10,000 Birds

AUGUST 20, 2015

This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. I am talking 600 or 700+ bird species.

Sri Lanka 257

Sri Lanka Botswana Africa Serbia 257

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2020

It can still be an entirely opposite end of a continent, but – if you are residing in Europe – the flight can be as short as one (from Germany) to two hours (from UK). I am talking of the very heart of the Balkans and the final birding frontier of Europe: Serbia. Serbia – the big picture. Birding overview. Top-5 hotspots.

Serbia 317

Serbia Sanctuary Bosnia Birds 317

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

From that year onward my work became dedicated to the protection of the area, as well as promotion of local ecotourism possibilities. With more than 312 so far recorded bird species, Lake Kerkini National Park offers great birding year-round. Kerkini is one of the most important wintering areas throughout Europe.

Greece 264

Greece Wildlife Boars Otters 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2015

Birds included common species such as Black Drongos , Jungle Babblers and a Hoopoe. During the Pleistocene, Dholes were found across the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe and North America, sharing their space with sabre-toothed cats. These days, the species shares habitats with Tigers, Snow Leopard, Bears, etc.

Tigers 252

Tigers Dogs India Snow Leopard 252

10,000 Birds

JULY 10, 2014

With about 110 recorded species, the Kozara becomes truly magical place when the Danube swells and reclaims what is rightfully his. On the other side of the river, underneath the very buttresses of the Belgrade Fortress, with its 170 recorded bird species lies the Veliko Ratno Island (44°49’53.20″N, 20°26’4.98″E).

Serbia 247

Serbia Stray Dog Botswana Protection 247

10,000 Birds

APRIL 16, 2015

In that first year, about 95 bird species were recorded here, not to mention the Otter, listed as the Near Threatened species in the IUCN Red List. The Reva is not protected. In May I plan to discuss the possibilities of the legal protection with the city officials and your comments and views may strengthen that case.

Otters 208

Otters Serbia Fish Mammals 208

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 24, 2015

Worried by the lack of appropriate action by the authorities (as described in the previous post ), this year I invited two more wildlife protection organisations to take part in the annual census of Pygmy Cormorants in Belgrade. “The Pygmy Cormorant is a strictly protected bird species in Serbia, as well as in the European Union.

Serbia 189

Serbia Protection Europe 2007 189

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

This is a bit of a dilemma for local authorities – on the one hand, they would presumably like to protect the birds, on the other hand, they also want to draw as many tourists to the place as possible. Black-bellied Plover: Known as Grey Plover in Europe and Asia. Cuckoo species (Common?): Far Eastern Curlew: Endangered.

China 305

China Birds Asia Fish 305

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2014

I observed this species in the Little Rann of Kutch in India and since then, have been burning with desire to see them back home. The world record holder is the town of Kikinda, further north, with 700 birds in their town square which has recently become an officially protected owl habitat – a small, urban nature reserve.

Serbia 247

Serbia Owls Rodents India 247

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 1, 2015

My guess is, those nervous ones were some migrants, while the majority were locally breeding birds – the southernmost population of Europe! In all that swirling of swallows, I am not certain was there a third species, so I keep watching. The smaller part of the flock was nervous and soon took flight, while the majority remained.

Greece 252

Greece Pelicans Geese Albania 252

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2011

In May 1992 European Union governments adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. Noudar has recorded 184 different species since 1999. This legislation is called the Habitats Directive and complements the Birds Directive adopted in 1979.

Portugal 255

Portugal Legislation 2000 Adoptable 255

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 9, 2011

It is a fascinating book that teaches while it entertains, that offers research-informed arguments for bird protection and conservation in the guise of vibrant design. And so, I learn from this page that each bird’s scientific name is unique, a combination of its genus and species names. We are a BirdLife Species Champion!)

Albatross 234

Albatross Campaign Protection Birds 234

10,000 Birds

JUNE 18, 2021

Of the thirty or so members of the family Icteridae that go by the name “oriole” on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean, several species are partial enough to fruit that they even visit feeders that offer it as jelly, as the sugar-preserved form usually reserved for human consumption is known.

2017 253

2017 Portugal Africa Europe 253

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! The next morning is for the Kerkini Lake, one of the youngest national parks of Greece, protected only ten years ago, in 2006 and inhabited by 11 amphibian, 27 reptilian, 44 mammal and 312 bird species.

Greece 259

Greece Boars Woodpeckers Eagles 259

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2024

Steve Dudley, a bird guide and author of the Lesvos birding guide, once told me: “Greece is THE premier birding location in Europe for me [and for yours truly as well]. There is one more reason to take my hat off: all funds raised from selling the books go directly towards bird protection projects in Greece.

Greece 278

Greece Spain India Europe 278

10,000 Birds

MAY 9, 2019

someone capable of telling the CGI masterminds that the crows at the corpses couldn’t be the Carrion Crows of Western, but the Hooded Crows of Eastern Europe? I do count, write and eBird all crow species I encounter, but, I admit, without much excitement. And protect them, too. True, I do not pay much attention to crows.

Protection 191

Protection Elephants Owls Laws 191

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

JUNE 3, 2021

Once I observed a man walking his two small dogs here, passing by a perched White-tailed Eagle but looking down at grass and not noticing the largest raptor in Europe at all. The eagle seemed well-used to people and paid no attention either.

Otters 264

Otters Protesters Protest Protesting 264

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

The aim was to ring as many gulls as we could, to provide some reading material for birders all around Europe. When you count some 40,000 gulls of four species and find the fifth or the sixth species among them, represented by only one individual – that one becomes the most interesting. Birds city birds Europe gulls Serbia'

Serbia 169

Serbia Ukraine Europe Birds 169

10,000 Birds

MAY 1, 2014

A range of hills protects the cove from the eastern wind, yet, the bushes are swaying in the rythm of it. Nick finds a bird-shaped protrusion at the top of the rock – Black-eared Wheatear , not exactly a species I expect to observe from a boat deck. The Sun already sets and I haven’t seen a new species in a while.

Greece 252

Greece Malta Croatia Italy 252

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Even among the protected areas of Serbia, the Iron Gates National Park (in Serbian: Djerdap) stands out as better preserved. Keep in mind that the special nature reserves (dark green on the park map) enjoy the highest level of protection and are off limits to visitors (possible only with research permits issued by the park authorities).

Serbia 226

Serbia Turtles Romania Eagles 226

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 8, 2013

This park protects the largest remaining tract of dry deciduous forest in the west of India, offering visitors 37 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals and, not to be forgotten – almost 300 bird species. It belongs to the same species as those in Europe, but a smaller subspecies ( Sus scrofa davidi ).

Lions 249

Lions India Mammals Boars 249

10,000 Birds

MAY 10, 2014

Restricted to northern Europe, their real stronghold is in Britain where more than half of the world’s flowers can be seen during early May. The English Channel acted as a barrier to prevent other flowers from recovering their former footholds, so our wildflower species count is low, but the blooms are magnificently profuse.

Laws 177

Laws Europe America Protection 177

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

APRIL 27, 2017

I am a birder and I can claim that out of Serbia’s total of 350+ bird species, highly urbanised inner city areas of Belgrade hold almost 100 birds, while the outskirts have more than 200 species. eBird says that, at the time of writing (April 2017), there are some ten hotspots that have crossed the 100 bird species mark.

Birds 214

Birds Eagles 2017 Otters 214

10,000 Birds

JUNE 8, 2024

Here in the British Isles we are lucky enough to have some of the largest and most important seabird colonies in Europe. Gannets have also benefitted from the European Union’s fisheries policies, which led to huge numbers of fish being discarded because they were the wrong size or species. These birds are all cliff nesters.

Puffins 234

Puffins Eggs Fish Culling 234

10,000 Birds

JUNE 20, 2019

When I came here for the first time, the Kerkini Lake was the only place in Europe where Dalmatian Pelicans were increasing their numbers. And unlike the protection of cormorants, which was perceived as a problem, protection of pelicans was welcomed by the local communities. Dalmatian Pelican © Dusanka Stokovic-Simic.

Greece 203

Greece Pelicans Buffalo Fish 203

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. Common Guillemot research at Skomer Island, Wales. Birkhead knows that these are sensitive topics.

Dissection 261

Dissection Birds Europe Eggs 261

Critter News

MAY 9, 2010

The European Commission said on Wednesday it is pursuing legal action against Portugal for breaching nature protection legislation. The resort falls within a site protected by the Habitats Directive and in the vicinity of a Special Area of Conservation for wild birds (Costa Sudoeste sites). But I'm glad the EU is calling them on it.

Portugal 100

Portugal Endangered Species Legislation 2000 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 3, 2020

Foreboding superstitions about the waxwing persisted into the twentieth century: an irruption of this species in Great Britain during the winter of 1913-1914 was viewed in hindsight as a harbinger of World War I, which broke out the following summer, as depicted in Pestvogel (2016) by American artist Walton Ford (born 1960).

Farming 200

Farming New York Europe France 200

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

JUNE 26, 2013

If you are a migratory bird in Europe and western Asia, this is your sweet spot. Fearing that a natural disaster, introduced species, or disease could wipe this fragile population out, the U.S. The survival of songbirds depends in part upon eliminating illegal hunting. Photo by David Guttenfelder, courtesy of National Geographic ).

Cambodia 152

Cambodia Slaughtered Slaughter Cyprus 152

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 4, 2016

So many beaches of Central Europe ended up here, mostly in the Deliblato Sands (Delibatska pescara) reserve in the southeast of the Vojvodina province – the largest sandy terrain of Europe. We saw 50+ species together, several lifers for him, the Tawny Pipit among them. And slowed waters deposit silt.

Sheep 158

Sheep Turtles Squirrels Europe 158

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 11, 2022

Iron Gates, after the ancient Roman name for the gorge, Porta Ferrea) National Park lies in the north-eastern Serbia, where the Danube has incised the longest gorge of Europe, extending for over 100 kilometre (62 mi), stretching from the medieval Golubac Fortress to the Roman castrum Diana. Other species include Grey Wagtail and Marsh Tit.

Serbia 264

Serbia Woodpeckers Birds Romania 264

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2019

From the Amazon basin through the towering Andes to the endemic-rich Choco, it is possible to observe 600 species in two weeks and even 800 in three weeks – they could all find themselves on your life list. The next question is which is the best bird guide for the country? I haven’t birded South America yet.

Ecuador 188

Ecuador South America 2006 Venezuela 188

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. While it has no official status – at least not yet – many Scots regard the Golden Eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos ) as their national avian mascot.

Lions 184

Lions Eagles Hunting Lamb 184