10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

Now, it is much easier for me to achieve first-time sightings of species in Europe than it is in Mexico, at this point of the game. You can get a sense of the breadth of my European birding experience by how many of my lifers have the word “Common” in their names. I, of course, love a good river delta.

Spain 255

Spain Mexico Europe North America 255

10,000 Birds

APRIL 12, 2014

Its range extends well beyond our shores through Europe and beyond. My normal experience of them is brief as they are always moving and they have always resisted my attempts to portray them by means of millions of tiny dots. In Japan, it is represented by the A.c. japonicus race. Here in Britain, we have the A.c. rosaceus form.

Japan 251

Japan Collecting Europe Family 251

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Grant McCreary of The Birder’s Library , who shared the experience with me, probably has pretty much the same problem. Like many rails they often show up in unexpected places, even rarely being found as vagrants in western Europe! What do you do with hundreds of picture of Purple Gallinules ?

United States 238

United States Florida South America Europe 238

10,000 Birds

JULY 23, 2012

After all, North America has no native hedgehogs and seeing something so outside of our normal experience was pretty exciting, even if the little guy quickly headed for cover and refused to show itself for Clay Taylor, who came upon the scene a minute too late. New Zealand has a host of hedgehogs but they are introduced.

Hedgehogs 200

Hedgehogs Hungary Opossums North America 200

10,000 Birds

MAY 18, 2024

I’m not sure if this is exclusively my limited experience, let me know! This unusual bird is definitely one of my favourite species in Europe, so I was very happy to connect with it (and to hear its call for the first time). I knew that this species had been seen here two weeks earlier, but did not expect to see it at all.

Germany 245

Germany Birds Parrots Europe 245

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

I am still tired from the long drive, but it was great to play with the very best toys for birders, to be able to share experiences and to ask the factory staff all sorts of silly questions. impressive for Central Europe. impressive for Central Europe. I am still trying to sort out my impressions and memories.

Austria 299

Austria Factory Asia Battery 299

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2013

It breeds in a broad and not quite coherent band from Iceland in the west through central Europe and southern Scandinavia all the way to eastern Russia, wintering in Africa, parts of India, and Southeast Asia to Australia. Judging by my experiences with the species, the Black-tailed Godwit’s behaviour is restricted to two aspects.

Germany 232

Germany Russia Iceland India 232

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

In the next year I visited the British Birdfair for the first time, which turned out to be the experience that changed my life. Kerkini is one of the most important wintering areas throughout Europe. In 2008, with my family decided to build the Limneo Lodge , a small accommodation with only 9 rooms.

Greece 264

Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Bird Uganda Safaris is one of the leading ground handler of the International birding companies in the USA, Australia, South American and Europe. Their guides are well trained, and have very rich experiences in birding and customer care, speak several languages, and understand their destination well.

Uganda 264

Uganda Rwanda Wildlife Reserve Kenya 264

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2016

In the most of Europe, Brown Bear is a mythical creature that lives only in mediaeval tapestries and folk tales. Our guides were researchers from Callisto, patient and always smiling Yannis Tsanakis (above) and Maria Petridou with her infectious laugh and stories of her Sun Bear and Jaguar research experiences. Not at all.

Bears 271

Bears Greece Europe Slovenia 271

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

After that experience, I stopped complaining about their hides, realising that they are as good as they ever will be. For example, the White-headed Duck is nowadays a rarity in Europe (okay, excluding Spain, I know… that Spain …), but until some 50 years ago, it used to breed in Serbia. They got the message right.

Serbia 268

Serbia Spain Birds Hungary 268

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2021

It is not a concept for a total beginner, more of a reminder to someone with some experience. Having personal experience with some of those illustrations used in the field, in Europe and in Africa (and remembering them, from mousebirds to orioles, etc.),

Botswana 264

Botswana Africa Birds Ecuador 264

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 12, 2011

A type of birding experience that I greatly enjoy is one of those moments where I’ve come across a simply huge number of birds. As I mined my old birding photos, I recalled one such experience at the Palekhori-Kambi Dam in the eastern part of the Troodos mountain range of Cyprus.

Cyprus 162

Cyprus 2008 Europe Experiments 162

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

I observe them, but feel I still lack experience to tell with certainty the SEO from LEO in flight. Birding city birds Europe owls Serbia' And the citizens of Kikinda are justly proud of it. Long-eared Owls are irresistibly cute. They are now moving from one tree to another. Once perched, it is easy. Photos (c) Sasa Preradovic.

Serbia 247

Serbia Owls Rodents India 247

10,000 Birds

MARCH 9, 2023

Here’s an example: born and bred in Europe, I do not know much about the tropics, especially the bird-rich New World tropics. And understanding habitats in detail is essential to any birder who wants to get the most out of his experiences in the field. This field guide leaves me nothing short of impressed.

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica Cougars Mammals Madagascar 264

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

My last blog has created quite a discussion among the readers, mostly from US, but also southern and eastern Africa and Europe (apologies if I forgot some region). I found those comments insightful and inspiring, valuable experiences and opinions worthy of sharing to a wider audience than the FB groups where they were initially posted.

Greece 252

Greece Zambia Birds Experiments 252

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

Lion – much easier to see than an Aardvark In contrast to East Africa, encounters with mammals while out birding in Europe are relatively few. Over the years, though, I have enjoyed a number of memorable mammal sightings in Europe. Otters may be widespread in Europe, but they are usually elusive and difficult to see.

Fur 245

Fur Otters Bulgaria Estonia 245

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2011

The research, although widely accepted, was greeted with some skepticism early on (Sutton 1966), and eventually followup attempts to replicate his research and experiments near Clyde River Nunavut by Richard Schnell found that the data could not have been have been collected as Smith’s publications had indicated.

Iceland 229

Iceland Europe Panama North America 229

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 13, 2012

Great Reed Warblers breed across huge chunks of Europe and Asia and winter across large swaths of southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Many thanks to Swarovski Optik for inviting me along and letting me experience both some awesome new optics and the natural wonders of the wonderful country of Hungary. ……….

Hungary 197

Hungary Asia Europe Africa 197

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

Its founder, Chris Vlachos, has extensive experience and background in wildlife photography, starting his career more than 20 years ago. It also currently works with two other bird and mammal hides in Europe. Furthermore, the company has two boat-hides, at the most popular lakes of Greece.

Wildlife 252

Wildlife Greece Mammals Reptiles 252

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2012

Before I get into the nitty-gritties of my awesome birding experiences in Hungary I thought I would just share a few of the shots that I got during the trip. Many thanks to Swarovski Optik for inviting me along and letting me experience the natural wonders of the wonderful country of Hungary. I’m baaack!

Hungary 232

Hungary Hedgehogs Blackbirds Mammals 232

10,000 Birds

JUNE 19, 2012

I do try to experience and learn as much as I can on every trip and my week in Hungary was no exception. If you hear a bird singing in Europe and you momentarily misidentify it as a House Wren it is actually a Chaffinch. It is the insensible birder who doesn’t learn something on each and every birding outing.

Hungary 157

Hungary France Woodpeckers Europe 157

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

Some time after the Spanish encounter with the Turkey, birds were brought back to Europe where they were raised and became an important source of food and fancy feathers. Introduction to Europe and Diffusion of Domesticated Turkeys from the America. The Spanish Colonial Experience and Domestic Animals. According to R.D.

Turkey 260

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 260

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2012

Sure, their field guide, The Collins Guide , claims six species but two, the Corsican Nuthatch and the Algerian Nuthatch , have extremely limited ranges and one of those two isn’t actually found in Europe. I am fortunate in that I have encountered Eurasian Nuthatches on eleven occasions in three countries on my various trips to Europe.

Hungary 164

Hungary Europe Portugal Russia 164

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 6, 2011

The Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita is an abundant species with an impressive global range that stretches from the West of Europe across Siberia to Russia’s far East, just falling short of reaching the Bering Straits by a laughable 800 kilometres, a fact one individual apparently found too awkward to bear. But easy ain’t all.

Kazakhstan 194

Kazakhstan Europe Russia Asia 194

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

Next time I will try my local patch of Beljarica backwaters in Belgrade and check how much different the NL experience is. With just about every other bird I had one of those “wow” moments. A Little Stint awaited me there this morning.

Chile 306

Chile Argentina Serbia Raised 306

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2014

People asked me what target birds I had in mind, but really I had very few; I’m not a list-ticker and my goal was to experience the raptor migration. Near Tarifa, where the Africa and Europe almost touch, there are a couple of strategic lookouts where raptor enthusiasts gather to search the skies and record numbers of birds.

Spain 225

Spain Ostriches Africa Canada 225

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 10, 2019

Perhaps just once in a decade, the UK experiences an invasion of Painted Ladies , Vanessa ( Cynthia) cardui. Any individuals found in Britain are immigrants or progeny of emigrants from Europe and Africa and thus receive exalted status. Painted Ladies are part of the Aristocrat group of butterflies. For that we turn to the Nymphalidae.

Ireland 176

Ireland South America North America 2009 176

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2013

” The Wels Catfish, Silurus glanis , is the second largest fish in its range, which covers much of Europe and parts of West Asia. In parts of Western Europe, it is considered to be “exotic” because it has been introduced, possibly by anglers, in lakes and rivers in France and the Iberian Peninsula. Catfish in the range of 1.0

Fish 262

Fish Whaling Whales France 262

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2018

to the Rocky Mountains and beyond, Alaska, throughout the Caribbean, and in seven countries in Europe. Insider Tip: If you want to experience a fall migration in this area of Texas, Rockport-Fulton is having its 30 th anniversary HummerBird Celebration from September 13-16 this year. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Texas 214

Texas Alaska North America America 214

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 21, 2021

A Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler made an early experience. I am not sure whether a jay from Europe (with its lack of white face) would be discriminated against if showing up at Laifengshan. Even though this is no challenge at all, of course. So, what was there to see? Always nice to see. Possible, I guess.

China 264

China Birds Zebras Germany 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2016

Colombia wants to go big into the birding travel industry, with appropriate government backing of bird lodges and guides and the infrastructure needed to get people from the US and Canada and Europe right in front of some of the most incredible birds in the tropics. Though I was only there to go birding for two days, I saw a lot.

Colombia 189

Colombia Reptiles Primates Experiments 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 5, 2024

But here goes, a list of my favorite sightings for 2023: You stole my heart, you rascal you: We made a major trip to Europe, North Africa, and Turkey in late October, November and early December, combining work with some down time. It would take video to really show the experience, so you’ll have to take my word for it.)

Morocco 242

Morocco Turkey Mexico Birds 242

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2024

The sight, the sound and the smell, coupled with the sheer spectacle of seeing so many birds at once, makes viewing a big seabird colony an avian experience that can’t be compared with any other. Here in the British Isles we are lucky enough to have some of the largest and most important seabird colonies in Europe.

Puffins 245

Puffins Eggs Fish Culling 245

10,000 Birds

APRIL 6, 2021

The book is organized into ten chapters, framed by a Prologue and Epilogue focused on Weidensaul’s banding experience in Denali National Park. His participant observations connect to his own research experiences, providing history and perspective. Weidensaul traveled to each location to witness the research in process.

Cyprus 264

Cyprus Slaughtered Slaughter Research 264

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 18, 2020

The composer returned to France at age forty-two in 1914 as an ambulance wagon driver in the First World War, a harrowing experience in which Vaughan Williams lost many friends, as well as having to endure the din of constant gunfire that contributed to deafness in his old age. From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

2017 264

2017 France Chicago Collecting 264

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2014

For one, they are remarkably diverse with a little over 380 species spread over every continent except Europe (only introduced) and Antarctica. In my experience, parrots form a visibly and numerically important component of the Brazilian bird fauna. Parrots captivate me more than any other bird family.

Parrots 205

Parrots Brazil Mauritius Dominica 205