10,000 Birds

JULY 1, 2024

The Amur Paradise Flycatcher is another species breeding in Shanghai. Some herons: a beautiful adult Black-crowned Night Heron … … and a rather less attractive kindergarten of the same species. A Chinese Pond Heron … … and the same species pretending to be a giraffe. Yes, you are right: Yellow Bittern.

Giraffes 232

Giraffes Rabbits Birds Breeding 232

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. This species loves to sing while high up in pine trees. But I was delighted to see a Black-chinned Sparrow near the shore; this is only my eighth sighting of this species.

2020 313

2020 Reptiles South America Birds 313

10,000 Birds

MAY 7, 2020

First, 800 km of driving from Belgrade through Bulgaria to very NE corner of Greece and the Dadia Forest National Park with its 36 species of diurnal raptors, out of Europe’s 38. From there to the nearby Evros River Delta, at the very border with Turkey, with more easterly species such as the Spur-winged Plover.

Greece 280

Greece Bulgaria Serbia 2000 280

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

That honor goes to the Gray-crowned Crane , a very sexy species in its own right. Our satisfied group then moved on the other treasures to be found at Mabamba, a slew of kingfishers, waders, raptors, and assorted songbirds that quickly grew to a list of over 70 species in just a few blissful hours.

Uganda 296

Uganda Africa Penguins 2019 296

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2014

With about 110 recorded species, the Kozara becomes truly magical place when the Danube swells and reclaims what is rightfully his. Hence, I had the be equally grumpy to explain to them that I had an equal right to be there (equal right? armed with binoculars only?), Kozara backwaters. All dabbling ducks can dive, but rarely do.

Serbia 247

Serbia Stray Dog Botswana Protection 247

10,000 Birds

JULY 29, 2021

and 180 bird species ( Ferruginous Duck , Black Woodpecker ; Icterine , Eastern Olivaceous and Barred Warblers ) recorded so far. I made this tour myself several days ago (late July), and will report mostly on the species I actually found, as well as some mammals. It is a spacious floodplain between the River Danube and the levee, 2.1

Farming 264

Farming Fish Birds Boars 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2014

The species that calls western Montana home is the black cottonwood, while plains and narrowleaf cottonwood call the rest of the state home. 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.

Montana 191

Montana Cattle Deer Shelters 191

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2013

This park protects the largest remaining tract of dry deciduous forest in the west of India, offering visitors 37 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals and, not to be forgotten – almost 300 bird species. A low branch is decorated by a Green Bee-eater (above) and a tree top above it holds several Cattle Egrets.

Lions 249

Lions India Mammals Boars 249

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

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.

Ethiopia 254

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Cattle 254

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2013

It is one of three species of ani ( Groove-billed and Greater Anis are the other two) and together form a unique branch in the cuckoo family. From the 1940s to the 1970s, the species rapidly spread from the southern tip of the peninsula to areas north of Lake Okeechobee including the Tampa-St. Petersburg area and Cape Canaveral.

Florida 226

Florida Virgin Islands Miami Breeders 226

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 30, 2021

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! Later, we would be seeing dolphins every day.

Dolphins 264

Dolphins Colombia Otters Monkeys 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Then, I was not sure whether this was the right thing to do. I pointed at the bird shown below but he insisted it could not be that species – no long tail … For people of a certain age, gender and background, at some point The Smiths were the most important band in the world. Cattle Egrets have perfected that smudgy look.

LACS 262

LACS Birds France Japan 262

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2024

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. Additional species seen included a pair of Whimbrels which didn’t linger, Little Ringed Plovers and Greenshanks.

Cyprus 244

Cyprus Tethering Breeding Cattle 244

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2019

Today`s species are just the first 10 by alphabetical order. 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.

Germany 150

Germany Cattle Blackbirds Birds 150

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 224

Micronesia Branding Buffalo Rabbits 224

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

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

We follow the tire tracks in an off-white, salty soil and then, without a word of warning, our guide/driver turns into the bushes, driving left and right… until one and then another Short-eared Owl flushes in front of us. The next two species are the Southern Grey Shrike and the Tawny Pipit , also characteristic for this habitat type.

India 253

India Birds Boars Eagles 253

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. This is the time of year that we rightfully contemplate the noble Turkey. Which would be weird.

Turkey 234

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 234

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? The genus Bucephala includes three familiar ducks with big heads. Hat-tip to Stella.

Cows 146

Cows Cattle 2011 Deer 146

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. You don’t really know a bird until you’ve studied it on its breeding grounds.

Eggs 269

Eggs Venezuela Porcupines 2008 269

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2012

Other species I was looking forward to as possibilities included Anhingas , Magnificent Frigatebirds , and seeing as the sun was supposed to shine, some raptors soaring. Yes, you read that right, two FREAKING MANGROVE CUCKOOS perched OUT IN THE OPEN! Howler monkeys! Golden-mantled Howlers ! My first-ever wild monkeys! Monkeys!!!!!

Honduras 173

Honduras Wildlife Monkeys Bats 173

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 24, 2012

Now, seeing Sociable Lapwing , a species that is critically endangered and thought to number roughly 11,000 individuals, would be a treat any day but to see several pairs on their breeding grounds? Above is the area where the three pairs we observed were nesting which we were told was rather typical for the species.

Kazakhstan 135

Kazakhstan Cows 2009 Endangered Species 135

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2011

Costa Rica enjoys an international reputation as an iconic birding location, bursting with epic Neotropical species and breathtaking natural attractions. Over 144 different bird species have been spotted on the grounds, including crackers like Lesser Ground-Cuckoo and Spectacled Owl.

Costa Rica 188

Costa Rica San Jose Sanctuary Protection 188

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The smellier the better, particularly as, unusually for birds, many species can boast a robust sense of smell. In any case, our hang-ups with vultures clearly stem from our own issues rather than any inherently bizarre trait of the species themselves. Vultures famously feed on carrion. Dead things. New World Vultures.

California Condor 215

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 215

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 29, 2016

Costa Rica is situated right between two oceans. The pair of seas are close enough for the occasional adventurous frigatebird to just soar way up and right over to the other salty basin. To the north of this mountainous isthmus, we have the Atlantic. In the other direction, the Pacific.

Costa Rica 167

Costa Rica San Jose Panama Nicaragua 167

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 182

Costa Rica Farming Texas Cattle 182

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 ). Among 60 or so heron species in the world this is the only one using this peculiar fishing technique. The gentleman living on a farm by the Ngotwane Dam said ‘A croc took my dog, right there!’. Cattle Egret 16.

Botswana 233

Botswana Africa 2001 Monkeys 233

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2019

Then someone decided that the Canary Island birds were a separate species. Later, the North African ones were moved to the Canarian species. All good and un-notable in the world of ornithology, were species are lumped and split so often that publishers no longer pretend their latest guide book is up to date. Well, no more!

Iran 152

Iran Barn Owls New Zealand Europe 152

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 18, 2022

The Latin species name of the Marsh Sandpiper is stagnatilis , which somehow I thought might hint at the thin, needle-sharp bill of the bird (I do not know how I got this idea, maybe the word stagnatilis sounds kind of sharp) but in reality, stagnatilis means “of or belonging to pools or ponds” (HBW).

Cattle 147

Cattle Portugal Buffalo Alaska 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

The field site I am assigned to is located in one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world and home to a particularly rich avifauna that numbers well over 500 species. That’s right – birds eating clay. Each bird, regardless of species, seems perfectly content to wait for the other to make the first move toward the colpa.

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 Deer 255

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 7, 2014

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.

North America 183

North America America Family Falcons 183

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 20, 2019

It is always hot in Kununurra and you can easily observe many of the bird species around town from your air-conditioned vehicle. Right beside the road and the irrigation channel were a mixed flock of Cattle Egret , Intermediate Egrets and Little Black Cormorants all “caged” in.

Cattle 113

Cattle Research Family Rights 113

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

We are entering the mixed colony of 11 species ( Grey , Squacco , Purple and Black-crowned Night Herons ; Great , Little and, recently, Cattle Egrets ; Eurasian Spoonbill (below) and Glossy Ibis ; Pygmy and Great Cormorant ). What is the status of this species in the Kerkini NP? Then, there was a herd of buffaloes.

Greece 203

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 203

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2023

This park protects the largest remaining tract of dry deciduous forest in the west of India, offering visitors 37 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals and, not to be forgotten – almost 300 bird species. A low branch is decorated by a Green Bee-eater and a tree top above it holds several Cattle Egrets.

India 147

India Boars Lions Mammals 147

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2018

The mighty rhino along with the Cattle Egret. In the same first day plus a couple of hours, my Africa bird count is at 66 species. It is incredibly hard to pick a highlight, but the Lilac-breasted Rollers, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills, Green Wood Hoopoe and the Kori Bustard are all right up there.

South Africa 134

South Africa Africa Rhinos Mongoose 134

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2016

Then, we became birders again, noting Common Mynas and Eastern Cattle Egrets on the terraced lawns, Yellow-footed Pigeons, European-collared and Red-collared Doves in the trees bordering the garden squares. The species is crepuscular and nocturnal, but can sometimes be seen during the day. Target: Tigers.

India 189

India Tigers Owls Birds 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 30, 2017

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?

Brazil 183

Brazil Los Angeles Birds Tigers 183