Critter News

JULY 19, 2012

Invading rats with bodies up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) long have begun eating eggs and chicks, and some experts fear that unless the rats are eradicated, they could tip the Humboldt penguin toward extinction. From the Huffington Post.

Penguins 100

Penguins Chile Rats Eating Eggs 100

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Who can resist penguins and whales? The section South Georgia Wildlife describes 65 species of birds, 20 species of sea mammals, nearly 60 species of insects, and more than 40 species of flowering and nonflowering plants. South Georgia is home to the King Penguin, the second largest penguin in the world.

Georgia 173

Georgia Penguins Wildlife Whales 173

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2017

It’s a feeding frenzy in southern Argentina, as one million-plus Magellanic Penguins descend on Punta Tombo’s beaches due to an unusual glut of sardines and anchovies. Scientists ponder the feasibility of genetically engineering chickens to lay the eggs of endangered bird species. So crazy it just might work?

Penguins 100

Penguins Argentina France Stray 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

The text goes far beyond just those two birds, however, as Doug works his way through the puzzles presented by the incredibly wide diversity of bird behavior, even within species, citing current research and new and old theories, reasoning out the most likely and unlikely answers. The six middle chapters are my favorite reading. ” (p.

Science 211

Science Albatross Research Owls 211

10,000 Birds

MARCH 6, 2018

It’s not often that we have the opportunity to glimpse the home life of albatrosses, nor of any seabird species. Where does the female Emperor Penguin go after she has produced that one egg and handed it over to the male for incubation? Technology to the rescue! What about incubation shifts?

Albatross 114

Albatross Penguins Research Breeding 114

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

They may be about bird eggs ( The Most Perfect Thing: The Inside (and Outside) of a Bird’s Egg , 2016), or a 17th-century ornithologist ( Virtuoso by Nature: The Scientific Worlds of Francis Willughby, 2016), or How Bullfinches learn songs from humans ( The Wisdom of Birds: An Illustrated History of Ornithology. Princeton Univ.

Dissection 216

Dissection Birds Europe Eggs 216

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2013

Twenty two species are distributed among six genera, depending on what happens to be extinct, and for the most part one grebe is like another. This makes Grebes vulnerable to climate change and the predation of invasive species. It is easy to see how Minks set lose in a welcoming habitat could eat an entire species.

2010 200

2010 South America 2011 Argentina 200

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2021

There was a time when I thought each bird species had its own individual song. Then I found out that there was this vocalization called a ‘call,’ so I thought each bird species had its own individual song (but just the males) and individual call. How do they know? I do wish there was more about research on female bird song.

North America 278

North America Research Birds America 278

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2013

Does the word define a species within country terms, regional terms etc? Is the term defined at the sub-species or full species level in terms of classification? The species must be listed as a separate, full species by both of the most widely used ornithological bird lists, Sibley/Monroe and Clements.

South Africa 202

South Africa Birds South America Feral Cats 202

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

This is a good place to see the endangered and beautiful Yellowhead and the endemic Yellow-eyed Penguin. Along with the Northern Royal Albatrosses the peninsula also has a good population of Yellow-eyed Penguin, and you don’t have to get on a boat to see either! Yellow-eyed Penguin at Otago Peninsula.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Fur 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 26, 2019

Why this one city alone would be named for birds, in this country of 1,800 species, is unclear, but it could very well be a designation inspired by the nearby Islas Ballestas, an uninhabited island group just offshore from Pisco and home to enormous breeding colonies of Humboldt Penguins , Inca Terns , Peruvian Boobies , and many other species.

Peru 122

Peru San Francisco Parrots Chile 122

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 19, 2011

It is my best bird because it is just such an incredible species, and looking at it made me realize that I had temporarily stopped to fully appreciate birds during the stressful last few years. This year I watched them from the day they arrived , until two chicks successfully hatched, the northernmost breeding record for the species.

2011 180

2011 Birds South Korea North Dakota 180

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

The guide covers 747 breeding residents or regular migrants, 29 introduced species, and 160 vagrants, a total of 936 species. Honeyeaters are “active, noisy and pugnacious” and there are a lot of them–76 species–in Australia. Additional measurements are given for certain species, like penguins.)

Australia 106

Australia Penguins Birds New Zealand 106

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

” Writing about owls means writing about roughly 250 species (I counted 245 on the 2022 Clements spreadsheet, but I might have missed a few, and we all know that each classification system is different). These are behaviors that are most likely to vary across species and topics that make for compelling stories.

Owls 207

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 207

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2021

Colombia is one of those countries that Dragan’s dreams are made of: it has 1,965 bird species – more than any other country in the world. Among them are 94 endemics and 101 near-endemics, four introduced species and only 42 vagrants. No matter how big your avian-related library is, this would be a terrific addition to it.

Colombia 242

Colombia Birds Bald Eagle Guyana 242

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2018

During October, 7 countries (Costa Rica, Australia, USA, India, Hong Kong, UK, Serbia) were birded by 11 beats who shared 135 checklists and noted 697 species. African Penguin – Spheniscus demersus. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 6, 2018

They noted 598 species as a team, bringing the year total to 2118 and pushing the life list to 3555. African Penguin – Spheniscus demersus. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Yellow-eyed Penguin – Megadyptes antipodes.

2018 113

2018 Australia Los Angeles Woodpeckers 113

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2019

In reverse order, the medals were awarded for “most species seen in a country”, to Australia with 420, USA got the silver, scoring 556 while the runaway winner was Costa Rica with 646 species. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Yellow-eyed Penguin – Megadyptes antipodes.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Sparrows 113

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2018

10 countries were birded by 9 beats and 892 species were noted from 144 checklists. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Yellow-eyed Penguin – Megadyptes antipodes. Katiki Point Penguin reserve. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. African Penguin – Spheniscus demersus. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh.

2018 100

2018 Australia Los Angeles Woodpeckers 100

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2018

8 beats shared 126 checklists accounting for 704 species. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Yellow-eyed Penguin – Megadyptes antipodes. Katiki Point Penguin reserve. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. African Penguin – Spheniscus demersus. 13 Jan 2018.

2018 113

2018 Australia Woodpeckers Los Angeles 113

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2018

During March, 11 beats shared 122 checklists to accumulate 680 species from 8 countries; USA, Costa Rica, Serbia, India, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Japan. Yellow-eyed Penguin – Megadyptes antipodes. Katiki Point Penguin reserve. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh.

2018 100

2018 Australia Los Angeles Albatross 100

10,000 Birds

MAY 6, 2018

Their 185 checklists contained 951 species during April! Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Yellow-eyed Penguin – Megadyptes antipodes. Katiki Point Penguin reserve. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. Expanding that for the year so far gives 795 / 1512. Here they all are; Alphabetic Taxonomic. 01 Jan 2018.

2018 100

2018 Australia Los Angeles Albatross 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2018

They found 673 species and advanced the yearly total to 1019. Jamaica Bay, Big Egg Marsh. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. This month is when the hard work to fill the winter quota is put in. So bravo to the beats who have wrapped up, knuckled down and got out there. 149 lists were submitted from 6 countries by 10 beats.

2018 100

2018 Australia Los Angeles Albatross 100

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2016

All birds are equal on this list; parking lot birds or pelagic species, breeders or fly-overs, all will be accorded the same status and each shall be worth 1 credit on the list. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. Jackass Penguin – Spheniscus demersus. Stony Point–Penguin Colony. Big Egg Marsh.

2016 154

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 154

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 3, 2016

All birds are equal on this list; parking lot birds or pelagic species, breeders or fly-overs, all will be accorded the same status and each shall be worth 1 credit on the list. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. Jackass Penguin – Spheniscus demersus. Stony Point–Penguin Colony. Big Egg Marsh.

2016 101

2016 Sanctuary Ghana Australia 101

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2016

All birds are equal on this list; parking lot birds or pelagic species, breeders or fly-overs, all will be accorded the same status and each shall be worth 1 credit on the list. Big Egg Marsh. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. Big Egg Marsh. Black-thighed Grosbeak – Pheucticus tibialis. Cartagos 2.

2016 100

2016 Ghana Sanctuary Australia 100

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2016

Despite recording 370 species during the month, the list total has advanced by just 45. Just to confuse things a little, only 14 new species were recorded since June 1 st. Big Egg Marsh. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. As at June 30 th , it stands at 1796. Silvery-fronted Tapaculo – Scytalopus argentifrons.

2016 100

2016 Ghana Sanctuary Australia 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2016

All birds are equal on this list; parking lot birds or pelagic species, breeders or fly-overs, all will be accorded the same status and each shall be worth 1 credit on the list. Little Penguin – Eudyptula minor. Big Egg Marsh. Clark’s Grebe – Aechmophorus clarkii. San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. 01 Jan 2016.

2016 100

2016 Ghana Sanctuary Australia 100