10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2015

Some lovely and touristy cities of Western Europe are justly proud of their cathedral Peregrines (Barcelona, Norwich, Bristol), even London (which has its charms, but is far from lovely) – why not Belgrade (isn’t proud, I mean)? APRIL 12: Second flight of a b h and then she hunts. One Feral Pigeon. A Great Tit.

Switzerland 230

Switzerland Serbia Feral Falcons 230

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 27, 2016

It’s the boar hunting season. By the cliffs we find several Eurasian Crag-Martins and a consolation species – a family of Golden Eagles in the air! There are three species of which two closely fit that description, and if you do not see them well, the third can be equally confusing! Enough of the mountains. What to say?

Greece 259

Greece Boars Woodpeckers Eagles 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 10, 2022

Late April / early May is the best birding season in the south of Europe and wherever you go, you will have 50% to 100% more species than in any other season. Pity, it is the sleeping hours and not the hunting (morning/evening), but at least they are not forced to socialise with people all day.

India 279

India Africa Birds Laws 279

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

The very first thing we notice about this large member of the Galliformes is that there is a wild version and a domestic version, and although the two are rather different, they are both given the same species name, Meleagris gallopavo. They may have also had hunting dogs with them as well. This is where they got their name.

Turkey 238

Turkey Columbus Spain Fowl 238

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

By Martin Garwood Martin has been interested in birds from an early age and has traveled extensively in pursuit of different species. He recently set up a charity, High Weald Swifts, to promote conservation in the UK of this now “red-listed” species. He has a particular passion for Swifts.

Shelters 246

Shelters Cattle Wildlife Hunting 246

10,000 Birds

JULY 18, 2012

Its natural range in Europe was restricted the the surroundings of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, and in Asia it ranged from Asia Minor to central China. Within its European range, it was heavily hunted until the late 19th century, and the Mute Swan was subsequently a very rare bird to encounter in the wild.

Feral 179

Feral Europe Asia North America 179

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2024

Tucked away at the extreme eastern end of the Mediterranean, Cyprus is regarded politically as part of Europe, but when it comes to birds it’s very much Middle Eastern in flavour, with a number of species that are hard or even impossible to find in Europe, plus a trio of endemics. The song is highly distinctive.

Cyprus 246

Cyprus Breeders Falcons Hunters 246

10,000 Birds

JUNE 11, 2011

Hyacinth Macaw © Roger Leguen / WWF-Canon Hyacinth Macaws feed mainly on the kernels of the fruits of two species of palm tree: the Acuri or Urucuri Palm ( Attalea phalerata ) and the Bocaiuva or Macaw Palm ( Acrocomia aculeata ). Such cavities are hard to find and are sometimes disputed by more than one species.

Protection 218

Protection Brazil Parrots Paraguay 218

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2019

The toughest thing for me, as a local birder, was to choose the most attractive birds because those that attract my attention are generally all too common in the northwest of Europe, from where most visiting birders are coming. Eurasian Hoopoe uses similar open and sunny habitats like the previous species.

Serbia 250

Serbia Woodpeckers Albania Eagles 250

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2012

Specifically, rural northwestern Spain, at various points along the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route to the supposed burial place of Saint James the apostle and, before that, to the westernmost point in continental Europe, the supposed End of the Earth, the Finis Terra. My journey started off in the city of Leon.

Spain 197

Spain Europe Rodents France 197

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Storks are typically viewed as wetland species and whilst some storks are restricted to aquatic habitats, others are not. This is another wetland species that nests in sometimes huge colonies atop trees bordering rivers and lakes.

Africa 250

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 250

10,000 Birds

MAY 19, 2012

It has recently been reclassified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List; this category is reserved for only the most threatened species in the world. If this bird did become extinct, it would be the first pheasant species to have been lost in the 400 years since proper records began.

Vietnam 165

Vietnam 2000 Germany Asia 165

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 14, 2012

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. We have both resident and migratory species, and this post will briefly discuss each of the 20 species of African bee-eaters.

Africa 266

Africa Gabon Uganda South Africa 266

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 29, 2023

My British total was a mere 172 species – not bad, but not very good. Every one of my 171 species was a bird that I found myself. It keeps a monthly record of sightings, so I can tell you that it was in February that I recorded my highest monthly species total (106), while my lowest total was in August (39).

Estonia 246

Estonia Portugal Greece Barn Owls 246

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 16, 2014

The Veliko Ratno Island birdlist is about 170 species long, of which more than 90 were observed from the Dorcol Promenade. Highlight species: Ferruginous Duck , Goosander , Red-breasted Merganser , Red-crested Pochard , Greater Scaup , Velvet Scoter , Black-throated Diver. In March and November, Common Cranes are a possibility.

Serbia 254

Serbia Ducks Birds Eagles 254

10,000 Birds

MAY 28, 2015

And that is why the hides are where they are, not to admire the scenery (or shoot at it – hunting is prohibited in the reserve and the ban is enforced). 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.

Serbia 267

Serbia Spain Birds Hungary 267

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2013

The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. That means passing over the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East, where you’re liable to get shot, trapped, or otherwise hunted. Photo of the Nihoa Millerbird by S.

Cambodia 152

Cambodia Slaughtered Slaughter Cyprus 152

10,000 Birds

JUNE 15, 2023

Late April / early May is the best birding season in the south of Europe and wherever you go, you will have 50% to 100% more species than in any other season. Pity, it is the sleeping hours and not the hunting (morning/evening), but at least they are not forced to socialise with people all day.

India 226

India Africa Serbia Birds 226

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

This is “the deep cradle of Western ornithology: the birthplace of bird study,” he tells us as he writes about gazing at the 8,000-year old depictions of “flamingos, herons, raptors, avocets and many other species” (p. With Birkhead, you never know what’s going to come next. 266-67).

Dissection 261

Dissection Birds Europe Eggs 261

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2015

One – the Takahe is far too cool a species to lose. Two – there is so much distinctness amongst the different forms of the Purple Swamphen that lumping means we may as well lump all the world’s reed warblers into one huge species and be done with it. ” Birds Europe Purple Swamphen rails Spain'

Spain 157

Spain Hunters Africa Hunting 157

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 15, 2017

It’s Christmas Bird Count season, and if you know Christmas Bird Counts you have probably heard the tale of how Frank Chapman invented this winter tradition to replace the older and considerably less optimal for birds tradition of the Christmas side hunt. Various bits of Europe celebrate the day in various ways. Sleigh rides.

Ireland 147

Ireland New Zealand Hunting Cooking 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 24, 2020

Like all other “Red Grouse”, Gilbert is a member of a subspecies of Willow Ptarmigan found in the heather moorland of Great Britain and Ireland, a population that’s treated by some authorities as a separate species. Red Grouse by English ornithologist and artist John Gould (1804-1881), from The Birds of Europe.

Sheep 248

Sheep Branding Ireland Fowl 248

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 13, 2014

We nature lovers, celebrants of life in all its exquisite multiformity, feel more keenly than most the loss of even the most undifferentiated species. The prehistoric extinctions most famously include the megafaunal assemblages of Europe, the Americas, Australia and Madagascar. Australia’s extinct and threatened bird species.

Marsupials 194

Marsupials Costa Rica Elephants Cuba 194

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

A shot or two coming from the opposite bank, but they do not sound like geese shooting – more like boar hunting. A goose hunt sounds like a WWII battle. Scanning the water for rarer species… S. We counted more than 35 of them, relaxed and fearless, clearly not hunted. Easy – it is forbidden to hunt at night.

Geese 189

Geese Boars Hunting Serbia 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2020

A somewhat more credible selection to be sure, as lions actually do exist, but one that sadly snubs the native Scottish wildcat in favor of a felid that’s been extinct in Europe since antiquity. But there’s new hope for Scotland’s Golden Eagles as these atrocious acts are brought to the public attention and their perpetrators prosecuted.

Lions 184

Lions Eagles Hunting Lamb 184

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2016

After the Common Starling , my second bird of the morning becomes the largest eagle of Europe, the White-tailed Eagle , this one with a fairly white tail, yet still dark beak, that I estimate to be in its 3rd calendar year. Looking miserable with its feathers soaked, one yellow and blue European Bee-eater sits on a dead branch.

Sheep 167

Sheep Serbia Eagles Mammals 167

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2015

We call it a “mouse gradation year” I was not able to find a catchy English term for “gradation year” – it’s what happens when a certain species showing population cycles reaches a peak year. The kestrels , on the other hand, will more frequently hunt from low perches.

Fox 167

Fox Rodents Gophers Germany 167

Critter News

SEPTEMBER 6, 2009

The hunting and selling of ortolans, which have suffered a Europe-wide decline of 40-50% in the last 40 years, has been illegal in France since 1999. During the hunting season, which lasts from mid-August until the end of September, the birds are taken from their cages, fattened up in the dark and then drowned alive in Armagnac.

France 100

France Endangered Species Protesters Protest 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 28, 2018

Not even 60 species worldwide? My mind wandering off: A century ago, birding meant hunting birds and we stole the term from hunters – it may be time to steal another one: “Lord John came abreast of me, however, and his face was more grave than was his wont. There are some 56-57 species worldwide which hardly presents a challenge.

Hunters 164

Hunters 2011 Campaign Europe 164

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 15, 2015

This species is still uncommon in the Balkans and despite the recent spread, Kalamas is the most reliable site for it in Greece (and this made my only second ever observation of them in Europe). I am checking the grass for any flash of white and soon my suspicion is confirmed: Cattle Egrets (cover photo)!

Greece 240

Greece Dogs Pelicans Cattle 240

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2016

Unlike other bird races where participants keep tight-lipped about bird species as mundane as a House Sparrow , this event gives a prize to the team that helps the most. But isn’t all of that data sharing counterproductive for a bird race where the team with the most species wins? This is a Masked Shrike.

Israel 189

Israel Costa Rica Eagles Raised 189

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 17, 2019

Several poachers were waiting in ever thickening darkness (Serbian legislation forbids night hunting). Barnacle geese breed mainly on the Arctic islands of the North Atlantic, while the nearest wintering areas also lie along the northern coasts of Europe: the Netherlands and the Baltic Sea (Estonia, Finland, Denmark and Sweden).

Geese 184

Geese Serbia Ukraine Estonia 184

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 9, 2017

But why would someone look for that, an easy and common one among the 920+ bird species of Costa Rica? Working with the local jaguar conservancy, he learned that there are 10 or 11 different animals hunting peccaries and other prey at Selva Bananito. And on my day one, in Virgen del Socorro I IDd my first ever Blackburn female.

Costa Rica 177

Costa Rica Reptiles Farming Mississippi 177

10,000 Birds

MAY 12, 2016

Late April / early May is the best birding season in the south of Europe and wherever you go, you will have 50% to 100% more species than in any other season. Recently, I did a bit of embankment birding, nailing 65 species (several of them firsts for the season, European Bee-eaters among them – always exciting).

India 135

India Birds Africa Serbia 135

10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

I have caught a bus across Europe, but I can’t really claim to have “been” to Germany or Belgium. But I do have rules about whether I can have said to have visited a country, ie does the country “count” which I have inherited from my family, particularly my Dad.

Botswana 162

Botswana Lesotho Elephants Bald Eagle 162

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2022

I saw two Pitta species at Hongbenghe, both among the slightly less glamourous among the pitta family: The Blue-naped Pitta … … and the closely related Rusty-naped Pitta. It seems that this is another species for which the standard phrase of scientists anywhere, “more research needed”, applies.

Myanmar 147

Myanmar Birds China Chicago 147

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

Great Cormorants are not a bird Americans get excited about in Europe seeing as we have them in the United States but I will say that they were much more willing to be closely approached than in the U.S. Perhaps most exciting was a Northern Goshawk that we spotted hunting along the river a couple of times.

Austria 100

Austria Europe Birds United States 100