10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2014

They have only a brief window to find the right spot to send down roots – a spot with the combination of moisture, sunlight, and fine silty soil they need. Despite this, they are in some ways quite fragile. Those seeds, borne aloft on a tenuous parachute of white fibers, are of necessity small and delicate.

Montana 213

Montana Cattle Deer Shelters 213

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

I drove out a bit late because of an almost-flat tire that needed attention, and then managed to drive right past the reservoir without seeing it. Would Las Mesas, the closest to Morelia of these sites, join their ranks as a prime birding spot? Not the most auspicious start to my day!

2020 330

2020 Reptiles South America Birds 330

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2024

A Purple Heron on Chongming Island Cattle Egrets , also on Chongming Island Black-winged Stilts … … and Grey-headed Lapwings are their neighbors in the flooded rice paddies of the island. Yes, you are right: Yellow Bittern. A Chinese Pond Heron … … and the same species pretending to be a giraffe. So it stayed.

Giraffes 245

Giraffes Rabbits Birds Breeding 245

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2019

I have seen this bird right at the Bund waterfront, possibly the most famous tourist spot in all of Shanghai. The Cattle Egret (or Eastern Cattle Egret , to be exact, but that would mess with my alphabetic order) can be seen in farmland around Shanghai. But the way it is, familiarity breeds (relative) contempt.

Germany 172

Germany Cattle Blackbirds Birds 172

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

Must be a joke, right? Not that long ago, Costa Rica had one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, rainforests were razed to make way for hot and chiggery cattle pasture, and bot flies probably became more numerous than some bird populations. But how about when the Costa Rica conversation involves a birder? What a horror!

Costa Rica 268

Costa Rica Species Panama Falcons 268

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2020

The first thing to appear was its yellow bill – a locally rare Cattle Egret ! The local levee warden sometimes shepherds his cows here, and the eagle would stand right above him, giving him no second glance. This was only my seventh observation of this species in Europe (3 in Greece, 4 in Serbia). I am a stranger in his realm.

Greece 295

Greece Bulgaria Serbia 2000 295

10,000 Birds

MARCH 7, 2022

Dongfang is a smallish coastal city on the west coast of Hainan – with one or two main roads, some massive and apparently empty apartment blocks right next to the beach – and some strange swampy area pretty close to the main road. Here, nervous Cattle Egrets trying to quit smoking pace restlessly on buffalos.

Micronesia 250

Micronesia Branding Buffalo Rabbits 250

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2021

Now you can check the fish farm lakes on your left (but here you have to ask for permission in the management building, the last one on the right hand side) or you can drive on until the first, very slight band in the road. Before that, on a rather sharp right bend, 1.8 We continued on to Sakule.

Farming 264

Farming Fish Birds Boars 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 5, 2012

.” Which roughly translates to “Stationary in the area of the cattle pasture and the surrounding bushes and adjacent reed bed” This was going to be easy. Cattle is mostly kept in housings in Germany (sadly), and cattle out on a pasture is a rare sight in our landscape. I found the grid cell – no problem.

Cattle 139

Cattle Germany Iran Breeders 139

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

That honor goes to the Gray-crowned Crane , a very sexy species in its own right. Unfortunately, the world cares little for weavers, no matter how rare or range-restricted. Nor is the Shoebill the national bird of Uganda.

Uganda 299

Uganda Africa Penguins 2019 299

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2012

You do need to be careful of cattle wandering across the highway, as the grass always looks greener on the other side! The puddles right against the highway had Glossy Ibis on them and they were unconcerned about the traffic-though there really isn’t much in the outback!

Investigation 201

Investigation Cattle Australia Humane 201

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Heading south on a good surfaced road, we made slow progress through the herds of cattle, donkeys and goats that thronged the highway, until we finally reached the land of the Konso. Quality time was spent with a friendly Hamar family at their homestead of grass huts surrounding their cattle corral.

Ethiopia 255

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Cattle 255

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2014

There were grumpy old fishermen, fishing through the closed season when the fish enter the backwaters to spawn, but also carrying handguns on their belts and assuming that, being armed and dangerous, they have every right to the area. Hence, I had the be equally grumpy to explain to them that I had an equal right to be there (equal right?

Serbia 247

Serbia Stray Dog Botswana Protection 247

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2015

Driving north along the Ionian seacoast through the city of Igoumenitsa, there is a place where the main artery takes you right, further away from the sea – follow it for 150 metres (500 ft) and then turn left just before a small stadium. The rest of the road follows the sea for some 3.5 Could they possibly be…?

Greece 240

Greece Dogs Pelicans Cattle 240

10,000 Birds

MARCH 22, 2011

It didn’t take much imagination to name Cowbirds or Cattle Egrets or Cattle Tyrants , but there’s more fantasy, even more wit, involved in the naming of other bovine birds. Wicked, right? They’re all named for livestock. The genus Bucephala includes three familiar ducks with big heads. Hat-tip to Stella.

Cows 153

Cows Cattle 2011 Deer 153

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2021

We sailed right into a group of more than a dozen Hoatzins (cover photo, by Tyler Ficker) with their orange mohawks and blue facial skin. Indigenous community of El Remanso, right underneath the imposing monoliths of Cerros de Mavecure. Left to right: my guide Edson Moroni and the local shop keeper Daniel Luis.

Dolphins 264

Dolphins Colombia Otters Monkeys 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2013

A low branch is decorated by a Green Bee-eater (above) and a tree top above it holds several Cattle Egrets. We have almost forgotten that Manoj has promised us some creatures of the night, when he raised his hand to point at three Mottled Wood Owls right above us, beautiful large Strix owls slightly amused by us.

Lions 250

Lions India Mammals Boars 250

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2013

Large swaths of the Everglades were being drained to make way for cattle ranching, citrus groves, and low density housing that included many overgrown, weedy lots. Petersburg area and Cape Canaveral. During this time, southern Florida was in a state of ecological chaos.

Florida 234

Florida Virgin Islands Miami Breeders 234

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

Human-created habitats like road edges, pastures, and railroad right-of-ways suit them to a tee, so it hardly seems fair to call them the locusts when we are the ones who have expanded explosively and stripped the land bare. Cattle Egrets might well get them when they leap out of the way of our domestic replacement bison.

Montana 207

Montana Cooking Texas Cattle 207

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2021

My outing’s total count for water-dependent waterfowl, shorebirds, herons, gulls, and terns (I’m leaving land-loving Cattle Egrets out of this count) was around 120; the count for a similar date in 2018 was around 2000 individuals. They’re riding horses on my lake. I had never seen so little life at the lake.

San Francisco 264

San Francisco 2018 Mexico Ducks 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 22, 2011

I made a suggestion of cutting off one corner a bit as it looked quite shallow-yes, right! There had been cattle in the area and we kept coming across bizarre butterfly circles. All we can think is that they were attracted to an area where there had been cattle urine and they were getting the natural salts.

Cattle 160

Cattle 2003 Birds Geese 160

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2024

Until recently the cattle that grazed here were tethered, but they are now allowed to range freely, and by doing so they have opened up the marsh considerably, creating fine habitat. Several Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were seen during our stay, but we only managed to see one that flew right over our heads.

Cyprus 246

Cyprus Tethering Breeding Cattle 246

10,000 Birds

MAY 14, 2015

Loess bluff with numerous bee-eaters and one Northern Wheatear and, cut into a low grassy ridge, the set of tracks veers right. There were loads of the first, but none of the second – and I came specifically for the pipits (to make matters worse, I had a fleeting glimpse of a possible suspect). The Danube shallows are waterless.

Stray Dog 250

Stray Dog Factory Turtles Serbia 250

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2014

All the tracks onto the station property were underwater and all of the Brahman Cattle have moved to the highest ground that they can find. In fact it is not just the cattle, but all of the creatures have moved into bushes and trees. Black-winged Stilt holding their ground! Another flooded track onto the station.

Barn Owls 162

Barn Owls Seals Cattle Birds 162

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Then, I was not sure whether this was the right thing to do. Cattle Egrets have perfected that smudgy look. It looked truly terrifying – so terrifying that after taking just a few photos I got out of the car (which they had totally ignored) and walked towards them until they separated. A happier shrike. But do we really care?

LACS 264

LACS Birds France Japan 264

10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2011

So right now I’m feeling pretty good about Eurasian Collared-doves. We remember starlings not skylarks, House Sparrows not Eurasian Tree Sparrows , Cattle Egrets not… well, whatever we’ve forgotten because it didn’t do as well as the Cattle Egrets. Wicked, right? Hat-tip to Stella.

Montana 172

Montana 2011 Bahamas Deer 172

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2011

I regrettably didn’t have a chance to explore the nature trails and vineyards, but didn’t really have to considering all the action right outside my window. Cattle Egrets dominate the rookery but are joined by Little Blue , Tricolored , and Green Herons , both American night-herons, and at least a couple of Northern Jacana.

Costa Rica 207

Costa Rica San Jose Sanctuary Protection 207

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2019

In Costa Rica, sandpipers are locally known as “correlimos”, which to me sounds something along the lines of “little runners” and that sounds about right. It’s more like hoping for them because the abundance of open land on cattle farms and little birding coverage brews up a fine needle in a haystack situation.

Costa Rica 202

Costa Rica Farming Texas Cattle 202

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Thus, the cattle we raise for meat and dairy are sometimes called Bos taurus while the extinct wild form is always called Bos primigenius. This is the time of year that we rightfully contemplate the noble Turkey. This is not entirely unknown among domestic animals, but many domesticates have no living wild version.

Turkey 255

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 255

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2012

Little Blue and Tricolored Herons , Snowy , Great , and Cattle Egrets , a Laughing Falcon , Black Vultures, Blue-winged Teal , a Wood Stork , a nesting tree of Montezuma Oropendulas , and Ruddy Ground-Doves were just some of the species we saw on our short train ride into the refuge. Howler monkeys! Golden-mantled Howlers ! Monkeys!!!!!

Honduras 191

Honduras Wildlife Monkeys Bats 191

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2020

A few paddle strokes down the river and on the right bank there were four Impala antelopes ( Aepyceros melampus ). The gentleman living on a farm by the Ngotwane Dam said ‘A croc took my dog, right there!’. or a croc was swimming right under the bottom of the kayak…. Cattle Egret 16. How can I not be? Grey Heron 4.

Botswana 255

Botswana Africa 2001 Fish 255

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 10, 2020

In Costa Rica, a lot of those birds fly right overhead. No sparrows or migrant juncos nor hardly any Yellow-rumpeds and forget about Orange-crowned (a serious mega around here!) but there are other birds, many stopping to stay, many others moving to South America.

Costa Rica 279

Costa Rica South America Colombia Paraguay 279

10,000 Birds

JULY 17, 2012

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. At this point the chicks are mostly digestive tract.

Eggs 269

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 269

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2012

Rueppell’s (facing left) and White-backed (three birds facing right) Vultures have worryingly leapt two categories from Near-Threatened to Endangered. An adult (left) and subadult (right) White-backed Vulture with full crops after feeding on the remains of a Lion kill, Ndutu, Tanzania by Adam Riley.

Endangered Species 237

Endangered Species Species Morocco South Africa 237

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 20, 2019

Right beside the road and the irrigation channel were a mixed flock of Cattle Egret , Intermediate Egrets and Little Black Cormorants all “caged” in. Last week I introduced you to a family of Radjah Shelducks taking advantage of the channel. Another significant flock of birds were to be found “caged” in!

Cattle 125

Cattle Research Family Rights 125

10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2014

Barn Swallows lined up on the wires outside his cattle barn and Grasshopper Sparrows sang unseen from uncut hayfields. Clear as day and obvious as if it were sitting right in front it me. He gave me the layout and sent me on my way. Which, in fact, it was, though obscured by grass and sumac boughs.

North Carolina 183

North Carolina Farming United States North America 183

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2019

Similarly when the Hoopoe and Cattle Egret were split, these are widespread birds with huge ranges even after the split. We here at 10,000 Birds have decided to right some wrongs and improve the birding world by renaming birds the way they should have been named from Linnaeus to the present. (Or, But the Blue Tit was different.

Iran 174

Iran Barn Owls New Zealand Europe 174