10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

Sure, we try not to introduce snakes, rats, cats, goats, pigs, and a host of other creatures to isolated islands. Most people oppose large-scale, indiscriminate, hunting of birds but it still happens all over the world. And it is a rate of extinction that is speeding up! Let’s try not to let it happen anymore, shall we?

Mauritius 171

Mauritius Djibouti Guam Goats 171

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2012

But of course, also and above all that, I saw birds. Our farthest planned trip to the south of the island was to the Argiolas winery, so we planned to hunt down the living lawn ornaments that afternoon: after all, nothing like a bit of wine to make the colors brighter. There, of course, I immediately spotted a flamingo.

Goats 106

Goats Montana Europe Hunting 106

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

And some of the extinctions were of small animals, like the many dwarf goats and elephants in the Mediterranean. As climates are transformed, habitats plundered, and nonnative fauna carried to virgin hunting grounds, extinction rates are increasing. We’ve lost perhaps 200 birds that we know of since 1500. What a horror!

Marsupials 166

Marsupials Costa Rica Elephants Cuba 166

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. They are traditionally pastoral people, but have from necessity accepted agriculture, fishing and crocodile hunting as means of survival.

Ethiopia 237

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Cattle 237

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

Northern Carmine Bee-eater riding an Arabian Bustard by Markus Lilje/Rockjumper Birding Tours Northern Carmine Bee-eaters in particular are masters of this trait, and rides range from elephants, donkeys and goats to Kori and Arabian Bustards, Abyssinian Ground Hornbills and a variety of other larger birds and mammals.

Africa 263

Africa Gabon Uganda South Africa 263

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

And of course you’ll be keen to keep an eye open for Mantell’s Moa , one of ten species you should see on your tour. Of course, excited as you will be by these magnificent ratites, we have other targets here. This species, the smallest, is endemic to North Island and should be fairly common in the wet lowland forests.

New Zealand 196

New Zealand Ducks Mountain Goats Australia 196