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. Yes, some birders may frown at this statement.

Germany 100

Germany Woodpeckers Luxembourg North America 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2011

A locally famous one, if you are birding in Germany’s North-East, is the outhouse of the bird ringing / banding station on a small island called the Greifswalder Oie (page sadly only in German, but it has some pictures of the place). Now, the “but&# : It wasn’t always like this in Germany. Where are the birds?

Germany 162

Germany Birds Iraq Breeding 162

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

Or else I’d be tempted to mention that the cold rainy weather has given way to a massive heat wave and drought, or that the summer doldrums this year are more boring than ever, or that it is so unfair that Corey is more than 100 species ahead of me in his year list, or that I really would enjoy some nice birds for a change!

Germany 188

Germany Russia Iceland India 188

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2024

I finally managed to obtain some acceptable photos of this species, which I did not manage on my last visit. The favourite part of this species for me (apart from its song) is the neat white “V” on the back of the head when the bird looks away from you (only slightly visible on the photo below).

Germany 224

Germany Birds Parrots Africa 224

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2024

On the one hand, they are very easy to see in Germany, swimming in public parks or teaching pensioners how to eat bread. And now we get to the part of the post in which I briefly and unscientifically mention a few research papers on the species to have a reason to post a few more of my photos.

China 242

China Iceland Whales Whaling 242

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2015

Germany is currently experiencing something for which the English have no nice expression. We call it a “mouse gradation year” I was not able to find a catchy English term for “gradation year” – it’s what happens when a certain species showing population cycles reaches a peak year.

Fox 166

Fox Rodents Gophers Germany 166

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). When choosing the top birding area of Serbia for a weekend visit, head for lowlands, Deliblato Sands and Labudovo Okno complex with 250 bird species. Birding overview.

Serbia 317

Serbia Sanctuary Bosnia Birds 317

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2011

Due to its large range and population size, it is rated by the IUCN as being a species of Least Concern. Germany currently has a population of around 500 breeding pairs, which is a significant improvement over the 50 pairs left in the early 1970s. It was therefore well worth having to clean my desk of the coffee I spilled.

Germany 153

Germany Asia Russia China 153

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2015

In its natural old-world range, the House Sparrow offers an interesting identification challenge and has vagrant potential since it is a polytypic species with a highly complex taxonomy. The genus Passer has several well-recognized and recognizable species in Europe, and still holds several enigmas.

Sparrows 246

Sparrows Italy Kyrgyzstan Asia 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

There was one odd reprint in 2018, when the Subalpine Warbler was split into the Eastern and Western species, but the changes in the guide weren’t sufficient to call it a 3rd edition, so it remained the updated reprint of the 2nd edition. I haven’t noticed changes in the few descriptions of harder to ID species that I compared.

Europe 264

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 2, 2013

Germany is not really within the species’ breeding range, and there is only one area where the herons have bred continuously and successfully since the 1970′s: Waghäusel, an area of former waste water ponds of a – now closed – nearby sugar plant. Birds Germany herons and egrets Waghäusel'

Germany 159

Germany Asia Europe Africa 159

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2019

Today`s species are just the first 10 by alphabetical order. Barn Swallows are pretty much anywhere in the world (I just saw them back in Germany). But the way it is, familiarity breeds (relative) contempt. The Chinese Pond Heron is another attractive bird, particularly in its breeding plumage.

Germany 145

Germany Cattle Blackbirds Birds 145

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2012

It has recently been reclassified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List; this category is reserved for only the most threatened species in the world. If this bird did become extinct, it would be the first pheasant species to have been lost in the 400 years since proper records began.

Vietnam 161

Vietnam 2000 Germany Asia 161

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Maybe these people like challenges – at least here at the monastery, getting good shots of this species is quite easy. Another species apparently enjoying the proximity of a monastery is the White-winged Grosbeak. In the non-breeding season, Common Merganser all look pretty much like females.

Birds 250

Birds Germany India 2018 250

10,000 Birds

MAY 27, 2024

Given how far Hokkaido is from Europe, it seems a bit surprising how many bird species wintering on this Japanese island have a name starting with “Eurasian” Or how many of these species I have also seen in my parents’ garden in Germany. It seems extra-pair paternity is very frequent in this species.

Iran 213

Iran Germany Research Humane 213

10,000 Birds

MAY 13, 2022

For once, eBird gives a good description of the Asian Glossy Starling, calling it a “Fierce-looking, large songbird” As are humans, this species is fairly urbanized – it “sometimes enters urban areas to roost, e.g. in Singapore” (HBW). “Odd, me?”

Singapore 255

Singapore Birds Zebras Feral 255

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2015

You see, the Great (White) Heron/Egret is a polytypic species with four subspecies: alba in Europe, egretta in the Americas, melanorhynchos in Africa, and modesta in Asia and Oceania. Until a friend sends you pictures of a very small Great Egret in Germany in winter – with bright pink legs, a black bill and a turquoise cere.

Asia 198

Asia Europe Germany Breeding 198

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

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. Raptors are relatively rare at Nanhui, so to get a good shot of an Eastern Marsh Harrier in the nice early morning light is a joy.

2019 220

2019 Japan China Owls 220

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

JANUARY 21, 2016

In July 2013, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources held a meeting in Bremerhaven in Germany, to decide whether to turn the Ross Sea into a marine protected area. There are 11 species of birds that breed in the Ross Sea region. Finally – the Seabirds. And the Mammals.

Russia 188

Russia Penguins Whales Whaling 188

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. Other species of interest include the southernmost breeding population of Greylag Goose in Europe, Goosander (at bigger and deeper Megali Prespa), Hazel Grouse (at Mt.

Greece 182

Greece Albania Macedonia Europe 182

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2024

While I’ve heard and seen both species multiple times, these atmospheric songs in the humid dawn, with songs of other species and the sound of water dripping through the foliage in the background, was already a highlight of the day. Common Nightingales and Common Cuckoos where calling everywhere.

Sri Lanka 241

Sri Lanka South Africa Transported Africa 241

10,000 Birds

APRIL 20, 2024

Then sometimes when you see these birds actively regaining their energy and getting ready for defending territories and breeding, they give the impression that their migration had just been a short jog around the block rather than a marathon across desert, mountains, and oceans.

Soreing 214

Soreing Owls Eagles Woodpeckers 214

10,000 Birds

APRIL 27, 2023

Yibin is a typical smallish Chinese city (which in China means slightly above 850,000 people in the metro area, which would make it the fifth-biggest city in Germany but does not get it into the top 100 in China). The Latin species name alphonsiana refers to Prof. What a weird world. Better watch them in the wild.

Italy 225

Italy China France Eggs 225

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2021

Not too many highlights, not too many species … hard to say whether this is just the usual nostalgia for a better but probably nonexistent past or a real phenomenon. This species is listed as vulnerable – similar to the Yellow-breasted Buntings, it is trapped on a large scale. Humans, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

Birds 261

Birds Japan Germany Ducks 261

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2016

Amongst all the species that were split off the Herring Gull, the Caspian Gull is my favourite one, and its existence alone is our fair reward for the identification crisis we had to endure during the dark ages of the 1990s. In Germany, your Caspian Gull is called Steppenmöwe, which translates to Steppe Gull.

Kazakhstan 132

Kazakhstan Germany Ukraine Asia 132

10,000 Birds

MARCH 5, 2017

However, one of the little sweet candies Germany still enjoys today from its own disastrous colonial past is the Common Guillemot, or Common Murre. Germany has only one high seas island it calls its own, the mighty (from a birding perspective) island of Heligoland. km²) in the German Bight, approximately 70 km off the coast of Germany.

Germany 100

Germany Denmark Namibia Breeding 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2024

The owl could be observed extremely well, and again I was very happy to get my best sighting of this species, which I’ve seen a few times before but usually at a distance or at dusk. Probably a birder desperately searching for the Wallcreeper.

Falcons 239

Falcons Owls Eagles Breeding 239

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Starting in the 16th century, the species was released widely on ponds and parks and rivers throughout Europe where it flourished remarkably and continues to do so to this very day. It is very likely that the white morph was directly promoted in captive breeding and favoured in releases to establish feral populations.

Feral 176

Feral Europe Asia North America 176

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

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 103

Germany Mongolia Abandon Abandoning 103

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 173

Elephants Neglecting Europe Breeders 173

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2011

One of Britain’s recent colonisers the Mediterranean Gull begins to arrive in bigger numbers every year as post-breeding dispersal takes hold. In fact I would go so far as to say it is probably the best site to see the species for 100 miles in any direction and best of all it’s only 4 miles as the gull flies from where I live.

Poland 157

Poland 2009 France Europe 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 27, 2024

This seems like a strange – but welcome – turn of events after having failed to see this species several times in the region. Seeing this bird immediately after arriving reminded me of my recent Cirl Bunting sighting, also the first bird I saw on my last outing to look for buntings.

New Zealand 241

New Zealand Rabbits Adoptable Family 241

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Nearly 70 species of parrots have been recorded flying free at some stage or another in Miami, including Hyacinth Macaws. Dozens of other introduced bird species, largely escapees from pet owners, now call Miami home. A Carolina Parakeet mounted in a museum in Germany Fritz Geller-Grimm. Reluctance.

Miami 157

Miami Parrots Research Alaska 157

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. This is not entirely unknown among domestic animals, but many domesticates have no living wild version.

Turkey 228

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 228

10,000 Birds

MARCH 4, 2011

Among these white-headed/dark-winged gulls formerly lumped into the genus Larus , there were 18+ recognized species the last time I checked, sharing similarities that make telling them apart for the amateur birdwatcher very difficult. 1998), then the proper name for this species is L. fuscus – should be separated as species.

2011 157

2011 Cyprus Deer Breeding 157