10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2013

.” The Western Burrowing Owl ( Athene cunicularia ) has had a compelling story and rallied the public around it for at least the last fifteen years as its population has declined at an ever increasing rate. These Burrowing Owl photos were taken at a rare breeding site in Vacaville California.

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California Owls 2013 Factory 257

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

The last couple of weeks have really been a boom for me personally, as far as spotting our local owls goes. It all started in getting to photograph the Northern Pygmy-owls in Madera Canyon. Then a quick check up on the Ferruginous Pygmy-owls that are out in Alta Valley.

Owls 197

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 197

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2012

This post comes courtesy of Mrs Gannet who became rather taken with the Little Owl when we found him in Mote Park last month. There has been a Little Owl living in this hollow branch for at least 3 years as documented in Simon’s Mote Park Blog and it is assumed to be the same individual though I am not sure whether it is a she or a he.

Owls 213

Owls New Zealand Europe Mammals 213

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2012

Will and I had spoken on Sunday and agreed to go owling on Tuesday night. We had both failed at checking off Eastern Screech-Owl or Great Horned Owl on our New York lists so far in 2007 so we figured we’d take a shot at tracking down either silent nocturnal killer. Not exactly good owling weather but we pressed on anyway.

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Owls 2007 New York Fox 171

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2012

There is an International Festival of Owls. They give out a “Champion of Owls” award. Holt founded the Owl Research Institute , an organization that focuses on long-term studies of a variety of species of owls, as well as their prey species and environments. Saw-whet Owl photo by Todd Zino a.

Montana 164

Montana Owls Denver Barn Owls 164

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2012

I have heard both that most die and never make it back to their breeding grounds and that they do return to the north to make more Snowy Owls. So, which is it? This article makes it seem like they are all starving. Does anyone have any solid data?

Owls 171

Owls Breeding 171

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2018

One of the highlights of birding in this Texas state park is the chance to see five owl species that breed here. This is made even sweeter by the hope of seeing two extremely rare US visitors – the Mottled Owl and the Stygian Owl. Let’s enjoy the owls of Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Eastern Screech-Owl.

Texas 189

Texas Owls Barn Owls Hunting 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2020

Just yesterday I learned that the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ) is the only breeding bird found in New York that has been documented nesting in every month of the year. This bit of trivia was given in an article in my local bird club’s monthly newsletter about the ongoing breeding bird atlas in New York State.

Barn Owls 278

Barn Owls 2017 Rodents Owls 278

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Ring-billed Gulls in Breeding Plumage Ring-billed Gulls in Breeding Plumage By Corey • March 8, 2011 • 3 comments Tweet Share It should come as no surprise to readers of 10,000 Birds that I do not love gulls.

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Breeding 2011 Deer New York 145

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2012

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for owls. Wander through my front door and glance upwards and you’ll find at least two watching you, a Tawny Owl and a Barn Owl , both sadly gathered as roadkills. Above our fireplace is a large painting of a Barn Owl.

Barn Owls 224

Barn Owls Finland Owls Portugal 224

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 236

Soreing Owls Eagles Woodpeckers 236

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 2, 2014

We went because Desi, my four-year-old son, wanted to see a Snowy Owl after hearing about and seeing pictures of all of the owls his dad had been seeing this winter. He brought with him Snow, his stuffed Snowy Owl , so Snow could see his “real owl friends.” Snowy Owl being harassed by an American Crow.

Owls 246

Owls Science Research Raised 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

Above them, on limestone cliffs, Alpine Swift and Crag Martin breed. The commonest owls are Eurasian Scops Owl and Tawny Owl , while rare ones include Ural Owl and Eurasian Eagle Owl. Forest covers 70% of the area (hornbeam, beech and oak). About 120 species have been recorded so far.

Serbia 264

Serbia Woodpeckers Owls Eagles 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2012

The usual understanding of why irruptions of birds – from Red-breasted Nuthatches to Snowy Owls – occurs is that there is a shortage of food. Birders are delighted by Snowy Owls. Remember that friend of mine that saw 17 breeding pairs of Snowy Owls in a single valley? No lemmings left in the north?

United States 275

United States Owls Atlanta North Carolina 275

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2024

It was dark when we reached our accommodation in the hillside village of Pachna, where we were greeted by a duet of Scops Owls. According to the taxonomists, these weren’t regular Scops Owls ( Otus scops ) but the endemic Cyprus Scops Owl ( Otus cyprius ). Hoopoes are common breeding birds.

Cyprus 246

Cyprus Breeders Falcons Hunters 246

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 10, 2016

Few things can spell out “winter birding” as poetically as the sighting of a rare northern owl that has more or less unexpectedly found its way to southern, more balmy environs. A “winter owl” however has little meaning to German birders for two simple reasons (and male smew aren’t one of them).

Germany 113

Germany Owls 2013 2006 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2021

The adventure of the second European Breeding Bird Atlas, or EBBA2, was the topic of one of my first posts here at 10,000 Birds: In a warm Catalonian March, Barcelona is filled with sunlight and full of Rose-ringed and Monk Parakeets. A portable speaker is placed on the top of the car, playing Tawny Owl calls from a smartphone.

Europe 264

Europe Breeding Denmark Russia 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2024

Peregrine Falcon Peregrine Falcon Another highlight was when another birder informed us of a Eurasian Eagle-Owl that roosted in a vine on the cliff. 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.

Falcons 246

Falcons Owls Eagles Breeding 246

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 26, 2021

The relatively flat and open grassland of Ruoergai is also good raptor country – raptor here being used in the broadest sense of the word, i.e., including owls and vultures. Little Owls have a somewhat less interesting diet consisting of insects, small mammals, and birds.

China 264

China Falcons Stray Owls 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2016

As I opined in my post back in 2010 (and continue to preach) the Western Burrowing Owl needs a conservation plan. A pair of Burrowing Owls fledged six young! After five years of waiting and watching, we were so elated with this news of a successful breeding at the preserve that we applied for another grant from Audubon California.

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Owls California 2010 Colorado 106

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

It is not quite clear why they do this as it apparently does not affect breeding success. They have written a paper on the “Feasibility of counting breeding Pied Avocets and Black-winged Stilts using drones” It seems to work, actually – though about 20 percent of breeding pairs are being missed by drone surveys.

Eggs 259

Eggs Bald Eagle Birds Owls 259

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2024

Perhaps the most curious thing about the Great Spotted Cuckoo is its distribution, for it is both a non-breeding Palearctic migrant to Africa, and a trans-Africa migrant. According to The Birds of Africa Volume III , “In much of the tropics present throughout the year, with breeding and non-breeding birds usually indistinguishable”.

Cyprus 246

Cyprus Africa Europe Asia 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2021

An uncommon species in Costa Rica, it was in a brushy area that reminded me of its breeding grounds. We did not look for owls nor had access to a marshy lagoon that would have given us more birds, and yet still saw or heard that many species. Topping Off the Day with Striped Owl on the Drive Out. Agami Heron. 171 Species.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Wildlife Tennessee Owls 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2013

Some of those once-popular breeding spots now produce no chicks at all. Perhaps because of threats to the ecosystems of the many places the Arctic Tern visits (Europe, Africa, South America, and North America), it may be on the decline. For example, over the past decade, the population in the Gulf of Maine has dropped by 40 percent.

Bald Eagle 226

Bald Eagle Pandas Puffins Bears 226

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2012

After the warblerfest of last May , it is possible that The Management will find a new direction to point the beat writers during the peak of this year’s migration, so as the anticipation rises, here’s one before he moves inland to breed. All the birds seen today were males.

San Francisco 252

San Francisco North America Owls America 252

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2016

A portable speaker is placed on the top of the car, playing Tawny Owl calls from a smartphone. Although we do enjoy it immensely, we are not doing it for fun, but to gather information on distribution, habitat choice and density of breeding pairs of owls for the first national and second pan-European atlas of breeding birds.

Owls 189

Owls Birds Investigation Breeding 189

10,000 Birds

APRIL 30, 2020

Others have wintered here and are now in the process of leaving for the summer, such as the Black-faced Spoonbill – already in breeding plumage so as to not waste any time once arriving in Northern China. If in doubt, show owl photos – this could easily my life motto. Short-eared Owl …. April brought. And Northern Boobook.

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2020 China Asia Owls 245

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Then rumors leaked out that at this same site the mythical Red Owl could easily be seen, Madagascar Serpent Eagle was breeding and other rare birds and lemurs abounded. I had only seen Red Owl once before in flight and here was one nonchalantly perched in a Pandanus! The mythical Red Owl on a day roost at Lake Bemanevika.

Madagascar 255

Madagascar Lemurs 2006 Owls 255

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2020

For 3-4 days, opt for the hills, Tresnjica Griffon Vulture Sanctuary and the nearby Tara Mountain National Park with 140 species (not too much, but with Hazel Grouse , Ural , Pygmy and Tengmalm’s Owls , White-backed and Three-toed Woodpeckers among them). Long-eared Owls of Kikinda. Top-5 hotspots. Great Bustard Sanctuary.

Serbia 317

Serbia Sanctuary Bosnia Birds 317

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2012

I was delighted by the invitation and spent hours going through my photos, printing them out, imagining fifteen 4-year olds entranced by egrets, herons, and Burrowing Owls. Jake’s favorite before-bedtime book when he was just a bit younger was Owl Babies by Martin Waddell, a picture book I had picked up at a nature center.

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Birds Switzerland Owls Lions 255

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2019

As mentioned in a previous post, October is the best month to see owls here at Nanhui. The Japanese Scops Owl is the rarest of the three I saw this October. A Northern Boobook showed up after I had already written my owl blog post last month. Not that easy to spot outside of the breeding season, though relatively quite common.

2019 238

2019 Japan Owls China 238

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. Breeding season May – June , 261 eBirded species (yet, only about 242 breed in the country).

Serbia 189

Serbia Macedonia Geese Owls 189

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2014

One of the major draws to the festival was viewing the Great Gray Owl, but that is for another post altogether. Green-tailed Towhee s breed in species-rich shrub communities within shrub-steppe habitats, and disturbed and open areas of montane forest, often created by forest fires 1. Click on photos for full sized images.

Oregon 246

Oregon North America Birds Owls 246

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

One of the surest signs of approaching winter in Britain is the influx of Eurasian Woodcock ( Scolopax rusticola ) arriving from summering grounds in Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Russian Far East, encompassing an enormous, forested swath of the Northern Hemisphere that supports the greater part of the world’s breeding population.

Owls 263

Owls Ireland United States Europe 263

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2022

Snowy Plovers also breed half an hour north of my home, so we have those in common. He seems to be my Northern (Mountain) Pygmy-Owl whisperer. But how can you complain about an owl that wants to check you out in broad daylight? But the past several years he has worked on several projects in Ensenada, just south of San Diego.

San Diego 264

San Diego Turtles Mexico Sparrows 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Current well-intentioned environmental pressures to emphasize harvesting large dead or dying trees, if realized, would have further adverse effects on such ecologically and esthetically important species as woodpeckers, swallows, wrens, nuthatches, and owls – to name a few 1.”

North America 255

North America America Barn Owls Fur 255

10,000 Birds

JUNE 9, 2021

After a good introduction called “The Miracle of Migration,” the substance of the book is organized not by strict taxonomy, but by “loose association” into six sections: Wildfowl and Diving Birds, Seabirds, Shorebirds and Waders, Songbirds, Raptors and Owls, and “Other Bird Migrations.”. A “broad spectrum,” indeed.

Alaska 261

Alaska Kenya Georgia Russia 261