10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

The Chestnut Bunting is quite a beauty, particularly when seen from the right angle. Always interesting to see the same species both in Germany (in my parents’ garden) and in Shanghai. Not that easy to spot outside of the breeding season, though relatively quite common. Eurasian Siskin turned up in large flocks in October.

2019 244

2019 Japan Owls China 244

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

It therefore comes as no surprise that it has been regarded as a subspecies of the Spanish Sparrow or the House Sparrow, or as a species in its own right. We currently are experiencing a rare time where all major taxonomic bodies tend to regard it as a species in its own right, the Italian Sparrow Passer italiae.

Sparrows 258

Sparrows Italy Asia Kyrgyzstan 258

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

The key to solving the puzzle of Germany’s large white-headed gulls was banding juveniles of all forms in their breeding colonies and the fact that some humans find immense joy in driving around garbage dumps, looking at birds with pricey scopes and trying to decipher tiny codes on plastic or metal rings of various shapes and sizes.

Kazakhstan 167

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 167

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Left – 2nd edition, right – 3rd edition So, not much has changed since the 2nd edition? Introduced breeding species and species recorded only as escapees now have all species illustrated (they were not in the #2) and those illustrations larger than before. Yet, still a gauntlet thrown to other publishers, too.

Europe 264

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016

Driving from France or Germany to Greece, you are likely to pass through my hometown of Belgrade and continue south following the E75 through the FYRO Macedonia. To reach Prespa Lakes, from Niki continue through Florina, from there right for Albania and veer right for the lakes. Have you read my blogs on birding Greece ?

Greece 203

Greece Albania Macedonia Europe 203

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2011

The Common Swifts have left Germany behind as their journey South has begun. Now, I can see how this may surprise some readers, but the underlying reasoning is quite comprehensible: Common Swifts breed in small crevices and cavities of cliff faces, and old buildings make for some terrific secondary habitat. That is early.

Elephants 197

Elephants Neglecting Europe Breeders 197

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 21, 2016

I am not entirely sure whether most birders outside Germany know or realize that Germany still has a decent population of one of Europe’s most attractive and desired bird species: the Great Bustard Otis tarda. Now that I might have wetted your appetite, here’s where and how to find them in Germany: 1.

Germany 112

Germany Mongolia Abandon Abandonment 112

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2012

It also used to be a rather common bird in the South of Germany, but the German population has crashed and collapsed (almost?) If it still breeds in Germany at all, which it might do, it is so rare by now that pairs do not get reported to anywhere except to the relevant nature conservation authorities. For more than an hour.

Cattle 148

Cattle Germany Iran Breeders 148

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

Please keep that in mind if you ever think that Germany’s only contributions to the world are highways and world wars. If you take a feral pigeon, bleach it and then batik it using the right colors, the result might be a Pink-necked Green Pigeon (1). Next to me, a local birder tried to get a photo of a Common Iora.

Singapore 264

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 264

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2017

Here in central Europe, dippers – more precisely the White-throated or European Dipper – are rather common breeding birds in many areas. In Germany for example, they are breeding in practically every hilly or mountainous region south of the North German Plain and are not really rare if they occur in a certain region.

Germany 100

Germany Hamburgers Austria 2016 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

A Carolina Parakeet mounted in a museum in Germany Fritz Geller-Grimm. Some uncountable species, like Mitred Parakeets , are in fact way more numerous than some of the countable species and they are clearly breeding in well-established populations. There has to a logical reason. A pair of Hill Mynahs in Miami.

Miami 191

Miami Parrots Research Alaska 191

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 7, 2016

Quite recently, it has started to expand inland, along the river Rhone and to the South of Germany, where it is now an uncommon but conspicious breeder. A different form ( atlantis ) which may or may not constitute a separate species, is found on the Azores, Fuerteventura, and the Canary Islands.

Europe 179

Europe Spain Italy Ireland 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2024

Non-breeding or female buntings can be quite challenging to ID, which makes them all the more exciting since there might be a few vagrants strewn in there as well – probably not in a vineyard in the middle Rhine valley, but exciting species turn up each year along the coast during migration season (such as on Heligoland ).

New Zealand 246

New Zealand Rabbits Adoptable Family 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Apparently, there are no Lesser Scaup around here, so even I can be fairly confident to get this species identification right. It seems that this year, at least one Greater Scaup is using Nanhui as a wintering ground. I was hoping to see a Siberian Rubythroat , as it is a beautiful bird and I had not seen one this season yet.

Birds 264

Birds Japan Germany Ducks 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The chance that this was a real Turkey are not great, and the chance that Columbus actually brought breeding stock from Honduras to Spain is not great, so maybe, maybe not. Dates of first arrival listed by Schorger (1966) are: Italy 1520, Germany 1530, France 1538, England 1541, Denmark and Norway 1550, Sweden 1556.

Turkey 259

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2014

They need to go north to breed and we will anxiously await the return of the adults and the juveniles later in the year. You have to have a lot of respect for all migratory birds when you imagine the lives they live and the incredible journeys they make to enable them to breed and to continue to survive in a changing world.

Belarus 162

Belarus Cameroon Taiwan China 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 10, 2015

With its proven track record of adapting and spreading in areas with cold winters such as Germany and England, it might even be able to colonize large portions of the southern United States. They were right! Outside of Florida, there are also growing populations in Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Houston.

Los Angeles 154

Los Angeles Miami San Francisco San Antonio 154

4 The Love Of Animals

NOVEMBER 24, 2009

Instead, he simply points at the cup on the right. What’s at play here, she concluded, is not some inner sense of right and wrong but a learned ability to act submissive when an owner gets angry. The Russians began by breeding a group of foxes according to one simple rule: they would walk up to a cage and put a hand on the bars.

Wolves 100

Wolves Fox Dogs Apes 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 24, 2014

Germany is underrated as a birding destination. Nestled right in the middle of Europe, we have a little bit of everything, a nice cross section of Europe’s avifauna. Greater Rheas, a species the Germans call Nandu, are very popular in Germany and frequently kept in zoos as well as private enclosures.

Germany 263

Germany 2000 South America Birds 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2017

Black Woodpeckers are usually easy to find in Germany. At least one birder will now likely grab his war hammer and check flight availabilities from New York to Frankfurt as well as average prison sentences in Germany for first degree murder. Here in Germany, we have them. So, your next step is to search for the right habitat.

Germany 100

Germany Woodpeckers Luxembourg North America 100

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 203

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 203

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

As in this quote by Mr. Andrew Breitbart: “Liberals in blue states just think that they are on the right side of history, and anybody that disagrees with them has to be a troglodyte or a neanderthal.” In the non-breeding season, Common Merganser all look pretty much like females.

Birds 264

Birds Germany India 2018 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2016

I recently saw and photographed what appears to be a Baikal Wagtail ( Motacilla alba-or-not baicalensis ) in Germany. Yes, most look almost identical, the distance was considerable for such a small bird, and the observation happened right after sunset. So it may turn out to be a bit of a big deal.

Germany 100

Germany Sharks Morocco Asia 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2016

Right: Robert McCormick, by Stephen Pearce. Unlike Darwin, who was a self-funded gentleman naturalist on board, McCormick was bound to the Beagle by his duties and was furious that a civilian passenger on board had usurped his rightful position as ship’s naturalist. There are 11 species of birds that breed in the Ross Sea region.

Russia 189

Russia Penguins Whales Whaling 189

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

juvenile Parasitic Jaeger by Larry Jordan Jochen enjoyed a plover : My Best Bird of the Year is a White-tailed Lapwing I “twitched” in Germany in June. That was a cool bird sighting because the eagle had to swoop around among power lines and overpasses and high rise buildings, being right in the dead middle of the city and all.

2011 233

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 233

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2020

And as the windblown birds settled down for the summer breeding season and the wind subsided, I found any concern for which way it was blowing died down with it. But none came. Flor de Pascua – The Weathercock (1921) by Dutch graphic artist M.C. And living birds still seem to appreciate weathervanes as perches!

New York 192

New York Belgium Farming Fowl 192

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2018

Yet, it takes great logistical effort to organize the census all the way from Germany to Austria, Hungary and Serbia in the same day, to count on numerous volunteers and hope for the best February weather. The idea behind is simple, some birds may move and if counted within a week or a month, double counting is almost guaranteed.

Hungary 189

Hungary Serbia Austria Eggs 189

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

It is also familiar at inland sites in winter, especially reservoirs and refuse tips, and breeds in the relatively-Northerly regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Yellow-Legged Gull These gulls breed around the Mediterranean and have yellow, rather than flesh-coloured legs. Get yours today!

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Breeding 157

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2011

We have avian beauty right in our European back yards as well, and need not seek cover when encountering birders from far-away shores. Let us for once judge a book by its cover, and take a thorough look at a Black-headed Gull in breeding plumage. Jakob: whoa, you are perfectly right! You are trapped! They’re Back!

2011 216

2011 Birds Deer Europe 216

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2017

Birding in Germany was okay during the first half of the year but essentially came to an end in June due to several issues, most significantly a move to a different appartment within Heidelberg. You can see my birding activities abroad and within Germany on the maps at the top of this post. Great Bustard , Havelland, Germany.

2016 112

2016 Germany Italy Netherlands 112

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Oh, cheeky me left out another alternative for both cases, which brings us right to the origin of these sayings: the devil. Yes, Germans were a particularly supersticious breed in the days of old, and would not dare to use the word devil even when cursing.

Germany 245

Germany Hunters Birds Owls 245

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2011

On the other hand, I quite enjoyed an array of Long-tailed Ducks at Irondequoit Bay, including one male in breeding plumage. They are not so incredibly rare in Germany anymore but this was the first I’ve seen around Heidelberg and the first anywhere since 2009. Wicked, right? Hat-tip to Stella.

2011 140

2011 Deer Costa Rica Germany 140

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2011

Breeding behaviour and plumage was very apparent, but John Wise , an ex-pat Brit now resident in Orlando, told me that the birds’ activities had been held up for a couple of weeks during a cold snap that saw frosts in Florida. Mike Mar 5th, 2011 at 1:32 pm Those egrets in breeding plumage are absolutely exquisite! Wicked, right?

Alligators 138

Alligators 2011 Deer Florida 138

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2022

There was a breeding pair at Binjiang Forest Park this June. Interestingly, Black-winged Stilts display laterality – that is, they preferentially use one eye (the right one) to find prey. However, they sometimes claim to be the national bird of Germany due to their black-red-yellow color combination – this is not true.

Birds 258

Birds Sparrows Mountain Goats Protection 258

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 8, 2022

Hopefully, the winter time in Shanghai gives the Black-faced Buntings some time to relax from the challenges of the breeding season. I may have said this before, but thrushes always remind me a bit of German housewives – robust and reliable, but not particularly graceful (there is a reason I live in China and not in Germany).

Eggs 264

Eggs Birds Bangladesh China 264