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Swarovski Skills Camp, or men and their toys

10,000 Birds

It was also great to finally travel overseas again, meet a lot of people I did not know (and some I did), to be in a new country… and not just the new country, but its best birding area, where almost all local hotspots are yellow (150+ species) and several are ochre (200+ sp.), impressive for Central Europe.

Austria 296
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Birding with 12s: Swarovski NL Pure 12×42

10,000 Birds

“I don’t know anyone else crazy enough to try 12s,” my friend answered when told that I am about to test NL Pure 12×42. With such a background, my decision to test the new birding frontier of Swarovski 12×42 extra-wide FOV binoculars didn’t appear strange at all – to me, at least. What do you think? Are 12s right for birding?

Birds 264
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Not So Thrilled About Pelagic Birding

10,000 Birds

I like to see birds for a long time and hear their vocalization; even if these are common species. In comparison, what I call a true pelagic trip was one that had as ultimate prize storm petrels, shearwaters, jaegers, skuas, tropicbirds, albatrosses, and other unexpected surprises seldom seem near the coast. Pomarine Jaeger juvenile!,

Peru 186
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Gulls Simplified: A Gull Book Review

10,000 Birds

Even more than warbler, shorebird, and sparrow identification, this is a field that tests our endurance (gull watching is too often done in bitter cold, windy conditions), patience (even getting one good photo can take hours as you try to separate the ‘interesting gull’ from the flock), observational skills (so many plumages!)

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How The Bird Got Its Beak

10,000 Birds

Similar comparisons can be made with other bird features such as how their hips work. The feature distinguishes birds from other species; All birds have them, no other species do. The feature distinguishes birds from other species; All birds have them, no other species do. See: Four Wings Good Two Wings Better?

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Do birds avoid predators because of culture?

10,000 Birds

Most likely, all individuals of a given species have very similar genes guiding very similar developmental processes, but produce different results because the plasticity itself is selected for. Changes in antipredatory behaviour in captivity have been proposed to explain the higher invasiveness of wild-caught exotic species.

Birds 119
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A Question of Migration

10,000 Birds

Even if you don’t live in the summer range of a particular species, you may have opportunities to observe it while it passes through, especailly if you live in an active flyway, like I happen to. Because the ancestor of this species of bird migrated, and the migratory adaptation and all that entails were passed on.