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Instead of going on about zip lines and other modern, adventure tourism attractions, the birding crowd talks about taking photos of Resplendent Quetzals , seeing dozens of hummingbird species, and the seemingly odd absence of raptors in Costa Rica but nope, we don’t really talk about extinction. Resplendence.
Big, bold, beautiful parrots full of character and charm, macaws make us long for some of the world’s wildest places and assure us that, as long as they fly free, those magical wild places are still intact. Such cavities are hard to find and are sometimes disputed by more than one species. Who doesn’t love a macaw?
UNLESS that is you get yourself down to the internationally-renowned Tambopata Research Centre in southern Peru where literally hundreds of macaws (and other parrots) congregate around a 50 meter high clay bank. At this hour I am a reluctant, under-caffeinated sherpa – and concentration must be given to the dangers of the footpath ahead.
If you thought that migrant traps and spring in south Texas were birdalicious (and they can indeeed be spectacular), how does an ecosystem with 400 and even 500 plus species tickle your birding fancy? This brings us to the first obvious upside of rainforest birding in Costa Rica; a chance at a lot more species than other habitats.
The prospect of identifying a certain number of species in a given amount of time pushes us to pay more attention to birds no matter what the circumstances (although I suggest keeping the exclamations about species identifications to yourself during such solemn situations as funerals, graduations, and watching episodes of The Sopranos).
Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Yellow-billed Stork.
The population of parrotlets they studied was located on one of the many huge hatos (cattle ranches) in the Venezuelan llanos, a vast swath of flat flooded savannah in the central third of the country that drains into the Rio Orinoco. You don’t really know a bird until you’ve studied it on its breeding grounds. The Auk 108: 863-871.
From there, we entered a side tributary full of Ringed and Amazon Kingfishers , with Chestnut-fronted and Scarlet Macaws in flight… and then the noise: groans, croaks and grunts… and the smell… of this 65 million years old species, so old that the last dinosaurs must have fed on them!
The proximity of both slopes also facilitates seeing a lot of different species in a short span because the montane barrier has resulted in differences in terms of species and habitats. This small antbird species is common in Panama to Ecuador but rare in Costa Rica.
We have nearly 930 species on the official list and with some effort, 700 in a year is a feasible goal. Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis; San Joaquin de Heredia, 1-Jan. Brown-hooded Parrot – Pyrilia haematotis; Tirimbina, 9-Jan. White-crowned Parrot – Pionus senilis; San Joaquin de Heredia, 1-Jan.
During this time, the fish trapped in the shrinking pools of water attract hordes of herons, egrets, storks, and other wetland species. Raptors such as Savanna Hawk , Snail Kite , and Black-collared Hawk and up to five species of kingfisher also join the bonanza in one of the world’s great birding spectacles.
Between them, they found 389 species in 5 countries. Insects were held back by weird spring weather, but now the warmth returns and the birds are feasting on the late stirring bugs. June saw 8 beats get their birding boots on and share 90 checklists for your pleasure.
This is a very hot and dry region known as El Chaco where many interesting bird species can be found. This land has gone through extensive ecosystem destruction from farming cattle and soybeans. This road trip took us south-east moving away form the mountains and to lower flat land which had been converted to farmland.
9 beats from 8 countries (Australia, USA, UK, Serbia, Costa Rica, China, Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico), shared 138 checklists for 703 species. The year list to date is 1015 species and 7 have been added to the life list ( 4059 ) from Costa Rica, China and Trinidad and Tobago. 201 Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis.
1,712 species, 12% of which are endemics. News flash–I just received the trip report from Carlos, and the tally is 419 species recorded, of which 16 were heard only; plus Ian and I saw an additional species before the tour started, courtesy of Paulo Boute. Oh my gosh! I shouldn’t have been surprised. Any suggestions?
They birded 7 countries during August and recorded 542 species. The year list remains sluggish at 1489 , but the life list received a boost from the eBird taxonomy reshuffle and now includes 4076 species. Stay vigilant and safe. 10 of the beats have submitted 124 checklists which are collated below for your perusal.
Between them they shared 63 checklists, spanning 5 countries and noted 231 species of birds. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis). White-crowned Parrot (Pionus senilis). White-fronted Parrot (Amazona albifrons). 7 beats contributed this month. Graylag Goose (Anser anser). Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).
The birding is not exceptional, but you can easily see some of Singapore’s and South-east Asia’s more common species and it does throw up the occasional jewel. My personal list for Paser Ris runs to 75 birds over 15 visits that average out at around 25 species per outing. My favourite site in Singapore is Paser Ris. Spotted Wood-owl.
The warm, sunny climate beckons a wide variety of passerines, raptors, and shorebirds to spend the winter, inflating the species diversity to the extent that Miami-Dade can go toe-to-toe with counties in Texas and Arizona during this season. Can we hit 200 ABA-countable species in four days next year? Cattle Egret: 133.
The second edition of the National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition has one of the longest book names in bird bookdom: National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition: Now Covering More Than 1,000 Species With the Most-Detailed Information Found in a Single Volume. This volume is no exception.
The pressure is on if you can only get certain species during the first month of the year but if you just want to add any old birds to the year list, everything is fresh! Since I’m in no big hurry to reach any number of species in 2018, my year birding is going to be a fresh one hopefully touched with a good dose of Zen.
The reason the location is remaining undisclosed is that reliable Mangrove Cuckoos are difficult to find in the American Birding Association area and are a very sought after species. From the bulbuls we went in search of another introduced species that has taken to south Florida like home. We needed countable species!
Birds with white on them are much more likely to take the form of goodies like the Snowy Cotinga , or two species of tityras. The Caribbean slope of Costa Rica also differs from the islands in having a lot more bird species. White-crowned Pigeon might be on the list, but that rare prize for Costa Rica is far from regular.
Diabolical A to Z Quiz in Queens Quiz Pic 1 Answer: Barrow’s Goldeneye Finally we come to the most unfair of the three quiz pictures, that which depicted feather detail of a Thick-billed Parrot. Diabolical A to Z Quiz in Queens Quiz Pic 2 Answer: Thick-billed Parrot So who wins? DIABOLICAL!!!
149 checklists were submitted, accounting for 465 species. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis). White-crowned Parrot (Pionus senilis). White-fronted Parrot (Amazona albifrons). I know that we are all looking forward to a time when we might return to the old normal, but until then, please stay safe and keep your distance.
The 83 checklists submitted during July contained 459 species. Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis. White-fronted Parrot – Amazona albifrons. Orange-winged Parrot – Amazona amazonica. In case you were worried, Our Man in Shanghai is still flying the flag. The year list now stands at 1613.
To surpass a challenging number of species, the planning, the conniving for major birding should have begun back in the past, in 2018. Every day counts and to seriously maximize the species total, a birder needs to maximize time in the field at the most productive places during the most productive times and then some.
Nevertheless, I still have over 232 species including the latest addition- a Striped Owl heard from my bedroom window as it called into a moonlit night. With luck, this bird list will also see species from other countries, I hope “wherever else” ends up referring to Colombia and Brazil!
Back in Costa Rica, walks through coffee and fields near the house, and a few other day trips have upped the list to 250 species. The year has just started, there are hundreds of other bird species to look for, I wonder if I can reach 700 species for Costa Rica by December 31st? White-eyed Vireo! .
They accounted for 562 species at this sluggish time of year. Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis. Brown-hooded Parrot – Pyrilia haematotis. Yellow-naped Parrot – Amazona auropalliata. White-fronted Parrot – Amazona albifrons. These are the numbers. Alphabetic Taxonomic. Lago de Cuitzeo.
This is cattle country and it is actually fenced, which many parts of the Kimberley are not and you pass through Ruby Plains and then Carranya station to reach the crater. It is of course the food of the Night Parrot , but none were observed on this occasion! The rim trail. Dragon on the rim. Grevillea wickhamii flowers. Mulla mulla.
It has a small population of approximately 1100 people and is a major hub for the local indigenous people and for the cattle industry. Halls Creek is situated inland on the Great Northern Highway, which is the only bitumen road around the north of Australia. Spinifex Pigeons inside the fence line!
9 beats submitted 172 checklists from 7 countries (UK, USA, Costa Rica, Australia, Serbia, China and Trinidad and Tobago) for 640 species. The list for the year has reached 1276 and the life list has been stretched to 4066 with red ticks from China, Australia and Trinidad and Tobago, thanks to Kai, Claire and Grant and Faraaz respectively.
8 of them sent 153 lists, noting 645 species of bird across 7 countries (Mexico, UK, USA, Serbia, Australia, Costa Rica, Colombia). It has not resulted in extraordinary numbers of sightings personally, but the beats have been busy on their respective patches and have sent me their lists to collate. The year list finishes at 1628.
They submitted 124 checklists for 671 species of bird. In particular 272 species were noted from 14 checklists submitted on October 17th, eBird’s October Big Day. 32 Brown-hooded Parrot – Pyrilia haematotis. 33 Red-lored Parrot – Amazona autumnalis. 34 Mealy Parrot – Amazona farinosa.
My birding list for November totals 15 species. Thank goodness that the rest of the beats have been busily birding,that’s what they like to do… 9 of them submitted 114 checklists via eBird and amassed 525 species from 7 (China, Australia, Mexico, Costa Rica, UK, Serbia and USA) countries during November.
The year list ends on a provisional 1803 species from 1608 checklists submitted by 12 beats from 16 countries. Most species-prolific was Patrick in Costa Rica, followed by Paul from Mexico. December’s beats found 609 birds after submitting 116 checklists from 8 countries (USA, UK, Costa Rica, China, Mexico, Serbia and Australia).
“Birding Over Time” compares the number of species recorded over a month with that month from previous years. Blue-headed Parrot – Pionus menstruus. Red-lored Parrot – Amazona autumnalis. White-crowned Parrot – Pionus senilis. Mealy Parrot – Amazona farinosa. Management ?)
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks , Muscovy Ducks and Blue-winged Teals were around us, together with Green , Great and Little Blue Herons , Cattle and Great White Egrets , Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons , plus one locally rare Pinnated Bittern in the floating vegetation, as well as several dozen Neotropical Cormorants.
9 beats submitted 140 checklists from 7 countries (USA, UK, Costa Rica, Serbia, Australia, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago) during October to account for 585 species. 184 Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis. 269 White-crowned Parrot – Pionus senilis. 270 Red-lored Parrot – Amazona autumnalis.
At time of writing (usually a couple of days early to avoid the deadline panic), UK is fielding 63 species. 102 Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis. 146 White-crowned Parrot – Pionus senilis. 102 Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis. 146 White-crowned Parrot – Pionus senilis.
They contributed 150 lists accounting for 1032 species and more than 36,000 individual birds. Thus 100 species were missed by the time he woke up and noticed that eBird had reset the counters at midnight(do you guys have nothing better to do?). Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis. Gray Parrot – Psittacus erithacus.
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