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. The breeding and wintering birds of Britain and Ireland.

Ireland 215

Ireland Turtles Geese Farming 215

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2016

It also makes it a little intimidating to be doing a review of Britain’s Birds: An Identification Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland. The Crossley ID Guide: Britain and Ireland (PUP, 2014) covers 314 birds that reside in or migrate regularly through England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and a few rare birds.

Ireland 142

Ireland Birds Falcons Turtles 142

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2020

But seeing as the month is also bookended by Hogmanay and Burns Night, we’ll gladly take the opportunity to visit– in spirits, at least – the rugged Celtic landscapes of Scotland and Ireland where whisky was born and – with luck – have a look at the birds that inhabit them.

Geese 155

Geese Ireland Investigation Wildlife 155

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2012

Graham Clarke liked Dotterel , a bird he needed for Ireland. Dotterel are not exceptionally rare in Ireland occurring during both spring and autumn migration. This past June I was invited along by the Edmonton Nature Club on a field trip to a Piping Plover breeding site. My best bird of the year has to be the Piping Plover.

2012 133

2012 Ghana Ireland Costa Rica 133

10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2024

Here in the Brecks – an area of poor, sandy soils on the borders of Norfolk and Suffolk – we have a small but important breeding population. They favour the old heaths, but a number of pairs also breed on farmland. Brettenham Heath National Nature Reserve holds the highest density of nesting Curlews in the Brecks.

Fox 193

Fox Badgers Finland Sweden 193

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 3, 2013

Fortunately, I had T he Crossley ID Guide: Britain & Ireland by Richard Crossley and Dominic Couzens on my desk. I knew I would not be seeing the bird in its rosy-breasted breeding plumage, but somehow seeing the bird in all its forms helped crystallize its appearance in my head. I studied it.

Ireland 171

Ireland 2013 Breeders United Kingdom 171

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

.” It is a relief to eventually reach the chapter on The Life of Waterfowl, written in a much more conversational style and unashamedly fascinated with waterfowl’s unique breeding behaviors. Authors: Richard Crossley is known as co-author of The Shorebird Guide (with Michael O’Brien and Kevin T. Sullivan, 2013, PUP).

Ducks 117

Ducks Geese North America Hunters 117