10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2023

Booted Eagle by Kostas Papadopoulos The next morning was a lazy one, a late breakfast and even later excursion. Later in the day, roadside birds included a Booted Eagle and a Levant Sparrowhawk. What amazed me is that, instead of the usual 6 or 8 slices, this pizza was cut into tiny, bite-size slices!

Greece 235

Greece Pelicans Stray Dog Tortoises 235

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2024

However – and I am not saying this out of misplaced national pride – there is one bird in the Netherlands that proves Jefferson wrong and Buffon right: the White-tailed Eagle (or Sea Eagle ). It’s the only Dutch eagle. Our eagle makes Baldy look imparfait, even a bit manqué. Skeins of Greylag Geese completed the picture.

Beavers 144

Beavers Netherlands Eagles Geese 144

10,000 Birds

MARCH 23, 2023

Stopping for a large cappuccino at a drive-in McDonalds en route, soon I entered a hamlet of a dozen family homes mixed with a dozen small apartment buildings. There’s an eagle… a White-tailed Eagle , a relatively common and numerous breeding species of riparian forests along large water courses and fishponds.

Bulgaria 264

Bulgaria McDonalds Eagles Wolves 264

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2012

While New Zealand is famous for its endemic oddities, once upon a time New Zealand also had many birds from groups and families that are no longer found here. The mysterious piopio were recently recognized for what they were, New Zealand’s representatives from the oriole family. And eagles. New Zealand had eagles.

Eagles 102

Eagles New Zealand Bald Eagle Collecting 102

10,000 Birds

JULY 12, 2024

This Little Crake was on migration in Cyprus Raptors are always exciting to encounter, and I was delighted earlier in the year to enjoy a couple of sightings of wandering White-tailed Eagles in Norfolk. I haven’t done well with Golden Eagles, with just a single bird, seen briefly, in Greece, in May.

Cyprus 217

Cyprus Greece Spain Europe 217

10,000 Birds

APRIL 24, 2024

I had long yearned of seeing a wild Harpy Eagle and was genuinely thrilled to hear about an active nest not too far from where we would be staying. Selfishly, I was a bit disappointed that the lack of water turned our two-hour commute via river to see the nest of the mighty Harpy Eagle into a no-go. Which birds?

Guyana 218

Guyana Brazil ALA Eagles 218

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

Raptors to look for in this reserve are Golden Eagle and Short-toed Snake Eagle , European Honey-buzzard and Peregrine Falcon. The commonest owls are Eurasian Scops Owl and Tawny Owl , while rare ones include Ural Owl and Eurasian Eagle Owl. About 120 species have been recorded so far.

Serbia 262

Serbia Woodpeckers Owls Eagles 262

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 20, 2014

’s bird family tree in a new tab and follow along as you read. It looks as though “New World” vultures are sister to hawks and eagles after all, not anything stranger or more exotic (and certainly not storks). In 2008, Nick Sly published a review of Hackett et al. titled Avian relationships – What do we know?

Family 279

Family Parrots 2014 Birds 279

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 19, 2022

I’ve said it before, but this large raptor with the massive, eagle-like bill is not a Hawk or Eagle , but a genetic Falcon. Lately, I’ve seen Crested Caracaras showing up in all sorts of unexpected places, and Las Mesas was not an exception. On this outing, the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds put on the best show.

Eagles 223

Eagles Falcons Sparrows Species 223

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2024

There are five families: Stilts & Avocets (Family Recurvirostridae), Oystercatchers (Family Haem), Plovers (Family Charadriidae), Sandpipers and Allies (Family Scolopacidae), and Jacanas (Jacanidae), with Family Scolopacidae representing the bulk of species (as it does worldwide).

North America 262

North America America 2006 Delaware 262

10,000 Birds

JULY 16, 2021

There’s a ( Eurasian) Blue Tit ( Cyanistes caeruleus ) flitting around some flowers and butterflies, while what is likely another European member of the family Paridae – possibly either a Willow Tit ( Poecile montanus ) or Marsh Tit ( Poecile palustris ) – seems to alight on the letter “T” in “Natura”.

2020 244

2020 Chile Bald Eagle Europe 244

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2021

The eggs hatched out around 20th June after 28 days of incubation and the Pied Oystercatcher family were soon on the move. This moves the family closer to a reef that gets exposed on low tides and better feeding opportunities. Usually the first thing we look for when we visit Pied Oystercatcher families is look for footprints.

Breeding 255

Breeding Feral Cats Eggs Feral 255

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

In 2008, with my family decided to build the Limneo Lodge , a small accommodation with only 9 rooms. Other important breeding species include Black and White Stork , Lesser Spotted , White-tailed , and Booted Eagle. Overwintering raptors include Greater Spotted , Golden , and Imperial Eagles. My name is Nikos Gallios.

Greece 264

Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2021

The tail is much shorter and not wedged like the Wedge-tailed Eagle. They may well have all been from the same family. Quite often the wing panels almost appear white and the wings are upturned in flight. The outer feathers are very open as you can see in the above photo. Black-breasted Buzzard interaction.

2015 240

2015 Eagles Family Birds 240

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2021

Brasserie au Baron has its origins in a bistro run by the Bailleux family since 1973 in Gussignies, a small French town along that lies along the river Hogneau right at the border with Belgium’s Hainaut province in the Francophone south of that country. Good birding and happy drinking! Brasserie au Baron: Saint-Médard Cuvée de Noël.

France 238

France Eagles Shelters Suffering 238

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 11, 2022

The area is used as a hunting ground for large raptors including the White-bellied Sea-Eagle and Brahminy Kite. As the tide drops the birds all move forward to bathe and feed and the Pied Oystercatcher family becomes more visible. Pied Oystercatcher family with two chicks. Pied Oystercatchers on the move.

Breeding 147

Breeding Family Hunting Eagles 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

Guyana had been suffering from an extensive period of drought when we visited, this lack of water ultimately was the primary reason which prevented us from searching for the Harpy Eagle. Another cotinga that is arguably the most popular member of that family – for its voice more so than its looks – is the Screaming Piha.

Guyana 226

Guyana Woodpeckers Shelters Suffering 226

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2022

The one bird I did not see here, however, was the Bateleur Eagle … One highlight in the area is the Saddle-billed Stork , likely to be the tallest species in the stork family. Another member of the stork family, the African Openbill , looks like it is could benefit from a good orthodontist.

Ostriches 147

Ostriches Parrots Eggs Africa 147

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2021

And Giant Otters are still common in the rivers around Karanambu Ranch, home of the late “otter lady”, Diane McTurck, who used to rehabilitate orphaned otters and whose family still runs the lodge. View from 10:18 onwards to see my first glimpse of a juvenile harpy eagle close to Surama village.

Guyana 278

Guyana Otters South America Colombia 278

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2018

Most Americans celebrated a long weekend filled with a lot (maybe too much) food, family, and shopping. My family actually pays attention to eagles too, which makes them more interesting to see. My family actually pays attention to eagles too, which makes them more interesting to see.

2018 114

2018 Bald Eagle New Jersey New York 114

10,000 Birds

JUNE 1, 2023

Then we detoured into the center of Villahermosa, to see the Northern Potoo that spends each day in the garden of one of Rolando’s family members. Much more surprising, however, is that freshwater snails are also the preferred food for a local member of the hawk family. This was a lifer I had long hoped for!

Mexico 130

Mexico Tigers Cows Birds 130

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2021

Where a birder goes in the Caribbean determines which birds are seen including toy-like todies, Carib hummingbirds, cool pigeons, quail-doves, unique avian families and outrageous woodpeckers. One such special place is the Centro Manu, a small family run reserve that features several star bird species of Costa Rica’s Caribbean lowlands.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Puerto Rico Birds Owls 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

I started the campaign for the protection of Beljarica, raising public awareness and collecting more than 10,000 petition signatures, not only because of its Eurasian Otters , White-tailed Eagles , Black Storks , Icterine and Eastern Olivaceous Warblers , etc., but because this large spillway protects the city from flooding. Photo: VICE.

Serbia 278

Serbia Boars Otters Birds 278

Critter News

MARCH 21, 2009

I come from a Portuguese family and I have no problem dumping on the Portuguese. Portuguese environmental groups - including SOS Lynx, A Nossa Terra and Almargem - have denounced the deliberate shooting of the country's only nesting male Iberian Imperial Eagle. Tags: Stupid eagle portugal fox hunting. This makes me angry.

Portugal 100

Portugal Eagles Spain Fox 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2022

For some reason, the largest member of the heron family is not called the Great Heron nor the Giant Heron but rather the Goliath Heron. The shrike family (Laniidae) has two genera, one (Lanius) with 32 species and one (Eurocephalus) with 2 species. A Barn Owl slept peacefully on the inside of the roof of a well-visited tourist cafe.

Africa 147

Africa Eagles Birds Barn Owls 147

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

But Swarovski Optik is a family-owned business, so the then CEO, Mr. Swarovski, categorically rejected the advice and decided: factory stays in Austria, and the prices will only go up! At the end of the 20th century (and before the ELs were born), the factory hired consultants to help it restructure and maximise profits.

Austria 298

Austria Factory Asia Battery 298

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

If you have always wondered what the minimum anesthetic concentration for isoflurane and sevoflurane for the Crested Serpent-eagle is, science has an answer. While serpent means large snake, the Crested Serpent-eagle also eats frogs, as this video shows. Apparently, if exposed to sunlight, the green of the magpie plumage may turn blue.

China 236

China Birds Pythons Eagles 236

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

” We are currently offering the opportunity of a lifetime to see a Harpy Eagle that is nesting in the Amazon lowlands, and guides are ready to work! With Mercedes, you will be treated like family, and guaranteed to have the trip of a lifetime! Birding guides have been working hard to keep trails open at the lodges.

Ecuador 261

Ecuador Birds 2019 Cattle 261

10,000 Birds

MARCH 30, 2020

My birding there in normal times tends to be in winter and early spring: I’m getting Common Mergansers and Bald Eagle for my year list in January, scouting for the Christmas Bird Count in late November and early December, and making sure to find Wilson’s Snipe in the early spring.

Bald Eagle 191

Bald Eagle New York City New York Birds 191

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2016

By the cliffs we find several Eurasian Crag-Martins and a consolation species – a family of Golden Eagles in the air! Scattered Pied Avocets , Spotted Redshanks in good numbers, cows and water buffaloes grazing, two Black Storks , bare mudbar and… a perched eagle! The Greater Spotted Eagle is a threatened species.

Greece 255

Greece Boars Woodpeckers Eagles 255

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

Red backed and Variegated Fairy Wrens reeled as they hopped through the undergrowth while a family of Grey Shrike Thrushes took to feeding. A huge Wedge-tailed Eagle soared high overhead on thermals suggesting that the morning was beginning to wane and our drinks were waiting. A poor picture of a male Variegated Fairy Wren.

Koalas 232

Koalas Zoos Birds Hunters 232

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2021

Shorebirds – or “shorbs” for the cuteness factor (as if that needed any enhancement) – remain one of the most fascinating families of birds for me. Obliging species like Grey-headed Kingfisher , Long-crested Eagle , and even a pair of Greater Blue-eared Starlings ensured we didn’t get anywhere quickly.

Buffalo 264

Buffalo Kenya Trinidad 2019 264

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2022

One of the most interesting aspects of watching birds in Africa is to see different members of bird families that I already know from China. An information for those Indian readers of the blog who only know “Kingfisher” as a brand of beer: It is also a bird family. Different bird families, I know.

South Africa 208

South Africa Africa Saint Lucia Camels 208

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2018

Through multi-partnerships, cooperation, federal funding, and the private conservation efforts of one family, 616 acres were officially added to the Cherokee National Forest in September 2018. Bald Eagle. It’s still possible (amidst the scurry to take from public lands) to protect our pristine wilderness areas. Magnolia Warbler.

Georgia 209

Georgia Bald Eagle Tennessee 2018 209

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2018

White-tailed Eagles normally take flight silently, yet, while checking some Common Starlings and hoping for Rosy Starlings , I heard a few noisy wing-beats, enough to turn and see a young eagle flying with a wing tag. To prove more how young and inexperienced it was, the eagle even landed on the ground a mere 15 metres behind my car.

Eagles 175

Eagles Otters Serbia 2016 175

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2019

Collared Scops Owl – A Cat Head Eagle. For some of the more common or exciting birds, I know the Chinese names as well, such as Maotouying for owl (literally “cat head eagle”, which I think is both cute and accurate) or Xianbasedong for Fairy Pitta (“eight color fairy thrush”). Well, no more!

China 194

China Eagles Cats Owls 194

10,000 Birds

MARCH 27, 2015

Since we’ve covered some generalities already, once a month I’ll be exploring how a species, genus, or family of birds got its name, and how those names fit in with our larger understanding of, and relationship with, birds. No one calls you a doofus when you have a Golden Eagle at the ready to eat their face.

Falcons 260

Falcons Eagles Meat Geese 260