 7-9 million ducks use use the basin every spring as staging grounds on the journey north.

Nebraska 151

Nebraska Dissection Geese Ducks 151

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2017

The potholes and associated grasslands create North America’s most productive habitat for breeding waterfowl, making it an area of global significance for Mallards , Northern Pintails , Blue-winged Teals , Gadwalls , Northern Shovelers , and others. Snow Geese over Kulm WMD in North Dakota (USFWS).

Factory 139

Factory Ducks North Dakota Nebraska 139

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2012

The two subadult males, the gorgeous, breeding-plumaged adult male, and the female swam past the last jetty at a rather high rate of speed, but, fortunately, not as fast as my camera! She was lucky to get a breeding-plumaged male as a first look ( not like me ) which makes the moniker “harlequin” quite easy to understand.

New York 160

New York Butcher Geese 2009 160

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2016

Why else would I have chosen a nice breeding plumaged Magnolia Warbler as my feature image in December if not to lure you in?] Well look, it’s a nice species – but visually that’s nothing you wouldn’t get by repeateldy crossing Canada with Barnacle Geese. And the Nene? Seabirds and albatrosses?

Hawaii 210

Hawaii Albatross Europe North America 210

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

Brown Pelicans , and the northernmost Brown Booby breeding colony on this side of the Pacific. Other birds with webbed feet, including ducks and geese, have only three webbed toes; the hallux (which in birds is usually the “hind toe&# and in humans, the “big toe&# ) is free.

2011 188

2011 Pelicans Papua New Guinea California 188

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 11, 2014

Obviously many species of birds can be quite elusive, but this may be your best bet at getting you close to where you’ll need to be. This book doesn’t aid in descriptions or checklists of species, but is more of an insider’s guide of where to go and what you might see. It’s a great place to spend the better part of a day!

Finland 220

Finland Estonia Birds Europe 220

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 10, 2013

No, the real downside is planning a post, say a post about a a particular species, maybe a thrush that you just happened to have taken a couple of half-decent images of recently.

Norway 176

Norway Geese Shelters Laws 176