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A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the Black Kites breeding around Broome. There have also been Whistling Kites breeding around Broome in recent weeks. It is always rewarding to observe successful breeding in wildlife and we are fortunate here in Broome that so many bird speciesbreed around the area.
One bird species that we occasionally observe around Broome is the Yellow-billed Spoonbill, but we had not seen one for a few years until recently. We soon observed several bird species and then a Yellow-billed Spoonbill flew overhead. Not only is it a bird species we rarely encounter, but we had never found a breeding colony before.
But for a week of mornings during a trip to Maine, none of that bothered me, because I was on the lookout for only one species: the American Goldfinch. Unlike so many other beloved North American bird species, their populations have been relatively stable since the mid-20th century, hovering around 44 million breeding birds.
The Crested Pigeon will breed at any time of year if the conditions are right. The Crested Pigeon family remained in the tree away from danger for quite some time with both parents present. Although Crested Pigeons are quite a common bird Australia-wide you don’t always find a nest, so that you are able to observe the family grow.
Surrounded by native plants and at the edge of the woods, her feeders were always hotspots for interesting migratory and wintering species. On this particular day, I wanted to see one species and one species only: the Purple Finch. I never expected another opportunity to see a Purple Finch in 2021. The birds connect us!
There are numerous species of raptors around Broome including Black Kites and Whistling Kites. Meanwhile, the other pairs of Pied Oystercatchers along Cable Beach have begun to breed as well. The post Pied Oystercatcher breeding season is here again! Pied Oystercatcher chicks with nowhere to hide.
The White-rumped Swift Apus caffer , a tropical African breedingspecies, was only discovered breeding in Europe in the 1960s. At the time the bird was confused with the Little Swift Apus affinis , a similar species, also with a white rump. Curiously, they also breed in Iberia today. White-rumped Swift in flight.
This large flock is generally the non-breeding birds and on one occasion we have observed a nest there, but we do not know the outcome of it. In recent years there have been Pied Oystercatchers attempting to breed along the shores of Roebuck Bay. Many of the migratory shorebirds still have some of their breeding plumage.
Every year we observe both egg and chick loss amongst our Pied Oystercatcher pairs along Cable Beach and also in Roebuck Bay during their breeding season. The breeding season starts around the end of June and there are still eggs being laid and chicks hatching, but now these are the second clutches of eggs.
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. Original artwork illustrates all species with a full account.
My main interest lies in the endemic species and subspecies, trying to understand why some species got there and others didn’t. When we look at the breeding birds, they are all Palaearctic, either mainland species or endemics that evolved from mainland species. On the eastern Canaries they are Palaearctic species.
Wilson’s Storm Petrel Heading to the shelf seems to be the preferred option as it is here that you will find some of the key species. Wilson’s Storm Petrel Oceanodroma oceani cus seems to be everyone’s target species. The pelagics give us great opportunities to get them at close quarters. Great Shearwater Sooty Shearwater.
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.
But now, it’s time to go for many species. They breed early and now it’s time to move out into the Atlantic. It’s only with the return of the low pressure systems in October that the Balearic Shearwaters come back and get ready to make the most of the winter and early spring productivity to breed.
The highway divides a huge expanse of flooded land and numerous bird species have bred in the area over recent weeks. The goslings are a ginger colour and were swimming away from the highway and would have no doubt crossed it prior to our arrival.
The Black-winged Cuckooshrike is breeding in several Shanghai locations – I suspect that some trees near the Nanhui hotel might be another one, given the vigorous singing of this bird. The Amur Paradise Flycatcher is another speciesbreeding in Shanghai. Yellow-rumped Flycatchers are breeding in the same park.
The boreal forest belt that runs from Scandinavia right across to the Pacific and beyond holds some resilient bird species, which are able to survive the harsh and dark winters. I am familiar with the western end… Source
As the boreal migrants head north, breeding season for the residents and austral migrants is beginning to pick up. There are other austral migrants breeding here, however – I’ve found two separate nesting sites of the incredulous looking Swallow Tanager thus far. Common Black Hawks , adult and juvenile. Sounds like a party.
There are 154 species of cuckoos in the world, and they’re all a fascinating bunch. It’s not a species you are likely to overlook, either, as it is extremely noisy, its cackling call carrying great distances. I wonder whether birds that breed in Europe ever meet up with those nest in southern Africa?
Adult Audouin’s Gulls now passing show heavily abraded plumage after breeding I covered the main species in my 23rd June article “When the sea becomes a desert”. If I really want to see these elegant gulls, then I can always drive up to the Atlantic coast and the estuary of the Guadalquivir River where they breed.
Birders normally care about species and make species lists, how do families fit into those? Adding more species brings a lot of excitement, as long as you bird your own country or a continent. 11,000 species require lots of money and a good portion of one’s life. That gamble is rigged, so the house always wins.
Take a quick look at the breeding distribution of European birds and you will see that there are a surprising number of species that are restricted to the Balkans. It is these Balkan specials that are the target species… Source
True, most of our migrant breeding birds start to return in April, but in May even the late arrivals – Turtle Doves, Swifts, Spotted Flycatchers and Nightjars – finally appear. Perhaps most spectacular of all were two fine Grey Plovers in full breeding finery, living up to their American name of Black-bellied Plover.
But no, my story today is about the birds that come in to breed on the heather moorland which dominates the high ground. So is that of the Common Redshank Tringa totanus , another breedingspecies of these moors. Never a better time to see them in full breeding dress.
China is not that well-known for its hornbills, but in Yunnan province, on the border to Myanmar, some species can be found. This is not due to its breeding habits, which it shares with the other hornbills – though those habits could well be described as appalling. Visiting the family.
The most recent estimates suggest that some 1,500 pairs breed in Spain. That’s about half of the entire European breeding population. Look further back, to the first census undertaken and the number of breeding pairs had been estimated at 94 in 1987. Its stronghold is the Iberian Peninsula. Where is the sustainability in that?
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.
The island’s largest salt lake, Akrotiri, is not a great draw for waders, but the range of large, shallow saline pools on its east side, along Lady’s Mile, were in perfect condition to attract a wide variety of species. These ruffs still had a 1,000 or more miles to fly to reach their northern breeding grounds.
This indicates peak breeding condition, but by May their pouches are back to pale yellow again. Both species of pelicans breed on the lake, with the Dalmatians the more numerous. Take a boat trip on Kerkini in May and you should see Black and possibly Whiskered Terns, but few now breed.
Not sure if they are breeding but certainly they are trying, though I am not fully convinced of their competence. Webster`s Dictionary defines Cuculophotobia as “The fear of bird photographers to post cuckoo photos online due to the high likeliness of getting the species assignment wrong.” Some cuckoo species.
Pallas’s Gull also breeds at Qinghai Lake, though the numbers are sadly much reduced: “The numbers breeding at L Qinghai, China, has apparently fallen from > 87,000 in 1970s to c. Not the kind of behavior that makes a management consultant like me appreciate a species. 15,000 in 2006” (HBW).
I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”
You can’t say the same about migration: you can’t say that every book about birds is necessarily about migration, for the simple reason that only about 4,000 bird species migrate (with some 1,800 of those traveling long distances). (Well, purely physical attributes play a part, too: they’re pretty good looking.).
Starlings, they’ll dutifully explain, are ruthless invasives that have been responsible for the serious declines of several beloved native species, like the Red-headed Woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ) and the Eastern Bluebird ( Sialia sialis ). Good birding and happy drinking! Arrowood Farm Brewery: Starling Brett Farmhouse Ale.
North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. In the summer, they are the highest altitude breeding songbird in North America. So let’s look at this sampler, shall we? So let’s look at this sampler, shall we? South Texas Birding & Nature.
Species formerly referred to as P. One recent study found that this species was sister to P. perdix , and also that race przewalskii (sometimes subsumed within suschkini , but generally paler) was basal to other taxa included within the present species. barbata , but present name has priority. I blame this on covid-19.
On our recent walks along Cable Beach checking on the pairs of Pied Oystercatchers that are currently breeding we have often observed a Little Egret. The coastline is not particularly busy with birds at the moment, because the migratory shorebirds are mostly breeding in the Northern hemisphere.
My target at the start of the year was 200 species in the UK and 300 in Europe, so I’ve achieved the latter, while the chances of reaching the former are pretty good. That trip was fun, as it reminded me of the delights of watching birds like Golden Plover and even Meadow Pipit on their breeding grounds.
a British expat birder who was living in Belgrade, for a suggestion: “The top species is undoubtedly White-tailed Eagle. commented further: “With a little work some species can be seen quite easily such as the divers, scaup, scoter, Goosander , Garganey and Long-eared Owl. Black Storks migrate along and breed in the Danube flood zone.
It is that time of year again when we start to see the shorebirds around Broome change into their beautiful breeding plumage. The header above is of several species of shorebirds on Reddell Beach. There are a number of shorebird species here for you to identify! We then witness their departures each evening over several weeks.
It won’t be long before they have all set off on their northward migration to breed, but for now they are feeding up. The mud is full of aquatic insects and their larvae and the Sharp-tailed Sandpipers have joined many other species feeding along this stretch of main highway around Australia.
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.
With more than 312 so far recorded bird species, Lake Kerkini National Park offers great birding year-round. In spring, a huge heronry of 10 species (including Spoonbill , Glossy Ibis , Squacco , Purple , and Night Heron , Pygmy Cormorant , etc.) and up to 9000 pairs forms in the north of the lake.
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